Hospital Story, continued...

Okay, so, we talked about my labor and how it went. The aftermath was also a bit crazy, so I will share.
I delivered Halia at 6:14am. And I was starving! Remember? Breakfast trays usually start being delivered around the same time, what a coincidence. So, I was ready to eat whatever the cafeteria had whipped up that day! I waited for a little while. Everyone had cleaned up the room, sanitized everything but me, and they all took off. There were about 5 nurses in the room when I delivered her, but they were all long gone. Baby was in the nursery, Hubby had gone back to sleep. Finally, I pressed the call button and asked what I had to do to get some food. A timid little nurse brought the crazy lady in room 215 a menu and quickly backed out of the room! :-)

Once we finally made it to the "recovery" room we started the paperwork process. Did you know that there are about 5 different ways to say "I don't know who my baby daddy is," on a birth certificate?? It's called Acknowledgment of Paternity and it's all up to the mother. You can fill in a father's name, you can omit a father's name, or you can say you know but don't want to declare the father's name. There was also a spot for "Married but not declaring father's name." I'm sorry, what? You can be married and if you don't think he's the father, you don't have to put his name. If you were married to someone else within the past 365 days you can also declare that it might not be this husband's baby. I was getting confused and I DID KNOW who my baby's daddy was!!!

The part that got to me, though, was when you start filling in info about how many pregnancies you have had. The terminology "Live Births, Now Dead," is just the cruelest thing I have ever heard. Who thought of that??? My son is not just a "Live Birth, Now Dead." Anyway, I had to answer that I had "3 Live Births, Still Living" and "1 Live Birth, Now Dead." Very disturbing emotionally.

Another stressful moment came when the hospital pediatrician suddenly requested an echocardiogram on Halia in the nursery. Because of Elijah's congenital heart defect, we need to have our subsequent children checked for heart defects also. It wouldn't have been such a big deal, but we had already gone to Houston and done a very intensive echo a few months ago. They found absolutely nothing wrong at that hospital, so we were alarmed that this doctor ordered another one. It turned out everything was fine, but the nurses and doctors were not on the same page as far as communicating to us. (The nurses were acting like there was a big problem, and the hospital pediatrician said it was all okay. Stressful!!) But in the mean time, I had all these post-partum hormones going nuts and was thinking, "Surely this isn't happening again. God please don't let us have another child with a heart defect...."

God spoke to my heart with a reminder about Susanna Wesley. Ever heard of John or Charles Wesley? The founders of the original Methodist church? They were just two of her 19 children. Nine of whom died as infants. NINE infants that died. I would have given up and never had another child. Yet, she persevered and continued to raise her remaining children to love the Lord.

So! That's about all. We did shock the hospital staff by leaving the next day and bringing our sweet baby girl home! Now I am adjusting to having three little ones to hustle and bustle around. Talk to you later!

Labor Story

Well, she is two weeks and two days old, and I am just now getting around to this! Sorry guys. I left you with the "they want to use this wonder pill" story and then never followed up. I must have forgotten about it, what with the elections, my rotting kitchen floors, flat tire, irritating picture experience and oh yeah, the newborn!

Just so you know, I don't feel like I had a "horrible" hospital experience, it just wasn't my ideal. For a lot of people, this could have been a normal, expected delivery process. Those women probably have a lot more patience than I do!

So, here's the first part of what happened...
We got the boys all packed and ready, and headed to the in-laws to let them spend the night. After they were settled in there, Hubby and I headed off to go eat at Cracker Barrel. I wanted a big meal before the hard work of labor! (It's a good thing I did, you'll see why in a minute.)

We tried to take our time there, but we still ended up getting to the hospital at 6:30pm. I was told to be there around 7pm, and they would start my induction as soon as possible. Dr. M even told me at my last appointment, "We should have the baby around midnight." Since that timing was about right with my other deliveries, so I was fully expecting to have her here by midnight....

However, the nurses didn't seem to know what I was doing there, or which way we were going to go about this whole induction thing. Then, they came and told us that someone else was having a difficult delivery and everyone was helping her right now. Um, ok, but it's just supposed to be a little pill right? How long could that possibly take?? So, Hubby and I sat in the room, and watched television for another hour.... Getting frustrated. Could have been at the mall, looking at books....

