Things just got a little easier

I called Nathan's therapist yesterday to let her know we still aren't cleared for speech therapy. We got talking and I asked if we could change his therapy days, because having all three in a row was just too much. Turns out she couldn't switch the days around, but she was more than happy to cut one day off and switch another to the afternoon! Most kids get 30 minutes per session. Nathan gets 45-60 per session, so having just 2 days won't hurt him at all. We had only increased it to 3 to work those new muscle flaps in hopes that he wouldn't need that 2nd surgery... and he needed it anyway. So we'll go easier on him now that the surgery has already improved his speech.

Now we just have Wednesday afternoons, with my friend's little girl's piano lesson afterwards since I'll be in town already. And Thursday mornings. Most of my energy is in the mornings, so I like to have that time at home to get things done, and now I can! He doesn't go back for a couple more weeks at least, but I know that my schedule will be a lot easier to handle when he does.

Amanda was an angel..... again..... and helped me with the house today. She came by, I forget why, and I was straightening the living room. So she pitched in! Granted, I offered to feed them all dinner- dessert included, but still it was so appreciated! I did this for her a whole lot when she was pregnant last time, we kind of do this back and forth. She's trying to get over mastitis, and not feeling well right now, so it meant a lot that she helped me today. Lots of dishes got done, my table scrubbed, house swept, and clothes gathered in baskets to be washed. When I started feeling swollen again I would sit down for a while, but the spotting has stopped for now so I felt okay getting stuff done.

I was so proud of myself today! I had energy at 3, so decided to put our hashbrown casserole together and stick it in the fridge until time to cook it. Very smart, because by 5 I was pretty beat and all I had to do was heat up our casserole. I threw together a quick dessert that sat in the fridge, and Amanda brought over some broccoli. A yummy dinner, ready at a decent time, with a dessert and good friends. A great evening! (Especially since I had a clean table to enjoy it on and disposable plates I didn't have to wash afterwards!)

Apparently I am crazy!

For having a 4th child. I had a small orientation with a couple other ladies and a nurse to go over some paperwork, get baseline vitals, and any other info they wanted to give/get from me. The other moms' eyes got all big when I said how many kids we already had! Too funny!

I chatted with the nurse about my sugar levels, she ordered the 1 hour and the 3 hour (just in case) glucose tests for me. I took the 1 hour today, but I am concerned it may not be accurate because I had eaten a piece of toast about 8 am, and didn't drink the glucose stuff until 10. I think my numbers may have been a little low to start with... we'll see. That's 10 times I have had to drink that stuff now. Blech!

I have also been instructed to take it easy, and spend plenty of time off my feet, due to some spotting and pain- not cramping, just swollen feeling....uh..... there.....,which has been fun. Mark has been great, but there are so many things that I want to do and that need done. And when I get up to try to do them, I start feeling swollen again. Walking around the store starts the slight spotting back up, which is brown and not red, but they'd rather me be safe than sorry. How am I supposed to be packing, and cleaning, if I have to sit half the day? Luckily, Nathan has the next three weeks at least with no therapy, and that cuts my running around. I'll figure it out, and we should be good.

We're just waiting to hear back on the results of the glucose test, hopefully tomorrow. Sorry pregnancy stuff has been the main meat of my last posts, but it's pretty much the most interesting thing we are doing lately.

Oren is bringing home books he has to read for a reading program at school. He reads a book and then tests on how much he understands. He is halfway through 1st grade, but is bringing home books at the 3 1/2 grade level! Wow! He has just blossomed this year, somehow so much less the little boy. As we got out of the van on Sunday, he turned to me and asked, "Mommy, what can I carry for you?" With no prompting! Not just if he could carry something, but wanting a specific thing I needed his help with. And then he held the door open for me too! He is becoming such a gentleman, I am very impressed by his attitude. He throws far less tantrums, and doesn't whine nearly as much, as long as we explain our decisions to him. So there is hope you guys! Kids really do act better as they get older and understand why certain things are! I love it!

