31 Weeks

I went to the doctor again today. This time I took the munchkins along with me. They did pretty well, even though we had a long wait. I switched doctors. Now I'm going to have the baby at Beebe Hospital in Lewes.

Baby's HR: 153 (the doctor said 'very good!)
My BP: 92/70
Fundal Height: 'you're measuring right on!'
Weight gain: 20.2 pounds

The baby's position was head down.

I really liked the new doctor I saw, even though I intend to use the nurse-midwife for delivery. He had a very good patient rapport thing. I'm supposed to get another ultrasound on August 18. That's kind of exciting. He said that it's a very very low risk, but hypothyroidism, if not managed well, can affect the baby's neurological development. So that left me feeling moderately freaked out, and I scurried hurriedly off to the lab to get my TSH drawn.

After lunch I was very crankily tired and instructed Gabe that he had to leave me alone for a while as he watched TV, and then I ZONKED out. I was SO tired. Tired enough to fall asleep, which is not usually the case. I'm really feeling that third trimester crash-ed-ness.

Boy Bobs

Gabriel walked out of our closet the other day carrying one of my favorite skirts - a tiered green and blue twirly poufy-ish one from Thailand that Lynette gave me 2? years ago for Christmas that I can still wear while I'm pregnant. He asked, with a very inquisitive face and in a tone of sincere interest and intrigue - "Is this the first skirt you wore when you got married?"

LOL. I don't know where he got that from.
____________

This morning we went to the park with other women from our church. The boys had a great time. I didn't get home till mid-afternoon and then had to go run more errands, then made supper. Israel did not take his nap. Neither did I take my nap. After supper I was ZONKED. I laid down a little bit, then Tim had to go to prayer meeting at church, and I sat out on the back steps with leaden arms and legs, and eyes that wanted to close, thinking - it needs to be weed-eat-ed around here, and Tim is leaving, and I guess I could do that, and I need to work on the garage, and I still need to finish cleaning out the car from our last trip, and I need to clean off the table from supper and clean up the kitchen and the house needs to be picked up and mostly I just want to lay down. Could I feel any tireder?
____________

Gabriel walked up to me tonight with The Grinch that Stole Christmas (given to him by his Nana Carol and read to him every Christmas) and said "I bet Nana Carol could read me this book! Yeah! I bet she could!" :)
____________

Gabriel went to help me wake the baby up from his nap the other day. Israel wasn't quite ready to get out of his crib so I went back to our bedroom and was working on the computer, and could hear the boys through the monitor. Gabriel sang to Israel, as he has been doing recently. He sang the full song of 'Jesus Loves Me' in his high little voice, then sang the chorus of 'Who Let the Dogs Out', and went into the second verse of 'Who Let the Wild Donkey Go Free' - a play on the former song. Israel thoroughly enjoyed the concert. And so did his mommy. :)

Conference

So I feel like I've been back and forth and back and forth and back and forth to VA about 14 billion times recently and I'm ready for a rest. :) Not that all of those trips weren't well worth the scenic route.

Last weekend, we left for VA on Wednesday, deposited our children in the waiting arms of their beloved grandparents, and screeched off to Berlin, OH for the annual CMC conference, sans said chillins.

Sigh of bliss.

We ambled over the mountains on Route 33, enjoying the view and stopping at a little roadside restaurant for lunch, arriving at Jeremy and Sarah Miller's house, where we were staying, in time for supper. Tim and Jeremy are first cousins. Lynette and Rusty, my sister-in-law and her husband were there too, and later Tim's other cousin Peter came to stay. We had a great time catching up, both with them and everybody else we saw during the weekend.
Tim, his cousin Peter, and his Uncle Harold.
Tim's cousin Jeremy and Norm.
Carol and Tim's Aunt Betty.
Bethany Showalter, Rusty, and Lynette.
Hey! I know her! :) Dara, Carmen, and Lydia.
I'm gonna miss you, Carmen!!!
This was the last time we will see Lynette and Rusty for two years. We will miss you guys very very much and are very proud of what you are doing. We love you!!!

Last time we left the boys for a weekend, I suffered major boy withdrawal and missed them intensely. This time, I was ready for a break, and as busy as the weekend was, I was just sort of glad not to have to harriedly deal with my young children on top of it. They were having a happily busy time of it at Grandma and Granddaddy's. By the time we pulled in on Sunday night, though, I was thrilled to see them again. We brought them home a toy skidsteer (for Gabe) and a new red tractor (for Israel).

We got home Monday evening. Phew. Time for a traveling BREAK!!!

