Lovely Weather

This weather is lovely…for a pregnant mom especially.  I am feeling better!!  Homeschooling is going well.  Sleep is still not coming to me well…but ya know, at this stage that’s about normal.  I do have lots to share.  Just not much time.  Lately…blogging has been on the backburner of my brain.

May My Last Month Be A Blessing

I want to respond to things in a Christ like manner.  I am praying that the Lord gives me the grace to have a good attitude, amidst challenges.  I really want my last month of pregnancy to be a blessing.   Three of my kids now have a stomach bug.  I don’t think it’s too bad.  Just tired and cranky.  That’s probably why things continue to be OFF here a bit.  And even though I gave my Netti pot rave reveiws ( I still do!), I am battling a horrible sinus headach today.  Last night was pretty bad.  No relief.  Though…did you know that one can make a great hot compress, by wetting down a wash cloth, folding it up and throwing it in the microwave for a several seconds?  I should say that I did have a bit of relief in the night because of that.  Otherwise, I’ve irrigated my sinuses, taken Sudafed, and Extra Strength Tylenol.  Nothing.  So…I guess I just wait it out.

I do have some interesting pictures to post, when I get around to it.  A few of the photos in include a very interesting and unusal animal sighting in our neighborhood a few weeks ago.

Again?

Blah!  I felt awful on Friday.  I could’ve sat on the couch all day while my children did something extreme…like burning the house down, and I probably wouldn’t have gotten up.  Last week our oldest daughter battled croup and had to be put on steroids (oh the dread I have over those things with her.)  The end result was 2 nights of NO sleep for mommy and daddy.  At least one child outside of our daughter didn’t get the best sleep due to our daughter’s anxiety and insomnia from the steriods. 

Fast forward to the third night…my husband came home with a bad migraine.  He hasn’ t struggled with one of these in years.  That same night I had to take our 7 year old son into the pediatrician just for a misquito bite upon his ear.  He reacts fairly severely to bites.  But this one was a doozy.  Nothing like I’ve ever seen.  The pediatrician actually put him on both oral and topical antibiotics for it.  So, after the appointment, we came home…daddy was out like a light on the bed for the night.

I got everyone settled for the night, and then I guess I sort of just started to physically drain…again.  Didn’t I just do this a couple of weeks ago?  The one thing that I have been thankful for is my Netti Pot.  In the past I’ve struggled with sinus issues (as a child, an ENT actually found holes in my sinus cavities due to past infections…yeah, I know you’ve lost your appetite!)  Anyway, a Netti Pot is something I picked up from the pharmacy section in Walmart.  You put a warm salt water solution thru your sinuses with it.  It has helped me tremendously in that it has relieved a lot of my sinus headaches and cuts down the time of my colds, I think.   At least when I am struggling with bronchitis, my sinus issues have not been nearly what they had been in the past. 

Yet, this weekend I might be heading into bronchitis.  This is my motto right now…”Let’s just get all of this junk out of the way BEFORE the baby comes!”  I am praying NOW that we can avoid any viruses like the plague when baby arrives.

My blog

I have been removing some pictures from my blog.  I’ve been feeling uncomfortable with a few things lately.  Mainly dealing with my kids pictures on the internet.  I even have another older blog FULL of pictures.  It will be taking me a while to accomplish what I want to do.  I am still going to keep a blog, and I am going to try and keep it fun.  Pictures will most likely be approached differently though.

I’m Really NOT falling apart…

…though if you should see a piece of ME lying around somewhere, please contact me and let me know!  I cannot *really* complain about this pregnancy.  My depression the first trimester is definitely worth mentioning.  There have been a few other minor things.  But, you know..in the end it will be ALL more than worth it to gaze upon the face of our newborn.  I am so excited to examine baby’s tiny little feet and hands.  Most of all, to snuggle with her as her little head rests upon my chest, and to feel the warmth of her body.

The latest with me though in these last couple months of pregnancy is that I do have bad carpal and tarsal tunnel.  And now (as of last night and today), I have Bell’s Palsy affecting the left side of my face.  It’s making it so that I cannot close my left eye and my face is kind of droopy.  I have a crooked smile.  I went into our urgent care this morning to check out my weird symptoms.  I’ve also had neck pain and a headache, along with eye twitches the last couple of days too.  But, I’ve kind of chalked a lot of that to really bad nights of sleep lately or stress.  Anyway, I am to call my OB tomorrow and see him on Tuesday.  I was told by a friend and PT at church today that Bell’s Palsy can occur during pregnancy.  That’s what I am truly chalking it up to.  It typically goes away in 2-4 weeks.  Or in a few cases (stated by the doctor this morning), it never goes away.  So for now, I need to put drops in my eye and patch it at night so it doesn’t dry out.  All of this because it’s not closing all of the way.  If I don’t take care of it I could ruin my cornea.  There’s another lovely thought!

So at night…I will patching my eye and possibly wearing splints on my wrists.  My lighter thoughts on this have been, Oh…behold the beauty of ME!

