Catch-All Post

I've been meaning to blog about several things, but I just haven't had the time or inclination, it seems. So here is a post of odds and ends, in no particular order.

1. Praise the Lord, I had a really good OB appointment on Thursday! I saw the same doctor that I saw last time, and the first thing she said to me was how great my numbers looked, and how it must have been just all the stress and sickness that made me have some higher readings the end of December, as opposed to a great increase in insulin resistance! So, no mention of pills. Yay! I go back again next Friday. My numbers have been really good this week too. Being back in a good routine, with healthy kids and good nights sleep, plus tons of exercise, does wonders for my blood glucose numbers!

2. Grace is picking back up on her eating again, thankfully. I weighed her yesterday, and it looks like she is back around 20 pounds, so that is good. She is enjoying all the chocolate protein drinks and extra snacks, LOL. Best of all, she just seems happier, so she is obviously feeling good. She got her shots Thursday afternoon after my appointment, and thankfully she didn't seem to get sick or have any problems from them.

3. We are in the throes of the Upward basketball season. We're doing it at a different church this year, and we are liking the program. We also really like the fact that it's only about 5 minutes away from our house! This is Luke's first year to play on a team, and it turns out he is an excellent basketball player (taking after his cousin Pilot?!). Even though he is small, he is very athletic and coordinated, and he just moves well with the ball. Who knew he would be so aggressive? Plus, he is a good shot, so he usually makes most of the points for his team, even though he is not a ball-hog, and he passes the ball often to teammates so they can take shots. Unfortunately, most of them could not hit the broad side of a barn, so . . . He is definitely the best player on his team, but that hadn't mattered, because before yesterday, his team had lost every game. This was very discouraging for Luke, who is very competitive. We have had lots of talks with him about how his lessons from this season might have to do with just improving his skills, and those of his teammates, while learning that winning just isn't the most important thing.

That is all in contrast to Nathan, who, although this is his third year of playing, is just an average basketball player, who handles the ball okay. He has made some baskets, which is great, but he is definitely not the best player on the team or anything. But that hasn't mattered to him, because until yesterday, his team was undefeated! It's just been funny to see the differences in attitudes.

4. We are sputtering along in school, at least that's how it feels. Since we got back, we have had tons and tons of appointments, so our normal schedule has been very disjointed. I wanted to get all these things out of the way before the baby comes, though.

In co-op, they are working through a writing unit. In the fifth and sixth grades, they are writing a short research paper on a country in Africa. Nathan picked Madagascar, and so writing this paper has been taking a lot of his time. He sent in his rough draft yesterday, and they'll get that back n Tuesday. Then they have to make corrections, and they also have to put together a little display of pictures, etc. for the fifth week activity, which will be on Feb. 3. All the other kids in the co-op will go around at look at all the displays.

Luke's class is working on writing short stories. I was amazed when he came home the first Tuesday and typed up a story about a boy named Jake who wanted to play football but was too small to ever make the team. Hmmm . . . wonder where he gets these ideas?! He has since revised the story, but still . . . he is not a very eager writer, so I was happy that he took the initiative to write something on his own, outside of class. Other than that, however, co-op hasn't taken any extra of his time, so he is pretty much doing regular school stuff.

The one thing we haven't been doing much of lately is Latin, which is highly unusual for us. We are soooo close to finishing Latina Christiana II--only 3 more lessons--but somehow I am just not motivated to really work on it. Each night, when I normally think of sentences for them to translate in the morning, it's like my brain is just fried and I can't come up with anything. I'm definitely blaming that on pregnancy, but it's all I can do to review vocab during the day.

We're still working through the Story of the World IV cds in the car. Good thing we've had all those long trips to Bethesda! I've really enjoyed doing that, and it's led to good discussions. We finally finished listening to all the chapters we had previously read (as a review) and are onto new chapters. We are doing some mapwork and other things at home for chapters I think are particularly important, like the one on the peace agreement at Versailles, which was at the end of World War I.

Well, I am sure there are other things I meant to post about, but that's all I can think of right now. That will at least catch you up on us! I'll be sure to let you know if and when anything starts happening. I'll be 37 weeks on Tuesday, and my parents will get here, Lord willing, Monday, Jan. 26. We are all excited to see them again, and it will be so nice to have the extra hands! In the meantime, I will be trying to knock things off my at-home to-do list--things like washing the infant carseat material, which is dirty from being in the garage, and cleaning out our walk-in closet so the pack-n-play will fit in there. Plenty of stuff to keep me busy, but not so much running around!

Well-Baby Appointment

Yesterday afternoon was Grace's well-baby appointment. We again left right after co-op to trek on over to Bethesda. Once again we discovered that Grace is a very light-weight child. In other shocking news, the earth is round, and the sun is hot. So she weighs all of 19 pounds and 3 ounces at 20 months. This is not a completely accurate picture, though, as she was all the way up to 21 pounds before Christmas. I knew she had lost a few pounds with all this sickness and her not really eating much. She is slowly picking her pace back up, as far as how much she eats, but for awhile there, especially after the night of vomiting, she really could not have cared any less if she ate anything at all.

So the doctor was mildly concerned. Grace has been in the 5th percentile, and now she's pretty much not on the charts. This is where I am so glad we're at Bethesda, instead of the Fairfax Clinic. I really, really, really have liked all the pediatricians we've seen here, and the one we saw yesterday was actually our primary care manager, who we've seen before, and in fact just saw last week for Anna's appointment. Some continuity in care! What a concept! The doctor said she knew how skinny all my kids were, so she wasn't really worried, but she just wants to make sure that Grace starts gaining back again, and doesn't get any smaller. This is also my concern, especially since we're right in the middle of winter, and she could get sick again. Sickness is what really takes it out of a skinny baby.

