This has been a good week for compliments... and you can never get enough of those!
On Sunday during the Sacrament song, a gentleman sitting in the row in front of us turned around and looked at me. I didn't think much about it - figured Brekken accidentally bumped him in the back or something since Brekken was on my lap. Later he stopped me in the hall to tell me he had to turn around and see who was the angel singing behind him. Ah, warm fuzzies! I love to sing and am sometimes afraid I'm a bit too loud and enthusiastic about it. So I'll happily take a compliment on my singing.
This morning on the bus, I got a compliment from another regular rider. I wore my hair down today instead of my usual lower-maintenance bun or ponytail. She leaned over to tell me that she loved seeing my hair down - She'd always liked the color, but hadn't seen all the curls before. More warm fuzzies. :) I used to hate my hair - and still have moments of dislike for it when it won't behave - but have learned to appreciate both the color and curls a lot more as I get older.
But - and this is the part that makes me kind of a dork - the biggest warm and fuzzy feelings have come from work this week. I finished writing a user manual for our new software system and sent it out for review to be sure I had covered everything needed, given the correct instructions, etc. I have gotten a ton of compliments from people around the office over it. And now I get a warm and happy glow when I think of my user manual. Yes, a software user manual is making me very happy. LOL
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Quick Funny from Preston
Excitedly looking through some new school supplies he got yesterday:
"Look, Mommy, an eraser! Now if I accidentally draw you killed I can erase it and draw you alive again!"
How reassuring that if he "accidentally" draws me killed, he will fix it and make me alive again. :)
"Look, Mommy, an eraser! Now if I accidentally draw you killed I can erase it and draw you alive again!"
How reassuring that if he "accidentally" draws me killed, he will fix it and make me alive again. :)
Monday, September 27, 2010
Odds and Ends
Nothing big and important to blog about... just a few things that came up over the last few days.
Megan introduced me to Bountiful Baskets. It's a food co-op where you can get a nice big basket of fruits and veggies for only $15! My kids love fruit of all kinds, and we all ought to eat more veggies, so I decided to give it a try. I'm quite excited by the amount and variety we got... though I'm still trying to figure out just what I will do with the okra.
Brekken loves shoes. All shoes. But especially shoes that are way too big for him. He put on a pair of my pumps and clomped around yesterday... very pleased with himself that he was wearing Mommy Shoes. LOL
"My mommy has a baby in her tumy. it is a boy. we have baby boy close. some times I can fell it moveing. we are going to have his cute baby picsure on our wall."
In other news... we had our ward Primary program yesterday and my class did so well! They all behaved beautifully and even got up and sang a little group solo without a sign of nervousness. As a reward for all their work on the program, we took it easy in class and just had a coloring day. They colored some gospel art pictures and we had a little treat. It was a nice reward for me, too! And I discovered that when I don't actually try to teach a lesson and stuff, class time is actually not exhausting. Too bad that won't work every week. ;)
I had to take a bathroom break at one point during Primary. I left my class in sharing time and told them to behave and I'd be right back. (I felt fairly safe doing this, since there were other teachers who could step in if needed.) Made me laugh when I got to the ladies room and met up with 2 other pregnant ladies with due dates right about the same time as my own! Apparently we've all reached the point where bathroom breaks are frequently needed.
One of the other ladies and I chatted a little and discovered that we've got some interesting similarities and differences. While we're both supposed to be taking it easy because of early contractions and other issues and we're both due close to the same time, she has too little amniotic fluid and a baby who is a bit too small for gestational age. So they'll watch her closely to be sure her baby doesn't need to come early. On the flip side of things, I have too MUCH amniotic fluid and my baby is a bit too large for gestational age. Due to the extra fluid and the fast-growing baby, I'm measuring around 36 weeks, instead of the 31 weeks that I actually am. So they'll watch me closely for preterm labor too. (The extra fluid and big baby stretch the uterus a bit and can fool the body into thinking it's time to deliver when it really isn't.) Nothing profound there, just thought it was interesting that we're having exactly opposite issues - as the 3rd pregnant lady in the room commented, the two of us just really need to be able to combine the pregnancies to even things out into a couple of average pregnancies. ;)
Megan introduced me to Bountiful Baskets. It's a food co-op where you can get a nice big basket of fruits and veggies for only $15! My kids love fruit of all kinds, and we all ought to eat more veggies, so I decided to give it a try. I'm quite excited by the amount and variety we got... though I'm still trying to figure out just what I will do with the okra.
