Spellicopter

When I was in elementary school, my parents bought me a game for our Apple II GS to help me learn my spelling words. It was Spellicopter. I thought it would be really cool if I could find the same game for Ethan to use, only for the PC. So I went googeling and found this.
Using this game has to be better than just straight drilling him. I can't wait to see what he thinks tonight.

Ramblings about the last couple of weeks

So much has happened in the last few weeks, I don't know where to start.

The Wednesday before Easter my mom came back from a 3 week trip to New Mexico to see Court, Christina and James. Don't be fooled, the trip was mostly about James.

While mom was gone, we decided to go to OH for Easter. So, Thursday while Ethan was in school mom and I picked up to house and got everyone ready for a weekend at Grandma's. Before we could leave town I had an OB appointment. It was for measuring the baby to make sure every thing is growing according to schedule. It was really neat to take the family and let Ethan and Emma see the baby moving around in there. Emma had gone with me once before, but this was Ethan and grandma's first time. I love seeing the movement on the monitor and feeling it at the same time. How anyone can think that what is in there is no more than a ball of tissue that can be removed like a tumor is beyond me. Anyway, the baby was balled up and the ultrasound tech had a hard time getting all the measurements she wanted. So, I get to go back and have it done again in 2 weeks. Finally we were in the car and headed east at about 9:00 at night. We got to mom's house some where between 2-3:00 in the morning.
We had a great weekend at Grandma's house. We had not been back home since January. It was fun to see how much the twins had grown and to let Ethan and Emma play with Hayden and Hannah.
I don't know when I mentioned it, but at some time during the weekend I told mom that it was too bad that she was just getting back. If she had just been hanging out at home, I would ask her to come home with us and help me get the house ready to be put on the market. Bruce has been putting in some long hours at work these past few weeks and he just hasn't have the time to help me clean, arrange and toss out. Mom said that if she could get a few things done at her house before we leave, she would be glad to come back and help.
On Sunday we had Easter lunch at Grandma's house and then all went to Granny's for the egg hunt. It was too cold and wet to have it outside, so we hid 60 plastic eggs in the house. I think this was the first year that every egg was found.
After the egg hunt, we went back to Grandma's house and packed the cars. Mom was frantically looking over her finances and email before we left when Bruce suggested we unplug her computer and take it with us. She agreed and we were off.
Monday morning mom and I sat down and compiled a list of all the things that we would like to accomplish for the week.

1. Decorate the entry way. (done, see picture)
   
2. Clean, arrange and decorate the master bedroom and bathroom. (done, see picture)
   
3. Purchase plywood for the linen closet in the master bathroom. It was to cover an attic access we had cut to fix a leak in the roof. (done)
   
4. Purchase glue to glue down the floor in the 1/2 bath. It was rolling up due to water
5. Purchase a PVC cap for one of the pipes in the basement. (done)
   
6. Clean and arrange the basement. (done)
   
7. General cleaning of the kitchen, living room, dining room and bathrooms.
8. Hang curtains in Emma's room. (done)
9. Purchase wood filler and a new closer for the front door. (1/2 done)
   
10. Clean a candle burn mark off of the underside of one of the kitchen cupboards. (done)
    
11. Get someone to come out and fix the leak in the roof over the master bedroom. (done)
    
12. Wash the windows.
13. Keep up with the laundry and not let it pile up in the laundry room (clean or dirty clothes). (done)

Needless to say there was plenty to keep us busy the entire week. It seemed we had no time for anything else. But God thought we could handle a sick child in with the mix. On Tuesday Emma threw up in the back of mom's SUV and ran a temp for 3 days.

Believe it or not, we finished most of the tasks on our list. I still need to wash the windows, clean the common areas of the house, and glue the floor in the 1/2 bath. The bonus will be if I can get outside too. I would like to pick up the stuff in the yard and put weed paper in the flower beds and cover it with mulch or stone. I think it would make a great improvement to the looks of the outside of the house. We will have to wait and see if I have time/energy to get that finished.