So the doctor gave us some ideas to help her gain. Grace gets heavy cream on her cereal instead of whole milk, she gets cups of chocolate Carnation breakfast mix with her snacks, and we're supposed to put butter or olive oil on everything we can. Unfortunately (and ironically, given my diabetes), Grace doesn't really LIKE breads and things that you would put butter and olive oil on. Sigh. She's more of a protein/vegetables/fruit girl. Combine her lack of love for carbs with her high metabolism . . . I am extremely jealous, shall we say, LOL. I guess she'll never get gestational diabetes!

I am supposed to make an appointment to bring Grace back in for a weight check in a few weeks, when the new baby has her 2 week well-baby check. In the meantime, we've been pushing food on Grace like you wouldn't believe. She had two bowls of ice cream last night, and two bowls of cereal this morning, as well as a cup of yogurt between breakfast and lunch. We have been to Walmart and gotten the breakfast mix, as well as half-n-half (no heavy cream there, so that will have to wait), so we're set for a few days. The good news is that she has actually been eating what we've been pushing. The past week she has mainly been turning up her nose and saying, "Nooooooo" at everything. She really is feeling better finally. I am just praying that she won't get sick again from being in the nursery at co-op yesterday!!

A Day Off

I'm not feeling so well today. Grace was sick last week--she vomited for a few hours Wednesday night, and has just been "off her feed" the past few days. She doesn't seem to have any real symptoms, like a fever or diarrhea or anything, but she's not eating too much, and she's definitely not her usual perky self. Of course, when you only weigh 20 pounds and are 20 months old, not eating much is not a good thing. She has a well-baby appointment on Tuesday, so I will talk to the doctor then if she still seems this way. I'm assuming I have picked up whatever her bug was, minus the vomiting.

I worked at our co-op last Tuesday (and will be there for the next 3 weeks as well), and the thing is, Grace has gotten sick just about every. single. time she has been in the nursery. I guess the church we meet at, which is a very large one, doesn't rigorously clean their baby toys or something.

Anyhow, last night I was just sort of queasy, and I was that way again this morning. Sort of like when you're first pregnant, and there's just that persistant edge of queasiness. Hey, maybe I'm pregnant! I should test or something. So I went ahead and ate my usual gestational diabetes breakfast of 1/2 c. bran flakes, milk, and a hard-boiled egg, which did not really agree with my digestional tract. After spending some time in the bathroom, I told Bob I didn't feel like I could go to church, and I went back to bed. I slept for a few more hours, and I felt better as long as I laid in bed. As soon as I got up, though, I felt queasy again, so I have pretty much just laid around today. This has been surprisingly hard to do. I know there are so many things to do, plus I didn't exercise, which is a huge thing for me at this point. The guilt! And what on earth are you supposed to eat when you are having tummy issues and have gestational diabetes? The BRAT diet is nothing but carbs. Finally I decided on a banana and half of a cup of yogurt. My numbers were fine after that, which was a relief.

I'm feeling better, so I guess I'll eat a normal dinner. Both Bob and I were supposed to work in the nursery during evening church tonight, but Bob said he would just do it. I tell you, the temptation to try to get something done with everyone out of the house is really great, but I am just going to have to resist. I think maybe the reason I'm not feeling well today is that I have been overdoing it a bit, what with all the exercising, doctor appointments, taking the Christmas stuff down, and huge trip to the commissary, plus normal stuff like school and laundry. Next week is shaping up to be another busy one, with 2 trips to Bethesda, helping at co-op, plus various other little things. Just a little over 4 weeks before my due date! No--I am not going to think about all the stuff I need to accomplish before that . . . I am going back to bed.

We won! We won!

When we got back from Ohio, there was a message on our answering machine from the orthodontist's office--I won the "parents' giveaway", but I wouldn't be able to claim my prize until January, because they were closed between Christmas and New Year's. This morning, Nathan had a consult there, so I was able to pick up my prize basket! We won a "hot chocolate" themed basket, with 2 large mugs, marshmallows, Ghiradelli hot cocoa mix, napkins, a large platter, and a hot cocoa/latte foamer and dispenser. The dispenser should be nice--I guess we just make a lot of hot chocolate, put it in there, and then let everyone get their own on tap? It didn't come with any directions, so we're sort of on our own here, LOL.

Of course, winning this giveaway in no way makes up for having a lot of kids, all with narrow jaws. We found out that Nathan also has a narrow jaw, as well as a slight overbite. On his right side, the top teeth do not meet the bottom teeth correctly, which is because of the small jaw. Also, (the reason we brought him in), he has this "little" tooth, which didn't form right. The orthodontist recommended an expander for him as well, then braces, and then some sort of bonding to build up the tooth until a permanent crown or something can be put on it, after he is 18. Sounds expensive! We need to decide and do something fairly soon, while his jaw is still malleable. The only question is if we should start the process here. We very likely might not be here after this summer, so I just don't know if we should start something and then move. The financing lady did say that changing orthodontists in the the middle of treatment is usually very expensive. Great! One option might be to just do the expander right now, leaving it in until we start somewhere else. We'll see. Just another area of uncertainty, LOL.

Pregnancy Update

I'm 35 weeks along now, and I had an appointment yesterday afternoon at 1:30. Everything looks fine, and the baby's head is down. We talked a lot about my glucose numbers. I did really great until the girls got sick in Ohio, and I had several nights of very little sleep. SInce then, I've had a harder time keeping my numbers under 120 during the day. What I've found is that if we have a quiet day, where I do my exercise, and we don't leave the house, then I don't ahve any problems. But as soon as we run errands or something, then my numbers will be higher. Not too high--like 121 or 122--but higher than they want.