At around 9pm, the labor nurse, we'll call her "D", finally came back in to check the annoying monitors they automatically stick you on. She said they had talked to Dr. M on the phone and now all of the sudden, he didn't want to use the "wonder pill." (Which by the way, is called cytogen, or cervadil. Not sure which one they had in mind.) We were back to the old arch-enemy Pitocin!!! Another um, okay...moment.

I also asked her for a drink of ginger ale or something and her answer was, "Oh, no, sorry all you can have now is ice." Nowadays, with a c-section and with most regular deliveries, the doctors won't let anyone eat beforehand. I've always understood that it's because they want your stomach to be empty in case of a reaction to the anesthesia or if you need a crash c-section. If you guys have heard something else, please tell me. However, in my Bradley method books, they are all for the mother having snacks during and eating before labor. Especially keeping fluids up, so the mother doesn't get dehydrated. In a hospital, they always prefer to stick a needle in you and hook you up to a bag of fluids!

Now, this whole time, I was still having the same old contractions I had been having for weeks! I tried to tell the girl, "Look, if y'all can just get this thing going, it's not going to take long at all!" So, she says something about Dr. M might not want to start the Pitocin until the next morning. Ha. Haha. Ha. I looked at Hubby and said, "If they try to make me wait until tomorrow morning, I am getting dressed again and we are going home. I will have this baby at home whenever she comes." He yawned and said "Ok babe."

10:15pm. D finally comes back in, and starts the Pitocin drip. Yup, 10 at night. So, I was having a scheduled induction that was about to take all night long. And now I couldn't eat or drink again until we were done. Not happy.

11pm. Still confined to bed, had silly monitors on and trying to stay still so that silly monitors will quit alarming everytime I move!

12am. Hubby gives in and falls asleep....about 4 feet away where I can't reach to wake him up. (Couldn't I call his name? No, you've never seen this man sleep. It's close to hibernation. Seriously.)

1am. Finally having some "working" contractions. Tried throwing gum wrappers at Hubby to wake him. Nothing. Finally got up, let the alarms DING and moved closer to wake him up. "Hey, I need you to hold my hand, buddy!" Hubby offers hand, stays asleep.

2am. D says she's talked to Dr. M and they can up the dosage of Pitocin a little more. I am thinking, "Alright! Let's get this party going!" Little did I know that they had given me a very, very low dose of Pitocin to begin with. It was barely more than what my body had already been doing for the past few weeks!

3am. I am getting very tired and cranky. My blood sugar is also getting very low b/c I haven't eaten or had anything to drink in hours. (I've had tests done to check for hypoglycemia, diabetes and all that, they were all negative. But, for some reason, when my blood sugar gets low, I get very weak and very dizzy. So, now that was factoring into the whole labor process as well.)

4am. They call Dr. M again and tell him I am getting closer. I am at 8cm. I am wondering what all this calling business is about??? Don't on-call doctors usually stay in an on-call room at the hospital??? Starting to think he scheduled me at night so that he could sleep. Hmmm...

4:30am. They call again, he is "in the area." What in the world does that mean? He stopped for doughnuts on the way? If so, he better be bringing me some because I am starving by now!!! The nurses are now impressed at the fact that Hubby and I are a great team. (And that I finally got him to wake up. Hehe.) Hubby is coaching me just like he has done before. This time, because I am feeling so weak, I need a big reminder on how to slow down and breath. None of the frantic panting and such that you see in the movies!

5:30am. I am very mad that Dr. M has yet to even make an appearance at this labor, wondering if he will show up just in time to deliver and get his $5000.... Probably. I am also frustrated that I have been in a bed all night long and I can just tell my uterus needed gravity to help bring Halia down further. Sure enough, the nurse tells me I will have to push a little bit longer when we get started because everything has not lined up quite as much as it should yet. I could lay in the bed a little longer, or we could go ahead and start in a few minutes...
Ha, I think we'll just go ahead and push, thank you.

6am. Guess who shows up? AND ASKS WHO DID THE EPIDURAL FOR ME. Right while I am in the MIDDLE OF THE BIGGEST CONTRACTION IN THE WORLD. All of the nurses looked at him like, "Are you serious??? She is doing this all on her own!" Someone said, "Nobody did an epidural! She didn't need anything!" I think they were a bit indignant for me at this point. He "helps" during a few pushes, and voila!

6:14am. Miss Halia shows up and lets out a big ol' wail! Mommy is ecstatic and asks Hubby to go find her some stinking food....