I am very thankful to my mom for coming out and spending the week with us. We worked hard every day. Every night we fell into bed and never before midnight. I know that there is still work to do and keeping the house clean and neat is going to be the hardest part. I can't wait until we are finished with this sale and move. My prayer is that once the house goes on the market, we will find the home that we want and our house will sell quickly. I think of it a lot like taking off a band aid. Please, let's just get it over and done with.

Just for laughs

I have seen this video before, http://glumbert.com/media/laugh I just happened across it today.
Bruce tells me he blogged about it back in January.
I am putting it here so on that day I need a good laugh, I know where to find one.

On to better days...

These past few weeks have been very difficult. About 3 weeks ago I started having morning sickness. Around here we call it "all day sickness" because it doesn't matter if it is morning, noon or night.

When I was pregnant with Emma I was sick so much I ended up in the hospital because of dehydration. Having learned from my past, I called the doctor to see if there was anything that I could take to help easy my discomfort. He prescribed an anti - nausea medication. I was relieved, or so I thought. After taking the meds for about a week I found I wasn't any better off. Yes, I had stopped throwing up, but I couldn't get up off the sofa. The new meds sent my head to outer space. I was so dizzy I was afraid to climb the stairs without holding on to the rail for fear of falling backwards. I called the Dr. back. He prescribed another anti-nausea medication. I have been on this one for 2 1/2 weeks with out any complications.

Yesterday was the first time in 3 weeks that I cooked dinner for the family. It is difficult to cook when the sight, smell and thought of food sends you running. For several weeks now we have been either eating out or bringing in. A couple of nights Bruce came home and made dinner for he and the kids. Ethan has learned to warm up TV dinners for he and Emma on those nights when daddy is working late. Emma has learned to get her own bowl and spoon from the dishwasher for cereal. My family has been such great troopers.

Tuesday night, I guess it was early Wednesday morning, was the last time I took any medication. Yesterday I didn't take any meds. I haven't needed any this morning. I think I am turning a page. :-)

These past few weeks are what I dread the most about being pregnant. Not being able to eat, take care of my family, or keep the house. It really puts a dark cloud over my head. But this morning I ate breakfast, sat down with Emma to watch cartoons and felt baby move. I have been having a hard time finding my joy in this pregnancy. I think I found it this morning. I can say with out hesitation, Thank you Lord for this new life.

Where did December go?!?

As usual, December has flown by once again.
I can't believe that it is the second of January already.

I looked at my blog and was appalled that I haven't blogged since Halloween. Pathetic!
So much has happened. December is a very busy month around here. I know, everyone has a lot to do in December. Well do all that plus Ethan's birthday on the th 11 and Emma's on the 16th. Oh and don't forget Stephen's birthday on the 29 of November, Christina's on the 6 of December, mom's on the 21, Granny's on the 23, and Bob's on the 3rd of Jan. What a month!

I have finally found time to sit and blog about the surgery.

Back at the end of November I got a call from the surgery center. They told me that I had been denied coverage from the insurance company for the surgery. She said that they did not find enough evidence that I had been trying to loose weight with my doctor. So, they wanted me to go on a 6 month, physician supervised diet. She said that I could have my doctor call the person who reviewed my application and try to appeal the decision, but it had to be done with in a week. So...

I called my doctor and told him what was going on. He figured that this might happen. That's why, when we started this process, he put me on a diet pill and had me come in every month for weight checks. He said he would call the person who reviewed my application and give him the information we had collected up to this point. COOL!!

Two weeks go by and my doctor is having a hard time getting thru the automated phone system. I am anxious to hear the final word, but I am so tired all the time. I felt like I was dragging myself thru my days. On December 12 I had a passing thought that I might be pregnant. So I took a pregnancy test and to my shock, it came back positive. Bruce was sitting at the computer desk. I came out with my test, tossed it up on the desk, pat Bruce on the shoulder and told him "Merry Christmas" He was shocked too. I decided to take another one in the morning just to make sure the positive was real and not a false positive. It was just as positive in the morning as it had been the night before. I called my doctor and told him to stop trying to call the insurance company. I can't have the surgery now anyway. He was very surprised and happy for us.