For example, I ate a turkey/cheese/spinach sandwich and 1/2 pear for lunch on Monday. Then we went to the health food store, library, and WalMart. I rushed back home, put the girls down, and took my reading, and it was 121. Yesterday we had co-op, where I had to stay and work as a "floater", mainly helping in the K-4/K-5 class, then we left from there and drove to Bethesda, after I ate a peanut butter sandwich, carrots, and an orange for lunch. My reading, which I took after parking and walking in, was 123. Then we spent the entire afternoon at Bethesda because I had an appointment for Anna, Caleb, and Jonathan after my appointment, and they had to get shots. We ended up waiting over an hour to get the shots, so we didn't leave until around 5:00, and we didn't get back home until 6:00, so that was a stressful, tiring afternoon with neither girl (nor me!) getting any sort of nap. After dinner, my number was 122.

So the doctor said it could all just be stress, or it could be that my body is just becoming more insulin-resistant as I get more and more pregnant. I'm going to go back next week on Thursdya, and if I have had more high numbers, then she will start me on a pill that stimulates my pancreas to create more insulin. It's either glipizide or glyburide, I'm not sure which one. I did some research on the computer, and I guess neither one sounds awful. All the websites do say that only insulin is approved for use in pregnancy, but that studies have shown that these 2 drugs don't appear to corss over the placenta in large amounts and aren't harmful, etc. I wouldn't be taking it for very long--just a few weeks. I don't want to take anything, but the fact is, it is very stressful to realize that no matter what I eat or how much I exercise, my numbers will probably by high if we go out and do anything. I feel like such a failure when the number is high on my little monitor! And let's face it--I'm trying to get a lot of stuff taken care of these last few weeks before the baby comes. We have lots of various doctor/dental appointments scheduled (next Tuesday afternoon Grace has her well-baby appointment, plus shots, so that will be another stressful afternoon at Bethesda!), plus I need to go to the commissary and do other things. There aren't going to be a bunch of days where we just sit at home and relax, unfortunately.

So we'll see what happens this week, I guess, and I will mentally prepare myself for going on medicine. I'm not sure if that will mean more pricking or not. I know one of the risks, similar to insulin, is that my blood glucose would get too low, especially with exercise, so I might have to test more often. What a hassle! I'm tired of all this. Five more weeks . . . The doctor did say that they won't let me go past my due date, although they might let me go up to it.

craigslist score!

I've been wanting a piece of furniture for our dining room for some time now--something with doors, so we could have some more storage that no one could see, LOL. Our dining room functions as the catch-all room, since we never eat there (we have our small 6-person table in there), and the table is pretty much the only surface in there, so it is always so cluttered. I didn't want a classic hutch with glass doors, because I don't really have anything I want to display like that. Mainly I want to hide stuff.

I've been looking at thrift stores and on craigslist off and on, but I never really found anything. Bob looked Friday night, and he found this beautiful piece for $275! Amazingly, we were the first to respond, and we went to look at it Sunday afternoon. The people lived in Bethesda, actually closer to us than the hospital. We brought both vans so that we could take it home if we liked it, which we did! Ed and Zachary were kind enough to come over to help get it into our house. We think it really jazzes up our dining room!

The people lived in a cute older neighborhood of houses built around 1940. On the way back we stopped at an open house just because we were totally nosy and wondering how much houses in that area were going for. So, it was a 2-story colonial, pretty small though, with 3 bedrooms, and a detached garage that had been made into a pool room that smelled totally like cats. There was no yard to speak of in the back, just some terraces and a patio. It was really nice inside, having been totally renovated. It was going for the bargain price of . . . $949,000. LOL! Guess they haven't heard in Bethesda that the real estate market has tanked.

Big Girl Anna

Anna has spent the last 2 nights in a big girl bed! I know she's been ready for this for a few months now, but I also knew that she would be sleeping in a crib over Christmas, while at my parents' house, so I didn't want to make the switch, and then have her go back to a crib. We tend to make the switch later than other people do. Our kids don't fuss about being in their cribs, they don't usually try to get out of their cribs, and being older when they start out in big beds, they also are better able to understand that they aren't allowed to get out of that bed and wander around the room at will. But for the past few months, we've just left the side down on Anna's crib so she can climb in and out using a chair, thus saving my back.

We had our futon in her room, set up like a couch, so we just laid it flat, and that is what she is sleeping on. We happened to have an old comforter with pink flowers, as well as pink sheets, so she was happy as a clam with those! "Pink!!" She's slept really well the past 2 nights, and she's had good naps, so yay! Now the last thing we have to do is get rid of her pacifier during bedtime . . .

We left the crib up in the room because eventually Grace will make the move over there and share the room with Anna. That will be another few months though because we'll put the new baby in our walk-in closet for a little while. I need to put up some appropriately girly pictures in the room, and I'm looking forward to finding ones that I used to have in my room when I was a little girl. I know they're in a box somewhere . . .

Happy New Year!

Another year, another trip to the hospital . . . At least we ended 2008 on a good note, at the annual party at the L's house. Maybe I'll be able to post some pictures later on today. We counted down at 9:00, which was good, since I was so tired from our day at Bethesda (no sinus infection for Nathan yet anyways--just lots of sinus congestion and pressure). Grace was obviously feeling better, even laughing, something we haven't seen since before Christmas Eve! Caleb, however, was not doing so well. He kept complaining and whining through the evening.

