Making progress and Status Quo!

Busy weekend!! Saturday morning I got to "sleep in" till L was awake and wanting breakfast- usually she comes to my side of the bed with her blanket and stuffed animal in hand saying "hi, cereal, milk, in bowl with spoon please"! The rest of the morning was spent piddling around the house while hubby was at the gym. When hubby got home we had lunch and planned the rest of the day- it was a very nice cool (for late May) day so we decided to take the kiddos to the zoo, they were THRILLED!!!! After spending the afternoon at the zoo we headed home so L could get a little nap, and I could "rest". I painted M's nails- during the school year she can't have her nails painted (school rule) so she was excited to get this done.  We then spent the evening celebrating H and M's school year accomplishments with dinner out ( kids eat free that night!!), then hit up a bookstore to get some books for summer reading and topped the evening off with a sweet treat ice cream!
After our busy day on Saturday and late evening I didn't make it to church on Sunday- it's really hard for me to take 3 kiddos by myself, not that, that is an excuse but I needed my rest! Sunday I took all 3 kiddos to the grocery- it was a zoo!!!! But I needed stuff for the cookout at my Aunt's house. Hubby was at the gym till 3pm and then decided instead of going to the cookout with me and the kiddos decided to go see his mom. I have to admit I was a little pissed off. I know we had family time on Saturday but its so few and far between, and it seems like I CONSTANTLY have all three kiddos without any relief/ help. I know he needs to spend time with his mom/ help her out but he goes every weekend, and typically choses to go and "avoid" things.  This past Saturday when he went, they sat around watching tv and then went out to dinner! While i had all 3 kids, preparing food for the cookout, grocery shopping, getting all the kiddos ready for the cookout and taking them by myself! The cookout was nice but I couldn't relax/ enjoy myself because I was constantly having to watch the kiddos, get them food, drink etc... I was worn out by the time I got home, all three kiddos bathed and in bed. Hubby hit home and decided to finally pull out all the kiddos clothes (something I've been asking him to do for some time!), I just didn't have the energy but somehow I found it and spent till 12:30 am Sorting/ organizing the clothes. Monday I spent all day going through bins of clothes, organizing, washing and trying to organize the girls bedroom. Finally made some head way on getting ready for EK! I still have to go through M and H's clothes and organize them. I'm consigning all of H's clothes, saving all of M's clothes for L and EK. I still need to figure out where to put all of EK's clothes, bibs, burp clothes, blankets etc... I'm looking at closet organizers to help with that.
Today I had my ultrasound, NST and doctors appointment. I left the house at 10am, hubby came home from work- the kiddos were dressed but they needed their teeth brushed, I told him this. I swear I could've gotten better child are from a teenager!!!! He is like another kid sometimes! They sat and watched tv the ENTIRE time I was gone, didn't brush their teeth, he didn't change L's diaper ( when I got home it was falling off of her, because it was so wet!); didn't feed them lunch and left his snack wrappers laying around! I know I'm "sensitive" and tired right now but a little help would be much appreciated!!! He text me the entire time I was gone wanting to know when I would be home- I wanted to tell him " hold on let me get my crystal ball out!" UGH!!! My appointment was a long one- didn't get home till 1:15pm but its not in my control, it's not like I'm out at the spa or shopping by myself or something! Anyhoo enough of my venting, my appointment went well, no real changes, she was very active for her NST, we got some more profile Picts in the ultrasound and the doc said "status quo". My next NST is this Thurs.

