Tooth Update and Changes

Breaking news. After dinner tonight when I was cleaning Chiggie up I asked to look in her mouth. I was extremely nervous during dinner. I kept worrying that she would somehow damage the socket and then be in pain all night. When I looked it was gone and there was the new tooth. I couldn't believe it. The King took a look and he was shocked as well. We are very relieved and it appears the tooth fairy will be making another visit to our home tonight.

In other news the King took a new job today. It's something he had been thinking about for a little while and after a meeting he had today he decided to go for it. We are both nervous and excited at this new opportunity. As soon as we have more details I will be sure to give a more descriptive account of the position. It seems like things are always changing. It's nice though that somethings always stay the same.

If it can Happen

Up until today Chiggie had lost 3 teeth. All on the bottom gum. Well, as of this afternoon she has now lost 3 1/2. Today while attempting to open a ketchup bottle with her teeth, a loose tooth on the bottom came out. It was exciting really. The tooth was pretty loose and we knew it would be coming out soon anyway. I washed off the tooth and put it a Ziploc bag for the tooth fairy. Upon looking at the tooth a little more closely I noticed it looked different. Almost hollow.

I set Chiggie up on the counter to get a good look in her mouth at the space the tooth had left. Oddly the tooth was gone, but the pulp was still there. The whole inside of the tooth is still in the socket! She isn't in any pain because the nerve still isn't exposed. It is the strangest thing that I have ever seen. After a few opinions I called our pediatric dentist and they said she would need to be seen as soon as possible. Unfortunately as soon as possible is tomorrow at 12:30. Until then I have to try to distract her from playing with the pulp and possible breaking open the sack causing excruciating pain. Fun.

I'll be sure to post tomorrow and let you all now how the appointment goes. Wish her luck!

Downhill from Here

This blog really is the only real record I have kept for this pregnancy. I feel guilty about that because I really haven't spent a lot of time talking about the pregnancy. It's not that I don't think about it. I do. All the time really. I am excited to meet this baby. Every little kick I feel (she is gentle) I shiver with anticipation. Who will she look like? What personality type will she be? It's so exciting to think about and I have many day and night dreams imagining what's to come.

This pregnancy really has flown by so far. Beginning on Thursday I will be in the 3rd trimester. 3 more months and I will be done being pregnant. No more going to the bathroom 10x's a night, no more loud groaning every time I roll over, and hopefully no more tent size clothing. I have really felt great for the last 3 months. The first 3 were awful. I threw up daily, suffered from horrible headaches, and exhaustion beyond description. Then one day it was just over. As quickly as it had started it ended. I made up for lost time. Basically eating whatever my heart desired and then some.

And now here I am on the downhill side. So far I don't feel nervous at all. It could be the fact that the crib is set up, I have all the clothes that I will need, a baby sling, a baby swing, etc. The only thing we have to get is a new car seat. We re-used Chiggie's 2x and now it's just not up to par anymore. But for the most part I feel prepared. I hate being pregnant in the summer, but I love having summer babies. Mostly because I love the warm weather and don't have to constantly worry that the baby is too cold. The King will be taking a week off for the birth and the baby will be here before school starts for Chiggie.

Just writing this makes me jittery. What else could I be doing to get ready? I guess just relaxing and enjoying the rest of this special time in our lives!

Water Play

It was hot today. High 80's and we were loving it. We got up early and went to church. The girls are really enjoying the church that we have been going to and it has finally become part of our weekend routine.

When we got home we had lunch and hung out until the girls could no longer contain themselves. Then we threw on their swimming suits and outside we went. We spent most of the afternoon playing out and they loved running through the sprinklers.

Midge would just barely get close enough to get sprinkled on and then scream with delight. The older two on the other hand got right in and got soaking wet. It was nice because last year Tea was afraid of water and did not like to get wet. This year I think will be a completely different story.




Everyone should sleep good tonight. We finished off the evening with a walk around the neighborhood to make sure they were good and warn out. I cannot say enough how much I love this time of year!

The heat is On

Today we finally saw temperatures in the 80's. It was wonderful and tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter. We planted some flowers, pressure washed the deck, and picked weeds most of the day. Tomorrow if it's as warm as it's supposed to be the girls will get to run through the sprinklers while the lawn gets watered. Hopefully I'll have some great pictures tomorrow!

Teething

This picture pretty much sums Midge up this week. I call it teething, but it could also be gimme what I want right now. I prefer to think teething.

Zzzzzzzzz

Today, after another busy bout of appointments and what not, the babies were exhausted. In fact the King and I had an appointment right smack dab in the middle of nap time which can really mess things up. The babies fell asleep in the car on the way home from my Mom's and stayed asleep on the couch for a bit thereafter. As soon as I had them layed down Chiggie smiled and said, "it's true, they are so cute when they're asleep."