Peace

This is what we’ve been experiencing much more of in our home thru out the week.  God is SO good.  Last week, I truly needed a word, a touch, something from the Lord.  As I sat in silence just pondering things and sorting thru my foggy mind (so many nights of lack of sleep!), the phone rang.  On the other end was a dear sweet friend (truly.)  She herself has 8 children.  She is one of the busiest women I know.  We connect every once in a while on the phone, but more via e-mail.  It was out of the ordinary for her to call me at that time of day especially.  She asked me how I was doing.  I was truthful with her in that we were doing….”okay.” (not very enthusiastically.)  I was prompted to share more, and I did. 

 My dear friend listened and gently reminded me of some of our past conversations regarding my first son when he was 3 and 4 years old, (he is now 7.)  She pointed out some things to me that honestly have not surfaced to my heart or brain recently about my struggles with my first son years back.  Yet, when she said them, I knew immediately what she meant.  She reminded me of some very important things that I know I have not been requiring of my second son, who is 3.5.  Yet, now I have started to re-require those things from him.   And the result…is much more peace in our home.  More peace within me, and more peace between my oldest special needs daughter and her 3.5 year old brother.  Though, much of it has to do with me.  Let’s just say this.  It is a certain thing that my oldest daughter is my emotional barometer.  It’s unreal.  I don’t even have to raise my voice at times.  I guess it can even come out in the tone of my voice and my body language.  It is rather annoying at times.   But, this is the way I am looking at it.  The Lord has His ways   My 3.5 year old son knows how to push buttons around here.  He had been persistantly jumping on mine!  I could blame him, but I am the parent.  I need to teach and guide his little heart and mind with the Lord’s help.  So much has been going on with our oldest daughter’s health and needs, along with my pregnancy.  I think that I may have veered off somewhere a bit, without truly realizing what I was needing to do.  I needed a friend to come and support this tired, tired mom and encourage me.  Not with a critical spirit or harsh comments.  She even laughed at herself, reminding me of her recent forgetfulness and foggy-mindedness too.  I so appreciated this.  I am so thankful, both to God and for this friendship.

God’s Goodness

So, I’ve been sleeping the past two nights.  Hmmmm.  God is good, and just possibly…someone has been praying for me???   Dunno.  If you have, thank you!  What a difference sleep makes.  We’re having a very good Monday, which is always one of the most challenging days of the week for us.

The Good, The Bad And…

…I’ll save the *ugly* stuff for God, HE can handle it and plus…I don’t want to be THAT vulnerable on the internet.

The Good?  God.   His grace is sufficient for me.  My husband.  Such a sweet friend to me.  My kids.  I know I am blessed.  My 8.5 year old loves to spend alone time with mom, giggling her head off as we rough house around.  She HATES to be serious.  The other evening, I stole her from her bed as soon as we had all of the kids down for the night.  I brought her into the basement to lounge with me for a bit.  She was so happy, she kept kissing my cheek, calling me her “Good Mama.” (“Gnng Nana.”)  Funny!  My 7 year old son has been hugging me daily telling me just how much he loves his “sweet mama.”  My 5 year old has been hugging me daily too, acting as if I am her best friend.  My 3.5 year old continues to do well on the potty…yay!  My 2 year old is just so cute and loves to be chased around the house and kissed a million times.  I never get enough of that!  See?  I am blessed.

The bad?  I am not sleeping well at night, at all.  I guess it’s just that time in my pregnancy where I am getting more uncomfortable.  Baby’s hiccups wake me up.  My carpal tunnel is so bad that it’s now in both of my hands and wierdly…my feet!  You should see me shuffling to the bathroom in the middle of the night…or I should say the three times I am going to the bathroom in the night.

I don’t do well without sleep.  I do fall into depression with repeated nights of lack of sleep, so I am really trying to guard myself right now.  My 8.5 year old special needs daughter does NOT like her 3.5 year old brother right now, plain and simple.  Somedays are much better than other, but somedays are so hard. (You just have to be there.)  My lack of sleep has compounded the issue for me at times. (sigh.)  And this is where for me, the *ugly* tends to come in, and then, I just have to let it all out to the Lord.

Well…speaking of sleep.  I am almost afraid to go to bed, as it’s terrible for me to just lay there and not have sleep come.  But, I think I’ll give it a try.   Good-night!

It’s Our Potty and I’ll Cheer If I Want To! :)

Yes…may I please have a drum roll?!  No?  Okay, don’t need that.   But, I AM cheering lately over the fact that our 3.5 year old is having potty success with going #2 in the potty….woo-hoo!  He has been doing so well, I think it’s becoming habit.  Again, I am just praying that it’s so!  I am still learning that it definitely happens on the child’s time…not always mom’s time.

Two Year Pictures

Smile Big

I am trying to get all five of our children’s pictures taken this summer before baby comes.  I now have 2 down, 3 more to go!  I just recently got these of our two year old.  Not much to say.  She’s just cute.