My LAST OB appointment

Tom took today off and came with me. He really enjoyed taking a peek at the baby. I'm not sure when's the last time he's seen a sono. The baby has decided to cooperate and is head down! Woohooo! Hopefully she'll stay that way. I think she will since she also seems to have calmed down a bit in the movement department (makes me nervous though...trying to be more aware of kickcounts) The gameplan is to be admitted at 7am Thursday morning for induction.

This week's BPP weighed her in at 6lbs 2oz! I reminded the dr that last week's had her at 6lbs 13oz. It made him go hmmmmmm. It'll be interesting to see what she really weighs. I gained a pound or so and am at 211. The nurse didn't try to add 10lbs onto me this time...so that was nice. :o) My blood pressure was GREAT at the office (120/78). I asked if I still needed to be in bed, the dr mulled it over a few times and said he'd be nice and let me off of bedrest. I guess he didn't realize how things went this weekend. Saturday at the grad party it climbed to 158/94 until I got home and into bed again. I'll be keeping track of my blood pressure and will curtail my activities if it starts climbing too high. I have a LOT I want to do around here though!

My sugar has started to climb. I've started a new insulin pen to see if that's the problem. I personally think it's the strips since I switched them out on Saturday which is when my numbers jumped drastically. I'm wondering if the pharmacy's supply of 100ct test strips (box with 2 vials in it instead of 1) was compromised somehow. It seemed to do the exact same thing with the last box of 100ct strips I had. Switched them over to a 50ct box and it went back down to my regular low numbers. If my numbers continue to stay high I have permission to adjust my dosage.

We talked about what we'll be doing concerning my diabetes postpartum. He said I'll still keep track of my numbers but won't be on insulin. I'll be given a 1 month grace period to see what my body decides to do. If my numbers stay where they are now...no insulin. If they start to rise...I'll be doing insulin until I'm done breastfeeding at the very least. The may switch to oral meds.

After the dr appt Tom and I went out to lunch. We hit the chinese buffet :o) I usually do really well there but today my sugar was 158 2hrs after eating!!! OOPS! We had a really good time though. It was nice to sit and talk without being distracted or interrupted. After leaving there we hit the dollar store for some snacks to take to the hospital. I picked one dollar store over the other and the gamble didn't pay off. :o( The one I picked doesn't have a set food supply but they tend to have better deals and types of food....they didn't today. I could probably do with a trip to the other one now. Maybe when I take Michelle to the dentist on Wed I'll stop in quick.

Our next to last stop was the laundromat. I did 3 loads of laundry and decided to dry them in a machine instead of on the line. NOPE, BIL didn't fix the dryer. He thought he did but it's still not working. The good news is....ALL the baby clothes are now washed! :oD I can now pack the baby's bag. I'm hoping to finish everyone else's clothes tomorrow and put up an outfit for them to wear to the hospital. I learned that lesson when Luke was born. Val and Liz weren't in school yet and Tom brought them to the hospital when he picked me up. "Luckily" he got in an accident on the way up to the hospital and his brother had to pick them up and drive them. BIL stayed in his van with the girls while Tom ran in to get me. I was SO glad they didn't come in. They had ripped and holey clothes on, striped leggings and flowered print shirts. Val had a ponytail behind one ear on one side of her head, the other side's pony was almost standing straight up onto of her head! Don't ask me when the last time Liz had had her hair brushed! ROFL

After laundry was done we hit the gas station for bread and milk. We lost out on the bread since they were sold out of it. I'll have to bake some tomorrow.

I got a great surprise in the mail today. One of my online friends sent me a BEAUTIFUL baby quilt! Thank you Jill! All the kids are jealous! LOL Email will be coming to you and especially P in the morning!!!

OK...I think I got everything I wanted to mention in here. If not I'll post again in the morning. I'm heading to bed now.

FIVE MORE DAYS!!!

I can't believe in a handful of days I'll be having a baby. Everyone is getting so excited around here. It's fun to see Tom getting caught up in too. For a few days this week Eileen has been practicing. My MIL bought Carrie a lifesize baby doll that has a bladder to fill with air or water in it's belly. Eileen carried it around for days wrapped in a blanket. She kept bringing it to me to take care of. How do you nicely tell a 7yo that you don't need to practice and will have a baby 24/7 to take care of soon enough...so no thank you! I played along a bit.

