I hate packing

We are moving to a much larger place. We have outgrown our basement apartment and need more space. We found a house, all on one level, for a decent price. But now we have to pack.

We've actually been half packed up for a while. We thought that we may move before the end of our contract. So we began to prepare. Didn't happen. We never did unpack though. So we just had to continue the process.

Now most things are packed except all those little (and big) things that just don't fit anywhere else. Do I keep it or do I toss it. Or does it go in a box marked "Miscellaneous" to be sorted later (and probably tossed).

We shall see.

Is February Over Yet?

Since the 3rd of this month, we have been sick to one degree or another. I think it is finally ending, just as the month comes to a close.

It all started with a stomach bug and Angela. Then Jamie and I got it. It seemed to skip Alphy. For me, one night of vomiting on a pregnant tummy was not fun. I lost 10 pounds in fluids just over that weekend. Then I got a UTI. Not fun.

Then the girls got colds, which haven't ever really gone away but at least aren't too bad at the moment. Then Alphy had stomach pains bad enough to send him to the emergency room. Maybe the stomach bug finally got him. We don't know. It ended pretty quick. Except that the next night, Angela went in to the emergency room. Her cold had created a cough that kept getting worse. Then she developed a fever. After a day and a half of fevers not going away and Angela not acting normal, Alphy took her in.

Bacterial pneumonia. Antibiotics that caused interesting diarrhea and later diaper rash.

Then, I got a sore throat. And a cold. That led to pink eye. Jamie also had a slight case of cold-caused pink eye. Enough so that one morning, she woke up with her eyelashes stuck together and cried "I want to see again."

Now Alphy has post-nasal drip and a sore throat, while the girls and I are recovering from everything else.

Please let it all end with the end of this month!

We're sick

Wednesday evening, Angela threw a crying fit and then threw up. She threw another fit and then threw up again. Was she sick or just crying too hard? Then she threw up again and again and again. We had to change her pajamas 4 times, her bedding twice, and put her in the bathtub twice as well. Jamie did her best to help out. It was after 11:00 before we got to bed.

Thursday, Angela was a bit better but still clingy and crabby. She threw up a couple of times. No one else showed any symptoms so we thought maybe she had eaten something bad.

Then came Friday. I ended up with a major headache. Jamie complained that her stomach hurt. She threw a crying fit and threw up afterwards too. Sick or too much crying? Four hours later, the green beans she ate at dinner came up all over Alphy's side of the bed. Angela ended up throwing up again for the first time in 16 hours.

My stomach wasn't feeling too hot either. But then I'm pregnant and I stay sick all the way through. After getting things cleaned up and figuring out sleeping arrangements, emergency throw up arrangements and throwing up a couple of times myself, we went to bed. The girls were asleep about 11:00. Alphy and I not until midnight or later.

I didn't get any sleep. I got up about 6 times to throw up what water I had drunk and whatever bile was in my stomach. Saturday, I just stayed in or near my bed. My blood sugars were way out of whack, and I wasn't eating properly, so I didn't bother taking any more readings after the first time.

Jamie and Angela seemed better yesterday, but we still weren't sure. We all ended up skipping church today because it is better to be safe than sorry. My stomach has settled, finally. Jamie complained of a hurt tummy this morning but she returned to normal after eating breakfast.

Alphy is the only one not hit yet and I hope he doesn't get hit.

I'm tired

I haven't written for quite some time. I look at my blog and think "I need to write something ... tomorrow." I have lots of excuses but really it boils down to being exhausted, meaning procrastination is lots easier.

I am half-way through a pregnancy. I don't get to take naps. I can't go outside to walk, my favorite form of exercise. I still work part-time. So doing things on the computer other than reading or interacting with Facebook is a little overwhelming because it takes thought.

We are having a little boy. He's quite active, although he isn't keeping me awake yet. Jamie knew he was a boy 2 months before we found out for sure. She is excited for the new baby. Angela is coming around slowly. I just wish we could get Angela potty-trained before this baby comes.

Anyway, I'll see if I can't write once a week to keep it updated. We'll see.

Our "You Ate My Scriptures!" Moment

Background: When my oldest nephew was about 4, he came up to his dad with his hands cupped over nothing. He was pretending. He asked, "What do you think I have in my hands?" His dad reached out and pretended to picked up something and popped it in his mouth. His son immediately began crying and said "You ate my scriptures!"

Last night, my girls were pretending in the kitchen. Angela was playing with things when she brought out her hands as if she was carrying something. Jamie reached out and "grabbed" it and carried "it" off. Angela started crying. Daddy got in on it and tried to take it back and give it back to Angela. All this is pretend. Jamie through herself on the floor because Daddy had taken the pie away. We couldn't help but laugh. All this was because of an imaginary pie.