32 weeks; doctors appointments and consult

This week was a busy week with end of the school year activities, tball, anesthesia consult and my weekly ultrasound and doctors appointment.  Monday night H had a tball game but due to the heat my mom took him to his game (Sunday afternoon/ evening M had her bridge over ceremony for gir.l sc.ou,ts along with a picnic for the families in the park. It was a rather warm day, and I over did it! We ended up having to leave the park early to get me home cooled off and feet propped up etc...Earlier in the day, I had gone to mass with all three kiddos by myself, then grocery shopping and in the heat of the day standing for an hour for tball pictures. I was really unhappy about the tball pictures incident, they were scheduled for 2:30 we were told to be there 15 minutes early and don't be late! So I arrived at 2:10- I hate being late! Well we stood around waiting for the coaches kids to show, they didn't show till 3:00 and didn't have their uniforms on, so we had to wait for them to change! UGH!!! If that had been anyone else on the team they would've taken the pictures and we wouldn't have been standing around waiting in the heat! So by the time we get home from pictures it's time to get everyone ready for the ceremony/ picnic so I had very little down time etc...
Tuesday night we had our consult with the OB Anesthesiologist, and it went about like last time did- scaring the crap out of me!!!! Basically he told us that I shouldn't be pregnant, all the risks and possibilities of what could go wrong etc... I know it's part of his job but he didn't sugar coat it at all!!!  After my c-section I will have to go to ICU for a minimum of 24 hours for monitoring. They only have 10 ICU beds/ rooms so they can't guarantee a private room. If I don't have a private room I can't see the baby until I get on a regular room. If I do have a private room they still can't say that I will get to have the baby in the room, it depends on how I'm doing, how she's doing etc... So hubby will be able to go to the nursery and see her etc but I won't.  :(
Thursday I had my weekly ultrasound and doctors appointment. Well they got me through pretty quickly because I had H's graduation that afternoon (I had tried to reschedule but they wouldn't do it because as they said they are booked solid- which I think is part of their problem they are OVERbooked!!). The ultrasound went awesome!!!!! EK was very active, she passed all the " tests" and even gave us a good profile picture:)  The mass/ lake is still there, still the same size, but the tech did day the texture seemed to be changing and possibly breaking down?! Which would be awesome news! But even with the mass/ lake EK is THRIVING!!! She is a WHOPPING 5lbs 11ozs already- YIKES! She is going to be a big girl! After the ultrasound I met with the doc who was his ho-hum self he listened to the heartbeat, measured me and said its time to start twice weekly appointments with NST's (non stress tests). So starting next week I go twice a week. I was very pleased with the appointment because she was so active and thriving:)
This weekend I hope to get some "organization" done on the girls room but we will have to see how my energy level is- today it's very low!
Hope everyone has a fabulous long/ Holiday weekend!!!!

Exhausted Momma but a good week!!

First off SCHOOLS OUT, SCHOOLS OUT TEACHER LET THE MONKEYS OUT!!!!! Woo-Hoo!!! We had a busy week full of end of the school activities including H's graduation; and of course my weekly doctors appointment and consult with the anesthesiologist thrown on there too! M's last day of school was Wed. with an early dismissal. On Tuesday at M's school they apparently had an awards ceremony, I had seen it in the weekly newsletter however I thought it was for the eighth grade, I didn't realize it was for the whole school, so I didn't attend. Well M racked up all kinds of awards, I was SO, SO PROUD of her and very disappointed that I missed it:( I feel like a horrible mommy!!! She got the following awards: future artist award; P.E. excellence award; Music- awesome singing talent award; sign language club completion certificate; excellence in reading, language, math , spelling, science and social studies; perfect attendance; and the Titan award- which is the child that lives out the school pledge on a daily basis and this was voted on by her peers!!!!! Yes I'm a VERY PROUD Momma =) We also got her report card- all A's!!! An awesome first grade year.
Thursday was H's graduation in the afternoon, they put on a play- so so cute, and H did great with his part/ line. Then after graduation we went to a small reception in the classroom and picked up all of H's stuff, took pictures with his teachers and said good-bye's. Today we went back to H's school for their art show- the kiddos art work on display in the gym with a reception- it's more of a social time to say more good-byes and kick off the summer. So now the kiddos are out of school and summer vacation has begun:)
This weekend we are planning a little celebration with the kiddos on a great school year by both M and H. We are planning on going out to dinner, get some ice cream and take them to the bookstore to pick out some new books to kick off their summer reading. I'm also trying to find things that I can do with the kiddos this summer.
I'm going to do a separate update on my doctors appointments for the week.