Time is not on my Side

It seems like I say this a lot, but things really have been crazy around here lately. We just got through with a visit from the King's sister and her boyfriend. We had a really good time and for the girls "good time" would be an understatement. They had fun watching them eagerly respond to their every whim and indulge them in every way. I on the other hand feel guilty, as much of the visit I spent running around like a chicken with my head cut off.

This morning Chiggie had Kindergarten round-up at 8 am. We don't even usually get up until 9. Thankfully I was able to leave the little girls with our company and only had to get Chiggie ready. As soon as we got home I had to get the little girls ready for an appointment that they both had to attend. Chiggie stayed home and bossed around, I mean played with our guests. We got home close to lunch time and I had to run back out to grab a few groceries and some pizza while I was out. Chiggie also had an afternoon doctors appointment we had to go to. Before I knew it, we were eating dinner and they were heading out. At least they don't live far away and I know we will see them again soon.

Kindergarten round-up was surreal. I really cannot believe Chiggie will go to school this year. It's funny though. My Kindergarten teacher is going to be her principal! I really want to enjoy this summer. A part of me feels like things will change forever once she starts school. I know it sounds melodramatic but still..........................................

Sunday

Everyone was on the mend today and we actually felt well enough to go to church in the morning and a spaghetti dinner this evening. Here's a picture I took this morning before we left. The girls love to wear dresses and will strike a pose willingly when they are.

Breathing Again

It took 3 different brands, but I finally found a medicine that works. I can now, for the first time in 2 days, breathe through my nose. Unfortunately this morning Midge woke up congested and coughing again. I feel awful for all of the kids, because if they feel anything like I do then no wonder they are crying. It has gradually worked its way into more of a chest cold so I am assuming that I'm through the worst of it. Hopefully we will all get some rest tonight.

Stuffy

I finished all of my work, just to get hit by a brick wall. I have a terrible head cold. My nose is completely stuffed, my head feels like it is going to explode, and I have a really sore throat. Tea is right there with me and Midge and Chiggie are in the recovery phase. I am sure the King will bring up the rear.

My OB appointment went well today. I had been a little worried about weight gain but I was pretty sure that with my fast food boycott and all the work I have done I would be safe this month. Uhhh, wrong. I gained 6 lbs in 4 weeks. That leaves me only 11lbs to go or I will exceed my goal. I could see myself gaining at least 30 more lbs but we'll see. I will be having another ultrasound at between 28-32 weeks to check for dates again.

We've got another busy weekend planned. The King is going to finish off the spring cleaning by shampooing the carpets, and we plan to do some more yard work. I just hope I feel better tomorrow or at least get some sleep tonight. That's hard to do when I can't breathe through my nose and my throat is already sore. Sigh.

Almost Done

I know, I know, could I get any more boring? I am almost done. If I have to work until midnight I will finish this project tomorrow. I have an OB appointment on Friday and I hope to do something special for the girls (they've had a rough week.) This makes for major motivation to finish up.

In other news, things have been rather slow. Nothing really new to report. I am hoping that I haven't gained much weight this last month, but I do feel bigger so we'll see. At first I felt like I was carrying really low, but either I am now carrying high or this is a huge baby. I constantly feel like her bottom is pushing on my diaphragm. Chiggie likes to put things on the floor and watch me bend over to get them. She thinks it's funny that I can't bend over and stand right back up.

I am also beginning to feel a sense of completion and happiness. It has always been very difficult for me to make the decision to not have any more children. Lately Chiggie has been talking a lot about things we can do when I am not pregnant anymore. She talks about bike riding, the slide at the pool, rollerblading, the clothes that I will wear, me not being so tired etc. It really makes me realize that I can only be spread so thin. I am very excited about the new baby's birth, but I am also excited about being a more active participant in the girls' lives. All that I can say for sure is that I am looking forward to not being pregnant for a long period of time.

We have a lot of exciting things coming up soon. Our town has a festival complete with parade and carnival at the beginning of next month, shortly after the King will take a vacation, and camping season is quickly coming. It's so exciting to see the fog of the winter lifting and a very exciting and memorable summer just on the horizon.

From under the Clutter

Just dropping in quickly to say that I am still alive. I am in deep. This spring cleaning is wiping me out. Yesterday I finished the upstairs. Both bedrooms, the playroom, and the bathroom. This doesn't sound like much, but I cleaned out all of the closets, threw out old toys, and organized dresser drawers (again.) The King even used touch up paint to fix little spots here and there, and some of Tea's recent artwork on the stairwell. Today I am focused on the master bedroom, which isn't that bad to the naked eye. Our drawers, the closet, the desk, and the night stand wield another tale all together. Luckily the weather has been rainy so I don't really feel like we are missing out on much. As much as I hate to be cleaning, I love organization. Everything has to have a place or I will go nuts. It drives me crazy when I can't find something that I know we have. I should be finished with the whole house by late tomorrow and then we can move on to bigger and better things!