Another attack of the scissors

Jamie is making a habit of this. Grandma let her use children's scissors to cut up paper. Supervised the whole time, until that brief moment that she walked out of the room. She came back to see Angela with locks of hair missing from above both ears and Jamie clutching something tightly in her hand. Jamie dodged around Grandma and dumped the hair into the box that held all the cut up paper.

Angela wasn't in need of a haircut yet. She hadn't had even a trim up to this point. Maybe we need to give Jamie some lessons.

"No" "Way"

"No", said Jamie.
"Way", added Angela.
"No", said Jamie a little more forcefully.
"Way", added Angela.
Jamie almost starts crying. She's yelling "No" now.
Angela continues to add "Way".

This went on for a little while until I stopped Jamie and told her that Angela was just helping her say "No" because Angela thinks "No" should be said "No way".

Scissors

We just had a major attack of the scissors in our house. Jamie got a hold of some kitchen shears - you know, the ones usually used to cut chicken bones and stuff like that - and did a nice little crew cut to the front of her hair. For the short time she had them, she did quite a bit of damage. What makes this even more amazing is that these shears are the very tight and hard to use. We've put WD-40 on the hinge but it still doesn't loosen up. Jamie was able to use them, probably two-handed.

I think this makes the third scissor attack in Jamie's life.

Oh well. That is life. Now if we can keep Angela from repeating this, we'll count ourselves lucky.

How Much is a Good Night's Sleep Worth????

Exactly $.25. That is how much we are paying our 4-year-old to sleep in her own bed.

She got in the habit of sleeping with us during her worst eczema flare-ups. They lasted for quite a while and were so bad that she would wake up crying in the middle of the night. Of course, she would scratch and scratch, making it hurt worse. So she ended up in our bed with us holding on to her hands while she would scream and cry and thrash about until she finally fell asleep.

I guess the comfort of sleeping with us kept her asleep so we let her continue doing it until the flare-ups died off. Then she would still come wandering in during the night. We would be so tired that sometimes we weren't aware she was there.

We started putting her on the floor on a sleeping bag. She would sleep longer but would eventually end up in bed with us.

Then, one day, she saw some quarters Alphy had. "Can I have those?" Jamie asked.

"Only if you sleep in your own bed. You'll get one a night."

"OK."

Since she has slept in her own bed, I sleep better. Alphy sleeps better and Angela sleeps better. Angela used to get up in the middle of the night. She hated going to sleep too. We'd find her asleep in the rocking chair because she would come to the door and cry until she knew we weren't coming. Then she'd crawl up on the rocking chair and fall asleep.

Now that Jamie is in there all the time, Angela crawls in bed with Jamie. I think that keeps them both asleep. They need the comfort of somebody there.

So, yes, I'll keep paying a quarter a night, for as long as it takes. I really enjoy the sleep!

Realistic Exercise for Moms

Every time I pick up a Parenting magazine or one about pregnancy, usually at the pediatrician's office or the OBGYN office, I see an article about how to regain that pre-pregnancy body without going to the gym. I hate those things. The exercises they recommend tend to be just a little too complicated. Plus, they always show someone in sports clothing who is already in shape. It just doesn't seem very realistic, especially the exercises you are supposed to do when out and about with a stroller.

As I've never been in to exercise that much, not the formal "now lift your arms out from your body..." type exercise, I would like to propose some realistic exercise that most mothers could do when they are out with their kids.

• Push the stroller with the child in it. Not only will you be walking, you will get some resistance training from the stroller. You should be able to do this shortly after leaving the hospital.


• Once you are comfortable with step 1 and can make it to the park from your house, if it is in walking distance, or around the park on the sidewalk if you have to drive there, move on to this step to increase resistance: Start pushing the stroller through the grass or wood chips or whatever is available. You'd be amazed at what muscle groups are used to do this.

NOTE: If you have more than one child or if you can borrow more children by babysitting or play groups or whatever, you can get ever more out of steps 1 & 2 by using a double stroller. Load up on the older, heavier children and get even more benefit.

• Have you ever gotten on the swings and swung for a while. (Swing/swang/swung/have swung, etc. I don't know which is correct) Swinging in the swings is great for the abs and the legs. But keep an eye on your kids.


• A variation on the above I discovered just today, place a toddler on your lap as you swing. You have to swing only with your legs because you are holding on to the child. Your legs get quite the workout.


• Chase your kids in games of tag. Great aerobic exercise.


• Weight lift using your kids as the weights when they are able to hold their head up by themselves. Side benefits of this includes, your weights are growing as your ability to lift them grows. Or your ability to lift them will grow as they grow. Sometimes their weight gains may outstrip your abilities for a while but since you gotta lift them, you'll catch up.
  

Good luck and get out there and lose that baby weight.

Okay, I give up...

My sisters have been at me forever to get more updates on my family and how we are doing. I have another blog that I am using as a semi-professional blog so family updates (and updates in general) are few and far between.

Here you go Jessalee. Give me time to learn how to get pictures etc. posted but I will post updates here a little more often.