This weeks appointment

This morning I had my weekly doctors appointment and ultrasound and once again they were running behind! I was really nervous when they said they were running behind because M was in her school talent show this afternoon ( yes my shy little girl got up on stage with a few of her friends and sang in front of the entire school!!!); thankfully they weren't as behind as last week- about an hour for ultrasound and my doctor came into the ultrasound room to see me so that made things go more quickly too (I had plenty of time to grab lunch for L and I before going to the talent show). EK is looking good- good heartbeat, moving around, head down, feet on my left side- in my rib cage;) There was no real change in the plac.ental mass/ plac.ental lake, unfortunately it's still there, still a mystery and still a concern. My OB said he's shown 3 or 4 doctors my ultrasound pictures and they just shake their heads and walk away- real comforting!! UGH!! The doctor also talked to me about the las.ix/ water pill the cardiologist prescribed, he doesn't want me on it if its just pregnancy related swelling because it can diminish my fluid, which is something we definitely don't need nor want! The good thing is, I quite taking these pills a couple of weeks ago when the cardiologist said the swelling/ extra fluid wasn't affecting my heart and that it was just pregnancy related. So I go back next Thursday for another doctors appointment and ultrasound. Next week I also go back to the dermatologist, my rash had cleared up but now I have what appears to be dry skin and abrasions like- I'm think from the strong medicine/ ointment I was on, so good thing I have a follow up! Next week I also have my consult with the anesthesiologist, Tuesday evening which hopefully means hubby can go with me, my parents are watching the kiddos for us- what a date night;) LOL ! Next week is also the kiddos last week of school, so it's going to be a busy week!

