Wonderful Day

What a wonderful beautiful day! Yay for spring weather! I am writing this post from MIL's iPad. She dropped it off and asked me to do a couple of things to it, and i am getting the feel of it. I love it of course, except the auto correct (which I would have to turn off. I am surprised that I am liking the on screen keyboard as much as I am. I can say, however, that I seriously miss the keypad on the righthand side.... I suppose there should be a way to choose a custom keyboard, right??? And what about shift lock?

Is there the ability to have more than one user? Oh the things to figure out.

So this vertigo is bothersome, but not yet completely kicking my ass. I have been doing the exercises when it becomes overwhelming, and am able to manage okay. I have a prescription for Dramamine II. I haven't taken any yet because I am pretty sure it is gonna knock my ass out. Today the kids and i worked in the yard. Basically ignoring the total chaos and turmoil that is inside the house! I spent the morning raking the yard, and then the rake (new last year) snapped in half. The wood handle just snapped clean through. Strange! So i proceeded to sweeping off the patio and sidewalks, clearing the garden off, putting the hose on the sink/reel, and then organizing. I assembled the wheeled deck box that Evan and I bought for our anniversary last August, and put it out front as well. I cleared off last year's growth from the perennials inside the fence and then was feeling worn out so we went to town to get a new rake and pick up my new dramamine prescription. Then we came home and took the cover off the sandbox and I finished raking and picking up the yard.

Grandpa and grandma came to take Ardyn to dance class and Marek and I went to stuff as many outside toys as we could into the back of the van. We got both cozy coupes, the hippo seesaw, one tricycle, the shopping cart, the bubble mower, and the toddler swing. Marek was thrilled! We came. Home again and Marek played with the toys outside while I picked up leaves into trash bags. Evan came home and helped and I was so relieved because I had been doing all this alone today and bending over to pick up leaves repeatedly and then standing. Up again was making me really dizzy and nauseous. We ran to town for supper with Marek. It was nice. He had a lot to say tonight without Ardyn around!

Yesterday when we were at the park swinging, Ardyn got a big smile and looked up at the sky and said "God is so happy to see me today mom! He's smiling down at me with the sunshine!" awwww. Then today she was peeling green moss off the ground in the yard, and sitting in on the seat of the swing. Then she would push the moss on the swing, really high, and it would fall off and she would do it all over again. I asked her what she was doing, and she said I am pushing this moss really high on the swing, trying to send it flying up to God!" wow. I said "but God made that moss here on earth for us, why do you ink he would want it back?" she pondered and decided to keep it here.

Then tonight, On the way home from supper, Marek was singing in the van to himself. This is the first time I have heard him sing. He was singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" but he would sing "Twinkle twinkle little star of Jesus." lol. Tonight when i rocked him to sleep he. Said "sing Jesus mommy!" too cute that kid! Both of them actually.

Well, I am gonna catch some Z's and avoid vertigo tonight :) hope you enjoyed these past two days of great weather here in IL or elsewhere! The strawberries are already growing nicely here in the garden!

Back on Track

Things are starting to get back to normal around here. Finally feeling well enough to eat a couple of meals a day, although I have found that at lunchtime I am not especially hungry, so I try to eat a big late breakfast, or brunch type meal instead. Being sick (once again) gave me a knock to the milk supply, so I am trying to pump every hour or so in order to increase it, and drinking my mother's milk tea. I think we'll try our hand at some baby oatmeal tonight. The rice at 4 months didn't go over well, and the pediatrician always says no solids or cereal before 6 months anyway, so we waited and now I think it's just about time. I think we will start a vegetable this weekend to see how she likes that, but maybe oatmeal at night this week so that she can get prepped for her veggies. Problem with oatmeal is that it still has to be mixed with breastmilk, so that means I will be dipping into my supply in the freezer a bit as I try to increase my supply of "fresh" milk.

When Ardyn got weighed last week, she was 14 pounds 11 ounces. Still "small" by formula feeding "growth" standards, but according to the Dr., right on for a sweet little breastfed baby... and perfectly proportioned. But we already knew that!

Next week we get our taxes done. Pretty sure that our tax refund will go right to our hospital bill from Ardyn's birth. We might still have some $$ left over, but we will just have to see! If we pay that off, we will be completely, and totally and completely debt free. YAY! Not a single payment to make on ANYTHING. Not a single credit card. Not a single loan. YAY!

I am dying for spring. Really. We bought some pool/sandbox toys for Ardyn. I know she will be too small to probably fully appreciate them, but at 9-12 months, she should understand what's up. She loves playing in the bathtub.... and we still are talking about taking her swimming. I was able to speak with the Aquatics Coordinator at the Metro Center today, and got Ardyn signed up for swim lessons starting in April. Two months of lessons, once a week, is $40. I think we can handle that!

