Oh what a night!

Guess I better get used to long nights. Here is a little how last night went:

9:30 pm- get into bed.

10:30 pm- waken up by Zach asking me questions that must have been too pressing to wait until morning. Might as well get up and pee.

12:00 am- time to pee again, and need a bottle of water.

1:30 am- zach gets up to pee, so naturally that wakes me up and I must go too. No, I only drank a sip of that water.

2:00 am. Must have just drifted back to sleep. Logan has pinned me to the bed and I can't really move. Afraid of getting a cramp, so I kick him out of the room. Might as well pee.

4:00 am- Hear laughter coming from the boys room. They are watching the special features of a movie (Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2) and wide awake. Well, Riley is wide awake. Dec is watching but looks downright miserable and has his hands clamped over ears. Mini freakout by me. Followed by.... a pee break.

4:30 am- Still laying awake from the last wakeup. Hear the terrible dive bomb sound of a stinkbug.

4:45 am- Still looking for the stinkbug, Zach is now up too looking with me. We can't find him.

5:00 am- Since I am starting at the clock, I see the stinkbug crawl across the face of the digital time. I remove and flush him, stopping of course to pee.

6:30 am- laying awake still, head is hurting and trying desperately to fall back asleep. zach is making funny noises. I think I hear the boys stirring, too.

7:30 am- Wake up, although I don't remember falling back asleep. Logan is whining outside of the door and wants to go out to pee I think. I certainly can understand having to pee, so I get up, stopping to take care of my own needs first and let him out. Try to sneak back to my bed but the boys pop out of their room riproaring to go.

7:45 am- Taking breakfast orders and coming to terms with the fact that nighttime is officially over.

8:15 am- Bitching about it in a blog.

Hubby is nesting

I think my hubby is nesting now! I took the bouncer out of the package and acted like I was going to assemble it myself... which worked like a charm. He put it together, and then went out and installed the carseat as well, picked up the family room of all the toy disaster and vacuumed it AND the living room. Who is this guy? I like it! :)

Obviously, I have nothing else to mention or I would have. But it is still nice when the hubby steps up without being asked. This after the wonderful day he gave me yesterday where he let me take a nap and even helped Riley with his homework while I did so- just a nice break.

Head is still kiling me...makes me just about worthless, that's how bad it hurts.

Every inch of me is bruised...

Sometimes I really hate being right all of the time. When I keep telling the boys to stop the game they are playing (some weird mix of wrestling and tag) and nobody is listening (all the while I am online looking up different books about behavioral problems bordering on ADHD to help Riley with paying attention and keep him out of trouble) and 30 seconds later there is a terrible crash followed by terrible crying...I must venture to say, it isn't easy being right all of the time. Poor Dec has a huge welt in the middle of his forehead from the shelf his little skull bounced off of when Riley pushed him down.

Moments like these, I can't believe there will be a third boy running around that I am in charge of keeping out of harm's way.

Knock on wood!

It seems like all my FB buddies are sick, or someone in their family is pretty sick. We all (knock on wood) are healthy as horses here, except of course for broken bones and my everlasting headache.

Accomplished a lot around the house this morning, even with Ry being home from school for President's Day and Zach away for a few hours getting fitted for a new contraption for his fingers/hand. It is some type of machine that attaches to his hand and keeps his hand always moving and stretching so the tendons don't get stuck in scar tissue again. (That's why he needed the second surgery) Now I just have to fold the laundry when the last of it is through the dryer and after that I plan on doing nothing besides feeding and watering the fam and myself. Although, I might make lemon bars.

Have decided to officially stop stressing over something I can't control and just let nature take over and guide Archer. I still can't wait to meet him but constantly trying different ways to stir things up is exhausting me and I really just want to enjoy the peace and quiet for a few more days.

For family day this week we had two seperate days of fun. Yesterday was "Cousin" Day. We used to live right next door to their cousins and since they only get to spend every other weekend with my brother now due to some degenerative decisions made by their mom, cousin events are very exciting. We finally decided on seeing Gnomeo and Juliet, which was super cute. After the movie was over, we went over to visit their great grandmother who lives just a few blocks from the theater where we had gone to see the movie. She wasn't expecting us, but seemed pretty excited to welcome the wild bunch in...ordered some yummy pizza and played for a few hours there before heading home and heading straight to bed.

Today was day two of fun, just our little family. We went bowling, and this was Declan's first time bowling, Riley's second (he went to a birthday party a week ago where there was bowling), Zach's first time bowling left handed and my first time bowling in about 8 years and 9 months pregnant! We must have been quite a sight! Everybody had fun, even Zach who came in dead last.

I felt a few twinges but of course nothing continued. I can't even bowl my baby out of me. He's in there until he decides it is time to come out and join us.