I'm getting a bit frustrated here. There's so much I see that I'd like to get done before the baby is born...but can't do it. Even if I wasn't on bedrest...bending over has gotten HARD and all the work seems to be below knee level. Today is my cheating day but I'm watching my pressure and will change that if it gets too high. We're heading to D's house at 2pm for her 2nd oldest's grad party. Tomorrow I'm planning on laying low so my pressure won't be too high on Monday when I go in for my next OB visit. I WILL be making lists for the kids with things to get accomplished this week. I guess I should start packing some bags (still need to wash baby clothes too). At least I know what I want packed for her. I did bring my hair and toothbrush with me to the dr's on Thurs. So I'm not totally ignoring it.

I THINK this little lady is breech again. Although that opinion can and does change throughout the day. I've felt what I think was her head everywhere but DOWN yesterday. What was down was a lot of pushing and kicks. OUCH!

The kids have asked a few times to have their sugar tested when I test mine. I tested Carrie's last week and it was in the 250s!! YIKES! I reasoned that I wasn't sure what and how soon before testing she'd eaten. On Thurs after dinner all the kids were on my bed with me and asked to be tested...so I tested them all. Jake and Carrie both tested high (I tested at 117). Jake was 155, Carrie was 167 so I decided to see how their fasting levels were the next morning. Jake was 86...Carrie was 121. (should be under 105 for a nondiabetic) I called the nurse practioner at the long term survivors oncology clinic to see if she's had her A1c tested recently, she's on vacation until Monday. Carrie definitely needs it done if she hasn't! When she heard her sugar was high she got a bit excited and asked....does that mean I get my own monitor? LOL If only it was that easy.

Hmmmm, my BIL just walked in, asked for a flashlight and is going downstairs. Would it be a fantasy to think he's putting the new belt on my dryer before the party? *fingerscrossed* It's so much easier for the kids to do the laundry if they don't have to bring it outside and hang up. Plus we don't have to worry about whether it's going to rain or not. If it does happen then I can add....clean up the laundryroom, organize the clothes and get ready for school to my todo list this week! :oD I'm sure the kids won't be smiling at the thought.

OK...going to go laydown before it's time to get ready to go. I may be cheating but I don't want to overdo it either.

She's a sneaky one!

Went to the OB's today. My cuff tested just about the same as theirs...close enough to say it was accurate. They got 138/80, with my cuff 142/78. I was worried that the numbers would be unbelieveable low again. At least they are what I've been getting at home on a consistant basis. The nurse tried to put my weight into the 220's again and I had to correct her. Originally it looked like my weight had dropped to 206 but after fiddling around on it a bit it read 210...no biggie.

I was prepped for a pelvic exam and waited, and waited and waited. Dr has someone shadowing him and I could hear him discussing things with her. I can't complain..he's definitely not a man you can rush. I like that about him. I know he'll take however long I need him to.

Anyways...I lay down and he starts palpitating my belly to see whether we're "heads or tails". Hmmmmmm.....do it some more....no....not there....hmmmmm again. I suggest how about neither!?!?! LOL Move along the left side of my belly....and then onto right. Some more hmmmmm'ing. OK...guess we're going in for a pelvic to figure this out. All I can say is OOF! I think he was trying to reach my belly button. He thought he had a bottom...nope that's not what that is. He pushed the baby toward him, tried to get a better angle. Finally he says....get dressed we're headed to the sono room to figure this out.

We rev up the machine and he places the transducer above my pelvic bone. Hmmm that's much of anything. He moves it to the left. OH! There's the head. Yep she's transverse AGAIN! This time favoring my left side with her spine facing my diaphram. Since she's proven she's a mover we've left birthing decisions up until the last minute. I was to go back in on Tues to check for position but they were booked solid. So I'm going in on Monday. This time straight to a sono. PHEW!

We're still planning on induction for next Thursday....ONE WEEK!!!...SEVEN DAYS!!! It's too close! I can't believe I may have my baby in my arms at this time next week. YIKES! and YIPPEE!!!

I asked about bedrest...he thought and rethought it. He pointed out how well my pressures have been from the first week to now. I admitted the numbers change whether I'm being good or bad about staying in bed. So it is doing some good. So he decided I should ride out one more week in bed. I'm ok with it but I do plan on cheating already. D is having a graduation party for her dd that graduated with Michelle on Saturday and I'm NOT missing it. I've also been dying to do some sewing and want to make the girls a few quick things. If I run into a really good pressure day where the heat isn't bad in the livingroom (where my machine is), I think I may take a stab at it. Note I said may.

