I was out running some errands yesterday and realized (very quickly) that not bringing a bottle of water was a huge mistake. Now, normally not having water with me isn't an issue. Not a reason to stress. But, given my current state, drinking water is critical to my well being and my baby's well being. I thought, no big deal, I'll just pick up a bottle of water at Target. I finish my shopping at Target - NO water in the refrigerated section up front. I still had to pick the kids up from the pool, so I debated what to do now. At first I thought I would be fine, but as soon as I went outside, I knew I needed to get some water. I decided to just go to McDonald's and purchase a bottle of water and ask for a large cup of ice. Of course, there was a family ahead of me and they took their sweet time deciding what they wanted, and the lady behind the counter wasn't paying attention and took a few minutes to figure out that a line had formed. At this point, a couple of men had also come in and were standing off to the side a little. The family orders their food and I am sweetly waiting, very patiently. Then, the MEN went up to the counter. At this point, I'm a little irritated, just feeling like it was pretty rude for a couple of men to cut in front of an obviously pregnant woman. But, again, not a big deal. I'm fine. Finally, my turn. I ask for a bottle of water and a cup of ice. She hands me a cup that would hold NOTHING. I said, "Can I get a bigger cup? I'm very thirsty and would like a large cup of ice." She looks at me with absolute confusion on her face. Then, the manager steps up, "You have to pay for a larger cup - same as a 16 ounce drink." WHAT? "Ummm, I just want a cup of ice to go with my water." All the time I'm thinking "can't they see I'm very pregnant?" I wanted to ask them if they wanted me to go into premature labor, but decided that would be rude. So I said fine. Gave her 2 dollars and waited for my change. She gets out my change, shuts the drawer, drops a quarter on the floor, looks for 2 seconds and tells me I will have to wait for me 25 cents. At this point, I started boiling. I grabbed the water bottle said, "Thanks, but just forget it." And I left the store. I get to my car and start crying. Why can't someone be nice to a pregnant woman? What is wrong with the people here? Put me in a funk for a couple of hours.
Yes, I'm emotionally a wreck. I'm crying over water, ice and a quarter.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Confirming our Direction
Life has been pretty stressful the last couple of weeks. Still not a single person looking at our house. It is now below market value and listed as a rental on a couple of military rental sites. Nothing. Not a thing. Old Man is not thrilled about moving right now - for many reasons. I'm just tired and not up for much beyond finding a comfortable chair and reading a good book! :-) Because of all this, we both were feeling like somehow we had pushed a move that God wasn't wanting, but we kept begging. We finally sat down Friday and had a really good talk about what we had prayed for and that, if we believe God wanted this move, then we need to trust Him with the details. Now, I know this doesn't mean our house will sell or rent or anything. Maybe He wants us to learn how to budget our finances TIGHTLY for a while. We don't know. We do know that He has a plan and we need to trust Him with our lives.
Saturday, my sister called me and told me that our Great-Aunt has offered her house to us for a full month after we move. WOW. We thought we were going to be living with my sister! Which, in theory would be fine. We get along well, her house is big enough. But, in reality, adding 6 people (one who is 2 and one who is hugely pregnant) is a lot to ask of anyone - especially for an indefinite amount of time. Now we have a whole month of time just given to us. If we have to live with my sister at that point, it will be for a month less than originally thought! God just blessed us and confirmed that this IS what He wants for us. Ahhhh, I can't tell you how much I needed that confirmation and blessing.
Now, a much smaller thing, but still, a need. I mentioned last week that the only thing we didn't have for this baby is an infant car seat. No big deal, we'll pick one up when we get to Colorado. Yesterday, we met with a group of friends for dinner. These are friends from WAY back in California - back when we were newlyweds. They are like our family. One of the girls had her 5th baby last year. She shows up and tells me she has a few things for the baby - if we want them. What do you think she gives me? Yep, a car seat. Used for ONE baby - in excellent condition. And, she only buys the best, so I know it is a great car seat. Again, thank you GOD for meeting our needs.
