Sick!

How is it I spent my last pregnancy healthier than usual, and this one I keep getting sick. :( I feel like someone ran razor blades down my throat while I was sleeping, and I have a lovely collection of snot stuck in my sinuses. Wonderful. I also have 2 parties this weekend, so the timing could not be worse. I think I'm staying home today, which would change it from 15 work days left to 14....

I also have an appointment tomorrow at a freestanding birthing center. Hopefully I will feel well enough to attend. It's a tour and a talk with one of the three midwives who run the center. I really wanted a water birth with Maggie, but Brian was not open to a homebirth (still is not) and the hospital where I delivered only allowed you to labor in the tub - and only if they could keep the baby's heartbeat on the mobile monitoring equipment (which they could not). I have a long list of questions to ensure that I will qualify as low risk, and therefore be able to use the birthing center. It's about as far away as the hospital where I had Margaret, but I like the idea of not being chained to the place for days afterwards and less interventions. At this point, I'd be happy to just stay home until the day this baby comes. I've had enough of the medical community and I really don't need them giving me contradictory advice every 4 weeks, and having to drag myself out to their office every 4 weeks for a pee test, fetal heart monitoring (which I can do at home), and a Q&A session (during which I have no questions). It's a waste of my time. So we'll see how this goes. I have high hopes that this will work out! Especially with the changes in insurance coming up...

...it turns out that the costs for DH's High Option insurance plan have increased $120/month. So instead of $50/week, it will be roughly $80/week - of which we are currently spending $0 since I get health insurance from my employer for $14/week, and it's far superior insurance. Now we're stuck with Low Option, which only covers 80% of costs. 80%. How crappy is that? $20 copays for doctors visits, they don't even cover all of well-baby visits (still 80%), and I'm not even sure if we can go to the Medical Walk In Center with his plan. I'm also not sure if they'll consider me a pre-existing condition and blackout coverage for me. DH won't ask. Wouldn't that be a wonderful addition to the situation?! SIGH.

Can't I Just Stay Home Now?

19 more work days... and it's getting harder and harder to go every day. Already, the thought has crossed my mind to call out sick today. But I'll be a good girl and go to work today, even though I'm soooooo tired I could sleep for a week. I have some things I should be finishing up before I leave for good anyway.

I'm a lucky mama, BTW. Margaret and I attended a family function by ourselves yesterday about 1 hour from our home. She was fantabulous the entire time! Never got into any trouble, charmed the pants off of all who attended, didn't complain through a single diaper change (these are usually problematic...but instead, she just followed me to the appointed room, laid down on the floor, and was wonderful through every change, even in spite of a nasty diaper rash she has right now!!), and played nicely with all the adults (there were no other small children). When I returned home I reflected upon this and when I realized why the day went so smoothly, I was immensely proud of my little lady. Sure, she's not like this every day. But the days when she is make up tenfold for the days when she's a little witch. :) I'm a lucky mama!

I Guess It IS True What "They" Say...

...that you get bigger, faster with subsequent pregnancies.

14 weeks 5 days with Sprout (November 2006)


18 weeks 4 days with Maggie (January 2005)


I feel like such a heifer!

Where's The White Stuff?

Happy Turkey Day!!!!

To all my fellow Americans, Happy Thanksgiving!

This year, I am thankful for:

• A husband who loves and cares for me


• A daughter who is spunky, intelligent beyond her years, comedic, and caring


• A roof over our head, heat coming from our radiators, and food on our table, even though money is tight and will get tighter still


• My sistas out in the blogosphere who, when I remain quiet for too long, check up on me to make sure I'm alright


• My Saddle Girls, my closest friends of all


• My newest group of friends, my Tastefully Simple GOal Getters team! Who are showing me that there's a whole different side of me I never knew existed!


• My in-laws, who sometimes show they care more than my own family does


• My family, who though unreliable, really do love me deep down inside


• My faithful companion, Becky. No matter how bad my day is, no matter how bad my mood is, no matter how much I smell, she's always there to warm my feet


• And Sprout. The blessing inside that I wasn't sure if I could have again...and while I'm excited and terrified at the same time of what his/her impending arrival means for us, I know this is truly meant to be

Thank you, all, for all of your love and support! It means the world to me!

Another Day...

The countdown is officially on. 23 more work days until I leave the working world and become a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom). Well, kind of a WAHM (work-at-home-mom) since I am a consultant for Tastefully Simple. But mostly, I'll be staying home. January 5th is my last day of work...

...Not sure if I'm ready for it though. I've always had a job going back to when I was 10 years old when I became an independent contractor for the local newspaper (in layman's terms, I was a paper girl). So I've always had a steady paycheck, too. Sure, I'll have TS, but it won't be the same. On the other hand, I hate my job. Don't mind leaving it. Wish I was gone already. But then I have days like today (applesauce splattered all over the kitchen, nap refusals, 2 head butts to my nose, and just general aggravation) and I wonder if I'm even cut out to stay home. Can I do this? Will I have the patience and the stamina? Or will I go out of my mind? Stay tuned to find out...

Sprout is apparently thriving. I honestly haven't had any time to focus on this pregnancy, I'm afraid. It's like it's not even happening to me. I'm sure it will be different when I can feel movement (though I swear I felt a kick late last week at only 13 weeks of pregnancy). But right now, I'm just too busy to dwell on it. Margaret (and her constant mischief) consume all of my "free" time. That and the fact that she now refuses to go to bed at a reasonable hour.

I'm a little worn out, I'm afraid. Tired. Physically and mentally exhausted. Can I please just have 5 minutes to myself? Or will I have to wait until I'm old and my kids don't want to be around me anymore?

We Have A Heartbeat!!!

Yes, I know, I saw it last week at my ultrasound. But it's just not the same...

Today I heard Sprout's heartbeat for the first time on my doppler. This is HUGE since I am 9w4d today, the same day when we discovered we lost Arabella (in spite of a heartbeat at the ultrasound only 2 weeks prior). I can now breathe a huge sigh of relief... Looks like a strong heart, too. It measured at 162 bpm, stronger than Arabella's AND Margaret's were!

...does this mean it's another girl though? ;)