Oh baby ...

Why won't you let me eat?

And WHY must you make me throw up even after taking my medicine today?
The medicine that's supposed to make me NOT throw up.

Though, I'll admit ... finding a stray toothbrush bristle in my mouth did NOT help matters.

Now I'm put off cottage cheese ... and that's one of the few foods that I could eat and keep down (*darkly* until NOW. *sigh*).

Well, little one, I'm going to demand that if you're not going to let ME eat, you had better suck alla this "food storage" off my bones. If I'm going to be THIS SICK, you had better do YOUR part and have me looking like a supermodel by the time you're born.

Then, I had BETTER be able to eat Death by Chocolate or something WONDEROUS while nursing you. Just to make up for it. Since I'll be needing those extra calories anyways.

Really, get your act together. Or whip that placenta into shape.
I do NOT want to have to get IVs for my nutrients. Just sayin'.
I mean, sure, I love you, little fetus ... but I have a LIFE and a FAMILY to take care of ...

Gotta cut this short, baby of mine. Your siblings need me to drive them to swim lessons.
It's the FUN (final) day today. I want to watch them have fun ... not be comatose with nausea.
So you'd better behave.
If you know what's good for you.

Hey, that's a joke (mostly).
Really, just stop making me throw up. Or feel exhausted and nauseated.
The house needs cleaning.
And I'm sick (literally) and tired of getting the urge to puke from just walking through the kitchen.
It's my own kitchen. I shouldn't have to hold my breath as I walk through it.

And Dr. M is going to get after me, I'm sure, if I drop TOO much weight.
(Which may or may not be preferable to her getting after me for gaining too much ... as I did with your brother and sister. It's debatable ... since it hasn't happened yet.)

If nothing else, I'm making sure that I'll remember to take my second pill at 4 today. *sigh*

Really, little one, if nothing else, I don't want dentures. Stop making me have floods of stomach acid swirling through my teeth. THAT. IS. AN. ORDER. FROM. YOUR. MOTHER.

Thanks. I'd appreciate your cooperation in this matter.

Also, in about ten weeks? Please don't be modest. I want to know who's in there. I think it's silly to just call you "the baby."
I know, sweetie. I know. Your mom's crazy. You'll get used to it.

Dear Diary, WITHER THE FRIES

Okay, so it's established that I am with child.
I have morning sickness (which, THIS PREGNANCY, is NOT relegated solely to the mornings. Pity).

BUT ... this is what's just weird:

Sometimes (and especially when I'm nauseated/just-did-something-involving-a-sink-or-a-commode-due-to-the-nausea-if-you-know-what-I-mean-and-I-think-you-do)

WATER (OR ICE) TASTES SWEET.

Like nasty overly-sweet cheapo-vanilla-flavored candy-type sweet.

It's so gross.

I just took my anti-nausea pill (which I probably needed because I haven't felt hungry, so I haven't eaten much, today) ... because I NEEDED to take that pill.

(Stomach acid? Not very yummy.)
(EVER.)

And, now I'm drinking a glass of milk (getting the calcium -- 3 servings/daily -- for the bean!) ... and it tastes like someone's dumped sugar.
In my glass of milk.

Normally, my darling, I am ALL ABOUT THE SWEETS.

Not so much (at all) this pregnancy.
As in, I'll eat something sweet if someone gives it to me ... but I have NO cravings for sweets.

I'm all about the savory. (Like Broccoli Cheese soup ... Taco Bell's nacho cheese ... THOSE are my real cravings thus far this pregnancy. ... And then my stupid body pulls a "return to sender," ifkwim. Aityd. Gross.)

So, for most of the time, I'll PUSH myself to eat SOMETHING. Just so I won't throw up.

