Dishwasher Worship. And why can't you blogger peeps fix the photo upload thingy?

Well, we are feeling pretty much "better" around here. Except for Evan that is.

My bloodwork showed that my thyroid IS off again, but this time the exact opposite of what it was towards the end of my pregnancy with Ardyn. I have an upcoming appointment with an endocrinologist.

In the meantime, I continue to get tired really easily. Pretty much anytime I do any walking, I feel exhausted and need a nap. But I don't usually get to take a nap.

I have practiced Ardyn's birthday cake:
I have made decorations, including a banner/garland for her high chair tray and a cupcake crown for her to wear:And on a totally "off topic" tangent, to the folks at blogger, WHY can't you make it so that when I insert a photo into my blog, the photo goes where my CURSOR was, instead of always at the top of my post, forcing me to re-arrange and backspace annoyingly? Seriously? You haven't figured this out yet?

Now back to Birthday. All the food has been bought. All the ingredients and decorations for her cakes are sitting in the kitchen. Tomorrow I bake them, Saturday I decorate them, Sunday I inflate the balloons. All is well. I have a few things to wrap and I hope to get that done today. I also hope to get dishes done (I have to) so that I can have a clean kitchen and maximize my counter space for cake baking tomorrow.

These past few months have been the worst of my life because our dishwasher took a total shit. I hate life without a dishwasher. It's torture. I don't know why people choose to do that to themselves. Even if I get all the dishes done, and go to bed, when I wake up, there is a whole meal's worth of dishes. Evan makes a late night snack or a late supper and I wake up to more dishes while he marches off to work, immune to the dishes. It infuriates me.

We have had our dishwasher ordered, and it has been in at Sears for almost two weeks. Yesterday we were finally able to get it picked up, and next Tuesday it will be installed. We used to have a portable and this time around we got a plumbed in model, which meant that we had to have a surround built in (which was done several weeks ago) and the drain and water lines will be run next week and then my life can resume it's happy normalcy that a dishwasher brings.

Once the birthday party gets over, I have an exceptionally busy week ahead of me. The dishwasher gets installed, a new kitchen faucet (because our portable dishwasher has already ruined three faucets in eight years) and hopefully the ceiling fan in our bedroom can get fixed. It's stuck on high because the cleaning people pulled the chain and it broke off up inside the fan. Thank GOD the fan is under warranty and Hunter sent us parts, but this is the second part in three years that has had to be replaced on that $200 fan. That really pisses me off. First the light kit quit working and now the fan kit. So basically if you want a light on in our room, you have to have the fan on high. And if you want to sleep with the fan on, high is the only speed. Ugh. I hate it. I NEVER put that fan on high. Medium maybe. So it is eternally annoying to me.

Ardyn will be getting her 1 year pictures taken by a photographer (YAY!) and I also have an appointment for an oil change on the van and Ardyn has her 1 year appointment and shots with the pediatrician. Tons going on next week. Then I have a bridal shower. And then my appointment with the Endocrinologist in Peoria. SO MUCH. I hope I can stay focused and take naps so I don't get sick again. I had a friend call and want me to go shopping with her next week, and she literally didn't get that I Had something going EVERY SINGLE DAY and I didn't want to go. She was trying to find out what time I would be done with this or that so we could go later in the day. I was like "I can't go do two things in one day. I will be so exhausted after one that I won't be able to function. It will literally make me sick." I felt bad but I just can't do that now. Maybe once my thyroid gets straightened out and I get out of the first trimester. I hope that will mean I will feel better all around.

Well, Ardyn just poo'd her third poo of the day and it's only 12:30. I can't believe that. Must be the antibiotics she is on. Poor baby.

Have a great day, I am off to change a diaper.

Belated

So since I know you are all wondering where I have been, I can quite easily tell you that I have been.... on the couch. Ardyn and I have been sick.

I have been sick for a couple of weeks. I kept being told that it was just pregnancy fatigue and nausea but I knew better. It just kept getting worse and worse. Ardyn was running a fever of about 101.2 and we attributed it to teething since she has all 4 top teeth visible, and two poking through the gums... and then on Thursday she broke out in a full body rash. We took her to the pediatrician and discovered that she has a virus, which COULD be strep (babies get a rash with strep) and then not even 5 hours later I started to have a killer sore throat. I have been so exhausted that I kept telling Evan to jut take me to the hospital and have them admit me so that I could have some sleep. Wednesday night I ended up having hallucinations in my sleep and getting all freaked out. Between an upset stomach, barely being able to eat, being pregnant, and breastfeeding.... I was just so exhausted I could barely function. Friday I had a scheduled ultrasound and my midwife added bloodwork into the mix. We decided to check my thyroid, since it was not right at the end of my pregnancy with Ardyn. And I got a strep throat culture.

