Getting Close

Everything is driving me crazy: my fighting children, the insane amount of snow that keeps on coming, the internet not working almost every afternoon, boredom, and the waiting game. I have a doctor's appointment today, and I'm really hoping for some good news. Even though dilation really has nothing to do with when I'll deliver, it would still be nice to know that something has been happening during this last week of misery.

Next time I write, I plan on having 4 kids! :) Hopefully that will be in a week or less. Joseph was born at 40w and Kenny and Katie at 40w3d, so that puts me at Wednesday at the latest. If I go past that, I will definitely lose my mind!

More Birthday/Heads Visit

Friday was day two of James's birthday celebrations. (I guess I'm too tired to cram everything into one day.) He chose a movie from Redbox, and we had snacks that I bought for him. I got fancy flavored pretzels and beef jerky, two things I never buy. I attended a baptism in the afternoon for one of my Primary kids.

Saturday was a family fun day. Since he got ammo and a sled, he took the kids sledding and went hunting. We've definitely got enough snow, probably about a foot accumulated.

Sunday was good and pretty normal. I love being in Relief Society again! I also love being able to talk to adults.

Mon. - Wed. were all kind of the same. We didn't do anything in particular that stands out. I'm starting to feel miserable because my stomach always seems upset and food doesn't taste as good. Still not sleeping well either...

Thursday, I too the kids with me to my doctor's appointment. No news there either. I'm not terribly worried, because nothing happened with Joseph until I actually went into labor. He is the only one that wasn't late so far.

James's mom, dad, and Anna and Joseph came to visit. I made dinner for everyone and then everyone went swimming at the hotel except for me. I attended my last self-reliance class. It was so sad, but I am ready to have a baby and wouldn't want to miss class (or take him with me). I finished my photo book from Shutterfly while everyone played a board game. (I'm just not much into board games, especially strategy games that take a long time. I get frustrated when I have to learn lots of rules, make a lot of effort, or think a lot to have fun. I do love word games like Scrabble.)

Friday was a great day. I got all the laundry done in the morning and went to the temple while Grandma, Uncle Joseph, and Kenny and Katie went to the dinosaur museum. We all got home in time to eat lunch together, and then I took a nap. Grandma, James, and the Josephs went ice skating in the afternoon. After my nap, I had the kids helps me put the baby swing together. After IKEA furniture, it was a piece of cake! We went out for dinner with James's parents to a really good Mexican place in town. The food comes on platters and is probably enough for 3 meals, but I managed to eat it all in 2. We watched a movie (the new version of Annie) after coming home.

Saturday, we ate breakfast and went swimming at the hotel. James's family had to leave after that, so we spent the the rest of the day doing absolutely nothing. It was great. Everyone needs a day like that once in a while.

Sunday was normal again, nothing to report.

Today I did 4 loads of laundry, mostly bedding, since I'm such an overachiever and do it once a month. (How does anyone have time to wash everything once a week?!) I've been grumpy, achy, and a little stressed, but I think I'm going to make it through another week. After all, I am due on Sunday! We'll see how the rest of the week goes. My prediction is lots more achiness, but no baby.

Snowy Days/James's Birthday

Friday, James drove to Roosevelt to buy the first 6 months of our long-term food storage. While he was gone, I worked on my last queen denim quilt. He helped me tie it when he got home, and I decided to go ahead and finish it even though I stayed up until almost midnight.

Saturday, we ran some errands with the kids after putting the food storage under Katie's bed. They were exceptionally well-behaved, considering we went to 6 places. Pizza Hut was having a deal online, so I took Joseph to get his Book-It pizza and got some for us too for dinner.

Sunday was a good day. It is so nice to go to Sunday School and Relief Society! I had forgotten about the family history class that is offered every other week. It's fun to be in a small group setting.

We got tons of snow this week, pretty much Monday through today. They even had to come out and plow our road, which they don't normally do unless it gets really bad. James and Joseph have been doing a lot of shoveling. I tried one day but gave up because my back hurt too much.

I updated our food storage binder and worked on a few small crafts (knitting, friendship bracelets). A lady in my ward came to get the blankets to donate to the women's shelter. Since that cleared up a lot of space, I got out all the baby blankets, washed them, and put them away. Since I was already on a roll, I got out my regular clothes (which fit in my dresser along with my maternity stuff) and sorted through them. I am really ready to get this baby out. I feel achy and even more tired than I did a month ago. I can't seem to get much good sleep, and I am always too hot, even though every one else in my house is freezing. Oh well. Just a few more weeks to go. The dr. said I lost a pound in the previous week. I just laughed, because I think it's a fluke. (At least I am finally over my sinus infection, because I really couldn't taste anything, which was really annoying!)