"Meme"-ed-ness

So apparently I've been "meme'd" per Michelle. Have no idea what "meme" means, BUT - here are the rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Now, where do I start on all the utterly fascinating things about myself??? :) :)

1. I am sort of a fruit-aholic. If I am planning a trip somewhere where I don't know for sure about the availability of fresh fruit, I can develop a mild/moderate panic. I often bring fruit along with me when I travel, or buy it during the trip.

2. I used to want to have 12 children. This was after reading "Cheaper By the Dozen" approximately 4 billion times. I have since changed my mind. :)

3. I ADORE reading. It is another "-aholic" in my life. Mostly fiction. I don't mind library fines, either. I sort of happily think of the new books they will buy. This is particularly brainless of me, I know, but I can't help it.

4. When I was little, I LONGED to be able to have both glasses AND braces one day. The cry of my heart was heard and I had both. What a weirdo was I. And now I cannot even EXPRESS the JOY and DELIGHT of having to mess with contacts/glasses or pad around blindly, and the extreme, traumatic, brain jarring pain caused by trying to reinsert my old retainers over teeth that have moved. I was such a smart child.

5. My name could have been Melinda Joy.

6. I HATE volleyball. It hurts my spindly little wuss arms so much. Plus I am SUPER bad at it. I am a very happy sideline watcher person.

7. I can stare at a football game on TV for several extended hours at a time, and at the end of that time not be able to tell you what the score is, what teams are playing, or even what colors they are wearing. I will likely, however, be able to tell you something about the commercials.

I had another "tag" like this over a year ago. Here are other weird things about me if you are so inclined.

And now I tag...Candice, Joycie, Elvida, Melissa, and Isaiah (if he still reads my blog.) And anyone else who feels so inclined. :)

INFP

You Are An INFP

The Idealist You are creative with a great imagination, living in your own inner world. Open minded and accepting, you strive for harmony in your important relationships. It takes a long time for people to get to know you. You are hesitant to let people get close. But once you care for someone, you do everything you can to help them grow and develop. In love, you tend to have high (and often unrealistic) standards. You are very sensitive. You tend to have intense feelings. At work, you need to do something that expresses your personal values. You would make an excellent writer, psychologist, or artist. How you see yourself: Unselfish, empathetic, and spiritual When other people don't get you, they see you as: Unrealistic, naive, and weak

What's Your Personality Type?

One of Those Days

Fuss fuss fuss fuss. Time for a nap. I pick him up and put him in his crib. It is 1:15 PM. One hour later he is still hopping and talking and yelling. I trudge down the hall to his room and am greeted by the smell of stankiness. Out of bed, diaper change, and he can watch the end of Baby Animals on the Farm that his brother is absorbed in.

Fuss fuss fuss screech. Back into bed. It is 2:40 PM. I give him diluted juice to make him happy and close the door. He wails a bit and then the screaming at the top of his lungs begins after the wailing doesn’t work. This is not the norm for my child-son. He’s overtired. I crankily turn off the monitor in our bedroom, but the din drifts down the hall…and keeps on going. Finally I decide that he sounds almost hysterical, so I go back into his room and crawl into his crib with him. After he settles down a bit, he begins hyper jumps up and down in the crib, giggling.

Sigh.

Now we’re both out of the crib. Mommy gives up. Child-son hurtles down the hall. Mommy heaves another tired sigh. She needs a break from this child. Child-son goes outside after screeching for his clothes to be removed so he can get in the kiddie pool. He plays for a while in the sandbox, and then drives the Tonka dump truck around.

Now it is 3:14 PM. Child is screaming at the top of his lungs because Tonka truck will not drive itself up the stairs. He throws himself backwards in the grass, his yelling renewed when he bangs his head on the ground. Wails wails wails screeeeeeeechhh. Mommy has had ENOUGH.

It is now 3:38 PM. Child-son is again doing his verging-on-hysteria screams in his soft padded crib in his dimly lit room, which he has been doing since his deposit there 15 minutes ago. Mommy is huddled in her chair, grimly clutching her sanity to her chest while staring blindly at the wall. She cannot think or do anything remotely meaningful until there is sleepy quiet emanating from child-son’s room. She has a lot to do because her family is traveling again in 2 days. Mostly she just wants to crawl under the covers and sleep off a busy previous week, and not deal with the needy offspring contained in her home, the eldest of which has done his own share of screeching this morning for various and sundry reasons. Other child-son is currently busy crashing his toy cars together and having conversation with them.

It is 3:57 PM. Child is asleep (at the hour he normally wakes from his nap with a cheery chirp), with only sad post-screaming hiccups issuing through the monitor, making Mommy feel vaguely sad herself. Well, the happy fest will begin again in just an hour and a half when the Mommy wakes her child prematurely from his nap because she wants him to go to sleep before 11 PM.