Fly Trap

Ummmm, how do you miss that? I happened to glance up in the sitting room today and to my complete horror my eyes fell upon the largest most intricate spider web I have ever seen. Yeah, maybe while I was inside hibernating all winter I could've snagged this baby.

Oh well, she's gone now. And spring cleaning? Oh yeah, it's on!

The Beast

Settling In

Despite the fact that it is currently snowing and we are expecting over a foot by tomorrow night, I feel my spirits rising. I am coming out of my little slump and my energy level is not nearly as low as it has been over the last week or so. With this pregnancy I have experienced so many highs and lows. I am sure it has to do with the fact that I am so much busier than I was in the past and the time of year and what not. One of the things that has helped me tremendously is trying to maintain a better routine.

It is no secret that I hate mornings. Nothing has ever seemed to help this fact. I don't like to shower right away, never eat first thing, and I have trouble rising before the kids do. I have good intentions but I usually end up sleeping until I hear Midge babbling in her crib and then I know I have to go start breakfast and prepare for the day. This will all change next year as Chiggie will start school, but until then I will probably milk the sleeping in.

I also have difficulty going to sleep at night. No matter how tired I am, I enjoy the peace and quiet. Bed time for all 3 girls is 8:30 and from 9 on things are pretty calm. I can watch whatever I want on t.v., have an adult conversation with the King, or work on a project that I need full concentration for. I often find myself still awake way past midnight. If I could discipline myself in the evenings I am sure it would make my mornings much easier.

Slowly but surely we are finding a new routine. I am at a comfortable point in the pregnancy and the days are becoming more predictable. It's funny though, I am sure right when I feel settled in the new baby will come, Chiggie will start school, and I'll find myself starting all over again.

Brrrrr

I know enough already, but I can't help it. While I have no intentions of making this blog a way to keep people updated on our weather, I just can't resist. Beginning tomorrow evening we are on "blizzard watch" until Friday afternoon. Noooooooooooooooo! I briefly considered moving back to Florida, but then talked to a friend who said they are having temps in the 40's as well. Looks like everyone is suffering.

While I have a little bit of energy I might as well do a mini-pregnancy update as well. Things are moving along very quickly. The King can now feel movement from the outside. She is definitely more active late at night and loves to kick and roll right as I am trying to drift to sleep at night. The girls can see my belly move when she is rolling around and they get a kick out of that. I am already regretting my eating habits as I have gained too much weight and am already feeling a little uncomfortable. Oh well might as well enjoy the indulgence while I can.

Mumbling

I don't know if it's the bizarre weather or what but things have been a little weird around here lately. The alternation between summer like temperatures and snow have made planning our days a little difficult. I am having trouble establishing a good spring routine. Being that none of the girls are in school or anything yet there is really nothing that shapes our days. If I don't have a good routine then I find myself roaming the house aimlessly watching the clock for nap time.

Things will change soon as our summer is pretty well planned out. Between the pool, the library, the park, baseball, and camping trips I think we will stay pretty busy. I hope I can hold on to my sanity for another month or so!

Easter Honey

Celebration!

Easter is a very special holiday to our family. It is a celebration of new life and a promise for the future. We host a lunch at our house and we have a traditional meal of ham, potatoes, rolls, veggie tray, and all the other usuals. This year has been especially fun as the girls are getting older and are really starting to get into it.

Midge and I had the honor of doing all the shopping last night. It took around 2 1/2 hours being Wal-Mart was crowded and there was one check out open. When we got home Chiggie and Tea were waiting for us on the front porch. As soon as I got out of the car I heard Chiggie yell, "did you remember the carrots?" I chuckled to myself and nodded to reassure her that the Easter Bunny would not go without. Chiggie is also old enough to tell the Easter Story to, and she understands on a basic level.

Today we spent most of the day getting the house ready for tomorrow and making sure our Easter outfits were clean and ready. I painted 30 toes "ice cream pink" and shined 3 pair of white dress shoes. Just think next year there will be an extra pair of shoes and 10 more toes to paint! We dyed eggs this afternoon and Tea was hilarious to watch. She insisted on doing her eggs all by herself, even though no egg survived the drop from her hand into the cup. She was mortified when none of the blue dye came off, not even after a bath.

Well I am off to make sure everything is ready for the Bunny's visit and 3 little girls are asleep. Have a Happy Easter!