Mother's Day

Well Mother's Day didn't go like I had hoped, you would think I would quit having expectations- lol!!! Now before I go any further, I want to say I am beyond thankful for my beautiful kiddos and the reason I'm able to celebrate the day. I remember all to well dreading Mother's Day, the emotions and sadness that that day brought! Now with that said, my day started with getting myself and the three kiddos ready for church- which is no small task, especially when we have to leave our house by 8:30am to make the 9am mass. Hubby didn't go, he stayed home to workout and then go train at the studio. M did great at church, H did okay for H (until the end of mass) and L was a handful, I ended up in the cry room with her, and then ended up carrying her out of church at the end of mass kicking and screaming. H as I said did fine till the end when he asked if we could go to Sta.rbu,cks and I said no (I needed to go to the grocery and wanted to try and get there "early"; I can't have anything from there; it's expensive buying 3 snacks and 3 drinks there; and given L's behavior I knew she was done!), well H proceeds to call me names and kick me on the way out of church (yes at the same time I'm carrying a kicking, screaming toddler), I'm sure we were a sight!
I had to stop at my parents house to pick something up- they were not there and I had told the kids this however when H and L realized they weren't getting out at Grammy and Pop's more screaming and kicking ensued. Call me insane, stupid whatever but I then headed to the grocery with all three kiddos in tow (with the crazy week last week I forgot to get my bloodwork done for my doctors appointment this week which means on my normal grocery morning- Monday I needed to get my lab work done). The grocery shopping started okay until we got to the lun.cha,bles when H threw a fit wanting one, and I refused to spend the $$, they are expensive for what they are, they aren't nutritious , and they only want them for the candy and or drink in them. So needless to say the grocery shopping went down hill from there. By the time we got home and I got the groceries put away I was exhausted!!!! But a Mommy's work is never done, I had to fix lunch, marinate the chicken and pork chops for dinner; make fruit salad for dinner; make hubby's breakfast muffins for the week; make the kids snacks and lunch for the next day; clean the kitchen up from all that and throw in a load of laundry. The kiddos gave me their presents (they picked them out at Crack.er Ba-rr.el, where we ate with my parents on Friday night, my mom took them "shopping" there. M picked out a small statue thats cute, H picked our a car air freshner and L (I'm sure with lots of help from my mom) gave me a cutting mat. H had also made me a card at school:)
Hubby finally got home from the gym around 3:30ish, L was down for her nap, M and H were in the backyard playing and I finally got to sit down and rest a bit. Hubby and the kiddos worked on the front flower beds- edging and putting mulch down etc...
We had a yummy dinner, first cookout of the season, grilled chicken, baked potatoes, salad, broccoli, corn and fruit salad (I fixed the kiddos noodles because H and M don't like potatoes) of course dinner ended with whining by M because she didn't like dinner (this is a CONSTANT battle, unless its spaghetti, grilled cheese etc the few things she will eat and no veggies). Hubby hurried outside after dinner to cut the grass which left me to wash the dishes, bathe all three kiddos and get them to bed. By the end of the night I was exhausted and ready to go to bed early. I did managed to get to bed early only to be awoken by several (5) texts from Hubby's cousin wishing me Happy Mother's Day at 11pm. I hadn't planned on responding to the first text or so, until the next morning however by the 5th one I figured I better! I was finally able to get back to sleep only to be awoken two hours latter by the neighbor's dogs and then their security light that shines right into our bedroom (it's bright even with the blinds closed).
I was glad it was a new day this morning, hoping for a better day! That was not to be. 5:30am came too early, I got up and showered, got ready etc then it was time to wake M up- she is NOT a morning person and this morning was no exception. She woke up complaining about being cold (I put her robe on her); then she complained she couldn't find her slippers (turns out H had put them in her shoe bin when he was cleaning their room, who would've thought they'd be there?! LOL); then she complained about it being too bright, she hates our kitchen- this is a CONSTANT complaint of hers!! After 30 minutes of whining, complaining etc she finally decided on cereal with milk for breakfast (shouldn't have been hard bc we had just gone to the grocery the day before and she had several choices that she picked out) only to throw the biggest tantrum over the milk saying she didn't like that kind and refused to eat what I fixed.  All this while I'm trying to wake H up and get him going. M piddle and refused to eat so she went to school mad, upset and hungry and I felt guilty. What a way to start a Monday, but on a good note only a week and a half left of school which means 1 more Monday to have to get up early for school until August:)
Oh I've been meaning to mention this, anyone else having issues with their toddler not wanting to get into their car seat? OMG L has gotten HORRIBLE about it and its a constant battle. I honestly think its a toddler/ independence/ wanting to exert her will thing but I'm over it! We turned her car seat around to forward facing a little early (they are suppose to be two yrs old) hoping that would help, but no it just made it harder for me to get her in, which I must say is not easy! I'm trying to climb up into the vehicle (a very large SUV, she's in the middle seat due to M and H's car pool), while L is fighting me the entire time, grabbing onto other seats, kicking and screaming etc EVERY single time we put her into the car; and when we get out as soon as she is unbuckled she's trying to climb into the other seats away from me. I dread having to go anywhere with her because its such a battle! (Oh and as soon as she's in her seat and calmed down she's taking off her shoes and socks- thankfully it's warming up so it will be sandal weather less to have to put back on;) Any advice would be greatly appreciated on how to handle L so it's not so hard on either of us;)
Hoping the week gets better!!!!!

When it rains it pours or so it seems lately!!!