Today is James's birthday! I made him grits, eggs, and sausage for breakfast. For dinner, he will get crab cakes (real crab, which is a big splurge), baked potatoes, and corn, with "better than sex" cake for dessert. (I've actually never eaten this particular cake, but I'm sure the name is exaggerated.) Presents will include a sled and ammo, which should make for a fun weekend.

I also have my next-to-last self-reliance class. How sad. I guess they can't go on forever.

Christmas Break, Pt. 2

We left Friday and headed home from Rexburg. First was a stop at IKEA in Draper to buy a couple of small dressers and an end table. We had gotten some Walmart gift cards from both my parents and Jacob, so I used those on groceries later and spent that amount of money at IKEA. We finally arrived home and put the kids to bed. I got everything unpacked.

Saturday, I cleaned out the car and went shopping. James started rearranging our room and even organized the shed so we can have less clutter (like bins of kids' clothes). I was too tired to help much on Saturday.

Sunday, it was really nice not to teach Primary. My kids did not behave too well during Sacrament meeting, so I especially enjoyed going to Sunday School and Relief Society. After church, I worked with James to figure out what we're going to get for our 6 months of basic food storage. It's the big gift from his parents this year, and I am really excited. Because of my food storage blog, I actually already know what we're getting. I just had to make a few minor tweaks.

Monday and Tuesday, we finished the organizing. I put together the 2 IKEA dressers, we took down Christmas decorations and put them all away, and James took everything out from under our bed and Katie's in preparation for storing the food. He did a great job organizing the shed, putting up hooks, and really clearing out our room to make it look better. I did the dresser swap, so one of the small ones went to Lewis, his big dresser to me, the same one for James, and the other small one for an extra. I am currently storing blankets for charity in it. We had a really fun FHE with the kids at the high school. We played with bubbles, flew airplanes on Google Earth, and played Spot It. My boys are better at that game than I am. We also went to Wendy's for sriracha fries and frosties. (I highly recommend the fries; they are delicious if you like cheesy and spicy together!)

Wednesday, school started. I finished dehydrating all the apples I got from Melodie and also made a pie. I've been working on my last quilt, a queen-sized denim one for charity. It's going well, though I admit I'm getting sick of sewing. Being done will completely clean out my craft supplies, so I can't make anything else even if I want to. I plan on starting to get things ready for Lewis and maybe being a little lazy...and hopeful that he will show up a few days early? (I won't hope for too much on that one.)

I've been a little sick. I got a cold right before we left for Rexburg, and I think it's now a sinus infection. It seems to be clearing up all right. No one else in my family is sick, so I'm blaming my suppressed immune system. For it being so snowy and cloudy since we got home, I actually feel pretty happy. I tried to do a little shoveling today, but I quit after 30 minutes because it was hurting my back. It also looks like it didn't do any good, because the snow hasn't stopped  yet. Oh well. I see the OB every week now. I've stopped caring about how much I weigh at this point. I will finish out this pregnancy with 35 lbs. gained, but that's not terrible considering how much stress eating I've done over the past 8 months.

Life is good. I can't wait to get this baby boy out. His movements aren't cute anymore; they're very uncomfortable. 3 1/2 weeks to go!

Christmas Break, Pt. 1

Wednesday morning, we opened all but a few presents with our kids and had breakfast. I ran a few errands with Joseph, went to a doctor's appointment, and attended my self-reliance class. I also cleaned and packed for our trip.

Thursday was travel day. We made pretty good time and actually got to Rexburg around 4. That was even with a stop in Pocatello to see Rex and Joseph, who were on their way to get Angie and did not get back till the middle of the night when we were all asleep. We had dinner and then went to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. It was a fun movie. Even better is that it was free! Sam and Jesse went too.

Friday, I worked on my latch hook rug and cooked dinner after my nap (yellow curry). Rex and Melodie went to clean the temple. I went to bed early, around 10, because I hadn't had a very good nap.

Saturday, Christmas Eve, I worked on my rug again and cooked jello, bread bowls, and potato soup for the non-dairy folk. I attempted a nap that didn't go well. The kids all went to a live Nativity, we had dinner with the Lees, and we did our own Nativity. I opened a cute cowboy blanket for Lewis. We opened the rest of our presents from Grandma Lee, set out stockings and presents, and then went to bed. I was exhausted and uncomfortable by then. It's been really hard to keep cool in this house. If it's not the wood-burning stove, it's the oven being on. I feel miserable when I am too hot, which is almost always unless I am in my own house.