We finally got home and got everyone to bed around 10:30, with me following shortly behind. This morning Caleb was up a little after 7:00 crying and complaining that it hurt to breathe. He didn't sound terribly wheezy, but I gave him his inhaler anyway. He was still upset and obviously hurting, so Bob took him into the Bethesda ER. It turns out that he has pneumonia! He is on antibiotics, as well as some prednisone because the doctor said he was wheezing. He also had a breathing treament there. We're supposed to follow-up with an appointment either tomorrow or Monday. I know the peds clinic is booked up for tomorrow, so I guess it will have to be Monday. Then we will trudge back to Bethesda Tuesday afternoon for my OB appointment, plus an appointment for Anna, Jonathan, and Caleb (although I'm thinking it won't happen for him) so they can get the 6 month booster shots they need. I'm trying not to get too stressed out thinking about all the driving, parking, and waiting . . . We are certainly starting off 2009 with a bang!

Limping Home

Well, we made it safely back to VA last night, but we have had it rough, healthwise! I thought Grace was getting better on Saturday, because she was sleeping better and wasn't quite as fussy as she had been. But Saturday night was bad again, and Sunday was awful. Since the other kids were still coughing and hacking, Mom volunteered to stay home and watch the kids while Bob and I went to church. So we said goodbye to Dan, Melinda, and Emily, who left to drive back home Sunday, and then Bob and I had a nice date to church and out to Panera Bread for lunch. We tried a new church, a church that identifies itself as a 9 Marks church, like our one here is VA. It was good, but we are just so spoiled by our pastor here. His sermons are sooo good!

When we got home, it was obvious that Grace was not doing so well again. She was fussy the rest of the day, and the night was once again terrible. She really only slept if I was holding her, which meant not much sleep for me. Plus, she was running a fever again, and bothering with her ear, so we decided that I would take her to the ER at Wright-Pat Monday morning. When we got there, I was prepared for the long haul, based on how many people were there, and how long they had been waiting. Thankfully, however, we were seen fairly quickly. As it turned out, the doctor said that her ears did not look infected right then, but that there was tons of stuff oozing out of her right ear, so it must have ruptured. I had actually noticed this weird lava-like flow of stuff in her ear that morning, so that made sense. The doctor said the hole would most likely mend itself, and that she would probably feel better, now that all the pressure wasn't there anymore. We're just supposed to keep an eye on her, and if she starts running a fever again, then take her back in because it probably got reinfected. So, poor baby, she really was not doing well on Sunday! I should have taken her in then! Oh well, she is doing better now, and the ride home was not too bad with her.

Nathan, who you may remember started off this whole plague 2 weeks ago, started complaining about his upper jaw hurting on Monday, and he also started running a fever again. I'm wondering if he doesn't have a sinus infection, so I have an appointment for his this afternoon. Jonathan and Anna are still coughing away, but they've been sleeping fine, so I'm not too worried. I think they are on the mend.

We also generously passed this bug off to my mom (tis the season for sharing, you know), so she has also been coughing and all stuffed up. Hopefully now that our germ-laden presence is out oft he house, she will start getting better!

The last few days I have had a very hard time with my blood glucose levels. I guess it's just the stress of everyone being sick and again me not sleeping, but it is so discouraging. Sigh. My next appointment in on Jan. 6, so I am hoping that things improve before then. With that in mind, I am off to the treadmill. I am thrilled to say goodbye to the old exercise bike at my parents' house! My poor pelvis is eternally thankful not to have to get back on that thing!

New Christmas Tradition

Every year we have a birthday party for Jesus on Christmas, complete with cake, the song, etc. Last year the kids asked why we didn't give Jesus any presents, and this year my mom had a great idea to remedy that in a tangible way. She asked our family, my brother's family, and my aunt and uncle to all donate some money, and then we would look through the Samaritan's Purse gift catalogue and pick out something to give that would help a needy family somewhere. The gifts are things like shares of livestock, shares in a well for a village, stocking a fish pond for a village, food and medicine for a new mom and baby for a month, and so on. The stories are so touching, and the needs are so great, that soon you find you wish you could just give all your money! The boys really took a lot of time looking through the catalogue, with Nathan even marking the things he was interested in. We decided we would give a flock of chickens, as well as a share of a livestock animal, with our money. The boys decided to donate the dollars that the stranger had given them in Wendys on our trip out here, and they are excited to save up this next year so we will have more money to give! So it was definitely a good idea, and one we will continue to practice.

Merry Christmas!

I know I'm a day late, but I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! We sure did. It is so great to be here with my family. The only problem is that we have brought with us some terrible coughing ailment, which is passing through the family, and I'm sure we are sharing it with Dan's family, as well as Mom and Dad. Nathan started coughing the day before we left VA, and since then Jonathan, Caleb, Grace, and Anna have also been coughing up a storm. We went to the Chrsitmas Eve service at the chapel, and Jonathan sounded like he was going to hack up a lung. I should have kept him home!

Grace really had a hard time sleeping for several nights with her coughing and snuffling. She also ran a fever, so she really wasn't feeling well. We borrowed a vaporizer from Amy, but that didn't work any miracles. I discovered that when I am feeling puny and also not getting any sleep, my blood sugar numbers are not good. It was really amazing. No matter what I ate, even a salad and turkey/lettuce/cheese sandwich, which I ate for dinner one night instead of pizza, my numbers were higher than 120. Oh well. Today I am finally feeling better and a little more well-rested, so my numbers are back down where they normally are.

The boys have really been enjoying 2 new games they received--electronic Battleship, which Amy got them, and Star Wars Monopoly, which Dan and Melinda got. I would say Anna's favorite gift was a pair of pink dress up high heels that Melinda got her. She wears them all the time! We got Grace a doll of her own, since Anna is rather bossy about the dolls at home, all of which are technically hers. But so far Grace has not been able to establish complete control over this new doll either, LOL. Anna is just a bit too bossy.

Bob's parents give us money each year to buy something, and this year Bob went out early Sunday morning and bought a surprise for us, which I opened on Christmas--a laptop! With that and the mp3 player we bought before leaving VA, this has been a very technological Christmas for us. I guess we finally decided those were 2 "fads" that were staying, so we better jump on the bandwagon at this late date, LOL.