Listening to the freight train wind!

The wind made for a very snuggly night but now that I am awake and making plans for the day, I'm not so much a fan. It would be wonderful if we could have some of the weather we had over the past few days on a Saturday and actually enjoy the whole day as a family while poor Ry isn't stuck at school!

The boys are in great moods this morning, both ate healthy breakfast choices (well yogurt and cereal, and oranges and cereal is better than the poptarts they have been asking for lately!) and my headache is hiding out for the moment. We picked up the van last night, so I feel 100% ready for Archer now although I am only dilated one centimeter at this point. I took forever to dilate with Ry and Dec so to me this is no progress, pretty disappointing. I have another doctor appointment on my due date, and an induction scheduled for March 1st if he doesn't make his own appearance before then.

Think I'm going to grab a shower while the boys are so content snuggling with their grandma watching mickey mouse clubhouse.

Somehow I am still alive and haven't passed out from these constant headaches. They really are the most debilitating ones I have ever experienced. Who knows if they would still be around if I could actually take something stronger than Tylenol? The doctor didn't seem concerned about them, but I plan to mention it again when I go there today. (Although I was really hoping I wouldn't be able to keep this appointment!) Woke up just about every hour last night to pee or because I needed to switch sides which I can't do without being very careful about it or my entire pelvic girdle pops and cracks, which is pretty painful. Everytime I woke up, it took awhile to fall back asleep with my head pounding. So not only does my head hurt, I'm cranky and tired.

I find I have little to no patience lately. All Declan wants to do during the time of day he is allowed to play Wii is play Mario Galaxy 2, which obviously is too challenging for him. He is really good at some other games but is obsessed with Mario and the gang so him playing Mario consists of me playing it while he dictates where I go and which levels I do. The most annoying part of all is he has favorite galaxies and we have to do some of them over and over even though we don't get anything for doing them anymore, since they are technically complete. I am not a videogame person, at all.

So that is my griping for the day. The good news is that it is gorgeously warm outside and Friday. As much as I want this baby to be born, I could actually use some weekend without him where I can hopefully sleep past 6:30.

Well my plan to eat spicy tacos for dinner last night did NOT send me into labor as hoped. However it did cause plenty of other unpleasant side effects. Add that to my favorite daily headache that I woke up with and I am feeling a little frustrated. I'm hoping that the taco effects will at least be over with by mid morning so I can take Dec to the Dollar Tree as I promised I would before he has preschool this afternoon. He has Valentine's money ($5!!) burning a hole in his little pocket.

The good news is that hubby has therapy every day this week (which apparently doesn't feel very fabulous after having surgery on Tuesday) and he made his appointment at a time that would allow him to drive Riley to school first and then head straight to Lancaster for pt. His appointment tomorrow allows him to pick Riley up from school and head straight there- taking Ry with him! (Riley LOVES physical therapy, he does all the activities and encourages his Daddy as well- super cute stuff.) Is it wrong to already be planning a way to make Dec fall asleep tomorrow afternoon so I can get a nap??

In other news, it is so nice to see the grass again-even if it is dead. I am thinking maybe a walk later today for some fresh air, get the scooters out... basically just not be sitting on the couch no matter how inviting that sounds.

Today is definitely one of those slow-starting mornings. The mornings where you say yes to the poptart for breakfast and stay in your comfy clothes til the last possible second. And yes, the mornings where you take your kid to school in yoga pants and slippers. I hope Riley isn't scarred by my lack of even running a brush through my hair before shoving it in a ponytail on days like this.

Boys were up by 5 am... having a blast. I could hear them on and off, but they stayed in their room so I stayed in my bed until I had to get up to use the potty anyway. I told them to get back in their beds and go to sleep but while they quieted down I'm pretty sure they never fell back asleep. Oh well, that probably means Declan will take a nap after preschool today... but that is definitely not guaranteed. He hasn't taken a regular nap for over a year now and I miss it like crazy. I have a feeling that is about to get a whole lot worse should I ever decide to not be pregnant anymore.

My dad has already collected Zach for his surgery in Lancaster. I'm really lucky to have the kind of parents who have always been so helpful and accepting. I'm sure few would find Zach to be the ideal son-in-law but my extended family has seen him for what really matters: he is a fabulous father and my other half. In the end, that is all that matters to me.

In other news, I'm not quite sure how I'm going to lose any baby weight after looking through Tastefully Simple's new spring/summer catalog. Portion control will be key since everything looks so yummy.

Going to finally get in the shower so I can start the last load of baby clothes that I need to wash before he arrives. Although, I'm sure there is no rush.