I think I might go bang my head against the wall now.

(Elvida, this one’s for you. Enjoy your quiet crab eating. :) )

Friends

Just a few years ago, two of my very best friends lived with me in Virginia, and we were 17, 18, and 20. We talked at length and often of love, of life, and other important things.
And we had the coolest sense of style, EVER.
Today we are 29, 30, and 32. One lives in North Africa, one lives in Thailand...and then there's the boring one who lives in Delaware. :) We got to meet up again and speak at length of life, of love, and other important things. Such as pregnant bellies. We are all pregnant at the same time with our third child, all of them boys.Carmen and I are due on the same day, October 2. Candice is due next month.

I sure do love you guys. You have been such a priceless, important piece of life for me.

Meanwhile, "back on the farm"....the kiddos were having a peachy keen time of it. Driving skid loaders and the like...
or watching boys drive skid loaders...
eating popcorn and watching Grandma's cool dairy farm video...
helping Granddaddy cut a tree limb that had fallen into the road...
riding in the back of Granddaddy's truck from the garage to the house...
playing in one's dinosaur blanket drying on the clothesline...
or riding in the wagon...a great time was had by all.

On Saturday when I came, I brought another beloved friend :) Emily from Arlington, and totally forgot to take pictures of her (which she truthfully probably doesn't mind one single iota :)). Here she is pulling Israel in the wagon.
We came on Saturday to come to my Grandma's 84th birthday party BBQ and I also forgot to take any pictures of Grandma. Fine granddaughter and friend I am!!

Israel also got a haircut while we were home. I like to know people who are handy with scissors. As I am particularly inept with them. Shorn child eating fresh corn on the cob, which he adored.We headed back home on Thursday morning. Thanks SOOOOO much Mom and Dad for your help with the boys.

Here are some more pictures of late:

Gabe fell fast asleep on our bed the other Sunday.
The Snorch was being particularly snorchy the other day. :) I just had to take a picture of her.
The boys wanted a bath in the sink the other day. :) Little cheesies.

Boyos

Last night, I made potato soup. A logical choice for a hot, July 9 day. :) It was very yummy, which things always are with Cream of Mushroom and sour cream. Drool. Baby Boy, however, was having none of it. He would scarcely look at it, and would only drink his diluted strawberry Kool-Aid. Tim tried to steer a spoon-full to his mouth, but his head whipped to the side, mouth tightly clenched. The airplane approach didn't work, either. I snuck in from the side and caught him by surprise, smearing some tasty soup over his mouth. After the wailing stopped and the lip-licking started, he voraciously gobbled down a bowl and a half.

Little doof. :)
__________________

The other day, out of the blue, Gabe informed me that Sonya Y. (who has babysat him) "is one of my very good friends."

"Is Kim (her sister) one of your very good friends too?" I asked.

Decisive nod. "Yes!"

He also declared his cousin Tyler to be one of his very good friends.

Yesterday I was looking through some newly developed pictures and Gabe caught a glimpse of Sam Cullum. "Sam," he stated thoughtfully. "Sam is one of my very best friends!!"

Here's to good friends all over the country...and beyond.

28 Weeks

I had a doctor's appointment today. Baby Boy appears just fine.

Baby's heartrate: 129
Fundal height: "right on target"
My BP: 104/78
Weight gain: 20 pounds

I simply could not believe the number on the scale. I have definitely gained more weight with this one. It makes me laugh. I'm pretty sure it's because I'm not working outside home - usually I was doubling up on work time to try to save money for time off. If I have a baby bigger than Israel...oh my.

I asked the nurse practitioner about a rumor I had heard that you are not necessarily guaranteed an epidural if you have your baby at Milford Hospital. She looked thoughtful, and told me that I need to make sure to call the anesthesiology department during my pregnancy so they can do a consult, and that way they are "more likely" to come up to do one. "More likely"?? I wasn't very comforted by those words. It seems I have completed the full pendulum swing from "I think I'll try this one naturally" to "Epidural, please, thank you very much." I may perhaps find it worth an additional 10 or so minutes of driving in order to have my pain guaranteed to be relieved upon request. :)

On my way home, turning from Route 36 onto Route 16, a car bumped me from behind, slamming my head back into the seat, and giving me that quick fear that comes with any accident. But the car and the baby both appear fine.

"Real Land"

Tonight at the library, one of the librarians were gushing over my children. "Your children are just beautiful!!!"

"Thank you," I responded.

"And especially that little girl!! She looks just like you!! And those eyes!!"

Huh. I think I need to cut Israel's hair.