Seriously, little fetus ... WHAT'S WRONG WITH FOOD???? DO YOU NOT LIKE IT????
I used to LOVE food. As in, I harbored a near-unhealthy adoration of it.
Now ... it's like I've given it up for Lent (although it's totally the wrong time of year for that. ... I don't think I'll even BE pregnant when Lent rolls around. Oh, well, maybe the beginning of Lent. Where's a calendar? HA! It starts the 22 of February. Right around my due date. So, I'll make it to a bit of Lent. Not that I celebrate it ... but still, good to know.)

Also, I don't know if my anti-nausea pill tastes like candy (since you let it dissolve in your mouth) or if it's just my body being all funky.
And not the GOOD kind of funk. (The good kind? See below:)



(THAT, my darlings, is the good kind of funk. ... Truth be told, I'm still a little jealous that one of my friends got that CD. Good times. I still rather long for it. Though, I think I have most of the tracks now. ^_^)

But, yeah. This pregnancy is different.
More exhausted. More nausea. ... and it's only 9 weeks in. Almost 10.
I'll enjoy eating again someday, right?
More than two meals a day, right?
I'll be able to THINK about eating chocolate and other decadent treats someday, right?
RIGHT???

Until then, I'll just watch that commercial for Pure Funk and be amused. Oh, how I love that commercial.
(I also wanted the Pure Disco CDs, too. But this had the more entertaining commercial. ^_^)

Some other news ... In case you wanted to know ...

Yeah, this is what it looks like.

Just the one. My OB looked long and hard to make sure. Since we NEEDED to know. ^_^

This is the reason that I've been sick as a dog and crazy-hormonal.

The bean has a healthy heartbeat. The anti-nausea drug did its job (THANK GOODNESS).

I'm due in late February ... I'm kinda hoping to make it to Leap Year. I mean, when else will I have this opportunity?

Funny coincidence -- The kiddos (Bruise and Bucket) are both, according to Chinese astrology, roosters. Like me.

This one will be a dragon. Like Michael.

The kiddos are excited. Even though I won't be having another set of twins.

Bucket hopes it's a girl. Bruise is wanting it to be a boy.
But they do assure me that they'll be okay either way. ^_^

Bucket did tell me, as she rubbed my feet (this is a new occurrence. Not that I'm complaining!!), that I should have TWO babies. So she and Bruise can rub my feet and the new kids can rub my arms.
I like how she thinks.

Also, how I cut my finger? I was horribly distracted. Since I had just done a home test a few hours earlier. And we didn't want to tell anyone until it was confirmed. (Which it was on the sixth at the local health clinic).

Then ... I kinda was sitting on it (except for mostly family) until we knew how many were in this clown car of a uterus. Ten? Twenty?
Just the one.
I'm a little relieved. I was worried that there'd be triplets. (I knew I could handle twins. But triplets? That scares me.)

In other news, it's really nice to have health insurance again. And I just got put on WIC. I have anti-nausea meds, so I'm not throwing up multiple times a day. (It's really nice to keep food down and not feel like tossing my cookies all the time. Even when I hadn't eaten anything. Yeah. Nauseated if you do, nauseated if you don't. ... That's how it was.)

Still, another 11 weeks before I get to find out who's in there.
At least I know that s/he has a heartbeat. And is alone in there.
I'll feel better once I feel him/her move. Because that's the best part. Since you KNOW s/he's ALIVE. You can start keeping tabs on the kiddo yourself.

... I would almost consider a home birth. But really? I love me my epidural. And the nurses are all so, so nice where I birthed last time (and I'll be going back). And there's a spa-bathtub there.

If I had a spa bathtub here ... and wasn't a bit of a wuss ... and if I didn't miss my awesome nurse-ladies, I MIGHT consider it. But, really, I would like to see my nurses again. And get cable TV.

A girl's got to have her priorities. :P

AGAIN -- Another blog in which I catch up

Sooooooooo ... when I last blogged, I told you about my poor, poor sliced finger.
It's almost all healed. Just needs to build up a few more layers of skin at the site and it'll be all good.