Brekken loves shoes. All shoes. But especially shoes that are way too big for him. He put on a pair of my pumps and clomped around yesterday... very pleased with himself that he was wearing Mommy Shoes. LOL
"My mommy has a baby in her tumy. it is a boy. we have baby boy close. some times I can fell it moveing. we are going to have his cute baby picsure on our wall."
In other news... we had our ward Primary program yesterday and my class did so well! They all behaved beautifully and even got up and sang a little group solo without a sign of nervousness. As a reward for all their work on the program, we took it easy in class and just had a coloring day. They colored some gospel art pictures and we had a little treat. It was a nice reward for me, too! And I discovered that when I don't actually try to teach a lesson and stuff, class time is actually not exhausting. Too bad that won't work every week. ;)
I had to take a bathroom break at one point during Primary. I left my class in sharing time and told them to behave and I'd be right back. (I felt fairly safe doing this, since there were other teachers who could step in if needed.) Made me laugh when I got to the ladies room and met up with 2 other pregnant ladies with due dates right about the same time as my own! Apparently we've all reached the point where bathroom breaks are frequently needed.
One of the other ladies and I chatted a little and discovered that we've got some interesting similarities and differences. While we're both supposed to be taking it easy because of early contractions and other issues and we're both due close to the same time, she has too little amniotic fluid and a baby who is a bit too small for gestational age. So they'll watch her closely to be sure her baby doesn't need to come early. On the flip side of things, I have too MUCH amniotic fluid and my baby is a bit too large for gestational age. Due to the extra fluid and the fast-growing baby, I'm measuring around 36 weeks, instead of the 31 weeks that I actually am. So they'll watch me closely for preterm labor too. (The extra fluid and big baby stretch the uterus a bit and can fool the body into thinking it's time to deliver when it really isn't.) Nothing profound there, just thought it was interesting that we're having exactly opposite issues - as the 3rd pregnant lady in the room commented, the two of us just really need to be able to combine the pregnancies to even things out into a couple of average pregnancies. ;)
Monday, September 20, 2010
Wiggly Babies
I have to say, while there are many things about pregnancy that I don't enjoy, one thing I do love is feeling the baby kick and wiggle. It's a fun confirmation that someone is in there and that things are going okay with him. And it's always amazing how each baby shows a bit of personality already just by the wiggling.
For instance, this baby loves to squirm and wiggle in the evenings. From about 7 p.m. to around midnight he is really active and wiggling all over the place. And this baby will kick and kick when he feels the rumble from a purring cat laying on my lap. I'm not sure if he's just reacting to the vibration, or actively trying to get the cat to move away. Last night I watched him kick directly beneath the cat's head over and over. The cat's head was literally moving up and down with each kick, but she didn't seem to notice/care. She was stubborn enough to outlast the kicking at any rate.
It reminded me of a funny story from my first pregnancy. When I was pregnant with Haley, every time the organ would start playing at church she would go wild. All kinds of kicking and squirming around. It would continue until the song ended, and then she would be quiet again until the next time the organ started up. We would laugh and think it was so funny. "She really likes the music!" we would say. "Look how much she's reacting to it!"
Then she was born and we took her to church with us. And every time the organ music began she would scream and scream. Then when the song ended she would be calm again until the next song began. Ooops. Apparently she didn't like the organ music after all.
So it will be interesting to see, after this baby is born - does he like the purring cat or doesn't he?
For instance, this baby loves to squirm and wiggle in the evenings. From about 7 p.m. to around midnight he is really active and wiggling all over the place. And this baby will kick and kick when he feels the rumble from a purring cat laying on my lap. I'm not sure if he's just reacting to the vibration, or actively trying to get the cat to move away. Last night I watched him kick directly beneath the cat's head over and over. The cat's head was literally moving up and down with each kick, but she didn't seem to notice/care. She was stubborn enough to outlast the kicking at any rate.
It reminded me of a funny story from my first pregnancy. When I was pregnant with Haley, every time the organ would start playing at church she would go wild. All kinds of kicking and squirming around. It would continue until the song ended, and then she would be quiet again until the next time the organ started up. We would laugh and think it was so funny. "She really likes the music!" we would say. "Look how much she's reacting to it!"
Then she was born and we took her to church with us. And every time the organ music began she would scream and scream. Then when the song ended she would be calm again until the next song began. Ooops. Apparently she didn't like the organ music after all.