(the pic was taken at 9:45 am... what happens to Declan when his wild and crazy brother wakes him up at 5 am. )

Happy Valentine's Day!

I've always been a sucker for Valentine's Day, love giving presents, LOVE getting the cute little kid valentines from my kids especially. Last year we got our boys pillow pets and they are still in love with them and sleep with them every single night. This year we went the route of Indian Echo Cavern gift shop toys... Riley made such a fuss about this gigantic anaconda (stuffed) he wanted when we were there last week. It was a little much for a just because present (besides we are really trying to get away from the you-get-a-present-everytime-you-go-somewhere method) but I did go back for it since I pass there on my way to the OB once a week. Dec was so tickled by the bats we saw in the cave that I got him a stuffed bat and storybook to go with it. Both were thrilled and that was my mission- definitely accomplished.

I didn't get what I wanted for Valentine's Day...at least not yet. Very unlikely that I will at this point. Just walking through the mall with the hubby yesterday had me contracting rather painfully, but still nothing productive. I was hoping if I tried some (or almost all) of the tricks upon returning from the mall that I could get something going but Archer seems no more eager to come out than his older brothers were. I know I'm not due for another 11 days but this third pregnancy has definitely done a number on my bones and I am ready to have my body back.

Bought a minivan on Saturday morning... picking it up Thursday. Zach has ligament surgery tomorow and possibly replating the one finger. Still having headaches on and off...told the doctor about it but she says I am fine. Makes it hard to do anything besides lay around with my eyes closed. And Declan is definitely not allowing that one today.

TGIF!

I've had the most difficult time getting the Tastefully Simple HQ personnel to update my address and it hasn't been working very well. I called them when I moved at the end of May and updated them on my info-yet the problem persists. I've had numerous things sent to my old address that in turn take twice as long to get to me (not products, just like newsletters and prizes, stuff like that) after they bounce around for awhile. The only way to update it is to talk to someone @ HQ and have them do it for you, so that's what I keep doing and for awhile I thought the problem was solved. I've been getting regular mail from HQ...until the other day when I got a shipment notification that my preordered spring items were on their way to my old address. Luckily I check my email enough to see this right away and with some help from a customer service rep @ TS was able to get the address changed before it left the UPS warehouse. I very specifically told the girl (who told me that both of the addresses were listed for me) to please DELETE the old one. So she emails me that this is completed and life is merry again. Right? WRONG! Today I get another email...something else is shipping (I think a prize that was on backorder?) to my old address. WTH?? Do I need to head out to Minnesota and fix the problem myself? What could be so difficult about this?


Luckily, I have more to be happy about today then grouchy but I did need to share that since it is just so ridiculous!

Happy Federal Tax Return Hit the Bank Day!
Time to get a minivan.

Oh, BS.... lots of you today!

This may be long, and this may be a little over the top bitchy as well. You've been warned.

So, Zach's representative (her name is Ashley) at his workers comp company gave him serious crap over not being approved for light duty in mid January. She made various rude comments about how she found it hard to believe that broken fingers would keep some one out of work for three months blah blah etc. etc. She threatened him that if he wasn't back on light duty by February, she would suspend his benefits and put him under investigation. So at his most recent doctor appointment, Zach made sure his doctor checked the light duty box on his little paper, even though the doctor didn't think he should go back. It took some convincing, and Zach explained what the workers comp rep was saying and finally got his checkmark.

Tuesday was Zach's first four hour shift back. The pay period runs through Wednesday. So that makes 4 hours of pay. This is supposed to be subtracted from his workers comp paychecks that run Mon-Friday (for example this week should run 2/7-2/11) and get mailed out Tuesdays for the week we are already in. So by 2/11 or 2/12 he gets the paycheck for this week. Except nobody returned his calls all week and now he isn't getting a paycheck at all from workers comp for this week, until maybe the end of next week when she figures things out. I can't even tell you what this paycheck in front of me from his actual work looks like.

Super frustrated... and need big prayers for the fed. return that supposedly hits our bank account tomorrow. I've been let down by that before...last year in fact. Please let that not be the case since we won't have a paycheck for who knows how long??

Oh, and all of this is for two days of work that she practically forced him into...since he now has his next surgery on Tuesday. What was the point of going back for those days? They had to look around for things for him to do considering he does warehouse work and they had him in the office. His work didn't want him (not that they don't love him!), but workers comp insisted.

AHHHHHHH!