What else have we done since the kids finished swim lessons ... Well, here's a list:

• We went to my cousin's wedding. Yes, my sweet Sarah is married. ... And while that's all well and good, I'm secretly a little EXTRA-thrilled since I'm now cousin-in-law to a guy I know from high school. And he's just as nice as ever. ^_^ (My mom's thrilled, too. We like Chad. ^_^)
• The kids got to spend a week down with grandparents. They went to church with Mom and C, swam in the pool and played, spent a night with Dad and L (where they played in THEIR pool), went to the coast, went to Wildlife Safari, saw Cars 2, got Slurpees on 7/11 ... and we picked them up Friday to bring them home for a night before ...
• We went camping. Along the coast, out of North Bend. This is the first time that we've been camping as a whole family. Bucket was pretty thrilled. (She's been jealous when Michael's taken Bruise to the father-and-son campouts and she has to stick around with me. Even though I try and do some fun girl-time with her. ^_^) And, really, it did go well ... even if it started to rain.
• While the kids were gone, I mostly slept in. Did my volunteering at the library. Made some phone calls. Read a few books. Watched some DVDs. Cleaned the house a bit. And, on Thursday, Michael and I went to the coast. We went up to Tillamook, toured the cheese factory ... then made our way back down. Stopped in Lincoln City and bought some books (Paper Towns, Before Green Gables, Chalice [Robin McKinley], Coronets and Steel [Sherwood Smith], and Eats, Shoots & Leaves ... in case you were WILDLY curious). Also, in all this driving, Michael and I made it through reading Catching Fire [book 2 of The Hunger Games] together. Now, we're reading Mockingjay as we drive places.
• While at the coast with the kids, we went to the Newport Aquarium, Yaquina Head (not the lighthouse, the kiddos are still too short ... but we went through the little museum and down along the beach there, with all the cobblestones. They DO make a really singular sound as the tide recedes. We also stopped by Cape Perpetua, Shore Acres, and (on the way home) Heceta Head Lighthouse (before it's closed for repairs.) ... As an aside, the Pacific Coast Passport was a seriously good idea. We only got the 5-day pass ($10) and got more than our money's worth out of it. (Yaquina Head = $7, Shore Acres = $5 ... I didn't even look to see how much Heceta Head or Cape Perpetua cost ... and we went to all those places.)
• We were also supposed to go to a family reunion (my dad's side) ... but, even after looking for considerably longer than 30 minutes ... we just couldn't find it. So we just went straight to Shore Acres, since we were around Coos Bay anyways. Ugh.
  At least, I didn't have to feel too bad. It was disappointing, to be sure. BUT!! Nana and Uncle Steve were ready to go ... and Cousin D NEVER SHOWED UP TO TAKE THEM. So Nana took her Jell-O Salad down to my dad's to share. No, my dad wasn't going, either.*sigh*
• When we got back, we just had to be ready for the kids' swim lessons (another round. Third time's the charm, right? RIGHT?? :P) on (last) Monday. And they'll finish up tomorrow.
• I missed volunteering last week ... even thought my mom WAS up ... since I was kinda sick. But I'm feeling a lot better now. Phew. I made it to volunteering yesterday, even though my mom is sick. ... The kiddos got to go up to Mom and Dad C's to play. I think they had a BLAST. Bruise fell asleep during bedtime-story last night. And Bucket slept in until AFTER 7 this morning. Tired girl.
• We made it to the Pioneer Day Picnic/Potluck/Party on Saturday. It was nice to see so many of our friends in the Stake (since we don't always get to see them every Sunday, being in different wards and all).
• I taught Relief Society (women's group at church) on Sunday. I think it went well. I was filling in for another sister (lady) who was recuperating from surgery. Please pray that she gets better SOON. Teaching is a little stressful for me. But this time, it was much better. There was a lot of discussion. Even though I got verklempt so much. (Hey, I LOVE the temple. It's a topic close to my heart.)

I THINK that's most of what we've been doing this month, since I sliced my finger, anyways.