So we saw the heartbeat and the baby is great, and I got all my many vials of blood drawn. Then Evan bought me ice cream and I went home and went right back to bed, because my mom came over and was watching Ardyn, doing dishes, cleaning, and doing laundry. I have been able to get enough sleep the past few days and nights, so that has helped immensely in how I am feeling. I feel like I have plenty to do with cleaning people coming tomorrow and Ardyn's birthday party next Sunday. I have to practice her cake (I got cake pans like Michele's) and I have to get my hot dogs at the locker and chips, ice cream, etc. I still have to make a few decorations, and of course get all the balloons blown up. I plan on making the cakes this Friday (there will be two of them!) and taking all the food and decorations to the pool on Saturday. Then Sunday morning all I will have to do is get the balloons filled up and go finish decorating.... I can't wait!

I called a photographer to get her 1 year photos taken... and should be hearing back from her the beginning of this week. Evan cut me 2 cake boards to fit perfectly under my cupcake cakes. Now that I am feeling a little more like myself, I might be able to practice cake on Tuesday.

More later.... time to rest!

Online (for a minute)

So. Here I am. Momentarily!

Still no internet at home, but should be soon. As soon as they get out Check that is. LOL.

It really hasn't been half bad. I have been keeping a mental list of what I need to do online, and today is the first time I have gotten online in two weeks. I had 1131 emails. Ick. I responded to most of them that I needed to. Checked my mom message board and posted a quick update, and then paid a few bills online.

I most recently made the BEST decision I have made in a while, which was to pass the bill paying on to my husband. With no income of my own to speak of, it was really getting ridiculous to be the person in charge of paying everything and trying to make ends meet everywhere, when really it would be good to have him doing it. So for the first time in 8 years, I just washed my hands of it and passed it over to Evan. I am loving that. No problem. When I went to Peoria with my mom yesterday, we were picking up the crib from Evan's cousin (that we will use for Ardyn until she moves into the toddler bed.) and when we got to JC Penney they had everything "buy 1 get one for $1" since it was back to school time. I also had a $10 off coupon. I had intended to maybe get Ardyn some pajamas but didn't find any I liked. I called Evan and said "how much can I spend?" and he told me, and so I was able to get a pair of maternity jeans, a maternity shirt, and a whole outfit for Ardyn for photos in the future, for about $50. This is the FIRST Pair of maternity jeans that I have ever bought new, as all my previous pairs were on eBay. When I tried on all my maternity jeans and shirts, they are all too big because of all the weight (50+ pounds) that I lost after having Ardyn. Plus I am going to be pregnant in the winter and not the summer like last year, so that will be different. I love the jeans. Thank GOD. and so now I just need to pull the rest of my stuff out of the attic. I have several fall/winter shirts and such, and because last time I wore them very early in my pregnancy, I am hoping that with all the weight I lost, they will fit me LATER in my pregnancy this time so it will work out.

We had an ultrasound last week at 6w1d, and saw the yolk sac but no fetal pole yet (still early) so next Friday I go back to look for fetal pole and heartbeat. Cross your fingers. I had some spotting last weekend, but it was light and only lasted Saturday morning. None since thank goodness.

Ardyn brought a top tooth in last Saturday also. So I was spotting, it was our wedding anniversary so we cancelled our plans to have dinner out, and Ardyn was teething. It was quite the weekend. And we were away from home. I can see all 4 of Ardyn's top teeth, 3 are just below the gums, and then the one that popped through Saturday.

I have been taking "Morning Sickness Magic" supplements by Mommy's Bliss, and have had almost NO morning sickness since I started them. As long as I remember to take them. Heartburn, on the other hand, is brutal for me. I take Zantac at the approval of my midwife, at take 150mg a day, but later in my pregnancy that just does NOT cut it. I remember being SO sick and having SUCH terrible heartburn, that I couldn't sleep. Even with the max dose of Zantac, I would have to sleep upright and I couldn't even get near something with tomato sauce (pizza, pasta, etc) and garlic or onions were big NO NO's. And Lemonade. This time around Lemonade isn't bothering me. But tomato sauce and garlic and onions.... no way. I swear that I will not deal with this for my entire pregnancy. Just drinking WATER gave me heartburn with Ardyn. It was insane. I have heard of lots of other people taking prescription strength acid meds- and even though my midwife said no, I am about to go in and tell her I am taking them if I have to buy them on the damn black market. Although I think that taking the Zantac BEFORE a meal seems to be better because it is preventative. I have read that using an acid reducer doesn't work so well AFTER you already have introduced the acid into your stomach. So if YOU took an acid reducer during pregnancy, you need to comment and tell me WHAT you took and what dose so that I can arm myself with ammo in case I need upgrade. Because I have acid reflux, and that throwing up in your mouth thing, and it's all because of heartburn and excess acid.

So. What else is new? Not much. Pretty much the same thing. We practiced giant cupcakes for Ardyn's 1st Birthday party, and I hated them. So I decided to maybe to make one giant cupcake cake. But I have to practice. Still. I also need to get plates to match the napkins, and forks and spoons, and streamers. I just ordered the balloons. My mom is making potato salad and Evan's mom should be making beans. I need to get my hot dogs, etc etc in order. I can't believe it's two weeks away! Holy MOLY! I had to pay for express shipping to get the balloons in time!

Well, stay tuned. More sometime later when I get online again!