I had a lot of questions about whether an external version was an option and whether he'd allow a vag breech birth. They're all on hold until Monday. Tom is adamant that this is it. While I'm less inclined to agree with him. I understand and respect his stance. We've left it at...if I have a c-section...I'll get my tubes tied. So this baby BETTER get her act together so the chance of a section is greatly diminished!

Ouch! Ooch! Eech!

I'd decided yesterday to see if I could work this baby into the right position. So a few times I tried the frozen veggie trick. This involves using an ice pack on the belly where the baby's head is. The theory is the baby won't like the cold and move away from it. You then "chase" it toward the cervix. I coupled this with the knee chest exercises I'm so familiar with from when Luke was breech until 39wks. This is where I lay with my chest on the bed and my buttocks up in the air. Nothing I did hurt and the baby did move a bit...just not enough.

What I'm whining about is her PAYBACK! She decided that once I started to go to sleep last, it night would be the perfect time. I'm not positive what she was doing but it was not a pleasant experience. I felt like she was doing jumping jacks or sitting there just giving my pelvic floor random kicks. I was hoping she was turning but I don't think that's the case....although you never know with her. (never felt anything besides the pelvic floor discomfort) I kept feeling like my water was about to break. I'll just say she's made her point. I've decided to just stick with the knee chest exercises for now. I'm looking forward my next BPP.

I can't believe I have 8 days left!!! It's too close. LOL I always go into an induction thinking....I shouldn't be here. Once labor kicks in though it's a different story. It's still far enough away that I'm not "affected" by it. It's close enough though to be in the back of my mind constantly.

I was on my feet a bit more then I probably should have been yesterday. Moreso then I have been, that's for sure. It's hard when the older kids aren't here, although Liz was home from her trip to Connecticut. She's a bit less able to handle the chaos that can churn up around here then Michelle or Pat can. I figured out on Sunday that me on the couch doesn't work. It wasn't the heat that was the problem, it's quite pleasant out now. I was crowded like I complained about in an earlier entry. I also kept seeing things to be done and would say something about it. Next thing I knew I was right in the mix helping take care of it too. Some supervisor I make.

Well breakfast is over (still need to get some coffee though) and time to get back into bed. Next update tomorrow night after my OB appt. :o)

Monday OB visit update

As usual the nurse got an unbelieveable low blood pressure reading on me (120/60). The dr was impressed and asked...what have you been doing all week...laying in bed ;o) I told him to look at my at home numbers and ask me that again. He reasoned my numbers are so high because my BP cuff is too small...told him nope, I bought an extra large one special. So now I have to bring in my cuff to be tested against the office's when I go in on Thursday.

MY BPP took a while because little stinker didn't want to move around. The dr finally got her to move around. And where is she you ask? She's breech of course...complete breech to be exact (cannonball position) The dr seemed a bit concerned about it but repeated a few times...we have a little time left (10 days to be exact!) Guess that explains the firmness I've been feeling in my midsection. LOL She was measured to weigh 6lbs 13oz...so 7+lbs next week. I was tempted to ask questions about birthing options with a breech baby but decided to wait until next week since she's a mover. The dr asked me if I was considering getting my tubes tied and I responded...I'm not sure yet. He made the comment...that means no at this point. Tom and I really need to talk.

I gained 4lbs that I lost last week so weigh 209. The nurse couldn't figure out why I corrected her on my weight. I reminded her she said my weight was 229! She was taken aback, saw what she'd written and then apologized. Oh yeah, I'm still on bedrest.

I was feeling lousy for some reason during my dr visit. I was HOT and sweating buckets, had a slight headache, and was on the verge of crying. I waited until I was walking out to the car for that to happen though...just a few tears, nothing major.

I went to BJ's and Walmart on the way home. It's nice to have groceries in the house. BUT I FORGOT the garbage bags....major reason for being at the store!! I bougth a few school supplies and baby things, including newborn diapers (they're so tiny and CUTE!) The only things I didn't get that I wanted before going into the hospital are....a cute bonnet for the baby (all they had was knit caps) and a nursing bra for myself. Since WHEN does Walmart NOT carry nursing bras?!?!? I bought 6prs of socks, a pink blanket with plaid binding and a pair of pink booties. Oh yeah and I bought myself some sanitary pads. So we're good to go. Now to wash the things so I can pack it. I'm still not sure what I'm going to pack for myself to wear at the hopsital, guess their gowns will work.