Sunday, Christmas Day, I got the kids ready for Church and had breakfast. They had a little candy from their stockings before leaving. I didn't go to Church because I wasn't feeling well (fatigue, high blood sugar) and I broke down crying out of sheer frustration and loneliness. All my siblings are home in NC right now, but I'm here instead. It would have been our year to go, but my pregnancy might have ruined it anyway. I don't think they want anyone to fly at 35-36 weeks. We haven't spent Christmas with my parents since 2012. I really just want to do Christmas at my own home in Vernal, because I keep things really simple. Here there is no rest from the constant flow of people, goodies, or attention to some small details that I don't feel are important. (Example: bread bowls. They turned out more like rolls. For all the time I spent on them, I really felt like it was a waste.) I was feeling a bit better by the time everyone got home from Church. We opened presents and had scrapple for lunch. Then we headed to the Head grandparents' home for the day. It was a pretty good day. I worked on my rug while dinner was cooking and talked to my family for a while after dinner. Too bad the internet didn't cooperate very well, and then cell phone service died shortly thereafter. We still had a good conversation. The drive home wasn't too bad despite all the snowy weather.

Monday was a bit frustrating. I worked on my rug some more and we had dinner with the Lees. The really hard part was working on all the digital photos from the past 20ish years. I consolidated (Tuesday morning too) from 5 computers, 4 jump drives, and 8 SD cards onto 2 external hard drives. It took forever because the computers are old, but I got it done. I really can't do the next part, which is actually organizing the pictures into years and then possibly subcategories. I wish the family luck on organizing it further, because there are 75 gigabytes of data just in pictures.

Tuesday, I still worked on my rug while doing pictures, as I mentioned before. James and I went out for lunch at the Thai place. It was so yummy! We stopped at D.I. afterward and I even got a nap. After dinner, the Rammells came over for dessert and a game. The game was called Code Names and was actually really simple and fun. I worked on Melodie's pictures a little more and showed her how to go about organizing them. It shouldn't be too terrible, actually, thanks to the genius of Picasa.

Wednesday, I finished my rug! (A whole day early too, so I felt pretty happy about that.) I also read the next lesson for my self-reliance class. It was sad not to be there in person. I worked on a few paperwork-type things that I needed to get caught up on. I went to my first ever massage in the afternoon. Angie had one too, so I drove her and read a book while I was waiting for mine. It was so incredibly relaxing. I almost fell asleep, and the half hour was definitely over way too fast! We had dinner and then celebrated Jacob's birthday by going to Rogue One. It was a really good movie, even worth staying up late for.

Today, Thursday, should be pretty relaxing. I'm finishing up putting all the photos in one place. There is one more computer after I finish up the CD's and DVD's. I'm making dinner tonight, eggs rolls and fried rice, and then Kenneth and Nick are coming over at 8. Other than that, I'll probably just hang out and get ready to leave tomorrow. It's been a really good, but challenging week for me. I am definitely ready to go home and get back to my own bed and schedule.

Tired

Myles, Mara, Carmel, and Nash arrived safely in Vernal last Thursday at 11ish. We had fun staying up late and eating junk food. I wish they could have stayed another day, but they had to leave the next morning to make the long drive to NC. I finished my first queen-sized denim quilt! My plan for the break is to make the latch hook rug and then do the last queen quilt when I get back from Rexburg. Then, I should still have 2 plus weeks to prepare for the baby.

James and I went to the faculty Christmas party on Friday night. It was really fun. We enjoyed a yummy meal and participated in the white elephant gift exchange. Two people got to take home live chickens!

Nash did stay until Saturday night. That was a bit of a fiasco. He had apparently missed an exam and somehow didn't know he needed to stay in Provo. There were no buses available (and there is only one from Vernal to SLC a day anyway), so James had to drive him Saturday night and come back Sunday morning. That meant I had to sleep alone and worry about icy roads, transfer the car seats to the crappy Corolla, and shovel the snow before church so we could be on time. That was not fun. James's phone also died, so I had no contact with him until he showed up at church about 20 minutes late. I was so worried that I started crying. Thankfully I was able to pull myself together. They told me it was my last week in Primary. Hurray! It was a crazy day; 8 kids all bouncing off the walls, and the super rowdy one even left early.