Old Man has called me twice this morning - I believe this is a record. :-) First he called to tell me the official move dates are finalized (another small, but necessary thing here that we have been waiting on). We got the dates we wanted! The packers will be here July 8 and 9 and the movers will be here July 10. That means we drive out on the 11th - exactly as we had hoped. The 2nd thing was another small, but necessary item we needed. He is taking some military classes. He wrote a paper a week ago and submitted it. He needed it graded so he can get the materials for his next course (1000+ pages of reading and a test - all needing to be done by September 5). Sure enough, the paper has been graded - he got an excellent on it - and his new books are being sent. Thank You God!
So, God is good. He knows our needs and He is meeting them. I just need to be very very patient and trust that they will be met. And that whatever happens with the house is what we need. :-)
Saturday, my sister called me and told me that our Great-Aunt has offered her house to us for a full month after we move. WOW. We thought we were going to be living with my sister! Which, in theory would be fine. We get along well, her house is big enough. But, in reality, adding 6 people (one who is 2 and one who is hugely pregnant) is a lot to ask of anyone - especially for an indefinite amount of time. Now we have a whole month of time just given to us. If we have to live with my sister at that point, it will be for a month less than originally thought! God just blessed us and confirmed that this IS what He wants for us. Ahhhh, I can't tell you how much I needed that confirmation and blessing.
Now, a much smaller thing, but still, a need. I mentioned last week that the only thing we didn't have for this baby is an infant car seat. No big deal, we'll pick one up when we get to Colorado. Yesterday, we met with a group of friends for dinner. These are friends from WAY back in California - back when we were newlyweds. They are like our family. One of the girls had her 5th baby last year. She shows up and tells me she has a few things for the baby - if we want them. What do you think she gives me? Yep, a car seat. Used for ONE baby - in excellent condition. And, she only buys the best, so I know it is a great car seat. Again, thank you GOD for meeting our needs.
Old Man has called me twice this morning - I believe this is a record. :-) First he called to tell me the official move dates are finalized (another small, but necessary thing here that we have been waiting on). We got the dates we wanted! The packers will be here July 8 and 9 and the movers will be here July 10. That means we drive out on the 11th - exactly as we had hoped. The 2nd thing was another small, but necessary item we needed. He is taking some military classes. He wrote a paper a week ago and submitted it. He needed it graded so he can get the materials for his next course (1000+ pages of reading and a test - all needing to be done by September 5). Sure enough, the paper has been graded - he got an excellent on it - and his new books are being sent. Thank You God!
So, God is good. He knows our needs and He is meeting them. I just need to be very very patient and trust that they will be met. And that whatever happens with the house is what we need. :-)
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Our Youngest
I've been wanting to do a post for a while about each of the kids. We will start with the youngest, David, and see how far I get. :-) It might just be one post about him and none about the rest!
David is 2 and 3 months now. His verbal skills are amazing, his ability to throw a fit is unsurpassed, he screams "NO" as well as any 2 year old ever has, he can give wonderful hugs (when he's in the mood) and he is cute as a button one second and I'm ready to give him away the next.
A couple weeks ago, he had some pasta on his plate and I put a spoonful of vegetables on his plate. He looked at his plate for a few seconds, looks up and says, "Can you take the carrot out of my pasta?" WHAT? Excuse me? Old Man and I just stared at each other and started laughing! David is most definitely a neat freak, can you tell? He puts books on the bookshelf correctly - none of my other kids have figured that one out yet. He stacks bowls - in order of size - again, the only one. He likes things organized and neat. And man, can that kid do a puzzle! He is almost as good as Joseph - our 4-1/2 year old! Oh, and he loves to color. In other words, his fine motor skills are very advanced. But, just so we stay humble, remember, he is strong willed. He fights us nonstop on most issues.
Isn't it great to have a big sister who can slick your hair over and take a picture of it? :-)
Another picture taken by big sis, Dawn. She took some really cool ones of the kids on the trampoline. In most of them, David is picking his nose. :-)
Friday, June 6, 2008
A No Good, Very Bad Day
Warning: I'm grumpy.