Now the question was how we were going to tell our family. My mom was coming out to celebrate Emma's birthday. She was showing up that night. Bruce's parents would be getting here on the night of the 15. Bruce and I decided to tell our parents about the baby by placing 5 stockings over the fireplace this year. The only hitch was that he wouldn't let me do it until Friday night after his parents had arrived. That way it would be up and ready to be seen by all on Saturday morning.

Now we had to figure out a way to let all of our friends and extended family members know. We took a picture of the stockings and sent out a digital greeting card to every one we had email addresses for. It was really fun to see how long it took people to figure it out. One of my friends asked if we had gotten a dog. Ha!

I have to say that it has taken me some time to switch gears. I was expecting to have surgery in the next month. I worked really hard to loose 25 pounds. If history repeats itself, I will be gaining the 25 pounds back and then some with this baby. It will be at least 3 years before I can even consider the surgery again.

Don't get me wrong. We are very excited about the baby. He or she will be a blessed addition to our family. We just thought it would happen about a year after the surgery. I was looking forward to Bruce being able to feel the baby move. He was never able to feel the other two kids move because of my size. I guess that wasn't in God's plan.

When we told the kids they were both very excited. Ethan told me that "my dreams have come true, mom." For a couple of months now Emma has been talking about when she grows up and can have babies in her tummy. When we told her I was pregnant she was very excited. So far we have been able to miss the "how did the baby get there" bullet. Ha! I am sure it will come some day soon.

I don't know what I am going to do with this blog. I can't decide whether or not to leave it and come back when I start the weight loss surgery again, or whether to blog about the baby and life here in Indiana. I guess we will have to wait and see what happens.

Until next time, so long.

Halloween

Tuesday night Ethan and Emma dressed up for trick or treat. They scavenged the neighborhood, with two other kids, looking for Halloween goodies. They had a great time!
Here are a few pictures.































Ethan didn't get to carve a pumpkin this year. So we had to get a little creative.
Yes, those are cucumber ears.







Ethan wanted to be Dash from the Incredibles. He was a great Dash. He dashed from one house to the next.
Emma wanted to be "Singerella". She even had the glass slippers. They were jelly shoes. She thought it was great until she realized that she couldn't keep up with the other kids. The slippers kept slipping off the back of her heels. She had to curl her toes to keep them on. This kept her from being first to the door bell.
I thought this might be a problem and put her stride rite shoes in daddy's coat pocket. Once she changed shoes she could keep up without having to be carried. But she still had a hard time getting to the door bell first. She was more interested in what she got, where as Ethan just wanted to get more. So he was usually off to the next house while Emma jumped up and down for joy at the piece of candy that she just got.
To make sure that the kids were visible to cars we got them each a glow stick necklace. We had them wear them backwards, like tail lights. So that the kids could be seen from the front, we put an Ogg in each kids candy bucket. It worked really well. What is an Ogg you ask. They are little glowing eggs that Bruce got me for mothers day. Here is where he got them:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/lights/76c0

We were out trick or treating for about an hour and a half. By the time we got back home the buckets were so full we had to take the oggz out for fear they would roll off the top of the mound.
When we got home the kids were allowed one candy. Out of 2 buckets worth of candy, the biggest hit was the gummy Googley Eyeballs. Personally I am looking forward to the frozen 3 Musketeers and Milkyway bars :-)











I hope you all had a Spooktacular Halloween

Babies

Today my family is celebrating the addition of twins.
My brother Chris, and sister-in-law, Lyndsey, gave birth to two beautiful babies.
The first born was Halle Mkayla, followed 7 minutes later by her brother, Hudson Michael.
Their original due date was November 4, so they are a little early. But, all are healthy and doing fine.


I will post some pictures as soon as I get them to download. Grumble, grumble, grumble. Oh, Bruce...

Thanks Bruce