So! It doesn't seem that tragic does it? But here's why I will do everything in my power to not have a hospital birth again... The way they wouldn't listen to the laboring mother and how she knows her own body. Women in labor are not as helpless and needy as the medical system would like to have you believe. We can actually tell you when something doesn't feel right! I would have benefitted from being up walking around during labor, it would have made the pushing part a lot smoother. I also was irritated that they gave me such a low dose of Pitocin, when the entire objective was to begin the labor finally! (The dose was around 12, in my past labors it was around 25 or 30!) It could have been a faster labor, instead of all night long.

But, I learned that maybe my pregnancies just need the 41 weeks instead of 40! It's not like the baby is going to stay put forever and grow up in my womb....right?

I will continue with more in another post, this one has grown way too long!

My Mom is coming!

Grandmommy just called to let us know she is on her way from the airport in Houston. About 20 minutes later, the contractor showed up to rip out my kitchen floor. (Insert maniacal laughter here.) The circular saws are a'buzzing and the newborn is like, what in the world??? I might show up at one of your houses in a few minutes!!

While we're all waiting....

Howdy! Well, while I am waiting for my uterus to contract back down to a normal size, and you are all waiting for me to get it together and post some baby pictures... here's a great link to go check out!

It might take a few days for me to get my thoughts together on my "Labor Story" as well. My blood pressure needs to come back down to a normal level in order to write about it, ha.

In the meantime, go watch "The Business of Being Born" trailer. Then look around their website to kill some time! See you soon!

Nothing is working!

Okay, well, we tried. Once again, my labor has not kicked off in a timely manner. I am 40 weeks and 6 days today. (I don't know why that little ticker thing is off a day.) Dr. M knew how I felt, so he wanted to wait until this week before trying to induce or anything, for which I am grateful. So, we're going to go in tonight and use some wonder pill which should help contractions start regularly & keep going. I have had plenty of contractions, long ones, big ones, short ones, some as big as your head! But, nothing is actually lasting or producing a BABY!

I am praying that all the activity will at least help make my labor shorter once it gets going. With Little Man, they gave me a Pitocin drip and it hurried labor along to a short 5 hours. Of course, with any kind of man-made drug it makes the contractions stronger and harder than they would usually be. So, it's even harder to stay the course and not use pain meds. But, we did it! I know we can do it with Baby Girl as well! So, say a prayer for Hubby & I tonight between 7pm-12am.
More soon!!

Natural Childbirth and why am I doing it?!?!

Aside from doing absolutely NOTHING productive today, I have also surfed the web a bit more than usual... The endless rain is making it oh-so-easy to be lazy today. Here's a cool article I found this afternoon.

(Reprinted with permission from EZine @rticles.)

"10 Reasons To Try For A Natural Childbirth"

By Jennifer Vanderlaan

Women have many reasons for preparing to have a natural childbirth. Some reasons are physical, some are emotional and some can only be classified as spiritual. If you have been weighing your options for childbirth, you know it can be difficult to balance out the reasons to try different ways. The following list of the most common reasons women choose natural childbirth and what it meant for them may help you clarify your thoughts and move you one step closer to making your decisions.

1. Natural Childbirth greatly reduces the risks for mother and baby
   
   “I knew there were potential side effects and risks, even if they were small. I wasn’t comfortable adding risks that didn’t need to be there.” Using medications during labor adds risks that are not otherwise present in birth. Some mothers simply choose not to add those risks and avoid medications to alter labor unless there is an emergency.
2. Your body has less to recover from with Natural Childbirth
   
   “I had a cesarean with my first child. I couldn’t go through the recovery time again, not with two children. I needed to have a natural childbirth.” A cesarean is major abdominal surgery and can make it difficult to care for your baby in the first few weeks postpartum. After a vaginal birth with medications your body needs to recover from the birth and clean the medication out of your system. Depending on the timing of your medications, your baby may also need to clear some of the medications out of his system. A natural childbirth gives you both the best chances for a speedy recovery.
3. Less risk of other interventions
   