On the way home from Walmart I got pulled over by a state trooper. Seems he noticed my van registration was made in June and I still had the temporary 10 day inspection sticker on it. I was so tempted to try to excuse myself out of the ticket but figured it was no use. He's heard it all and it all just sounded like excuses. Of course it didn't help me feel any better. I managed to hold things together until the trooper got back into his car...then I broke down. I managed to drive down the street until I got to a park and pulled into the parking lot to have a good hysterical cry. There's NO way I'm going to be able to afford the ticket anytime soon. (things are tight!) The only way for me to get any leeway in my fine is to appear in person with an inspected vehicle. Court date is Sept 7th. HOW am I going to show up for that!?!?! Especially if I have a c-section. WAAAAAAAAAH!

Needless to say I got home, instructed the kids to bring in and put away the groceries and then collapsed in my room. My blood pressure was 144/90 which is better then I thought it would be. I'm still on bedrest and really should be heeding it. (soon...I promise)

Saturday was a better day

First of all, thank you to everyone for their warm wishes here and in emails. It's greatly appreciated. Heather....7mos! UGH! I feel for you. And you are very lucky I don't have much time to be online (just to read so I do know what's going on). ;o) Kidding...you're not stirring up anything. I did giggle though when you referred to the board as my board. I still do consider it my baby even though I don't mod it. Thanks.

I'm still fighting slight depression. It's so hard to be in my room when things are going on around the house. I tried to move out onto the couch but it's difficult. First of all it's the main seating area of the house. Second of all it's not air conditioned and it affects me. I sat/half lounged out there for about an hour before I realized I was dripping in sweat and feeling lousy. I went back in my room and my blood pressure was high again.(148/88) GRRRR! It's ONLY in the 80's out there. Why NOW does the heat have to affect me when I did fine in the 90's (while working my butt off getting ready for the grad party to boot!)

Last night I was talking to D on the phone. She made the comment if I hadn't gone to the summer conference (camping) I would have been fine these last 2wks. I'm not so sure she's correct although the trip certainly didn't help anything. (it was worth it though) I didn't feel like I ran myself anymore ragged then I normally do. And I did manage to lay down for half an hour once or twice a day. Besides if it was that then why isn't my pressure cooperating after resting for a week? I think she doesn't realize that this just happens to me near the end in some form. Plus I'm already on the meds they'd give me. Not to mention 2wks doesn't give them too much of a timeframe to work out doseages, strengths, etc.

My crying jags seem to have tapered off at least. I only lost it once yesterday. I'd asked the kids to have Tom come in for a visit. He did :o) He talked about work for a while and then decided it was a good time for a nap. I didn't want him in with me to nap! The kids kept distrubing him and he kept jumping up to let them know. It finally got too much of a hassle for him to relax so he got up and went on about his day. I let loose with the tears. I don't think he fully understands WHAT I do or don't do while in bed. On Friday I noticed he kept shushing the kids when they were in the hall. I finally called out to him...WHY are you telling them to be quiet? I'm NOT sleeping in here! I think he has ideas of what he'd be doing if forced to stay in bed (he's a SLEEPER) so puts those actions on me. HOW can anyone think someone is sleeping for 20+ hrs a day? I really need to get something else to do in my room. MY MIL called last night and was surprised I didn't even have a tv in my room yet. Oh fun, hours upon hours of mindnumbing talk shows and garbage all day. Now if we had cable...I'd be happy. I could watch and enjoy the food network all day. LOL

Yesterday my glucose levels started going up. I'm not sure if it's because I'm not eating my set 6 meals a day (only doing about 3 or 4), lack of activity or normal end of the pregnancy resistance hitting (or all of the above). I'm going to try and eat better today and see what happens. I think we're finally going to have to up my insulin...no biggie.

I have NO idea where this baby is now. She got a huge case of the hiccups and where did I feel them? Deep in my right hip! I've felt a lot of movement along the pelvic floor too. I'd say she's totally transverse again but I also have something firm up in the midsection. Guess we'll find out Monday when I get my next BPP. I feel like I'm carrying small. So I don't know how there's much room for this baby to move let alone do somersaults. I told Tom yesterday...if she's born without the cord around her neck...it'll be a miracle. We haven't had it happen to one of our babies yet. Hopefully it won't.