So it will be interesting to see, after this baby is born - does he like the purring cat or doesn't he?
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Quick Funny from Brekken
"We saw a wee-ooo and it was really fast!"
Apparently 'wee-ooo' is his new word for a fire engine or police car running with lights and sirens. You know, wee-ooo, wee-ooo. LOL
Apparently 'wee-ooo' is his new word for a fire engine or police car running with lights and sirens. You know, wee-ooo, wee-ooo. LOL
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Splurging
It's funny how my definition of splurging has changed over the years.
Back when I was single, I would splurge with my girlfriends on a weekend in Breckenridge. Renting a condo, nights out on the town, the whole shebang.
After Aaron and I got married, we would splurge on a really fancy restaurant or a night at a bed and breakfast.
After a having a child, a splurge was a dinner and a movie. Maybe picking up a new outfit at Target.
After a couple of kids, splurging became picking up dinner from a fast-food restaurant.
And now, approaching the arrival of child number 4, splurging has hit an all-time low. I was eating lunch and putting together a shopping list. I added paper towels to the list. And I thought to myself, "Maybe I'll splurge and get the nice Viva towels instead of the generic Target paper towels." Yep, splurging is now reduced to spending an extra dollar on paper towels. LOL
On a tangent... splurge is a funny word. It sounded perfectly normal to me when I started this post. Now that I've reached the end and said it several times, it sounds strange. Try it... splurge. Splurge. Splurge. It just sounds odd and meaningless now...
Back when I was single, I would splurge with my girlfriends on a weekend in Breckenridge. Renting a condo, nights out on the town, the whole shebang.
After Aaron and I got married, we would splurge on a really fancy restaurant or a night at a bed and breakfast.
After a having a child, a splurge was a dinner and a movie. Maybe picking up a new outfit at Target.
After a couple of kids, splurging became picking up dinner from a fast-food restaurant.
And now, approaching the arrival of child number 4, splurging has hit an all-time low. I was eating lunch and putting together a shopping list. I added paper towels to the list. And I thought to myself, "Maybe I'll splurge and get the nice Viva towels instead of the generic Target paper towels." Yep, splurging is now reduced to spending an extra dollar on paper towels. LOL
On a tangent... splurge is a funny word. It sounded perfectly normal to me when I started this post. Now that I've reached the end and said it several times, it sounds strange. Try it... splurge. Splurge. Splurge. It just sounds odd and meaningless now...
Monday, September 13, 2010
Sunday is a day of rest?
So yesterday I made a real effort to get everyone dressed and ready and out the door early enough to make it to Sacrament meeting on time for a change. (Our usual method is to show up late enough that we end up in the foyer instead of the chapel. ) But yesterday I was really trying... we were still late. We did at least make it before the Sacrament and sat in the chapel instead of the foyer.
I made more effort than I usually do lately because a group of us were doing a musical number and I wanted to be there to touch base with everyone before the meeting. That didn't happen, but luckily the rest of the group was more on the ball. Especially since, as they started passing the Sacrament, I suddenly realized that I had left the stack of sheet music back home. Immediate panic! Was there time to send Aaron racing home to get it? Did we know the song well enough without it? Would someone else have a copy and could we get the library open - in the middle of Sacrament meeting - to make copies for everyone? As soon as the Sacrament was done, I slipped over to Megan to see if she'd brought a copy (I had been bringing the music each week, but a couple of people kept copies to practice at home.) She did not have a copy, but said that they'd met briefly before the meeting and a couple of others did bring copies. Relief! But I still missed most of what the first speaker said because I was busy worrying over whether we really had enough music. I knew the pianist had her own copy. If there was only 1 extra copy, could the flute and violin players stand behind the piano player and look over her shoulder so the singers could share the one set of sheet music? Luckily, there were 4 copies there - so we had one for the violin and flute, and a few to share around the singers.
I'm admittedly biased, but I thought the number sounded really good from where I was standing. Aaron (also biased) said it sounded good from his seat, too. :)
Next was Primary and time to practice for the Primary program. For some reason, I had it in my head that it would be a pretty easy day, since I didn't have to teach a lesson. Turns out that trying to keep 7 4-year-olds settled and on track for 2 hours of practice is really tiring. One of my kids (Brynna - I love that girl!) was a perfect angel. Always sitting still, paying attention, not fidgety. It was very impressive. Not to say that the others were bad! They were really one of the best behaved classes, I think. But they are 4 & 5 years old. Trying to sit still and pay attention for that long was just not easy for them. By the time church was over, I was exhausted and sick. I went home and just collapsed on the bed for awhile to recover.