I woke up at 6:30 this morning with a horrific headache. I took 2 ibuprofen right away. No help. My stomach is hurting due to the headache. And, I seem to have developed heartburn - no matter whether I eat or not, no matter what I eat. So, I'm feeling pretty bad this morning. I really just want to crawl back in bed and sleep/read the rest of the day. No such luck! We had to get ready for the house to be shown! Yep, a scheduled showing from 1:30-3:30 today. I should have told them that was a horrible time, but I was caught off guard, said "sure" and regretted it instantly. See, I had a midwife appointment scheduled for 1 today, so had a babysitter coming over to watch the kids. That way David could still get his nap and I could go and have an easy appointment, by myself. Change of plans!
Around 9:30 this morning, I was actually back in bed, taking a nap. Where were the kids you might wonder? Anne was playing a computer game - which kept both boys occupied. Not sure what Dawn was doing. I managed a 30 minute nap. 2 more ibuprofen (don't kill me folks, I know this is bad during pregnancy, but so was my headache!) and half a cup of coffee and I started to feel better around 10:30. At that point I tell the kids what all they need to get done. Much grumbling and complaining and whining (it's horrible when I do this!). :-) We managed to get the laundry put away, the whole house vacuumed, bathrooms wiped down, kitchen cleaned up and all of us out the door around 12:15. Phew.
I pick up our babysitter and we head to Subway. (Remember, my house is spotless. Not a chance those kids are eating in there!) We're running late for my appointment, so I'm very frustrated when the parking garage is full. I finally park in a garage further away and pick up my cell phone. Someone left me a message. The house showing is canceled. All that work, with a massive headache, for nothing. Just shoot me folks. Now I'm at the appointment - 15 minutes late, with 4 kids and a babysitter and we spent money on lunch. Argh!
Now, for the really horrible part of my day. This part nearly made me cry. As I got to the door of the midwife's office, I realized that my shoe was broken. Are you kidding me? I hate to shop. Hate. I own very few pairs of shoes. This pair I happened to purchase at a Marshall's or TJ Maxx in Colorado Springs last summer. Not a chance I can replace them. And they were comfortable!!!!! At this point, comfort is key. I truly wanted to cry. Could anything else go wrong?
David didn't nap the entire day. That's what else could go wrong. And my headache is back, in full strength. Old Man was supposed to get home early. It's almost 4, he left before 6 - can someone tell me if that is a short day at work?
On a positive note. My blood pressure was 110/60 - which truly shocked me. I thought for sure she would send me to bed! :-) Everything else is fine too. And our babysitter is a wonderful help. Oh, and it's Friday. I think I'll take the kids swimming at the neighbors, read my book and drink some water. And try, try, try to forget about this day.
I woke up at 6:30 this morning with a horrific headache. I took 2 ibuprofen right away. No help. My stomach is hurting due to the headache. And, I seem to have developed heartburn - no matter whether I eat or not, no matter what I eat. So, I'm feeling pretty bad this morning. I really just want to crawl back in bed and sleep/read the rest of the day. No such luck! We had to get ready for the house to be shown! Yep, a scheduled showing from 1:30-3:30 today. I should have told them that was a horrible time, but I was caught off guard, said "sure" and regretted it instantly. See, I had a midwife appointment scheduled for 1 today, so had a babysitter coming over to watch the kids. That way David could still get his nap and I could go and have an easy appointment, by myself. Change of plans!
Around 9:30 this morning, I was actually back in bed, taking a nap. Where were the kids you might wonder? Anne was playing a computer game - which kept both boys occupied. Not sure what Dawn was doing. I managed a 30 minute nap. 2 more ibuprofen (don't kill me folks, I know this is bad during pregnancy, but so was my headache!) and half a cup of coffee and I started to feel better around 10:30. At that point I tell the kids what all they need to get done. Much grumbling and complaining and whining (it's horrible when I do this!). :-) We managed to get the laundry put away, the whole house vacuumed, bathrooms wiped down, kitchen cleaned up and all of us out the door around 12:15. Phew.