   “When I asked for an epidural, I didn’t realize I was going to be stuck in bed with an IV, hooked up to the monitor. Then, because I couldn’t walk I was catheterized. By the time my baby was born I had on an oxygen mask, the blood pressure cuff was always on my arm and they switched me to an internal monitor. There were so many tubes coming out of me my husband was afraid to touch me. I will not do that again.” Using medications for pain relief requires some interventions, such as the external fetal monitor and an IV. In addition, using medications increases your chances of other interventions such as catheterization, use of pitocin, forceps and vacuum extraction.
4. Medications are there if you need them
   
   “I figured it couldn’t hurt to try, so I learned everything I could and practiced the comfort techniques. I knew the pain medications were there if I needed them, but it turned out I didn’t.” Preparing for a natural childbirth does not mean you must give birth without medications, but without learning natural childbirth techniques your only pain management options will be limited to what the hospital staff can do, which is probably just medications.
5. Natural Childbirth helps you learn to work with your body
   
   “My sister was so in tune with her body during labor, she seemed to know exactly how the baby needed her to move. She still seems to understand what her body needs better than anyone else I know. I want to learn to listen to my body like that.” The process of working through childbirth without medication requires listening and responding to the signals your body is giving you. To prepare, women begin learning to read those signals during pregnancy and many begin to do it instinctively so they continue after their baby is born.
6. Natural Childbirth can help you find strength you never knew you had
   
   “It was so powerful, the whole thing. I remember thinking I can’t do this and hearing my doula say, ‘you are doing this.’ I realized I have never given myself enough credit. I can do more than people ever told me I could.” Rather than a physical strength, natural childbirth requires an emotional and mental strength to not give up. For many women, childbirth is the first time they have experienced such a challenge.
7. Natural Childbirth lets you experience labor as nature intended
   
   “I figured God didn’t make a flawed system, and if this is how he created labor it could be done.” “If labor were really that bad there would never be any children. Childbirth isn’t that bad, it’s when we mess with it that it becomes bad. Nature created a system that works.” The female body is uniquely designed to give birth. The uterus contracts and pushes the baby against the cervix which softens and pulls back around the baby’s head. When the baby drops into the birth canal, the vagina stretches and unfolds to let the baby pass through.
8. Natural Childbirth can be an enjoyable experience
   
   “Saying it was pain-free doesn’t even do it justice. I worked and moved with every contraction. It felt good, all my sexual parts doing what they are supposed to do.” Some women experience pleasurable childbirth, not just pain free.
9. Natural Childbirth increases your confidence
   
   “Everything I did to prepare for natural childbirth pushed me a little further. I had to talk with my doctor in a way I never would have dreamed before. I had to learn to tell people no and to stand up for myself. Looking back, I’m almost embarrassed at how weak I was as a person before this. How hard is it really to say, ‘no, I don’t want to be induced?’” Preparing for a natural childbirth involves strengthening who you are as a person. It doesn’t mean you become rude or pushy, but it does mean you don’t allow yourself to be told what to do by people with no authority over you.
10. It will be a year before you get the chance to try this again.
    
    “I started to question if I really wanted to try about a week before labor started. I was talking to my sister on the phone and she said, so don’t do it. I just said, ‘but then I have to wait through 9 months of pregnancy to try again.’ It was like something switched inside me, I wasn’t going to wait anymore. I was going to try this now.”

Jennifer Vanderlaan is a childbirth educator and doula who welcomes you to learn more about natural childbirth including tools, techniques and tips for a more comfortable labor at http://www.birthingnaturally.net

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Vanderlaan
http://EzineArticles.com/?10-Reasons-To-Try-For-A-Natural-Childbirth&id=471305

8 more days...?

Why do I get the strongest urge to suddenly clean baseboards with each nearing delivery? (Trust me, this is not a normal cleaning urge for me.) Besides, it's not like the newborn is even going to come in contact with a baseboard for several months, right??

Today's thunderstorm is putting a little damper on my "nesting" efforts, as it keeps the kids everyone inside. You know, where the cleaning needs to take place? Oh well. I will have to settle for washing clothes and mopping the floors....

Hubby went back to work last night, so I had some time to kill. I watched this video last night. WOW. Amazing. Highly recommend! It is a definite eye-opener!

I also saw the newest Duggar show, "17 Kids and Counting." It was all about the oldest Duggar kid, Joshua, getting engaged. I just looked at the website and their wedding date was 9-26, so he's already married! Congratulations! (There is another episode coming on Wednesday night on Discovery - for those of you that care.)

Back to the nesting!

Our house is under attack!