In other news, my pictures of fireworks do show improvement over last year's. ^_^ That's always nice.
Now I need to get them all transferred off the memory cards (along with pictures of the coast trips and camping and Shore Acres and swim lessons ... Oy.) to the external HD. 

So, yeah. I think that's enough damage for one blog post.

Well, I think I'm officially losing it ... my mind, that is, not any fat (sadly)

Seriously.

On the fourth, I sliced my finger.
On the fifth, I realize that I've locked my keys in the car.
Last night, I grab the phone charger and, somehow, convince myself that it's not the right charger for my phone.
But I KNOW that I grabbed the right one when I was leaving Mom and Dad C's ... and this is the only one that was in my purse.
I come to the (correct) conclusion that, no, that one REALLY IS the RIGHT charger.

For some reason, I forgot what shape it should be. I was thinking it was supposed to be the OTHER shape ... the shape of the jack for the GPS or the Bluetooth.

At this point, I'm surprised that I'm even wearing pants.
(And I'm glad that I AM, since I ran out to get gasoline in the car. And I had to nip out of the car to put in my PIN. So, if I DIDN'T have on pants, that would have been really embarrassing.
And probably drafty.)

I'm trying not to wonder if there's a village missing its idiot right now.

*sigh*

To add insult to (literal) injury ...

So, not only am I dumb enough to lop off a bit of my finger ...

I'm also dumb enough to either LOSE my keys or to lock them in the car.

WINNER. /sarcasm.

Another blog in which I catch up ...

So, what's gone on this last week ...

• The kids finished swim lessons. They didn't pass. But they were close. Next time (which will be in two weeks' time).
• Tuesday, we went to a Summer Reading program. I thought it was going to be the magic show ... no, that was LAST week. This was a puppet show. And the kids liked it. Phew!
• Wednesday, my mom came up ... and stayed through until Friday (to get the kids signed up for swim lessons). 
• Thursday, Bri came over and did my hair. I'm a blonde now. I can't swear that it's more fun, but it is a nice change. She'll add highlights before my cousin's wedding. And some teal in the back.
• Friday, Mom headed back home after we got the kids Slurpees. Also, it was pay day.
• Saturday, we went to the zoo ... and it wasn't nearly as crowded as I was worried it would be. Phew!
  Then we went to Home Depot. And then to Costco (needed groceries. And to have my tires checked. All clear! Now to get an oil change and new brakes!)
• Sunday, I ended up helping teach Bruise and Bucket's class. One of their teachers called Saturday night ... she had last-second family plans with her family and wouldn't be at chuch, so, Michael, could you sub? Sure! ... Except that Michael's TEACHING ELDERS' QUORUM during the kids' lesson. So I took one for the team. ... And, well, I have to say that my kids are pretty well-behaved. Phew! (Though that could have to do with the fact that they're the oldest ones in their class.)
  One of my friends complemented my hair. She LOVES it when I make a change. ^_^ Glad to please somebody, right? ^_^ Well, someone besides myself. ^_^
• Monday (yesterday) ... Went to Safeway while Michael cut the grass and the kids watched a show inside. Came back, sliced up some lettuce. Pam came over and I colored her hair. (Cute!) Then I tried to get a nap.
  Later, we went up to Mom and Dad C's ... where, after I offered to help T1 slice up some veggies for the taco feed, I sliced off a bit of my finger. ... Yeah, not smart. No pictures yet, since whenever I change the bandage (at this point), it starts bleeding again. Oy.
  And we stayed up waaaaaay too late, of course. :P
  And that's not counting the three times I nearly passed out from bandaging my finger (I'm normally not so skittish. What's with me?)

And, yeah ... I think that's all the important stuff.
And I'm tired of typing with nine fingers. So I'm closing up.

On the bright side, the kids slept in until after 7:30 ... if you don't count when Bruise woke up around 6:30 to crawl into bed (and promptly fall back asleep) with me (as I read a few chapters of The Guinea Pig Diaries by A.J. Jacobs).

I'm ready for a nap.