I pick up our babysitter and we head to Subway. (Remember, my house is spotless. Not a chance those kids are eating in there!) We're running late for my appointment, so I'm very frustrated when the parking garage is full. I finally park in a garage further away and pick up my cell phone. Someone left me a message. The house showing is canceled. All that work, with a massive headache, for nothing. Just shoot me folks. Now I'm at the appointment - 15 minutes late, with 4 kids and a babysitter and we spent money on lunch. Argh!
Now, for the really horrible part of my day. This part nearly made me cry. As I got to the door of the midwife's office, I realized that my shoe was broken. Are you kidding me? I hate to shop. Hate. I own very few pairs of shoes. This pair I happened to purchase at a Marshall's or TJ Maxx in Colorado Springs last summer. Not a chance I can replace them. And they were comfortable!!!!! At this point, comfort is key. I truly wanted to cry. Could anything else go wrong?
David didn't nap the entire day. That's what else could go wrong. And my headache is back, in full strength. Old Man was supposed to get home early. It's almost 4, he left before 6 - can someone tell me if that is a short day at work?
On a positive note. My blood pressure was 110/60 - which truly shocked me. I thought for sure she would send me to bed! :-) Everything else is fine too. And our babysitter is a wonderful help. Oh, and it's Friday. I think I'll take the kids swimming at the neighbors, read my book and drink some water. And try, try, try to forget about this day.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Very Very Funny
I completely forgot to post about this until now.
A couple weeks ago, I was shopping at a maternity clothing store. This young, tiny woman was shopping there too. She became very chatty. All about how hard it is to find maternity clothes when you're so tiny and petite and a size 0. I really wanted to tell her to shove off, but being a nice, charitable person, I listened. I eventually told her we were moving, baby #5, blah blah. Then, she said the funniest thing to me. I swear, I keep thinking I heard her wrong. She said, "Well, if you're a Christian, then the baby will just fall out!" What, excuse me? Are you saying that if I'm not a Christian, then the baby will get stuck? Wow. None of my babies have just fallen out. Guess I'm not a Christian. Darn, all this time I've been thinking I was. I didn't realize that the true test was if the baby just falls out! By the way, I'm definitely a Christian NOW. I made sure. This baby is going to FALL OUT! :-)
Sometimes you just have to laugh at what people say!
A couple weeks ago, I was shopping at a maternity clothing store. This young, tiny woman was shopping there too. She became very chatty. All about how hard it is to find maternity clothes when you're so tiny and petite and a size 0. I really wanted to tell her to shove off, but being a nice, charitable person, I listened. I eventually told her we were moving, baby #5, blah blah. Then, she said the funniest thing to me. I swear, I keep thinking I heard her wrong. She said, "Well, if you're a Christian, then the baby will just fall out!" What, excuse me? Are you saying that if I'm not a Christian, then the baby will get stuck? Wow. None of my babies have just fallen out. Guess I'm not a Christian. Darn, all this time I've been thinking I was. I didn't realize that the true test was if the baby just falls out! By the way, I'm definitely a Christian NOW. I made sure. This baby is going to FALL OUT! :-)
Sometimes you just have to laugh at what people say!
Moving
Ahh, the joys of moving!
Our house is on the market. The open house was a complete waste of time. One person came by to see the house, one person called. And other than that, nothing! No one has called to look at the house. I'm struggling to not stress over this. And, truthfully, not doing a very good job. I know God is in control. I know He knows who will buy our house. I know that all things will work together for good ... BUT, that does NOT mean that my house will sell in the next few weeks - before we move. And that is what I am struggling with. My dear Old Man does not want to buy a house until we sell this one. Which would be fine, except that we have this baby on her way. My sister has graciously said we can stay in her basement until we get a house. But let's be serious here folks. How long can anyone tolerate an extra 6 people living with them. Remember, one is a 2 year old and another is a fat, cranky, miserable pregnant woman. Get the picture? I'm guessing 2 weeks will be fine. A month and she will wish I never moved to Colorado to begin with. Soooo, I need this house to sell!!!