I cut all their hair today, about 2 - 2 1/2 inches off all their heads. It was very long, getting in Nathan's eyes all the time, so I finally sat them down and cut it down to 1 inch on top, and tapered the rest. Except Oren, he's more of 3/8 inch, since he had cut the front himself a couple weeks ago. I let it sit that long so it would grow out a little and I wouldn't have to take it down to bare blades. Somehow, during the haircut, I lost baby William! Not looking much like a toddler anymore, he very much resembles Oren at this age. William may be short, but he is becoming a little boy. *sniff* I guess it's a good thing I am having another one, because my baby is getting all growed up on me!

Crossing our fingers...

We took Nathan for his 2 week post-op appointment on Friday. He is healing well, except for a small infected area at the back of his mouth. Bummer! We are attacking it with another 1o day round of Augmentin- a form of penicillin particularly effective at reducing bacteria in the mouth. We go back in 3 weeks to make sure the infection is gone and see if it created a hole. Sometimes they do that.... Luckily, if it does end up with a hole, it would be in one of the easier spots to fix. I think that would be a minor surgery, but I am crossing my fingers it heals fine, so he doesn't have to do any more surgeries- as cooperative as he has been, there's a limit to what he should be put through! He hasn't been cleared for therapy yet, due to the infection, and the fact that his palate is still very doughy and slightly swollen. This was a much more involved procedure, so it makes sense that it will take a lot longer to be sufficiently healed as to not cause problems with intense therapy. We are already seeing an improvement in some of his sounds, and are happy with that for now.

She did clear him for slightly harder foods, and he has enjoyed poptarts, pizza, and chicken nuggets with all the zest of a 4 year old!

I am doing fine, although still getting very tired. The nurse got a hold of me today about my high risk assesment paperwork. I had flagged some things and she wanted to talk to me about them. Most specifically the gestational diabetes- my numbers are already a bit high in the mornings- and the cleft lip/palate that runs in Mark's family. Especially since we have 1 child with palate deformities. So they tagged my file, I'm not officially high risk yet, more of a "watch this one" sort of thing. We're talking about doing the 3 hour glucose sometime in the next 2 weeks, to be safe. And probably some detailed ultrasounds sooner than 20 weeks to look at the palate..... I hope. She tried apologizing for tagging me, but I reassured her that I was more than happy to have to go through extra hoops, I am nervous about the possibility of repeating some of our previous problems and all the extra watching will make me feel better. Hopefully most of it won't be warranted, but even so, it's nice that they are paying attention and aren't just brushing things off.

I believe it is my naptime now..... :-)

To the Future!

Since Mark and I have been married, this is the longest we have ever lived in a house. It was 3 years in October, so nearly 3 1/2 now. And we are leaving it. The way this house is set up, it just won't do 4 kids very well, so we are applying for a 4 bedroom.

When we moved here, we had our luggage, and some toys from Mom Danes to tide us over. (Thank you Mom!) Our stuff wouldn't arrive until 2 months later- December, and we borrowed some furniture from the base loan office, set up for that purpose. A playpen, card table and chairs, some thin foam pads to sleep on, and some kitchen stuff. Our first Sunday in our new ward, we met some wonderful people who heard we had just the bare essentials and offered to loan us a couch, TV and movies, real mattresses, and bedding. I don't think I have ever appreciated a place to sit so much!

Now it's three years later. We have had many dinners with those same friends, William was born, we got our cats, our first broken bone with Oren, lots of broken glass cups, running around the backyard, family coming for birthdays, crowding 4 people in a kitchen built for no more than 2..... all those memories. I have made curtains, and painted walls. We have been happy!

I packed up the first box this morning. We haven't put the application in yet, but I will be slowly packing and cleaning as I go. Things like decorations, fabric and crafts, stuff from the garage.... I won't have time or energy for these things for a while. It may still be a couple months, the waiting list at Mark's rank for a 4 bedroom is 30-60 days right now. I just want to do it before I get too big, or too tired. I want to move while I can still haul boxes without people yelling at me, or my back hurts too bad.

Here's to the future!

Michelle Needs

It seems there are lots of people named Michelle, because there were a ton of other lists for this. I didn't cheat and use someone else's though.... it's more fun to find your own stuff!