Dan and Melinda and Bob and I got to go on a double date Tuesday night. We went to a local restaurant, and it was very nice! I had pecan-crusted chicken, which was absolutely delicious. We had a fun time with Dan and Melinda. Mom and Dad held down the fort back at their house with all 7 kids. We'll be sad when Dan, Melinda, and Emily leave on Sunday to drive back to TX. And then we will leave on Tuesday! Back to the old routine . . .

Here in Ohio!

We made it safely here on Thursday, about 20 minutes before Dan and Melinda drove in! We had a nice drive with good weather, and we got halfway through The Bronze Bow, our book on CD. I have fond memories of the middle school librarian reading that book aloud to us during library time. It's really good.

We did have an interesting experience when we stopped for lunch. We stopped at a Wendys in West Virginia, and the people were very friendly. A nice elderly man talked to us in line, and later he told us that he had 8 children, and it was nice to see a big family, since you just don't see that much anymore. As we were eating, a man came up and started talking to the boys, who were sitting at a table behind me. He asked the boys if they were excited for Christmas, and they all said yes. I sort of turned around and told him we were on our way to Grandma's house. Then he handed each boy a dollar bill and told them to have a merry Christmas! They were thrilled, and as I turned around to remind them to say thank you, he put a twenty dollar bill in front of me! He was a younger man, around Bob's age I would say, but he told me he was all alone for Christmas--his parents were dead, and he didn't have any siblings, aunts, uncles, anyone. So he wanted us to have a merry Christmas. It was so sad, and I didn't really know what to say, other than how sorry I was and thank you! No one has ever come up and given us money before, though. That was a first!

We are having a great time here with everyone! The 3 little girls are so cute playing together with their dolls! They really have done a good job sharing, so we haven't had many incidents! It helps that there are plenty of dolls to go around.

I have been doing well with my glucose numbers, surprisingly. Of course, I have been exercising like a mad woman. We even went to Young's last night. I only had half of a turkey bacon club sandwich, and half a scoop of ice cream, and then I went home and rode the bike for 30 minutes. But my number was 103!!

I must go help with dinner!

Diabetes Update

Well, I think I am settling into more of a routine and getting more comfortable with the whole thing. My numbers have been great. My highest was 114 after dinner the first night I checked. Yesterday we had our annual neighborhood Christmas party at our next door neighbor's house. He always puts on a nice spread, but I was very careful to eat mainly protein choices and veggies, but i did have some sugared almonds for dessert. My number after dinner was 106. Then today we had our monthly fellowship meal after church. I followed the same plan--half a piece of chicken breast, a few bites of 3-bean chili, salad, and green bean casserole, with a brownie for dessert--and my number was 101. Yay! Of course, as soon as we got home from both these events, I jumped on the treadmill, which brings me to the exercise part of my regimen.

I have been exercising at least twice a day. Most days I do my big workout on the treadmill in the mornings (at least 40 minutes), although some days I will do a pregnancy workout video. Then after lunch I either do my pregnancy pilates video, or I walk another 20-30 minutes, but this time at a more leisurely stroll. Sometimes we swim after dinner, although it's not like I'm swimming laps, just splashing around the pool with the kids. But I'm still active. Now you might be wondering when in the world I am fitting in over 1 hour of exercise a day. It has become a temporary high priority, so there are things that are not getting done, that's for sure. I'm glad this is December, when I don't have high expectations for doing tons of extra schoolwork, for example. Nathan and Luke are doing math, grammar, and Latin daily, and we are listening to Story of the World CDs in the car. Sometimes we do spelling and memory work, but not always. Caleb and Jonathan get fitted in, but not as regularly as they were. It's funny though--having a little bit of a breather for Jonathan in reading has helped him, and he's become a lot more confident.

With all this exercise, I am burning over 300 extra calories a day. Now remember, the dietician put me on a 1800 calorie/day diet because I was 10-15 pounds overweight when I got pregnant. Well, the first few days of that, I was starving! I think Carri is right--it's just not enough calories, especially with all the exercise. So I took it upon myself to increase my protein. Instead of the "6 almonds" that would be a protein serving for a snack, for example, I would eat a handful. Or have an extra spoonful of peanut butter, or a little more meat at dinner. That has helped. I'm also drinking a ton of milk, which is helping me feel full. Of course, with all this milk and peanut butter, I worry about allergies . . . and this will be an odd-numbered baby, which for us tend to be the allergic ones . . . but oh well, what can you do. I can't deal with anything else right now. I may switch to sunflower seed butter, but I'm not switching to rice or soy milk.

I am thinking that if I keep on this diet after I have the baby, the baby weight (plus the extra 13 pounds!) should melt away! That is a happy thought. But then I wonder if I would be able to keep up my milk supply . . . I guess we'll see. I know I won't be able to keep up this exercise schedule! At some point, real life (and a nursing baby!) will have to take priority!

So now we are preparing to go to my parents' house for Christmas. We'll see how I do with the diet and exercise there. I have an appointment with the doctor on Wednesday, before we leave on Thursday.

Just like in cartoons!

Our homeschool co-op had their Christmas skating party yesterday morning. Almost as soon as he had started around the ice for the very first time, Caleb fell forward and totally landed on his face, which gave him this lovely goose egg. I had just finished putting Jonathan's skates on and was going to take a picture or 2, if I could see the boys, when a group of girls came over to tell me that Caleb was hurt! He was crying, but it really was just like a cartoon--this huge egg sticking straight out from the middle of his forehead! A staff member got some ice, so we iced it for awhile. I had a bottle of infant motrin in the diaper bag, so I poured that down his throat. The lump went down pretty quickly. Obviously he looks like he's doing just fine here, and he did indeed get right back out there and skate the rest of the time. He's a trooper! To be honest, we've had our fair share of goose eggs, so I wasn't that concerned. I'd much rather deal with a goose egg than a broken bone!!