:) :) :)
__________________

Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only mom out there who can get really frustrated and stressed out by some stages that my children get in. Feel free to tell me if I'm not alone. Israel is driving me CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! right now - he is SO. INCREDIBLY. FUSSY. ALL. DAY. LONG. I am so glad when he wakes up with a chirp, because when he wakes with a cry and a whine....I know it's going to be a loooooonnnngggg day. He will fuss for a drink, and then fuss because the milk is not juice or the water is not milk. He fusses a LOT over his drink choices. His problem is that if he can see food, he NEEEEEDS.. And from breakfast, he moves on to fussing about videos or outside or diaper or anything and everything. He has very definite opinions on things and cannot always communicate them and it frustrates him greatly.

And then once Gabe is up and around and they have their little boy squabbles and somebody is always getting hurt - that's another thing that drives me insane. When it's been a long day and I'm ready for them to be in bed already, and they are in that crazy-feeding-off-each-other-bouncing-wrestling-grabbing-giggling-falling mood where someone is GUARANTEED to get hurt ABSOLUTELY....oh man. They were up extra late last evening because Israel had a late nap and then this morning when Israel was on his fuss-rant and Gabe was up and grouchy and screeching at Israel - I realized my shoulders were tight and tensed and I was feeling QUITE crabby. I gave myself a little pep-talk, but still had a hard time relaxing.

Sheesh. Calm yourself, lady.

It always helps after days like that if I can make a mini-escape when Tim gets home. Otherwise, I'm not always too pepped for the next duration of child care.

The other night, I was just so tired all day, and I was glancing wearily at the clock by the end of the day and just sort of wishing there was a time clock to go punch out on, and then I go wave goodbye and go home to a quiet house and climb in a nice hot bath and lay down with a good book and be asleep by 9:30 PM, which is unheard of for me.

The other part of the problem is that the boys have been getting to bed later recently because of different summer activities, and that leaves less sanity-time at the end of the day.

Anywho. That's life in this mommy's real land over here.

July 4

The night of July 4th, after the boys had gone to their beds but were not yet asleep, fireworks started up outside our back windows. We fished the boys back out of bed, and the four of us sat in our darkened house on the floor, watching through the back door, feeling the cool humid breeze blowing through the screen, as Gabe snuggled in his dinosaur blanket and Israel hurriedly arranged his blanket to copy Gabe. The boys loved the fireworks, and it was fun to be a family of four in the dark on the floor.

Boys and Me

Yesterday Israel and I were pointing to facial features. "Where's your nose, baby boy?" I asked. He grinned happily and put his finger right up his nostril, where it lodged for a happy while.
_____________________

This morning when Israel got up I parked him in front of a baby animal video and snuck back into bed, leaving him mooing, quacking (kak-kak-kak), and meowing (neow! neow!) at the screen.
____________________

Gabe is so cute at night when we tell him stories. He is FILLED with stories, up to the brim, and excitedly starts each session "Tell me a story about...", and then he is off, his eyes excitedly looking around in storyland, arms whirling and whipping around in illustration. Unable to stay down on his pillow, he keeps popping up as the story goes on. I usually can't keep my grin off and and have to pull the little whirl-a-gig story teller over to give him neck and cheek kisses. He's irrefutably "boy". Lately the stories have been about Wendell and Jason the race cars and how fast they are going and how there is smoke coming up from their wheels. He ends his lengthy tales with "Now, tell me that story!!"

He has been sleeping on the floor of our closet, which is a large one. We moved him there a while ago before company came to use his bedroom, and he's been there ever since. He likes it better, because he doesn't feel all alone way back the hallway. I like it better because he often wakes up in the middle of the night, wanting water or scared, and instead him getting more scared, or me trudging back and forth down the hall and thoroughly waking myself up in the process, I can deal with the problem at hand and crawl back into bed. He also likes if he can see us when he is going to sleep, or if we are in the room having a (quiet) conversation, he will go right to sleep. Recently he has been creeping out with his dinosaur blanket to lay by my chair as I'm at the computer, where he falls fast asleep. I let him do that as long as he is quiet and lies still - it seems he just gets a lot of comfort from the company.
_______________________

Am I the only 30 year old female out there who feels vaguely insulted and a mite forlornly old when 20-ish year old males I come into contact with at stores CONSISTENTLY call me "Ma'am". Do I look that old? Do I look that matronly? Well, aside from the pregnant belly. Heh heh. Sigh. I just don't feel quite ready to be a ma'am yet.
______________________

My close friend Candice, who now lives in Thailand, has been in Delaware this last week, staying with her in-laws before going on to VA. We had a mah-velous time the other day going shopping and catching up. This was us in our post-shopping glory. Carmen, I can't wait to see you either!!!