No, I'm not talking about a spiritual attack. Or an attack from the killer bees of South America, or even from the barrage of *bugs* that the landlord doesn't think require an exterminator (but I will be giving him the bill for the expensive bug spray I have been buying!) .

Nope. We have been hit once again by "Hormonal Pregnant Crazy Woman!!" She struck this morning a little after 7am. Yanking sheets off of beds, tossing stuffed animals carelessly into the wind. Spraying Lysol on everything that didn't move, and ferociously sweeping the entire house. She had laundry hanging outside on the clothesline by 8am, and all resident little people were instructed to go outside and use their construction toys to scoop dirt off the porch.

(Dirt, which by the way, was sitting perfectly neatly inside my planting pots last night! I don't know what the average life span of the Great Pyrenees is, but it might be significantly shortened if I find one more item in the dog's mouth that isn't food or water! All three of my plants made it through the hurricane, but the dog has managed to shred them apart within days of being let off the dog run! I was actually proud of her for doing so well, not trying to leave the yard, like the time she did THIS. Then she goes and unearths the bulbs I was marinating for next spring! Hmm..... )

Anyway, back to "H.P.C.W." She has many plans for this little house this week. Some of which include, but are not limited to, the use of candy for bribery if needed. Hey, I can't scrub the floor on MY hands and knees, I can't even get down there anymore! I need the Resident Little People to help out, right?

38 Week Dr. appt.

And the verdict is.....no baby any time soon! Baby girl is still "up high" and I haven't dilated a bit! See, all that worrying that I would go into labor on the drive home was for nothing! (Okay, so I was a little worried also.) Dr. M was very cool about it, I was hoping he wouldn't start pushing for an induction. He just said, "Well, we'll see ya next week and take it from there."
So, I will keep you posted!

I am so mad about this!!

So, we learned an interesting and disgusting tidbit tonight! Apparently Christian singer Ray Boltz has revealed to the world that he is now a practicing homosexual!! I am so disgusted by this, because I loved his music! Not only that, but upon reading his "story" about how he told his WIFE and FOUR CHILDREN that he was now going to live as a homosexual, I learned that he told them the day of the tsunami (2004).

This really bothers me on a personal level, because that was the day I was laying in our room, in labor with our son Elijah. The baby who would die 18 days later, and have a Ray Boltz song, "The Anchor Holds," sung at his funeral. It makes me so mad! I feel almost dirty. Ugh. I can't talk about it anymore. Just wanted you to know....

I IS HOME!!!!!

Whoohoo!!! We made it into our driveway at 1:15pm, excellent timing if I might say so! We've unpacked the car, rested for a little while, and now we're going out for pizza and to get a massive car wash. You have no idea the amount of bugs covering my poor car! Ick.
We had a pretty memorable trip through Bridge City, looking at all the devastation. I will tell more about all that later. We were also surprised to find that Daddy's arm isn't actually in a sling! He just has these small bandages on his incision. Pretty cool. But, the kids & I do have to remember to stay clear of his right arm!
More tomorrow, after I have a long night's sleep in my OWN BED!

Plan B...and Plan C...maybe a Plan D....

So, do you see that little ticker up there that says "25 days to go" until the baby comes? Do you think I am freaking out just a little bit? If you said yes, you're right!
We're still in NC, hoping to leave by next Wednesday or Thursday. I am not looking forward to the long drive with the kids again, but it must be done! (Hubby didn't buy my idea of selling the car for plane tickets idea...drat.)
In the meantime, I am trying not to have this baby early. So far, she's staying put pretty well. I have had my usual Braxton-Hicks contractions off and on, but nothing to really worry about. One time, they seemed to be coming because I was dehydrated, oops. I really want to get back to Texas and be with my Hubby before this little girl arrives!
But, if something were to happen between now and the time I pull into our driveway, I have a few ideas on what I might do.... I have a midwife connection via a friend, and then of course, Mom is pretty gung-ho for me to go to her hospital if I actually go into labor. If I should go into labor on the way home...hmm.
Well, that's a bit trickier. But I could just deliver the baby myself (with the kids freaking out in the backseat). Then we could call 911 to come help tidy up a bit. Or, I could cruise into the nearest hospital and waddle into the emergency room with both kids - between contractions, that is. Then, I would probably ask for some volunteers (is candy-striper politically correct?) to take the kids to whatever Children's Hospital play area they had while I finished having their sister.
Ha, now don't all of those options sound grand?? The good news is, my children haven't typically come early. The only one was our second, and we prayed for him to come before the doctors could intervene. Even then, he came at 39 weeks 1 day. Not too bad. Pray for me to get home before using any of those ideas! Thanks!