Now, on to buying another house. Since Old Man doesn't want to buy until we sell here, not much to say. He actually suggested we may just have to rent. Again, who wants to rent to a family with 5 kids and a cat????? WHO? Plus, I would feel so overly responsible to take care of that person's house. I would freak over every ding in the wall, every stain in the carpet, every crayon mark, everything. It's not MY house!!
I also have this strange thing going on with buying a house. Since we are selling a house, I have HUGE amounts of empathy for other people selling houses. I look at houses to buy in Colorado and I feel sorry for the sellers. I want to buy the house, just so they don't have to stress over selling their house. And offer full price! I mean, these people have put their time and money into their house. They may even need the full price asked, etc. Obviously, Old Man will have to do the business dealings here. I am just too full of emotion over their plight right now.
Last thing. I love Old Man. Truly, love him. He is incredible. But, he pretty much stinks at communication. If I don't ask, he probably won't tell me. Take our conversation earlier today. First, he was leaving work early. Massive storms in the area - tornado warnings, etc. He isn't home and it is after 5. I, understandly, start to get a little concerned. Can't get him on the cell phone, etc. I finally reach him around 5:15 - STILL at work in Virginia. Ummm, he didn't think to call me and say he wasn't leaving before 3??? After 15 minutes of chatting, he's ready to get off the phone. I say, "I suppose you haven't heard about your orders." His reply, "Oh, yeah, their sitting right here on my desk. I printed them out." Excuse me? You didn't think to tell me this? At this point I'm ripping my hair out! :-) (For you non-military types - without orders, we can't move. We can't get movers scheduled. We can't do anything. They are necessary and very important!)
Last couple of items. I will post pictures in the next couple of days. This blog is a tad long on words and dry on pictures. And, very last thing. It's 7 o'clock and Old Man isn't home yet. Gotta love DC traffic and his awful commute! (Oh, he called around 6 and was leaving then - shall we take a bet to see if he makes it home in time to watch the beginning of the hockey game?)
Our house is on the market. The open house was a complete waste of time. One person came by to see the house, one person called. And other than that, nothing! No one has called to look at the house. I'm struggling to not stress over this. And, truthfully, not doing a very good job. I know God is in control. I know He knows who will buy our house. I know that all things will work together for good ... BUT, that does NOT mean that my house will sell in the next few weeks - before we move. And that is what I am struggling with. My dear Old Man does not want to buy a house until we sell this one. Which would be fine, except that we have this baby on her way. My sister has graciously said we can stay in her basement until we get a house. But let's be serious here folks. How long can anyone tolerate an extra 6 people living with them. Remember, one is a 2 year old and another is a fat, cranky, miserable pregnant woman. Get the picture? I'm guessing 2 weeks will be fine. A month and she will wish I never moved to Colorado to begin with. Soooo, I need this house to sell!!!
Now, on to buying another house. Since Old Man doesn't want to buy until we sell here, not much to say. He actually suggested we may just have to rent. Again, who wants to rent to a family with 5 kids and a cat????? WHO? Plus, I would feel so overly responsible to take care of that person's house. I would freak over every ding in the wall, every stain in the carpet, every crayon mark, everything. It's not MY house!!
I also have this strange thing going on with buying a house. Since we are selling a house, I have HUGE amounts of empathy for other people selling houses. I look at houses to buy in Colorado and I feel sorry for the sellers. I want to buy the house, just so they don't have to stress over selling their house. And offer full price! I mean, these people have put their time and money into their house. They may even need the full price asked, etc. Obviously, Old Man will have to do the business dealings here. I am just too full of emotion over their plight right now.
Last thing. I love Old Man. Truly, love him. He is incredible. But, he pretty much stinks at communication. If I don't ask, he probably won't tell me. Take our conversation earlier today. First, he was leaving work early. Massive storms in the area - tornado warnings, etc. He isn't home and it is after 5. I, understandly, start to get a little concerned. Can't get him on the cell phone, etc. I finally reach him around 5:15 - STILL at work in Virginia. Ummm, he didn't think to call me and say he wasn't leaving before 3??? After 15 minutes of chatting, he's ready to get off the phone. I say, "I suppose you haven't heard about your orders." His reply, "Oh, yeah, their sitting right here on my desk. I printed them out." Excuse me? You didn't think to tell me this? At this point I'm ripping my hair out! :-) (For you non-military types - without orders, we can't move. We can't get movers scheduled. We can't do anything. They are necessary and very important!)
