Big Boy...

Sam opted to take a shower tonight over a bath with Arlo. I asked him to please wash his hair and use soap. He spent about 10 minutes in there, turned the shower off, stepped out, dried himself off (dropped his towel on the floor), walked out of the bathroom and said, " Whew, my just had a really good shower!"

He had washed his hair and even dried it. 

Then he crawled into my bed and began telling me about all the rocks he collected today.

When did he become such a big boy?

11 Weeks

Today marks 11 weeks in the pregnancy. I am beginning to feel better more regularly and the bad days have become less than full days. I might feel really cruddy for part of a day, but I haven't had a whole nasty day in a while. I am still puking from time to time (like after our fancy anniversary dinner!), mostly I feel pretty good. As long I get to bed before 9 p.m. and take the Zofran regularly, I do alright.

Friends keep saying to me that "girls steal their mother's beauty"...and I think they say this to cheer me up!! Though I am looking pretty grim these days and am definitely ready for the "glow" to set in! The hormones are doing a number on my skin this time, with pretty bad acne on my chest, back and neck. The photos below were taken yesterday. I think you can tell I am beginning to show already and I have finally opened my box of maternity clothes....ugh.

We met with a midwife on Saturday and she seemed very nice and competent, but there was something about our personalities that didn't feel right. Matt felt pretty uncomfortable around her and after a few days to mull over the meeting, I also felt like it wasn't a good fit. We did here the heartbeat and the placenta and of course, I cried!  We're going to keep looking into our other options for home births and keep plugging along through this first trimester. 

I've been Tagged!

Dreaming It Up tagged me...and, honey, of course I'll play!!

1. What was I doing ten years ago?

Oh, gosh....Matt and I hadn't quite met so in the late summer of 1998 I was dating a fun guy named Pat and we had lots of fun together as friends....the dating thing never worked out (obviously). I was living in Bozeman, MT, going to school, working for a little hippy shop called the Caravan, that no longer exists. I lived in a townhouse with 4 other guys!! They were my adopted big brothers and I loved living with them. In about a month from now I would meet Matt...

2. What are 5 things on my "to-do" list, not in any particular order?

a. Finish eating my oatmeal!

b. Get dressed.

c. Take the trash out to the curb.

d. Feed the chickens.

e. Clean up the breakfast dishes.

3. Snacks I enjoy:

This is a good on for a pregnant woman!  I love chocolate, of course. Those baked snap pea things they market as kids snacks, but I can eat the whole bag. Nice ripe fruit...especially peaches right now. Cheese and crackers....

4.Places I've Lived:

I'll keep it to the states: Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, Kansas, Washington State, and Michigan!

5. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

Pay any family debts, including our mortgage. Put cedar shingles on the outside of our house! Set aside college funds for the kids...I'd do whatever I wanted!

6. What are some jobs you've had?

Dishwasher, caterer, waitress, retail in an imports shop, sporting goods store, hippy stores of all kinds, landscaping, grounds maintenance, collection agent, internet researcher, teacher, and mother!

7. People I want to know more about:

Anyone who reads this and has a blog....you've been tagged and I'd like to know more about you. If I don't know your blog, leave the link in a comment!

Confessions of a Tired Mama: Playing Catch-Up

As all of you who read regularly already know, the last 6 weeks have been pretty rough around here. Between my all-day-morning-sickness; Matt's incredible work load (major grant writing and prep for teaching his new class); Sam's bee mishap; Arlo's sinus and ear infections; and Matt's wicked sinus infection, we've been neglecting the homestead just a little bit! I just finally downloaded photos from both cameras which date back to mid-June!! So, I'll play catch-up today with a hodgepodge of photos....enjoy!

These are of Sam's new room, which we finally moved him into last weekend. Arlo has his own room now and everything (clothes, toys, shoes) is organized. I love it! Sam has seemed to finally adjust to sleeping in a room alone and the last two nights has slept all night in his own bed. Arlo didn't need any adjustment...he's been sleeping just fine!

In late June our good friend David E. took Sam to his first minor league baseball game here in Lansing. They saw the Lansing Lugnuts play and Sam had a great time, ate hot dogs, and even made a friend.

On the garden-front: it has been very dry around here and we haven't been watering. Things are looking pretty sad. However, we had a great month from mid-June to mid-July. We harvested a bunch of lettuces, garlic scapes, and the buckwheat really had a good start. It is about 2 feet tall right now! Pretty impressive! The pollinators love it and it is all abuzz when I walk by in the mornings on my way to the chickens (which, by the way, are not laying eggs yet, though close, we think). Powdery Mildew got to our pumpkins and we'll have 4 medium sized pumpkins to harvest...and soon! One is almost completely orange already! These photos are from late-June.