Did you guys hear about the woman who gave birth to her 4th child in an Evacuation Shelter bathroom?????

Yeah, well, it wasn't me... But some woman did! I heard about it on the radio. You go girl!

In other news, the kids and I successfully made it to NC last night! We stopped just over the mountains, at my aunt's home in the foothills of NC. I am so thankful she lives here, we could never have made the drive all the way into Charlotte, or further to my Mom's house. We were some tired and cranky travelers yesterday! There is definitely a limit on how long a 5 yr. old and a 2 yr. old can be in a car together, with limited amounts of entertainment. I think we broke that limit, oh, the first day!? Overall, I drove 732 miles yesterday to get here. We drove from Little Rock, passed by Memphis and Nashville, got turned a round a wee bit outside of Knoxville, and finally made it over the mountains into NC. (FYI: Lenoir City, TN on TN Hwy 321 is NOT the same as Lenoir, NC off of NC Hwy 321. Just in case you ever go this way!)

We saw some interesting things long the way. Especially one town that will forever be imprinted in my memory. BUCKSNORT, TN. Does anybody know someone from Bucksnort???? Please, please tell me if you do!!! I am so curious to find out- if you live in Bucksnort, are you a "Bucksnorter," or perhaps a "Bucksnort-ite?" Maybe even a "Bucksnortian"?? Obviously we can tell the favorite pasttime of Bucksnort residents, it simply has to be deer hunting!!

Speaking of deer, we also crossed over "Forked Deer River." Hmmm, I have always just heard a forked deer called: venison. Maybe "Venison River" didn't sound as appealing....

While the boys and I were braving the interstate highway system, Hubby was making his way back down to our little hometown. He made it astonishingly at the same time I did. Since I had a much greater distance to go, this is a little funny. Apparently the insane screaming and bickering noises from the back seat of the car making me want to hurry up and get there wind was helping me along! But, we are very excited to find out that our home is not only intact, but has had no visible damage!! Who knows if the plumbing, etc. will work but it wasn't working too well beforehand. Power is still out and won't be on for at least the week.

Once we get the "all clear" we will make our way back down to Tejas. Until then, my pregnant self is staying put with family members who have refrigeration and air conditioning. Not to mention, when I walk outside right now, there are NO MOSQUITOES!!! (Cue: Angels singing.) The scenery was so beautiful driving back through the Appalachians yesterday. But, after being in FlatLand for almost two years now, I was starting to get a little dizzy from all the curves. I am not sure we'll drive home the same way. Actually, I would prefer not driving home at all. I (half-jokingly) asked Hubby if he would mind if I took the car to CARMAX and sold it. Then I could just buy plane tickets home...

Ok, well I have someone volunteering to play with the children and let me sleep, so I must be insane for typing on this computer right now! Talk to you guys later!

This is becoming redundant...

Well, I guess I need to remind myself of what I thought I learned from last week's hurricane experience. Especially #6, where I said I learned that my anxiety levels directly affect the anxiety levels of my family. Or, in #7, where I said I learned that I could trust God to take care of us in these situations.....

I am starting to feel like these "natural disasters" cannot even compare to what people must feel like living in war-torn countries. I can't imagine the stress of constantly being on alert, never knowing if your home or family will be in danger that day. So, in some sense, our once-a-year Seasonal Distress is just a drop in the bucket compared to what thousands of other people go through each day. Also, as my friend Sarah mentioned (on her myspace), at least we have the option to leave and get out of here. We aren't stuck on a tiny island with an oppressive government that doesn't allow evacuations, i.e. Cuba.

In light of all that, why do I still feel so miserable about the thought of going through this all over again this week!? Maybe it's just the late-in-pregnancy-exhaustion taking over. I can't get enough sleep, and it just isn't coming at night anymore! Accomplishing a single load of clothes or dishes is becoming a massive undertaking. Not to mention that Mommy is too uncomfortable to get on the floor and play or chase around my very active boys. And for some reason, if I am out of ideas for fun things to play, they run out too?? It has all made for some very BLAH days around here.