Nathan and Luke had a great time. They whizzed around, playing games with their friends, and having a ball. Jonathan went around a few times by himself, clutching the side of the rink, but mainly he went with Nathan or Amanda to hold onto. The girls and I froze on the metal bleachers by the rink, LOL.

After everyone skated for a little more than an hour, we had a pizza party. I was a bit concerned, since this would be the first time I had pizza since starting to check my blood sugar. I had 1 1/2 pieces of cheese pizza, a handful of chips, and a rice krispie treat. As soon as we got home, I hopped on the treadmill again (I walked 40 minutes that morning) for another 25 minutes, and when I checked my levels after 2 hours, they were 108. Yay! So far so good with the levels. I've been pleased. We'll see how Christmas goes, however . . . I forsee a lot of exercising, LOL.

Diabetes Clinic

So I had my diabetes orientation clinic this afternoon. It was long--from 12:30-3:00--and there were 7 of us there. First the nurse talked about gestational diabetes, and then she showed us how to use our new handy-dandy glucometers. This is where it's nice to be military--we all had bags from the pharmacy with the glucometer, 100 test strips, control solution, 200 lancets, and a box of alcohol wipes. All set to go! My blood sugar reading was 104 two hours after eating lunch, so that was good. It has to be under 120 2 hours after a meal, and under 95 in the mornings before eating. The nurse was nice and funny. She was pretty laid back about the whole thing, not in terms of the seriousness of it, but she definitely felt like we could all do this and it would be fine. She did say that stress raises blood glucose levels. Hmmm. No stress around here lately, LOL.

Then the dietician came in. She was one of those people with a big phony smile who talk really slowly, as if no one had ever even heard of a carbohydrate. She spent forever going over her stuff, which was not filled with anything electrifying or new, so that is what took so long. She talked to us individually and gave us each a diet plan. Mine is for 1800 calories, with 3 meals and 3 snacks. Some of the snack options are pretty gross, like "6 saltine crackers and 1 T butter". Yuck! That's not going to be a part of any snack of mine! I'm still working out what will be good things to eat, and how to count them. I knew that keeping track of a bunch of "meats, starches, fruits", etc. was going to be the hardest thing. Sometimes I feel like keeping track of just one more thing is going to make my head explode. Hopefully everything will settle into a routine. My blood sugar was 114 after dinner, which was 1 cup beef barley soup, a whole wheat biscuit with 1 T butter, and 1 cup salad. That's okay, but I guess I expected it to be lower, and I was so hungry and crabby by the time in was snack time, around 8:30! I ate 6 wheat thins, a slice of colby jack cheese, and an apple for snack, so I'm feeling better now. We'll see what my number is tomorrow morning.

When the nurse was talking, I got some more insight into how Bethesda will be as a place to give birth. I'm not planning on taking their tour, since they only offer it at weird times or in conjuction with a childbirth class. I definitely don't need the class, and who wants to make another trip all the way to Bethesda just for a tour?! So it seems like it is a pretty standard military teaching hospital, definitely leaning on the side of "rigid", as far as birthing options. Like I said before, I'm glad it's not my first, and hopefully they will just leave me alone. They have a really high epidural rate, as well as c-section rate, although the nurse kept making sure to say, "But we see a lot of high risk patients". She did say that they often induce gestational diabetic patients at 39 weeks, which is not something I want, since I had such a bad induction experience with Grace. I guess we'll see how I do at controlling my numbers. I am already praying that I just go into labor a bit early on my own, even though I haven't gone into labor myself the last 3 pregnancies, so I'm not holding my breath and expecting to.

A Good Weekend

We drove up To see Bob's family Saturday morning, and it was a good visit! We got there after lunch, and his sister Jane and her husband Terry came over soon after. We got to spend some one-on-one time with them and his parents, and it was really nice. Jane and Terry always get big gifts for the kids (as in they take up a lot of physical space), but they really try to think hard about what they get, so the kids always love the gifts. This time they got a Dora ride-on thing for Grace, a Little People house for Anna, a little Thomas "laptop" for Jonathan, a big Magna-doodle plus a golf game for Caleb, a Bionicle for Luke (they actually bought him a game they had already given to Nathan, so they took him to Toys R Us and let him pick out something himself, which he LOVED), and the game Apples to Apples for Nathan, which he had been wanting. Everyone was very happy with all this largesse, and then Bob's mom brought down presents that his sister Rose had left there the previous weekend--things like a doll high chair for Anna, and a huge carton, which contained 4 boxes, each of which had 2 Nerf guns and a ton of ammunition. So . . . 2 Nerf guns for each boy? Wow--it will be like Armageddon around here! I told the boys that we would only open 2 boxes at a time, LOL. Anyhow, by this time, the living room was getting piled high with boxes, and we were all a bit concerned that we wouldn't be able to fit everything in the van for the ride home, which is actually a pretty common concern whenever we go back there for Christmas, LOL. Amazingly, it all fit, but there were things under people's feet, and the back was totally stuffed to the top.

Later Bob's sister Ann and her family came over, including her daughter Christi and her new husband Andres (who got married back in May, with Anna being the flower girl). It was great to see them there! They drove up from Richmond because one of the ski resorts nearby had free skiing. Bob's brother Paul and his wife and son also were there, so the room was quite crowded, but it was good. Lots of people played pinochle, and Luke amazed them all with his hand of 2 straights. It's good for Bob's family to be reassured that we are teaching our kids the essentials of life, such as how to play pinochle.