I have this perfect plan in my head. When it's nice, take a walk with Ardyn each day in the stroller, get the mail, tour the town, perhaps walk a dog or two. Go to the park, play in the grass. Stop and smell the flowers. That sort of thing. I am also SUPER excited because one of my bestest friends ever in the whole wide world (That means it has to be Angela or Carrie!) is coming home. Carrie will arrive in Chicago in March, and Angela will bring her in from the airport. I can't wait for the three of us to be together again. We haven't been together since before I was pregnant with Ardyn, in the fall of 2006. Angela and I flew out to Utah to stay with Carrie when her daughter Cara was 3 months old. Then a couple of weeks later, Carrie, her husband Jay, and Cara flew here for our 10 year class reunion. I haven't been able to see them since! I can't wait. And she will be around for the spring, which is extra special cool. I am hoping to go get Ardyn's ears pierced this spring, and make a day trip of it.... and take Carrie, Cara, and Angela for moral support. I can not WAIT for spring. I can't wait for green grass and bright sunshine. Oh and Carrie started a new business venture, which is pretty neat, so check it out if you have a free moment.

I am also excited about Easter. This past weekend we were trying to decide what to do as a family and Evan said "Is the easter bunny at the mall yet?" LOL. He cracks me up. Always looking ahead for fun times. Ardyn's Easter basket is all ready to be filled, but she won't really know what's going on. That didn't stop everyone at Christmas though.... I am trying to figure out if it would be cheating to put all those pool toys we just bought her in her easter basket. LOL. And maybe add a stuffed doll that we saw in Pottery Barn that we decided she MUST own. (as if she doesn't own ENOUGH stuff already.) My mom is getting Ardyn a toddler swing for the front yard for Easter, and I can't wait for that either! Now I just need the damn picket fence in the front yard. LOL.

Ardyn and I have been doing lots of playing with cups and stacking towers and wooden puzzles. We are working on her put and take coordination, and she is really getting great with her hands. It's fun to see what she will do next. She really likes the Pampered Chef Kids Measuring Cups, and all the buckets we have. She loves the stackable parents buckets, and the nesting animal buckets that jingle and crinkle when they are touched and moved. She isn't a fan of the bucket on her head. At first she was just bewildered, but at that time it was almost bedtime, so bewilderment soon turns into crankiness. She loves the excersaucer and the jumparoo so much... I am so lucky that we have both of them. She loves to be standing and jumping around, and my arms can only entertain her for so long before being exhausted. I am amazed at how long she can go in the Jumparoo.... it's great for tiring her out before bedtime! The excersaucer is like a toy playground, as Evan discovered that the more toys you pile on it, the happier she is.

I can't believe that Ardyn will be 6 months old in just 13 days! It's exciting and sad to see her growing so fast! Evan's answer is "more babies!" To which, of course, I agree!

But if you have more babies, that means you have to make room for them. I have been casually working on Ardyn's big girl room in my mind, and I have bedding and a rug, and window shades, and the twin bed.... and I think that her toy shelf would move in there with her, and probably one of the dressers from the nursery. But let's not get TOO ahead of ourselves. After all, a new baby could take years to achieve! (Let's hope not!)

So my tooth has been hurting the past two days. It's a back molar, and it only hurts when I bite down. I just went to the dentist like a month ago and had no cavities (never had one, knock on wood) so I am worried that it is that damn wisdom tooth that is UNDER the rest of my teeth, trying to come through. Right before I found out I was pregnant, I had been told that I needed to have three wisdom teeth pulled. One was already completely in, and the other was almost 3/4 of the way in, and the other was under the rest of my teeth still. My dentist referred me to an oral surgeon, and I had to go to Peoria. I was so freaked out that Evan drove me to the appointment. Deep down I thought that "consultation" meant "Knock you out with a baseball bat when you walk through the door so you can't resist." Evan even had to go back with me. They said "We'll just pull them all" and then they proceeded to show me the video that warns of the dangers of surgery, the potential of cutting nerves, yada yada- and then showed me the big bill - Ca-Ching$$. For a person who is afraid of surgery and in general hates the idea of being put under, this wasn't pleasant. In fact, it was distinctly UNPLEASANT. Now, for someone who has a baby to take care of, breastfeeding to do, the thought of potential of death from having your teeth pulled doesn't help me feel any better. SO I did what any responsible adult would do. I ignored it. And luckily finding out I was pregnant made it perfectly acceptable for me to cancel my appointment with tooth pulling doom, and now breastfeeding means I can delay it even longer.... right? And it doesn't hurt. At all. My other teeth have been crowded a bit while the one wisdom tooth comes through almost all the way, but besides that, It's been quite pleasant in the depths of my mouth. Pleasant enough, in fact, that I was sure that I wouldn't NEED them pulled as "they" insisted I did. I think they just wanted more teeth for their voo-doo necklaces. Right now I am working on the "ignore it" philosophy for a bit longer, to see if that pain on the left side will go away. Surely there must be some magikal herbal remedy that will make that painful tooth fall out on it's own? Certainly hermits and homeless people must have a dental alternative? Something besides drilling, cracking, and pulling?