Break a Leg

*The weather we are having (temps in the 20's) messed up my Internet and phone connection and wasn't able to update yesterday so this may be a little long.*

My brother, sister in-law, and their little girls were in town again this week due to several business meetings he had in a nearby town. Thursday just happened to be my sister in-law's birthday so we all went over to my Mom's house for a BBQ in her honor. The night went great, the girls played with no fighting, the food was delicious, everyone was in a good mood. It was nice. Around 8pm we had to leave. My little sister had school the next day and they needed to start getting ready for bed. We loaded up our crew and all that they brought with them and headed out. As I was stepping out the front door I turned back to say something, trivial I am sure, to my Mom and I missed the front step. My right ankle rolled and I hit the ground.

I was positive that my ankle was broken. The pain was sharp and intense. My toes were burning and my lower leg felt hot. I couldn't stand back up. Chiggie was so freaked out she started crying and by this time I had a small crowd hovering over me checking my welfare. As quickly as the pain had come it started to subside. Enough so that I was able to rise and hobble to the car. I decided against a trip to the ER and we went home instead. Once home I removed my sock and investigated the injury. There was some bruising on the outside and very minor swelling. I elevated it and watched some t.v. before bed.

That night will go down in history as one of the strangest we have had in a long time. The girls fell asleep quickly, after all the running and playing that had done at my Mom's. The King and I retired at around 10:30. That's when it started. No sooner had my head hit the pillow when I heard Midge begin to fuss. I decided to let her a fuss a bit and see if she would go back to sleep. Finally at 11 I went up to check on her. No poopy diaper, room was warm enough, cool forehead, just as I thought. I gave her a little bit of Tylenol just in case she was having pain from teething and hobbled back down the stairs.

It was getting cold in the house and I jumped back into the covers. I got warm and lay there enjoying the silence. Midge had fallen back asleep, I had taken some pain killers for my ankle, and now I could sleep as well. I had just drifted off (11:45) when I heard Tea scream out. I was startled by the sound but hoped she had just yelled out in a dream. Nope 10 seconds later and it was full blown screaming. I sprinted back up the stairs as fast as my handicapped ankle would let me and grabbed her before she woke the baby or Chiggie. She was inconsolable upstairs so I decided to bring her down to my bed so we could all get some sleep. We snuggled in and I rubbed her back until she was asleep again.

Okay, I thought, enough of this I need me some sleep. I rolled over and melted into the pillow and mattress. I must've dozed off because before I new it it was 12:45 and Midge was screaming again. Really screaming this time. Uggghhh. I felt paralyzed. I didn't even get up until about 1:20 and then I went up yet again dragging the bum ankle. Still nothing was visibly wrong. I took her from the crib and rocked her in my arms until she was calm. I then laid her back down and she stayed. I hopped back down the stairs and got back into bed. Minutes later I was in slumber land.

Until I was again awoken by a blood curdling scream. Chiggie! My ankle was really sore by now so I figured forget about it and up the stairs I went. I found a disoriented, freezing, Chiggie. She had taken off her pajamas, which she often does, and had a nightmare as well. I consoled her the best I could dealing with a nightmare of my own. When she was calm I started to cover her back up and she informed me that she wasn't staying up there. I brought her down quickly remembering our bed would not hold another person. I suggested the family room couch in a moment of desperation and she accepted. I covered her and wished her well. By the time I got back to my bed Midge was screaming yet again. I'm sure it was from all the commotion. I decided she was going to have to fly solo this time.

It was hard after all the excitement, but I fell back asleep. I woke up what seemed like minutes later to Tea violently alternating between shaking my shoulder and slapping my head. "Get out, get out, it's morning." I looked up, the sun was out, and Midge was crying. Why yes it is. Strangely my ankle was feeling okay. Hmmm must have been all the physical therapy.

Coincidence?

It seems whenever Chiggie loses a tooth, Midge is coincidentally teething. Tonight Chiggie will have her 3rd visit from the tooth fairy. 3 lost teeth and she hasn't even started Kindergarten! Early bloomer?

Wrong Again

This weeks forecast has been completely wrong so far. Late last week today was predicted to be overcast and cool. Much to our delight it was completely sunny with temps in the high 70's. We were able to spend much of the day outside. Later in the week the forecast shows snow, so who knows whats to come. I try to take advantage of every nice day we have just in case.

We had a great weekend. We got tons of yard work done, and on Sunday we switched to inside and got that looking nice as well. I don't have a picture yet but we sold our Honda Civic and the King bought a truck. She's a looker let me tell you. The girls are absolutely fascinated and I have assured them that if we still have it when they are sixteen it'll be fair game. I'll be sure to post pictures tomorrow for everyone to enjoy!