Haircuts, headaches and leg cramps

At the risk of sounding whiny (and this is a risk I am willing to take!), I cannot wait until this baby is born! I have had bad headaches since Saturday (so this would be the 5th day) that go away with tylenol but come back a few hours later in the exact same place. Tylenol just isn't strong enough to keep it away! After some facebookers urged me to consider pre-eclampsia, I checked my symptoms and don't have any of the other ones besides having a headache. And supposedly the type of headache would be all over and not just in one spot, like they are. I have had only normal BPS through this pregnancy, but I am going to check at the grocery store since I'm going there anyway just to make sure that remains true. I hate feeling like this, it makes me into a lazy person who just wants to nap when I have a million things I could be doing instead. My next dr. appointment is on Friday, so I will definitely be mentioning this at that time. I've also been getting leg cramps... maybe I need more fluids? After all, then I could go to the bathroom every 20 minutes instead of every 30!

Other than that, things are pretty tame here. Today isn't one of the days that Zach has to go to work or even therapy so I am happy he is here playing with Dec since I don't feel well. He even took Riley to school which is normally something I do (and enjoy doing) so I didn't have to.

The boys got haircuts last night at the barber shop. This is the first time they have been to anyone besides my grandma and I couldn't believe how well they both did! Riley behaved and sat relatively still, and chatted cutely with the girl the whole time. Declan didn't move a muscle and did everything she told him to. (By this time, freshly shorn Riley was bouncing all over the shop but at least his hair was already finished). I really need to remember to pick up a new charger for my camera since the other one mysteriously vanished so I can take pictures of these moments- and obviously a big moment coming up!

Here's a question though... what do you do when your child says something embarrassing in public about another person? I wanted to get up and flee with them before they could speak up because I knew seeing someone as different as a little person wasn't going to go well. Sure enough, Declan saw him first (mostly because Zach had already grabbed Riley and was coaching him through the moment) and wanted to know why that man was so little? It was so loud and he wasn't being mean or laughing, he just wanted to know. I just said people are all different heights and left it at that but I wasn't sure if I should have done more? Or if it was best mostly ignored even though unless the guy was hard of hearing he must have heard the commotion that he caused when walking through the doors. I was proud of Riley though, once Zach spoke to him he kept his mouth shut, which is really hard for him to do (and I saw him gazing down towards the little person- it was definitely still on his mind!).

Guess who's back? Tell a friend!

I've noticed a lot more of my mommy friends are blogging these days and I felt a little bit jealous. I haven't used this for about a year, and a lot has changed however today feels a little more like the old days.

Zach is back at work for the first time since October today. He broke two fingers the day before Halloween on a non-regular workday when they were crushed beneath some fitness equipment. After a surgery that was only half successful and months of physical therapy, he is approved for light duty for four hours at a time twice a week. Don't worry, he's been getting paid this whole time. He does require another surgery though- it seems only the middle finger (thank goodness for that since it is one of his favorites!) that was corrected with a plate is progressing. The index finger was fixed with pins and needs a plate now. (I'm not a doctor, but maybe they should have just fixed them both with plates to begin with??) That surgery will probably be scheduled after another consultation on Thursday.

Today it is just me and Declan for now, although we have to leave for preschool in half an hour. We played restaurant for a bit this morning, but more and more it feels like I am bothering him and he wants to play independantly on his ds (handed down from Riley when Ry needed a new one since he broke the bottom screen- the old one still works for some games and Dec was thrilled that Riley wanted to give it to him!) or swordfight on Wii. He amazes me when he is swordfighting, he is wild and wicked and has the highest score of anyone in the family since he can move those little arms so much faster than we can move ours.

I've gotten a little housework done, but mostly I am waiting for the school to call. Riley seems to want to stay home more and more and comes up with fake sick excuses which the school nurse buys everytime since it is just kindergarten, not med school. We tried to figure out what was really going on, and he told a little story about how two of the kids in his class are trying to get him and his best pal to do bad things with them. He didn't elaborate on what the bad things were, but Riley gets a good star for behavior everyday in his folder so I know he isn't actually confessing something that has already happened and blaming it on some kids. I emailed the teacher but haven't heard a response yet. He is such a sweet kid, he can get the teacher to finish any of his projects he is working on just by saying please and you're so good at it (she confessed she needed to work on this but had a hard time resisting his charm) so it makes me sad to think of him feeling sad at school. So far so good, no call yesterday or today thus far.

Two and a half weeks til my due date for little Archer. I am a little nervous about the labor just because everything else has been so different about this pregnancy. I hope this one is uneventful like the other two were... and I know I won't remember quite how badly it hurts until it is already happening again! Although at this point, he is coming out one way or another so I better just suck it up! Just about ready for him though, just need Zach to put a few more things together but I try not to rush him with these since he has only one regularly functioning hand. I guess I could do it myself but that would hurt his feelings, so I just try to be patient.

I may miss Zach a little since he is at work for the first time in months, but I am perfectly content with that feeling since it means I get a little just me time during preschool...