Sorry! I wish this was a more insightful post! Perhaps I will have a stroke of genius hit me over the next few days... (Oh, and tomorrow, we drive to Houston to go see a specialist for Hubby's elbow. Hopefully, we leave with a surgery date and a gameplan!) I think I need to read this book, soon!

Ah, these insane pregnancy dreams....

At about 3:00 this morning, I woke up chuckling. What could possibly be funny at that time of morning, you ask?! (Or maybe you've had some nights where everything was funny by 3 AM....)

I had a pretty funny dream, thanks to the incredibly large amounts of hormones my body is making, probably. You know those commercials with Betty White as the spokeswoman for "1-800-Pet-Meds"? Remember her, from that vulgar, post-menopausal show "Golden Girls"? Anyway, if you know the commercials I am talking about, you know just how annoying they are!

In my dream, I was running a jail and my punishment was to have the State Funded Cell TVs constantly playing those commercials. Over and over and over...... Betty White and her little fluffy animals, telling the inmates about how much cheaper it is to buy from PetMeds.....

HA. I have no idea where that came from! Have you guys had any wacky pregnancy dreams??? Feel free to share!

Can you say...

WHOHOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I did this from my OWN COMPUTER at HOME!!!!!!!

Please excuse me while I run around the house speaking in tongues for a moment!!

Dear Lord, this crazy life is going to kill me yet!

I couldn't narrow down the right title for this post, so I went with that one. Others were floating around in my head, such as, "Welcome to Comedy Central" or "Crazy Pregnant Woman Strikes Again," even "The 3 Ring Circus I Maintain."

There were others, but I took a nap and forgot them... ;-)

It seems like I have written several posts that begin with "If you had been a fly on my wall today," or "If you had driven by my house today..." Something crazy is always going on around here! Seriously, if you are lacking for good entertainment, you might think about starting up a Neighborhood Watch just on my house!

This morning I was all pumped full of energy, as I loaded the washer down and yanked the Kirby vacuum out of it's seldom-seen closet. I had the house buzzing and humming while Daddy and the boys went out to mow the grass. They had been outside for about an hour, when Little Man came banging on the backdoor asking to "EAT, Momm-eee! Pweeaaseee eat???" It was 11:00, so a small snack wouldn't hurt. I sent him off to the bathroom to wash up and at that moment, Xman comes running up to the back porch hollering for me! I stepped outside to see what he needed, and heard this, "MOM! Banner got under the fence and took off that way!"

This isn't her first attempt to go "over the wall," or under the fence as the case may be. She has escaped several times already. Sunday, we came home to find her in the next-door neighbor's yard. She has even shimmied under the fence to join us up front while washing the car. So, knowing this was about to get fun, I sighed and stepped out into the muddy yard to ensue the chase.

Last night, the dog was going nuts barking outside. When I got up and looked (at 3 am!), I saw a stray dog running around in the neighbor's yard. She never would shut up quit barking last night after the other-dog-sighting, so she ended up sleeping in our garage. Apparently, as soon as she could this morning, she took off to go investigate last night's visit!

I caught up to her about 4 houses down, where she was sniffing like crazy and circling a "telegram" the stray dog had left. "Ok, kudos for finding it, now can we please go?!" To make it even more convenient, she didn't have her collar on because we just bought a new one and it was laying inside on the counter! I had nothing to grab but fur, so fur I grabbed. I yanked her hiney coaxed her along for a few feet, before she firmly PLANTED and refused to go anymore.

Now, this dog is only 4 1/2 months old, but she weighs almost 50lbs and is going to be simply gigantic!! I am 32 weeks pregnant, and more than slightly out of breath at this point! But, with the combined efforts of adrenaline and a wee bit o' Marine left in me, I lifted that puppy off her feet and we saunted back through the neighbors' yards. I was hauling a huge white dog, my face turning as red as my hair, and this guy in a car slows down to look at me! Unless you want some of this, buddy, just keep on rolling! Cause this Mama was mad!

When I reached our yard, Hubby was just rounding the corner on the lawn mower. He stopped and just looked at me, his eyes as big as saucers. I am sure he was thinking, "Um, what did I miss?" Since the toddler was still inside - on his own - I hurried up and contained the dog in the storage building until I could come back and properly put her on the dog run. Hubby just sat there watching me in amazement, and probably with a touch of humor. He didn't even question the use of his storage building as a dog kennel. I think he was shaking his head as I stomped back inside!