I've been awake since 4am and up out of bed longer then I intended. Need to get back into a horizontal position. The fact that we're seriously needing a resupply of things here has me tempted to run to Walmart before anyone gets up. I'd love to go to church this morning! UGH! Why am I putting myself through this....thinking what I want, could or would like to do!?!? At least I have my dr appt tomorrow morning to look forward to. ROFL! Guess I could bop into Walmart afterwards.

A not so great day

I had told the kids not to plan on doing anything today because they were going to get some work done around the house. Well they listened but they also pushed the not doing anything into the housework. They kept busy around the house but not attacking what I had written on the list.

I finally blew around dinner time, stormed out into the kitchen and started picking up and doing the dishes. Bad pg lady on bedrest...I know. I was working up a storm and then started crying hysterically. Funny how people started moving then. As soon as someone said something to me I blew. I told the kids I wasn't expecting anything from them anymore since they proved I shouldn't/couldn't. I'll just keep doing what needs to be done, who cares if I end up in the hospital, having seizures or with a dead baby (oops....NOT good thing to blurt out). As long as everyone was having as much fun as they wanted...that's all that matters around here.

As I moved onto the bathrooms, Carrie came in and told me Luke was in his bed crying. He was worried that the baby was going to die. I felt horrible that I'd implant that into his head and started crying again. Him and I ended up cuddling and talking for quite a while. I assured him that the dr and I were doing whatever we could to make sure the baby was fine. I apologized for even putting that thought in his head...it has no right to be there.

I then went into my room and took my bloodpressure. It was 157/88 :o( Tom came in the house and found out what a mess I was. He said I should have told him that things weren't working out well in the house. I asked him why he couldn't see it wasn't working out since the house is a mess. That a lot of things *I* normally take care of and no one notices weren't getting done. I told him technically I couldn't even be out there supervising, much less "forcing" them do what needs to be done. I have to give him kudos though, he made a great dinner. We all sat down to a nice and peaceful dinner. After resting my pressure is down to 144/80 where it's been on and off all day. I hope tomorrow is better pressurewise.

My mom called today. She hasn't been feeling well for over a month and went to the dr's yesterday for a checkup. Her A1C came back at a 8.9...she is officially a diabetic now. I welcomed her to the club. While it's a bummer that she's diabetic. At least her and my dad can work on it together now that they are on the same page. She still has a few tests to take and will see her dr on Wednesday to see how he's going to treat her for this. For me and especially my kids it stinks since we now have diabetes on BOTH sides of my family. Only clean side for it is Tom's dad.

I was going to suggest to Tom that he take the kids to the beach tomorrow. I'm not sure if that's still going to fly. I remembered that tomorrow is the bone marrow drive for a local woman who is on her second transplant. I thought it would be neat for Tom to go over and take Carrie with him. He's not too up to doing things like that (hates crowds) so we'll see if it actually happens. Tomorrow night Drew and his band are playing at the marina again. I'm bummed that I can't go. I'd like Tom to take Michelle and Val since they stayed home last time to babysit and really want to go. I think he's even balking at going to that. Party pooper ;o)

Well it's storming and I need to head back to bed.

Test results are in

I had to the call the OB's office three times today to get the results. It finally required someone from the office to run to the lab at 3:30pm and personally get it. (was suppose to be sent to the office by 11am).

When they called back I was told it was good but slightly elevated. I let them know what my pressure has been running today (138/80). They were going to show the results to the dr and let him know how my pressure is running. They'll call back if there's anything new he wants me to do. So far no news...so I'm assuming that's good.

I got a little frustrated today with the amount of help I am or am not receiving. Depends on who you're talking to. LOL I thought I'd had the kids into a routine where things would just get done. They seem to have different things in their heads. I have had to ask/plead/prod for anything to get done. If this is going to continue for 2 more weeks...things will have to change.

Oh yeah I forgot to mention that we have a definite induction date....as long as everything continues along an ok path. It's set for Thurs, Aug 25th when I'll be 38wks. Of course that's also likely to change according to how my pressure goes (not worried about my sugar anymore).

Luke and Jake went with a church family to a water park nearby yesterday and haven't been home since. The mom just called and asked if they could stay another night. I'm glad they get to go and do something fun. I've felt a little guilty that our summer has lacked fun outings, what with getting ready for the party, then the summer conference, now my bedrest. Usually we've gone on quite a few day trips already. On Sunday, Liz went home with one of the girls from Connecticut and is staying at her apartment for the week. She'll be home this weekend. The older kids are pretty much doing whatever seems fun. So it's basically been just Carrie, Eileen and Olivia home with me. At least it's not to many to fit into my bed at once. lol

I was a little bummed when my sister called this morning. She was seeing if I wanted to go to the beach with her and her girls. Obviously it wasn't doable but I SO wanted to GO! I guess I should have called her yesterday. But then again I was kinda waiting to see what my test results would bring.