It's been quite a week!!! My father-in-laws visitation was Tuesday afternoon and evening. I arranged for my cousin to pick the older two kiddos up from school till my mom could get off work to take care of them. However we took L with us, which means she got about an hour nap all day on the ride there, not good! Then I spent from 3pm-8pm (the length of the visitation) chasing after L. I had taken coloring books, crayons, books, a few toys, and the tablet to keep her entertained. Well the only thing she was interested in was the tablet and that lasted about 15 minutes. Thankfully I also packed all kinds of snacks, and her drink because there was no food there (I'm used to my families visitations where there is a lounge, and family/ friends bring food etc ...). My parents brought the older two kiddos about 7:15/7:30 and then took all three kiddos home to get them in bed etc.. By the time we left the funeral home it hurt to walk because my feet and legs were swollen, I had a blister on my heal;  I was exhausted and hungry! The next day I was up early 5:30 to get myself ready before getting the kids ready for school and L to my mom's for the day so that hubby and I could go to the funeral. It was another long , emotional day.
Yesterday I had my weekly ultrasound and OB appointment, Hubby was off work (he took the week) and watched L for me. The doctors appointment took FOREVER!!!! I was scheduled for a 10:30 ultrasound and 11:00 doctor appointment. I did not get out of the doctors office till 1:05!!! I sat for an hour and 45 minutes without having anything done! Finally after being shuffled here and there I had my ultrasound, baby girl is doing well however there has been no change in the placental mass or mystery as they like to call it- which is good it hasn't grown but bad that its still there, hasn't shrunk and they don't know what it is. The doc basically said its a mystery, he will feel better about things the closer we get to my due date and he's still hopeful that it will shrink/ disappear?! He also wants me to go ahead and have my consult with the anesthesiologist in case I have to deliver early etc.. So I'm waiting for a call to set that up and I go back next Thursday for my next ultrasound and doctors appointment.
I hurried home bc Hubby needed to go to his hometown to help his mom take care of things etc... He goes to get in his car and it won't start!!! UGH, are you kidding me?! Well this hit hubby hard because whenever he had car issues the first person he called was his dad and he couldn't:( So I called my brother who came over after work, jumped the car, got it started and thankfully it turned out to just be the battery. Last night I worked with M till 9pm on a report that's due today- I haven't been home the last few nights to help her etc so of course it got put off till the last minute but she got it done. I wanted to go to bed early but it didn't happen I was just getting into a good sleep when I heard one of the kiddos crying, it was H. H had diarrhea, OMG it was nasty and it was everywhere. He was crying and all upset- the bathroom is right across the hall from L's room so it woke her up, hubby took her in our room and they went back to sleep while I was left to clean H and the mess up. Thankfully H went back to bed and had no more issues the rest of the night, and had been fine today.
Today was suppose to be "catch up" day, hubby went to his hometown again to help his mom out and I had some errands to run, laundry to catch up on etc... But of course nothing goes as planned, L was in one of her "moods" and throwing tantrums so errands were out, not to mention the weather was horrible- heavy rains so the only thing I've managed to get accomplished is laundry. So on tomorrow's list of things to do is H's tball game, Mother's Day shopping, shopping for my niece's birthday which is tomorrow and all this with 3 kiddos in tow because hubby is going to the gym in the morning and his hometown in the afternoon. Whew it's been quite the week! I could really use some "me" time! But prayers and positive thoughts are what I need more, and I appreciate all those who are doing so:)
Happy Mother's Day to everyone!!! I remember the painful Mother's Days without kiddos or kiddos with angel wings,  all of you are in my thoughts and prayers especially this Sunday!

Rough Nights!

Wednesday night I was miserable, I couldn't get comfortable or relief from the rash all over my legs, I was up most the night. I also had a Charlie Horse, and L ended up in our bed again so between all that going on not much sleep was taking place. I called my OB's office first thing in the morning to see they could get me some relief, and I also talked to my mom- she works in a doctors office and often has connections etc... I got M off to school, and was sitting in carpool line at H's school when my mom called to say she got me an appointment with her dermatologist first thing that morning/ as soon as I could get there. Thankfully I had showered, and L was dressed and had, had breakfast however I was dressed in a tshirt, hubby's gym shorts and hadn't had time to brush my teeth- I was looking/ feeling swell;) I was thankful to get an appointment so quickly, and they were super nice at the office. It appears to be some type of pregnancy related rash, they gave me a prescription for a cream to use twice a day and take Ben.adr.yl at night. They want to watch me closely so I have a follow up Monday morning. I have to say the cream has helped some but not a great deal?! I didn't realize until Thursday night we were out of adult Bena.dry.l so I couldn't take it that night but made sure I picked some up on Friday.
Friday I was able to get my hair done:) YAY!! It felt good to get my hair done. M went with me to the salon so it was a little girl time! ( we live in KY no school on "o.ak.s day aka as the day before Der.by). The rest of Friday was a "normal" day with L getting into all kinds of mischief including finding one of daddy's highlighters and coloring all over our bedroom wall while mommy was doing laundry.
Then late Friday night, around midnight hubby's mom called with the call we all dread, hubby's father had, had a massive stroke or heart attack. Hubby's parents live about 45 minutes away, but hubby decided to stay the night at home (I was worried about him driving alone and I had no one to call and come watch the kiddos so I could go with him), and left early this morning. The next several days, weeks and months are going to be really tough on hubby and his mom- he's an only child. His parents had made no previous arrangements, so he and his mom are doing that today and trying to sort through all that had to be done. I told the kiddos this morning when they woke up, not sure how much they grasp/ understand, I did the best I could to explain it to them. Your thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated.