Speaking of impressing, my one talent that impresses his parents got a mention as well. I try to be modest about this, but I am somewhat of an expert Etch-A-Sketcher. One year I wrote my name in cursive, and one year I drew a Christmas tree. The Christmas tree was what got mentioned on Saturday, with his dad even asking if they still had that. He was sure they had never erased such a masterpiece, but no one could find the Etch-A-Sketch, which was probably just as well, since I don't actually spend much time "etch-a-sketching" these days (we don't even own one), and I'm sure whatever I could do now would only disappoint them, LOL. It's nice to admired for something, you know?

The next day Bob's brother Dennis came over, so we got to see all of his siblings except for Rose. That rarely happens in a weekend! Dennis was fresh off the hunting success of bagging his 5th deer of the season the day before. He brought his laptop so we could all see pictures.

Diabetes-wise, I actually did pretty well over the weekend. I packed a few peanut butter sandwiches so I could have an afternoon and evening snack on Saturday, and I didn't eat much junk at his parents' house. Then on Sunday morning, I ate breakfast with the boys at the hotel, and then I exercised while they swam. This hotel has a nice glassed-in exercise room right in the pool area, so I could keep an eye on them while I was on the treadmill. Bob fed the girls breakfast, and then they came to swim as well. I joined them after my workout was done. The pool was nice and warm, like a bathtub, so everyone had a great time. Even Grace is really coming along. She let me hold her just under the arms while she kicked her legs!

We went back over to his parents' house until 3:00 of Sunday, when we left to head back. Sherry and Brandon were there too, as well as Christi and Andres, and Ann and Wally came over after they had skiied for a few hours. This was when Dennis came over too. Unfortunately, this is just too much interaction and commotion, and his parents were getting edgy by the time we left. As Bob said later, we got out of there just in time, and sure enough, Ann called this afternoon after they got home to tell me she had talked to her dad, who said they were all hogs and not welcome there anymore. Well! Glad we missed the combustion!

I did not do so well on the way home, however, and I snacked on teddy grahams and cheez-its. There is something about not sleeping in my own bed and being around a lot of people that makes me edgy too, LOL. I guess I take it out by snacking. Wednesday is when I go in for my class, so then I'll be able to see what my numbers are, and what we are actually dealing with. Should be interesting!

Swimming

Last night we all went swimming, which means that yes, I was seen in public in my maternity swimsuit. Actually, not mine, but Amy's. I borrowed all her maternity clothes a few pregnancy clothes and still have them. And now I just refer to them as "mine", LOL. Anyways, even though it is a cute suit, I am rarely seen in it--think "ivory-billed woodpecker sightings" rare.

We've been on a bit of a swimming kick lately. First, before Thanksgiving, we got a free week-long trial membership at this hoity-toity health club that has just opened up about 15 minutes away. We all went swimming there once, and Grace absolutely hated it. In fact, as soon as we opened the door from the locker room to the pool area, she started fussing, and she barely poked a toe into the water. Bob took the rest of the kids swimming there a few more times during that week, but apparently they use some super-duper chlorine there, and Nathan kept breaking out in a terrible rash. It was just as well that the pool was only okay--it was open weird hours that weren't really all that child-friendly, although that could have been because they haven't yet been able to hire enough life-guards. Bob and the boys also went rock-climbing there, and Anna tagged along to watch, but as it turned out, she couldn't even be back anywhere near the pit, so that didn't work out so well.

On Saturday, Bob was going to take the kids swimming at our local county recreation center and buy a pack of passes, but when he got there, he found out they now have monthly memberships, which are a good deal if you have a big family! So he bought one of those, and they've been swimming a few times without me, plus the one time with me yesterday. This pool is much more child-friendly, with lots of play stuff, and even a water slide. The whole pool is only 3 and a half feet at the deepest, with more shallow areas for smaller kids. There is also a "lazy river" part with a current that carries you along. Grace has gone "swimming" there twice, and by the end of last night, she was actually walking on the gradual ramp into the water up to her swimsuit! That may not seem like a big deal, but believe me--it's huge! Everyone else is enjoying it too, so we are thinking we'll get a monthly membership every other month or so, especially through the winter. It's nice to have a place to go in the evenings to get exercise, and it hasn't been crowded at all when we've gone. I can't guarantee how often I'll go, however. I'm not that big into swimming even when I'm not pregnant, and now I just feel like Shamu. Now when Bob takes all the kids and leaves me at home . . . . well, I can certainly handle that just fine!

A New Challenge

The doctor called this afternoon a little after 4:00, and I do indeed have gestational diabetes. Sigh. So I go to a class next Wednesday afternoon at the hospital to learn how to check my blood sugar, etc. She said she would order all the stuff I need so it would be there for me. I guess it's good that this happened back at a military facility so I don't have to worry about dealing with Tricare claims. The real hassle, other than worrying about what I eat and checking my blood sugar all the time, is that I will have to be seen every week or 2. Since just a routine appointment pretty much takes at least 2 hours out of a day, I can foresee that not a lot of school is going to get done the next 10 weeks. I'm not surprised, but I will say I am still adjusting to the news.

Thanksgiving Weekend

Happy Thanksgiving! We had a wonderful time with our friends. I ate too much, but it was all so good! The nice thing was that the girls are old enough to not have to take afternoon naps right after lunch, so we ate a little after 1:00, and stayed until almost 5:00, but they did jsut fine! Next year we'll be back to toting a pack-n-play over.