Since there's only 5 of us home for dinner I was going to try to convince Tom to go and pick up some chinese for dinner. He got paid today and did a bit of shopping on the way home. I don't think he'll be so quick to go get takeout with so many new meals in the freezer/fridge. :o( I'll still try to work him over.

We're in desperate need for some groceries, not just a quick trip to the store for a few things. I'd really love to go and see what my pressure does but I can't risk it too close to my dr appt. If it goes up I'll need a day or so to bring it back down (considering how my pressure is reacting right now). I'll probably just write a list and send the big kids though. It's hard since I don't normally shop from a list...just know what to get and get it. I could REALLY use a laptop about now!!! Then I wouldn't have to be bad and sit at this computer.

OK...going to be a good girl (as soon as I find the store ads to take back to bed with me). Back to bed I go!

Back from the OB's

I'm still on bedrest. My pressure was 130/80 at the dr's today. Better but it's not what I've been getting consistantly at home. I've gotten one or two readings like what they did but most of the time it's still in the 140's over high 80's to low 90's. He was disappointed that he didn't know what my 24hr urine catch was. He won't find out until tomorrow morning. I have to call about 11ish tomorrow to find out. He's still really pleased with my sugar readings.

He has had a med student with him for my last 3 appts. He's been using me quite a bit as lessons for her. Today's lesson was the recommended glucose levels for pg ladies. He said in 1967 a bunch of dr's got together, got drunk ;o) and picked out a bunch of numbers that we've been using ever since (fasting under 105, 1 hr after eating under 140). They happen to be right the first time! The ADA came in recently and tweaked them a bit (a tiny bit lower values) but technically they are very similar...so just use the long standing ones. As they walked into the room she asked about a reading that was a tad high yesterday (141 after breakfast). He let her know that EVERYONE will have an occassional high...especially when that bagel calls to them. I corrected him and told him....small bowl of frosted mini wheats with lots of milk. He LOL and said the same thing called to him this morning. Bet mine was smaller though. ;o) I also let him know that if he'd made the crack about faking my glucose levels in the beginning of the pregnancy I'd have probably been offended.

I've gotten a cold sore on the top of my nose overnight. He said it was from getting sunburnt. I told him it was that I'd gotten run down this last week. At the end of the appt he asked if he could ask an obvious question. I said sure. His question....How can you get sunburnt if you're on bedrest. Both his med student and I let him know the sunburn was from camping last week (wasn't really burnt...just a tad red...no pain). That's why I told him I think it's more from being run down then the sun. He gave me some Valtrex for it but I'm not sure I'm going to take it. (did fill it though) It seems to be decreasing in size already.

The kids are handling me being on bedrest ok...I think. LOL I've had a lot of visits in my room for various infractions but it's calmed down a bit. It seems they've been spending a lot of time playing video games, on the computer and with DVDs. I feel a bit guilty about that but there's nothing I can really do. They also don't seem to mind, although the girls wanted to go swimming today and couldn't go. No big kids to take them, hopefully Tom will take them when he gets home. My house isn't faring so well but I expected that. Tom tends to get on their cases when he gets home. I feel bad to make him the bad guy all the time but again...it's the way it is. I stopped at the store and bought my one splurge for hospital stays...a Math Puzzle and Logic Problem magazine. :o) I also found a book that my mom had given me a while ago. It's along the lines of Danielle Steele's type of writing. Not something I'm really gungho on but I'll take it right now.

I'll update tomorrow once I get my test results.

OB appt update

That is IF my ISP will allow me to stay online long enough to post this.

I've now been put on bedrest. My pressure was still 148/90 at the dr's office. I let him know that it's been that high since Saturday. He then told me I'm about to become best friends with my pillow and I'm to go on bedrest. He also ordered a 24hr urine collection to test how my kidneys are holding up. I finish the collection Wed morning then take it into the lab and get bloodwork done. After that's over I head to back to the OB's office to be rechecked. I have NO idea what his game plan is.