Next week we have a break for stake conference, but the following week is really not going to be fun. We have an hour and a half of practice on Saturday - which Aaron can't attend because he has to work, so I'm going to have to wrangle all 3 of my kids, plus my Primary kids. Then on Sunday we have the actual program. After which, we have to go to Primary and still teach the kids for 2 hours, including a lesson. Yuck. Oh well, I'll focus first on enjoying the break next week!
Health Update (mostly for my mother-in-law, who asked me to keep her updated via the blog - feel free to skip the rest of my complaining) :)
Still dealing with the pregnancy-induced hypertension. I'm hanging out around 130/75, which is not too bad overall, but fairly high for me (my baseline is around 100/60). So enough to give me a headache, dizzyness, shakes, and nausea a lot of the time. But the bloodwork is coming back okay, so it's still PIH, not pre-eclampsia. Good news there!
Also still dealing with the irritable uterus. That's a good term for it, I've decided, because it makes me irritable! I pretty much have constant cramping - I feel like my stomach is always tied in a hard knot. But I'm trying to avoid doing things that bring on worse cramping or contractions (you know, things like walking, or reaching for things) and sometimes it helps a little. Aaron pointed out the other day that I never had any contractions with the 1st two pregnancies (literally never - that's why I had to be induced both times), and almost none with the 3rd until I actually went into labor, so this time around I'm making up for it with all the contractions I should have had all along! LOL The good news there is that it doesn't seem to be changing my cervix, so it's just annoying, not dangerous. I have another ultrasound next week to double-check baby's size and the cervix to be sure all is well.
Working at home a couple of days a week is helping. I was able to spend a lot of time with my feet up at the end of the week and over the weekend, and as a result, my feet are almost normal today! Always a good day when I can fit my feet into my regular shoes for a change. :)
I made more effort than I usually do lately because a group of us were doing a musical number and I wanted to be there to touch base with everyone before the meeting. That didn't happen, but luckily the rest of the group was more on the ball. Especially since, as they started passing the Sacrament, I suddenly realized that I had left the stack of sheet music back home. Immediate panic! Was there time to send Aaron racing home to get it? Did we know the song well enough without it? Would someone else have a copy and could we get the library open - in the middle of Sacrament meeting - to make copies for everyone? As soon as the Sacrament was done, I slipped over to Megan to see if she'd brought a copy (I had been bringing the music each week, but a couple of people kept copies to practice at home.) She did not have a copy, but said that they'd met briefly before the meeting and a couple of others did bring copies. Relief! But I still missed most of what the first speaker said because I was busy worrying over whether we really had enough music. I knew the pianist had her own copy. If there was only 1 extra copy, could the flute and violin players stand behind the piano player and look over her shoulder so the singers could share the one set of sheet music? Luckily, there were 4 copies there - so we had one for the violin and flute, and a few to share around the singers.
I'm admittedly biased, but I thought the number sounded really good from where I was standing. Aaron (also biased) said it sounded good from his seat, too. :)
Next was Primary and time to practice for the Primary program. For some reason, I had it in my head that it would be a pretty easy day, since I didn't have to teach a lesson. Turns out that trying to keep 7 4-year-olds settled and on track for 2 hours of practice is really tiring. One of my kids (Brynna - I love that girl!) was a perfect angel. Always sitting still, paying attention, not fidgety. It was very impressive. Not to say that the others were bad! They were really one of the best behaved classes, I think. But they are 4 & 5 years old. Trying to sit still and pay attention for that long was just not easy for them. By the time church was over, I was exhausted and sick. I went home and just collapsed on the bed for awhile to recover.
Next week we have a break for stake conference, but the following week is really not going to be fun. We have an hour and a half of practice on Saturday - which Aaron can't attend because he has to work, so I'm going to have to wrangle all 3 of my kids, plus my Primary kids. Then on Sunday we have the actual program. After which, we have to go to Primary and still teach the kids for 2 hours, including a lesson. Yuck. Oh well, I'll focus first on enjoying the break next week!
Health Update (mostly for my mother-in-law, who asked me to keep her updated via the blog - feel free to skip the rest of my complaining) :)
Still dealing with the pregnancy-induced hypertension. I'm hanging out around 130/75, which is not too bad overall, but fairly high for me (my baseline is around 100/60). So enough to give me a headache, dizzyness, shakes, and nausea a lot of the time. But the bloodwork is coming back okay, so it's still PIH, not pre-eclampsia. Good news there!