When I finally returned, the toddler had found his new found freedom quite amusing. He was attempting to resurrect a Capri Sun that Mommy had thrown away earlier. Apparently he didn't agree with me on the amount of contents left, so he was trying in vain to suck the remaining drops out. It didn't bother him in the least that I had been traipsing through several muddy yards, chasing their puppy down! "Snack, Mommy?" he asked.

That is why, sometimes, dear Lord, I think this crazy life is going to be the death of me yet!

(Oh, and don't worry, y'all, I put myself on "bed rest" for an hour this afternoon.)

Auto Mechanics R Us

Yesterday, if you had driven by my house, you might have seen a very pregnant woman perched under the hood of a Jeep Wrangler, helping her husband do something called "correcting the firing timing." Whatever that means. By perched, I mean on my knees, on the engine block. Are you laughing hysterically yet? I'm sure it looked hysterical. But, hey, Daddy needed the extra hands, and mine were the only ones remotely capable of helping...

You might have also seen two very filthy little boys - on their second set of clothing, nonetheless- chasing a half-washed dog around the yard. When Little Man jumped into the water we had used to wash the dog, I knew all hope was lost for retaining any cleanliness.

My goal this week is to get the house ready for Little Man's upcoming birthday party!! It might turn into a Saturday morning free-for-all, but I will go ahead and promise my guests a somewhat clean house. Now that it's in print, I think I am committed.

Oh, and lest any of you think about hiring me to come take a look at the sound your car is making, please know that I still have no idea what I did.

Nothing going on here....

Hey people. Nothing much is going on here. Aside from my severe hormonal break-down yesterday, all is well and good. What brought about my mental instability yesterday morning?! Oh, just a simple little "To Do" list that seemed monumental and overwhelming to me! After I had calmed down, I noticed there are really only about 8 things that are Mommy-specific, and I do still have ten weeks to do them in..... Ha. The kids are glad that I have fully recovered and can now continue on with our daily routines.

"Routines" are not to be confused with "Schedules," because, well, that has been completely thrown to the wind as of late! I am trying to re-create the first draft of the Schedule we started a few weeks ago. I thought certain times would be great for activities, but things like sweltering Texas heat have made outside playtimes change to, oh, 7am!!

Oh, I have also been logging in from my phone a lot to check my blog and email. This is humorous to no end. Especially because I somehow managed to flag my own blog for having "Objectionable content!" HA! Am I objectionable guys??? Probably so.

We also found a bunch of old floppy disks (what are those??) and one small CD in a box labelled "Office." I found some OLD pictures of hubby and I! I will post them when I can. I also found a video clip of Xman when he was a baby. We lived with my Dad for a while, and Xman was crawling on the floor towards Grandpa. You can hear my Dad calling him at the end of the video clip, "Come here, Xavier, come here!" Oh, that had me bawling as soon as I heard it! Just knowing that we won't be hearing him anymore....
Sigh. So, more soon, when I get my infrequent child-less library visits!

The Incredible Amount of Work...that God still has to do in me...

So, I thought I would share a little bit of my true colors with y'all. I feel somewhat like the Wizard in "The Wizard of Oz." You know the part when Toto is pulling the curtain back, exposing the true personality of the supposedly incredible Wizard? I can almost hear the bellowing, "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!!"

This is a testament to the extreme amount of work that God still has to do in me. Somedays, I think He was looking for a new challenge when He created the Jana-mold! Most of you know that last year my father took his own life. One of the biggest factors was his Lyme Disease. But the other large factor was his marriage and her controlling behavior. His death was such a traumatic event for my family and I, and we are still dealing with the after-effects almost a year later! So, sometimes, when I am being "in the flesh" a random thought of vengeance pops up towards his wife the woman he was married to..... I am human, people.

Last night's thought was humorous to me. And the fact that I am still chuckling over it means God just has that much more work to do....
What did I think about? I had the thought that...since I actually own the plot my father is buried in, it would be fun to have another memorial made to place at the grave. Right below his marker, this one would read, "We're sorry you ever met her, Dad." So that every time she pays her token visits to his grave, that sign would be there....

Sigh.....I need help, don't I? Well, y'all know what to pray about now, I guess!
(Ha, and the first one to post a comment about "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord," gets their link disabled over there, got it?! )