Craziness, don't know what else to call it!!!

So yesterday I had my cardiology appointment, just a check- up during pregnancy kind. I was schedule for an echo, EKG and see the doc at 10:40am. I got to the office in plenty of time- thankfully brought L's backpack with snacks, books, crayons etc... I didn't get called back for my blood pressure, weight, EKG until 11:40!!! After they do that they put me back out in the waiting room till an echo room is available! Finally I'm called back for that- didn't note the time. Then after my echo I go to another room to wait on the doctor. The good news is everything looks good, no changes, heart function is looking good:) As far as the swelling just pregnancy related, not affecting my heart, but I can increase my water pill to twice a day and three a day on the really bad days. We talked about what my OB said on Monday and she asked if we wanted a 2nd opinion and recommended another high risk OB. Not sure if we are going to or not, haven't been able to talk to hubby about it- you'll see why later in the post! The cardiologist also said the rash I have has no correlation to the swelling in my legs. The itching is HORRIBLE!!!!! The cardiologist also recommended meeting with the anistesiologist soon just in case I go early, so I'll be talking to my OB about that next Thursday. I also talked to her about EK's VSD and she didn't see any mention of it in the fetal echo notes?! So who knows!! I go back to the cardiologist for another EKG, echo and see the doc in 6 weeks, I finally left the doctors office at 1:15pm, by the time I got home I had 30 minutes to get our (mine and L's) lunch and eat before having to leave to go get the other kiddos from school!
We get home, get settled ( M started on homework, L down for a nap, H relaxing and me doing some laundry) and try to get some things done before H's tball game- thankfully my mom offered to take him. So my mom arrives fashionable late as usual and takes H to his game- M tagged along. I decide to get started on dinner and realize our refrigerator has quit!!!! At first I thought the lightbulb was out, then I thought we just had tripped the circuit breaker. Well come to find out wherever we plugged the refrigerator in it tripped the GFI. So basically we needed a new refrigerator ours bit the dust. Hubby got home said he wasn't feeling well- he had a headache all day and didn't feel right. so we took his pulse and blood pressure- his blood pressure was okay, not the best and his pulse was in the high 90's- this concerned me however he ate some dinner, drank some soft drink with caffine and took some tyl.en.ol and hurried out in search of a new refrigerator. Thankfully we found a larger, nicer one than we had, at a decent price, no interest for 12 months, it has a rebate, and they delivered it this morning and hauled away the old one!!!!! YAY!!! Yes it was a HUGE hassle, trying to save all the food (I had just gone to the grocery the day before!), hurry out and find/ buy a new one- no one ever wants to just go out and spend that kind of money but thankfully we had the means to do so! We finally got home after 10pm and didn't get in bed till 11:30. Before heading to bed we checked hubby's blood pressure and pulse again- the blood pressure was much better but his pulse was in the high 80's low 90's but he wanted to go on to bed. (He felt better this morning and still felt fine at lunch time some hopefully it was due to the headache!)
L ended up in our bed AGAIN, her allergies and teething are bothering her. So not only did I get kicked off and on by EK, but L did the same because she is a restless sleeper. I was up at 2am because my rash was really bothering me and then hubby got two phone calls and a text from work at 2:30am. Mind you I get up at 5:40am in order to be able to shower and then get everyone up for school, work etc... So needless to say I'm just a tad tired this morning!
On top of all this my blood sugar decides to go wacko! I had to call my endocrinologist to help me figure out what to do, my blood sugar reading yesterday morning was. 141- which is extremely high for me it should be around. 90! Anyhoo she called me back yesterday and talked to me about what was going on, made some adjustments to my insulin and I was to call her back this morning to update her on my readings (I wasn't able to call till around noon, due to getting M and H off to school, delivery of new refrigerator etc and then picking up H from school. So I haven't heard back from her yet ).
So that about sums up the craziness going on with me/ with our household!!!