1. Michelle needs..... to pee. (pretty accurate now that I'm pregnant....)
2. Michelle needs..... a new hairstylist.
3. Michelle needs..... a listamania on Amazon.com .
4. Michelle needs..... your help in giving her a new chance at life.
5. Michelle needs..... help translating. (yes I do, because the housing application for a 4 bedroom is in a different language, I think.)
6. Michelle needs..... a new baby daddy. (No thanks, I like the one I've got!)
7. Michelle needs..... help designing her new art classroom.
8. Michelle needs..... a makeover!
9. Michelle needs..... to eat. (had breakfast, but wouldn't object to a butterscotch oatmeal cookie!)
10. Michelle needs..... to stop thinking.

Thank heavens for Friday!

Mark was sitting here, watching Jay Leno and eating those flaming hot cheetos, when he looked at the back of the bag and said, "Hey! These have a ton of red #40 in them!" Oren is sensitive to red #4o food dye and had been eating them for the last couple days! That would explain his behavior and his "accident" at school that required me to run a change of clothes instead of taking a nap.... Oops!

I had this huge craving for flaming cheetos, so I bought them. I ate them that day and haven't been able to do them very well since then. At least the boys enjoyed them! I have also craved Whoppers from Burger King, and Quarter Pounders with Cheese from MacDonalds. Microwaved chicken nuggets are not appealing in the least. It's interesting, to say the least. Pork chops sound fine, but were a huge "no" with Oren and Nathan. William was my easiest, because I had been in a huge car accident and was dealing with a lot, so I think I was blessed with an easy beginning. Sometimes I want sweets, and sometimes I can't stand them. Gotta love it!

Nathan is doing great. His mouth still hurts so he gets lots of motrin. The tylenol with codeine was making him very restless at night, and drowsy during the day, so we quit that stuff. Much of the nasal congestion / swelling is gone, and I can already hear a huge improvement. He still sounds a little nasally, but more speech therapy should help with that. I think it will never be fully gone, but he can articulate much better now, and his pressure constonants are much clearer!

Wow, I cooked!

That's right! Not just stuff out of a can, or frozen..... actually standing by the stove and making a sauce from scratch. Ham with creamy mushroom sauce, steamed carrots, brussel sprouts with butter, bread and jam.... At the table, with both forks and spoons! Yay me! I am so proud of myself, because of late it has taken too much energy to do more than macaroni and cheese, or microwave chicken nuggets. I am not sure what we have eaten for dinner the last week or so, because I don't recall cooking at all. Sad, huh?

Not only did I cook, but it was after cleaning my living room, and teaching piano for 1 1/2 hours straight! I don't recall being this tired with Nathan and William. With Oren I was working full time and did take naps occasionally. This time I am tired 2 hours after getting up! I had an hour nap this morning, and could probably take another after getting kids from school.

At least the dishes got done this morning, after my nap! Mark has been wonderful, even though I am sure it is frustrating to see me sit down and close my eyes. Again. He has been working on a chore chart for everyone to help divvy up the labor around here so I don't have to do all of it. From making beds, to clearing dishes, even helping with the litter box. Nothing motivates like stickers, so we'll see how this works!

I had to go to the most boring 2 1/2 hour orientation yesterday. For all the new pregnant ladies on the base.... Joy! I got out of it last time, but there was a new nurse and she didn't care that this is my 4th pregnancy. "It's mandatory....." Great. I was able to answer some questions for a nice lady next to me on her first baby, like the fact it's wonderful she doesn't have morning sickness- be thankful! No snacks served, and no breaks. Very smart- don't give snack breaks to women who are trying not to get sick everywhere..... yeah. I love this base!

On the plus side, I may get in soon for my glucose test- with that nasty drink. I have been monitering my sugar numbers, since I got diabetes with Nathan and William, and they are already getting high. It's early for that, which worries me a little, I don't like the idea of insulin later on but will do it if I have to. So I filled out the risk assesment paperwork at OB yesterday and the nurse will review it and call me before my appointment..... in the meantime I will keep monitering, and trying to eat right.

(Yawn.) Better get up and moving before I get too tired again!