One of our friends, Tim, is an excellent photographer, so I asked him to take a family Christmas picture of us before we ate. He took one on our camera and several on his, but I ened up not loving any of them. It's not his skill as a photographer. I finally figured it out--I look like a big, pregnant woman with a basketball prominently displayed under my shirt, which in this case was purple, so it looked like a giant blueberry. When I mentioned this to Nathan, as we were looking at the pictures on the computer, he pointed out that in fact, I AM a big, pregnant woman. But that is not how I want to be remembered by all my friends over the next year, so this year's Christmas card picture will not include a pregnant me. I got the kids all dressed up for church this morning in Christmas-y colors, and I took some pictures of them by the fireplace. Much cuter! No blueberry basketballs insight.

It was good that I asked Tim to take the pictures before we ate because afterward Grace blew out her diaper for the first time in many months, and I actually had to go home and get new clothes for her! Then she built on her success by peeing out her diaper at home while she took a late nap! I'm not sure what came over her, but obviously all the good food did something to her, LOL.

As soon as we got home on Thursday, the boys started asking about putting up the Christmas decorations. I don't know about you, but it was hard to even contemplate bring more stuff into the family room when the whole main floor looked like a tornado has swept through it, and there was already tons of toys, books, paper, etc. all around. The thought did not put me in a very festive mood. So I washed a bunch of dishes, and Caleb, bless his little heart, took over the cleaning up and moving of all the Little People, play food and kitchen, and other kid stuff out of the family room and into the play room. That night I stayed up late trying to organize and make some headway against all the clutter we have accumulated, so that we would have room for the Christmas stuff.

I really got inspired Friday and Saturday, as far as decluttering goes. I tackled the study and the kitchen. I threw away many garbage bags of stuff, and I packed up a few boxes of things I am not quite ready to give away or throw away, but that we don't need out right now. It all looks so nice now! Throwing stuff away is such a good feeling. And it DID help me feel more like decorating for Christmas, which we did Friday evening. We didn't do a ton of stuff, other than the tree and the fireplace area, since we are planning to go back to Ohio for Christmas. This year I got to just sit on the couch and hand out ornaments to the right people. Nathan and Luke helped Anna hang up her ornaments, and Grace just orbited. It was nice not to have to be up and around, helping everywhere!

Bob had a busy weekend as well. He was up in the middle of the night Thursday night, and he bought us an mp3 player from Circuit City online at 2:00 AM! We've decided that might be a staying fad, so perhaps we should jump on, LOL. He went out Friday to pick it up--a much more civilized way to shop than waiting in the cold darkness at ungodly hours of the morning! Now we just need to figure it out. We're planning on bringing it to Ohio, where we will ask questions of my computer-savy brother.

Then on Saturday Bob and the boys spent a good deal of time painting the deck. This time they were focusing on the rails. It looks so nice! After that, he took them all, plus Anna, swimming at our local rec center. They bought a one-month family membership, so they're planning on going a few more times before we leave for Christmas. The pool there is really nice, with lots of kid features, including a water slide, so they had a total ball.

So the house is as decorated as it is going to get, I've made a solid beach head against clutter, and the deck is looking great. The thing that really worked in my favor was having 2 days in a row that we didn't have school or anything else to do. I really need to get upstairs and work in closets, especially in Grace's room, but I'm not sure when that will happen. And we need another nice weekend of weather so Bob can put on another coat of stain. All in all, it was a very productive weekend!

Thanksgiving Eve

Well, it is now after 5:00, and I never heard anything from the doctor. I am tentatively hopeful that means I passed the 3 hour test. Or maybe everyone in the OB department at NNMC just left early for Thanksgiving, and I'll be called Monday, LOL. Anyhow, I have moved on to worrying about other things . . .

Such as where my 10x15 jelly roll pan could possibly be?! I spent a good deal of time searching for it last night, with no success. I do not think it is in the house, so that would mean that I must have left it at the church where we have our homeschool co-op, since I know I brought it there several weeks ago for the medieval feast with apple pie squares in it. But I was so sure it made it home! The platter and spatula I also brought there made it home, and I thought those items were in the (washed) pan. Alas. I shall have to search the church on Tuesday when we have co-op again, and I had to use a different pan for the apple pie squares for tomorrow. I certainly expended a lot of mental energy on where it could be though! When I am already stressed (like about the gtt), then other minor things that cause problems, especially because of my incompetance, really get to me . . .

Which leaves me really crabby. Is it just my sensitivity, or have the kids all turned on their loudest, most rowdy selves just for today?! The girls are whiny (at least Grace has an excuse--she's teething. Anna is just pitching in to help her not feel alone, LOL), and the boys are all. over. each. other. I sent them outside to run earlier today, but they didn't stay out as long as I would have liked (several hours, LOL). I have banished them to the basement several times as well. I'm just feeling very edgy and non-noise-tolerant (is that a word?).

But somehow things are still getting accomplished. Last night Bob and I wrestled the 25 pound turkey and managed to get it brining in our cooler (in several layers of garbage bags). I made a flourless chocolate cake last night too, and I did 4 loads of laundry. We did school this morning. And this afternoon I have made the apple pie squares, cran-apple-pear sauce, and started the turkey roasting. So good that Bob has been around to help with that crazy bird! After dinner (stir-fry), I'll make a second flourless chocolate cake. That just leaves the sweet potato casserole and sweet potato biscuits for tomorrow.

In case it seems like our menu is a bit unbalanced (meat, 2 sweet potato dishes, cranberry sauce, and dessert!), let me reassure you that we are eating Thanksgiving dinner over at the L's house with 2 other familes! We will also be having a ham, mashed potatoes, dressing, gravy, rolls, green bean casserole, another green vegetable, a fruit salad, a corn casserole, waldorf salad, a cranberry apple casserole, and pumpkin pie and pecan pie to round it all out. We will be getting quite a feast! I know I have so much to be thankful for--I just need to relax a bit and focus on all those things, instead of what is not going right!