Last couple of items. I will post pictures in the next couple of days. This blog is a tad long on words and dry on pictures. And, very last thing. It's 7 o'clock and Old Man isn't home yet. Gotta love DC traffic and his awful commute! (Oh, he called around 6 and was leaving then - shall we take a bet to see if he makes it home in time to watch the beginning of the hockey game?)
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Hello!
I haven't been writing much, due to a few extra things going on right now. :-) Thought I would get in a quick update.
We were out of town this past week. Took our one week of vacation this year. We got to go to a Naval Rec Center here in Maryland that we just love. Right on the water, protected, not many people, hiking, parks, relaxing. Very very nice. We were all sad that we had only planned to be gone 5 days!! Oh well. We came home yesterday afternoon and hit the ground running.
Today was our Open House. Or, I should say, was supposed to be. We spent yesterday doing all the laundry and this morning making sure the house was cleaner than it ever has been. Then, about 2 hours before the Open House was supposed to start - rain. Not just a drizzle. Lightning, thunder, drenching rain. Oh, and did I mention the Tornado Watch? It all went away about 5 minutes before the Open House was supposed to be OVER. Needless to say, we canceled it and it is now happening tomorrow from 1-4 ... we hope. :-) My neighbor said this was all a sign that we weren't supposed to move. I said that I was believing this is God's way of saying He is in control. :-)
So, I am way over tired. WAY over tired. I'm 25 weeks pregnant and we are moving in 6 weeks. Our house has been on the market for 3 days. It is clean, but it will take a huge amount of effort to keep it even close to this state for very long! Plus, I need to get back to school mode this week. Finish up a bit of school and order supplies for next year. We have a ballet recital next weekend for Anne (which will take a lot of work this week). A family reunion for Old Man's family the last weekend in June. Can't think of what else is on the schedule. I think I'm ready to go back to the beach! I'll read, sleep, take baths, go for long walks, sit on the beach, swim ...
All right, back to reality. Maybe I should go to bed early tonight. :-) Oh! Hockey game on at 8 - Old Man won't even notice if I'm not in the room. :-)
How is everyone else doing?
We were out of town this past week. Took our one week of vacation this year. We got to go to a Naval Rec Center here in Maryland that we just love. Right on the water, protected, not many people, hiking, parks, relaxing. Very very nice. We were all sad that we had only planned to be gone 5 days!! Oh well. We came home yesterday afternoon and hit the ground running.
Today was our Open House. Or, I should say, was supposed to be. We spent yesterday doing all the laundry and this morning making sure the house was cleaner than it ever has been. Then, about 2 hours before the Open House was supposed to start - rain. Not just a drizzle. Lightning, thunder, drenching rain. Oh, and did I mention the Tornado Watch? It all went away about 5 minutes before the Open House was supposed to be OVER. Needless to say, we canceled it and it is now happening tomorrow from 1-4 ... we hope. :-) My neighbor said this was all a sign that we weren't supposed to move. I said that I was believing this is God's way of saying He is in control. :-)
So, I am way over tired. WAY over tired. I'm 25 weeks pregnant and we are moving in 6 weeks. Our house has been on the market for 3 days. It is clean, but it will take a huge amount of effort to keep it even close to this state for very long! Plus, I need to get back to school mode this week. Finish up a bit of school and order supplies for next year. We have a ballet recital next weekend for Anne (which will take a lot of work this week). A family reunion for Old Man's family the last weekend in June. Can't think of what else is on the schedule. I think I'm ready to go back to the beach! I'll read, sleep, take baths, go for long walks, sit on the beach, swim ...
All right, back to reality. Maybe I should go to bed early tonight. :-) Oh! Hockey game on at 8 - Old Man won't even notice if I'm not in the room. :-)
How is everyone else doing?
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