We did have a good Saturday. The teachers' union gave us a ticket to see Moana for free. I really enjoyed it. I think it's the first time James and I have ever been to a movie with our kids. (It doesn't help that Vernal doesn't have a cheap theater.) The kids did remarkably well. We got a few errands done after that and then James took Nash shooting while I napped. They went to try to get Nash on the bus, but no luck there since it got cancelled.

This week has been good, but a little boring so far. I am ahead on lots of chores and things. We plan on opening presents tomorrow. It will also be prep day for the trip since we leave Thursday. I also have a doctor's appointment and self-reliance class. I always worry that I'm going to forget something for the trip, but that really doesn't happen. Still, it is a source of anxiety for at least a few days before (and on the drive there too.)

I am so tired of being tired. It's always something keeping me awake: heartburn, restless legs, having to use the bathroom, aches and pains, weird dreams, insomnia, too warm...
Going to bed at night just isn't the break from life that I need. Some nights it feels like I see every hour on the clock. Thank goodness for naps. I can't wait to be done being pregnant. Having a newborn is so much more restful that being kicked from the inside.

Projects, Reflux

Dad and Nash arrived safely Thursday night. It was not a good night of sleep for me. Nash decided to dismantle James's gun and bang on the table till about 4 a.m. I got barely any sleep.

I had Dad fix a couple of small things while he was here. He installed new handles on the small bathroom sink, fixed the leaky tub faucet that wouldn't turn on, and reinstalled the panel on the front of the dishwasher. It's pretty great not to have to turn off the bathroom sink after the kids use it. The lever-shaped handles are much easier for them to use than the round, plastic ones.

I felt really terrible Friday night. I'd had a lot of treats (Cheetos, chocolate, etc.) and pushed my normal heartburn to the next level. I ended up eating barely anything for dinner and sent James to the store for the stronger heartburn medication. I'm glad I could recognize the terrible tightness/squeezing in my chest. It's like what I had after Katie was born, though not as severe because I recognized it this time. The medicine finally kicked in by 5 a.m. I needed it for 3 days, but I haven't needed anything for the past 3. People who say eating habits don't matter are just wrong! They really help, even with the pregnancy heartburn, which does have a lot to do with the baby pushing everything up.

Saturday we went to D.I. and then Golden Corral for dinner. James took Nash shooting in the afternoon. I'm so glad I was feeling better.

Sunday was pretty normal. I really struggled with my class because there were 8 there, and one of them was the kid with severe (and unmedicated) ADHD. I think we got about 5 minutes of spiritual stuff in the 45, but at least that's better than nothing. I do not deal well with the rowdy kids. It's one thing when kids are fidgety. I get that. This one will not keep his hands to himself or listen to anything I say. It makes me want to pull my hair out. Church is during when I normally eat lunch and take a nap, so that really doesn't help matters. Dad and Nash left early afternoon, so I spent some time over the next day putting things back together.

Monday and Wednesday we delivered goodies to the neighbors. I usually end up with a hodgepodge of things based on what I have in my cupboard. I did a combination of curry powder/coconut milk/recipe for curry bags, brownies, peanut butter cookies, and pumpkin bread. I finally got around to listening to my Christmas playlist this week too and read some Christmas books from the library. I've been keeping busy with my first queen-sized denim quilt since I finished all my small projects last week. I'm all set to finish the quilt by Tuesday, make the latch hook rug during Christmas break, and then finish the last queen quilt during January. It is really fun to see it all coming together. I can't wait to donate a big pile of stuff to charity.

We still keep receiving gifts that we don't feel we deserve. Mosquito abatement bosses came by and brought a huge turkey and a 3 lb. box of chocolates. I plan on cooking the turkey tomorrow for dinner because there is no room in the freezer for it! (First world problem, definitely.) Myles, Mara, Carmel, and Nash will be here tomorrow night on their way back to NC for Christmas. I hope sometime we can go for Christmas, but this year wouldn't have worked out anyway. I'd be flying back at 36 weeks pregnant, which I don't think airlines like very much.

We had preschool today and visited James at school for a little while during the fundraiser, during which no one has to take school seriously. It was fun even though Katie had a huge meltdown right before we left home. She still refuses to wear pants, boots, or coats. Actually, she has been pretty horrible to me this whole week, and I'm not sure why. I hope it's just a phase. My pregnant emotions don't handle being called stupid by my 3-year-old, even though I know it isn't true.

It's been a good week. A few inches of snow are making it seem more like Christmas. I'm glad I have enough to keep me busy. It really helps me take my mind off of being tired and helps me feel less grumpy because I know I'm accomplishing something good. Maybe I will sew for charitable causes every year.