Better

Things are looking up. I always forget how frustrating it can be to have a newborn schedule to live by. I never know when I'm going to go to bed or wake up. Samantha is getting faster at eating during the night, though, so it only takes her 30 minutes if I can get her to stay awake long enough. If I don't, she wakes up 10 minutes after I put her in bed, long enough for me to get comfortable and warm again. (Face palm.) I'm sure she will continue to improve. For now, I'm scraping by on 6-7 hours of sleep and feeling 100 times better than I ever did while I was pregnant!

Myles and Carmel left last Friday for Rexburg, but not before the dryer broke again. Myles diagnosed it and had Dad send the parts, so James fixed it on Monday. Thank goodness. The laundromat nearby is awful and not at all maintained. Mom was an angel and took my stuff there to dry. She also make cookies and enough bread to keep us stocked for a few weeks. She left on Sunday to go back to NC after being here for 1 1/2 weeks. I'm really grateful for family. I think they were ready to go because the kids were driving them a little crazy.

We got the house all clean Sunday night just in time for James's mom and brother to come Monday. Everyone did FHE without me since I'm still under quarantine. I enjoyed the quiet time to just watch some TV and snuggle the baby. She was really hungry yesterday and probably going through a growth spurt. We finally got the internet fixed! It had been out  all weekend. Mom and I had to rely on old-fashioned DVD's while James was gone working at mosquito abatement.

Melodie brought apples for me to process, so I'm drying just one batch a day.

Tuesday, Melodie made pancakes in the morning while I tried to sleep in. No luck. I did get all the laundry done in my newly-fixed dryer, caught up on some blogging, and relaxed while Melodie took Joseph and Katie shopping. Joseph went to Scouts on a hike to McConkie Ranch (the petroglyphs).

Wednesday, Samantha had a doctor's appointment in the morning. She isn't growing super fast, but the doctor isn't too worried. I do have to go back in next week for a weight check. I hate that my kids are all so small. They eat a lot, but genetics just aren't on their side when it comes to being big and tall (apparently). James and I went to the temple in the afternoon. It was pretty nice to be there since it's been a while. I felt a lot of peace about my future with 5 kids. I'm starting to feel more confident now that the first two weeks are almost over, but it will take some time before I feel like a real person again.

Today, Melodie and Joseph left for home. I was feeling well enough to get the house completely in order except for the mopping. I'm still taking a break from deep cleaning for this month, but other than that, everything is CLEAN!

Mornings are still the toughest. Samantha's second feeding is often at 5 a.m. and since it takes 30 minutes and then James gets up at 6, it's terribly timed. I know it won't last forever, but in the moment, it's pretty darn frustrating. I do get frustrated by the quarantine thing too, but it will be over soon enough. I'm getting a little nervous about the Primary program at the end of the month since I've just been going to another ward's sacrament meeting and having James take the kids. I will need to go for the last few practices to make sure I know what the heck I'm doing and to calm my nerves.