Matt took the boys for a bike ride in mid-July and Sam was able to try out his new Trail-A-Bike. A friend spotted the deal of a century at a local thrift shop and we scored big time!! Sam has a great time riding it. Matt found a great lamp and table left along side the river trail and masterfully attached it to the bike trailer! Sam was very impressed and the lamp now lives in his room.

And certainly last, but not least, here is Arlo's latest (and greatest) art project. I am convinced he's a genius...after all that is the letter "A" for "Arlo"...or is it "Anarchy"?!  All the recent Sesame Street must be paying off!

Dreams

With both previous pregnancies I had very vivid dreams and within a week of this one, they started up again!

I have been dreaming about my mom a lot; having the same conversation with her about this pregnancy and really enjoying being able to talk to her; then waking and realizing it was a dream; feeling a bit sad about it, but being able to remember her face and voice and that brings comfort.

Last night I had two dreams about Sam; both so very vivid. The first one took place in a college dorm here at MSU...Sam's college dorm room! He was a grown young man in his early twenties and he was still so compassionate and caring. it was a sweet dream.

The second dream took place on Mission Ridge in Wenatchee where I used to ski. Matt, Sam and I were all skiing together and Sam was really good at it though only 4 years old!

I was skiing like a pro and loving it!

I woke this morning feeling good and have been enjoying remembering the dreams.

Sam, the Bee, and the ER

On Wednesday my dear friend G invited us over to hang out in her air-conditioned house, cook for us and let me be the pregnant slug I am in comfort! It was so nice! Sam and her son played really well together and she and I actually had lots of time to talk and visit and catch up.

The boys went outside to play at one point, but were only out for about 5 minutes when they both came screaming and running into the house. They'd both been stung by paper wasps, D, 3 times under his neck and Sam once in between his middle and ring finger on his right hand. We immediately made a baking soda paste and gave them ice packs and within a few minutes the crying has slowed and after a piece of chocolate cake they were fine and running around again.

Within an hour Sam's hand had begun to swell and quickly grew to at least double the size of his left hand. We had him soak it in ice water, but he just wanted to play. Other than the swelling he seemed just fine.

That night he declined ice cream for dessert and Matt and I thought that was awfully strange.

Yesterday morning he woke and complained of his hand hurting and his stomach being yucky. He was acting very lethargic and by 2:30 p.m. he had a fever of 102.5, had vomited once and been dry heaving and his hand had continued to grow. We'd tried topical benedryl and given him some Zyrtec earlier in the morning. Nothing was helping and that was when I called our family doc. She advised us to go to the ER immediately.

Arlo was sleeping so I woke him and we all piled into the car and headed to the ER. Matt met us there within 10 minutes.

The ER doc gave Sam some Zofran for his nausea and within a couple hours he was drinking water and eating Jello.  They determined that Sam had been having a delayed allergic reaction to the bee sting.

They gave him some Motrin for the fever and Prednisone for the swelling and we were headed back home by 7 p.m.

Now, Sam has to have an Epi-pen with him at all times. The doc said he has a 1-7 chance of having an anaphylactic reaction to his next bee sting...much to much of a chance if you ask me!

He's on Prednisone for 5 days and Benedryl for 3, but today he is mostly back to normal...normal enough that he had a blast at the splash park this morning!!

What is this kid Doing to me?

Ugh, it has been a roller coaster with how I am feeling. The way I felt in the last post held true for a couple days, then the exhaustion set in and I had to sleep during the day. Now a day doesn't pass where I don't nap, er, rather can't get by without napping and the nausea is spotty.

Some days I do ok and have very little and other days, like today, it hits me in big waves along with heartburn and I am just wiped out.

Two of my dear girlfriends came over today to help me. Our kids ran around and played, I lounged on the couch trying not to puke and my mama friends folded laundry, and cleaned my kitchen! In my world of morning sickness, it really does take a village to raise a child (and care for a mama).

I am so thankful for my friends.

Matt's parents have also offered to pay for a house cleaner to come once a week and we've taken them up! I called a woman I happen to know who does excellent work for reasonable prices and she starts on Friday! Yeah, clean bathrooms are around the corner.

I just woke from an hour nap, had a snack and am ready to snooze for a little bit longer...at least until Arlo wakes up from his nap, then I am back on duty.