Also still dealing with the irritable uterus. That's a good term for it, I've decided, because it makes me irritable! I pretty much have constant cramping - I feel like my stomach is always tied in a hard knot. But I'm trying to avoid doing things that bring on worse cramping or contractions (you know, things like walking, or reaching for things
Working at home a couple of days a week is helping. I was able to spend a lot of time with my feet up at the end of the week and over the weekend, and as a result, my feet are almost normal today! Always a good day when I can fit my feet into my regular shoes for a change. :)
Friday, September 3, 2010
Good Friends
By the time I picked up the kids on Monday night, I was feeling pretty rough. I knew I didn't feel well, but apparently I didn't LOOK well either. On Tuesday morning, Michelle (who watches the boys) commented to Aaron on how bad I'd looked the night before. And when I got there to pick up the boys on Tuesday, she informed me that she had made dinner for us and would be bringing it over so I wouldn't have to cook.
I'm still so touched by how nice that was. I'm so appreciative that she took the time to make dinner for my family as well as her own. And of course, she and Joel are better cooks than I am (they're professionally trained and Joel cooks for a living). So anything coming from their hands is a treat. :) They sent a wonderful squash soup - it was so good that the kids ate a couple of bowls each (and I can't get these children to TOUCH squash when I cook it). And Aaron and I happily polished off the rest.
To make things even better, my visiting teachers came over on Tuesday night. They also brought dinner! That meant that on Wednesday, when I was once again feeling really rotten, I had a dinner all ready and waiting in the fridge. It was so nice to just be able to pull it out and heat it up in a matter of minutes once the kids started asking for dinner. (Not that I don't do that at other times, too, but I usually accomplish it though a frozen dinner or a drive-thru, which is not nearly as good for them as I would like!)
And as long as I'm giving credit to those who are helping me out this week, I'd better be thankful for the good bosses I have at work. I start off most days feeling okay, but by halfway through the day or so, I'm usually feeling so awful that I can hardly function. And at my office, instead of pushing me to keep going and asking why I'm not working harder, I have people pushing me to lay down, take a break, and don't you want to go home early? (BTW, once I lay down for a bit and rest, I do feel better and can function again. :) ) I've worked other places where I've seen people dealing with illness (of any kind) and a lot of times the bosses are not so understanding. Here they're not only allowing me to work from home 1-2 days a week so that I can get more rest, they're actually pressuring me to work from home MORE often than that. I never did get that recliner for my office that they talked about, but sending me home with a laptop to work from the recliner in my living room is sure nice of them, too.
I'm grateful for friends helping me out during a rough week. :)
I'm still so touched by how nice that was. I'm so appreciative that she took the time to make dinner for my family as well as her own. And of course, she and Joel are better cooks than I am (they're professionally trained and Joel cooks for a living). So anything coming from their hands is a treat. :) They sent a wonderful squash soup - it was so good that the kids ate a couple of bowls each (and I can't get these children to TOUCH squash when I cook it). And Aaron and I happily polished off the rest.
To make things even better, my visiting teachers came over on Tuesday night. They also brought dinner! That meant that on Wednesday, when I was once again feeling really rotten, I had a dinner all ready and waiting in the fridge. It was so nice to just be able to pull it out and heat it up in a matter of minutes once the kids started asking for dinner. (Not that I don't do that at other times, too, but I usually accomplish it though a frozen dinner or a drive-thru, which is not nearly as good for them as I would like!)
And as long as I'm giving credit to those who are helping me out this week, I'd better be thankful for the good bosses I have at work. I start off most days feeling okay, but by halfway through the day or so, I'm usually feeling so awful that I can hardly function. And at my office, instead of pushing me to keep going and asking why I'm not working harder, I have people pushing me to lay down, take a break, and don't you want to go home early? (BTW, once I lay down for a bit and rest, I do feel better and can function again. :) ) I've worked other places where I've seen people dealing with illness (of any kind) and a lot of times the bosses are not so understanding. Here they're not only allowing me to work from home 1-2 days a week so that I can get more rest, they're actually pressuring me to work from home MORE often than that. I never did get that recliner for my office that they talked about, but sending me home with a laptop to work from the recliner in my living room is sure nice of them, too.
I'm grateful for friends helping me out during a rough week. :)
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