SPRING has SPRUNG!

Slacker. Sorry.

I have been either busy or not feeling good for the past week. We installed a new software release at work that we spent MONTHS preparing for, and so it was an insanely busy week. I was crashed at home each night and didn't accomplish much besides staying sane. Towards the end of the week I started to have back problems and ended up needing an emergency back crack (whew!) and then being very dizzy and faint for an entire day/night and just lying down as much as possible.

Yesterday I just started to feel better and had the whole house picked up and myself cleaned up by 10:30am... which was amazing. We had a guy come from the Quad Cities to give us an estimate on new Windows, and that was successful and exciting. It was warm and humid and then it started to rain again and cooled off. We ate leftover Spaghetti Pizza for lunch and then I watched "O Brother Where Art Thou" and a few episodes of "Myth Busters" on Discovery Channel. It was a pretty relaxing afternoon.

Last Tuesday we had our March OB appointment and Evan got to hear the heartbeat. For the first time I was sure that I was feeling baby movement because the midwife felt the baby pushing back on the doppler when I felt the movement. Since then I can put my hand just right on my belly and feel pushing or kicking back, and Evan can feel it too, which is exciting. We scheduled our "big" ultrasound for April 9th, so we can hopefully find out girl or boy and get our first look at the baby in 8 weeks. Can't wait for that! I also got my Quad Marker bloodwork drawn and it was sent away for testing.

It is BEAUTIFUL and 70 degrees today, very sunny with a nice breeze. This afternoon we plan on walking the dogs, and I am going to take a bath and shave all nice so I can wear shorts! Yeah! The grass turned green yesterday and Evan said the tulips are coming up. I hope everything dries out this week so we can clear out flower beds, and Evan promised me that he would put the pond back in the ground this year, I missed it last year! We have big plans for easter weekend and this weekend I have a scrapbook day to attend and Ava's First Birthday party. I am so glad it's getting nice out! I know I will love being pregnant in the spring. We need to take belly pictures at the end of this month, because the belly is popping out now!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend and is enjoying their weather... if it's as nice or nicer than ours!

I'm Thawing!

It's almost like my brain unthawed. This morning. Suddenly this morning I was up at 8 and I FORCED Myself to sleep until 9 because I really wasn't in the mood for working. Then Once I took a shower and all of that, my entire body got all ready to go and I was HUNGRY and of course last night Dear Evan had to empty EVERYTHING from the Fridge and Both Freezers and trash it. So all we had was dry cereal, bottled water, and ketchup and mustard.... and chips.

So I wanted MEAT and CHEESE. Instead of going to work at 10, I opted to go at 10:30 to swing over to Burger King and have myself a fabulous breakfast. Little do I know that BK has a couple of new menu items for breakfast that are about to change my life and make me the happiest pregnant woman in the county. I ordered the new Hamlette Sandwich and the new Cheesy Tots. YUM! Cheesy Tots are almost identical to the Casey's Cheesy Potato Bites that I love so so dearly. They are more crunchy and not as large, but you can get 6, 9, or 12 of them. I got 6 and was perfectly pleased. The Hamlette is smallish and perfect. It's a sesame seed bun with sliced hot ham, melted cheese, a skinny little egg patty, and the best part of all HONEY BUTTER! YUM! It was freakin awesome. I was so happy, my brain just started THINKING again, like it used to in the morning when I would be on my way to work and think about 15 things to blog about. I was so excited! It's nicer today, about 37 now and looking for highs in the upper 40's and I can't wait. The ice is thawing and so is my brain.

I wore a maternity dress that is sleeveless and goes to my knees, topped with a denim jacket. Ahhh. I am comfy! I can already tell that I will be so happy to be pregnant in the spring. The summer might be a different matter altogether, but I am SOOO Looking forward to the spring. I can't wait for Evan and I to be able to take walks together and take the dogs and enjoy the weather. I can't wait for that springy feeling and easter and bunnies and green grass and daffodils and hyacinths and tulips sprouting up. By the way, why does Easter keep getting earlier? Do we want to celebrate easter with snow on the ground? What the Hell? God meant for us to wear easter dresses and pretty hats and carry cute baskets and purses and search for the eggs in the deep green grass and think every bunny rabbit might be THE bunny rabbit. I remember when I was in high school, I made an outfit that I wore on easter in Home-ec class. It was blue with white flowers on it, and it was like a short sleeved top attached to a cute skort and I got so many compliments! That's the last time I think I have had an easter dress or outfit of any kind. I can't wait to have kids so that we can put them in little easter outfits and color eggs and find easter baskets again.