I had another BPP and got another surprise. The baby has decided that being head down wasn't so fun after trying it out for 2wks. She's transverse again with her head up near my left ribcage. I don't seem as worried about it this time as when I found out she was transverse at 31wks. Thinking about it I probably should be more worried since technically I could have this baby any day now. If she doesn't turn I'll be severely limited in my birthing options.

My weight stayed the same! :o) And the OB asked if I was faking my glucose numbers. lol I was thinking when I left...I would have been ticked if he'd given me that jab at the beginning of the pg. Now it's just a friendly jab. He also asked me if we had a name picked out. I told him we're still discussing it but it was surprise anyways. He acted offended that I wouldn't share it with him and I let him know I had to have ONE secret for him!!! LOL

So today I spent most of the day in my bedroom. I tried the livingroom couch for a bit but it was too hot. Since I was also told to stay out of the heat I headed back into my room with the A/C. I'm not prepared to spend all day in bed and it was BORING! I need to find something to read. I thought about doing some needlework but it's kind of difficult to do while laying on my left side.

I am NOT ready for the baby. It's what I'd had planned to do this week. My room is a mess and laying there looking at it is driving me crazy!!! I also need to get some baby clothes washed and organized. Not to mention going shopping for diapers, nursing pads and sanitary napkins for me. I guess if worse comes to worse I can stop at the store for those on the way home from the hospital. Oh yeah! Guess I should try to get a hospital bag packed too.

Well time to head back into bed. I'll try to update tomorrow.

We're home

Just a quick note that we're home...I'm exhausted and sore! We had a great time at family fun week though! I felt great for most of the week even though it was over 95 degrees at times. It all started catching up with me though as my blood pressure started rising on Saturday night. I got home quickly today so I could take it easy and try to get it back down. It hasn't really come down yet. (got a 148/100 reading after a nap today) It'll be interesting to see what the nurse gets at the OB's office tomorrow. (2:30pm appt)

Today was Jake's 9th birthday. I'm hoping to write and post his birth story tomorrow night. I'm too tired to do it now.

I'm still around....just not a lot of time to update.

I enjoyed the "cooler" weather this last week and was doing a bit more around here in terms of cooking, cleaning and sewing (although I didn't finish sewing anything...grrrr) Working more around the house means getting online less. The kids took full advantage of that and hogged the computer so when I found a bit of time to get online, it was generally in use.

This weekend was busy as my two oldest nephews came up from California and Georgia for a visit. We had a cookout at my BILs that lasted all day and night. Sunday was spent grocery shopping and then one of my nephews spent the night.

Today I went to the OB and heard that I am now on a timetable. About 3wks until D day!!! (around the 24th unless I am absolutely NOT induceable) The baby at this biophysical measured about 6lbs which is about a week ahead but the dr is ok with it. She's decided she likes the head down position and has settled in nicely.

My blood pressure is still doing well and reading really low at the OB's office (how's 110/50!!!! LOL....only time I've seen 50 in the past was when I was on the verge of passing out). It's higher at home but staying the same. Insulin needs are still the same and might even need to go lower. The OB said he thinks I'm less insulin resistance now then in the beginning of the pg because of my weight loss (actually I weigh about what I did at my first OB appt). He also reiterated that I could reasonably expect to lose THIRTY pounds between delivery and my 6wk appt. I told him I could live with that. He then put a disclaimer on there...That's as long as I don't try to fill the hole having the baby creates with junk...gotta stick with the plan! In general I'm feeling better then I could've ever imagined. My sciatica lays me up a bit here and there but I can live with it.

For the next week I'm in the midst of preparing and going to our church's annual summer/family fun conference. (Wed night - Sun afternoon) I was going to sleep at home and commute (only 2miles away) but have decided to give camping a go. (pulling our popup over there) The kids miss out on less when we spend the night (although I'll miss Tom) and it's really fun for them. Not to mention I then have a place during the day to go sit, eat and take a nap if I need it. It's also easier to get everything done ahead of time, go there and stay there. Sometimes having a comfy bed and all the comforts of home makes getting everyone out the door by 9:30 a little difficult. At church they have their friends waiting for them as soon as they get up and they're a lot more cooperative to get going...as am I. LOL The kids know we're flying by the seat of our pants, so I could decide I can't or am not handling it well and go home at anytime. Hopefully it won't amount to that though.

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)

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.

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.

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'!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

They ROCKED!

[the shift] Website in the making


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.



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 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.

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.

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.

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

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.