Like Mother, Like Son, and Son and Daughter....

Our PTA decided that the parent-teacher conferences would be a perfect time to set up the book fair. They were probably right. Who wants to look like a bad mom in front of their kids' teacher by not encouraging a love of reading?

I, personally, have been an avid reader since the day my mom managed to force me to learn how. Yes, she had to force this skill upon me. Just as I pretty much had to force it into Bug, and it looks like the same will be happening with Kat. But once it clicked, I never willingly put down the books. And, Bug is doing the same. I love it!

So you can imagine just how proud I felt when we left the book fair with three kids running into walls and doors because their noses were buried in their new books. Hubs laughed, said, "You can sure tell whose kids they are!", and we each grabbed a kid or two to steer them while they walked and read. It was priceless.

The Mystery- Part 2

I had my long awaited dr's appointment today. I think it went well, in that the nurse and the midwife who I saw both actually listened to my concerns. That has been very difficult for me to find in the past.

I half expected to be told that everything I've been experiencing is just a normal part of being a woman. Instead, I was sent to the lab to test for problems with my kidney and bladder. And I was told to make an appointment for a pelvic ultrasound and an ultrasound on both breasts. One has a growing lump, and the other has "thickening of the tissue". The midwife told me not to let them do a mammogram unless I'm on my period, since we're trying to get pregnant.

My mother in law is full of advice, since she just went through this herself, a few weeks ago. I'll even be seeing the same specialist as her. Hubs doesn't quite know how to react right now, so he's concentrating on things he feels more in control of, like replacing one of the windows. I'm relieved to be taken seriously, but kind of scared of where this might be heading.

Daddy's Home!

My husband returned Sunday afternoon after driving for what seemed like forever. The kids were overjoyed, of course, but also a little stressed, I think. Monkey-boy had some separation anxiety on Sunday; Bug got a really bad stress headache last night; Kat decided it was time to go on a hunger strike. That child is too thin to begin with. So we had to help them each work through their issues with Daddy's work schedule, and will probably have to continue to do so for awhile. I think we're all improving some, as time goes by and he's not gone again.

Naps

It is a very sad day today. Four, almost five years now, my daughter has been taking a nap every day. An hour of quiet, every day. It was golden. But there comes a day in every mommy's life when she must admit to herself- and to her child- that the nap is really not as necessary for the child as it is for the mommy. That day has come, and it is a sad one. Ah, well. She'll be in school next year. Then I'll miss this time with her. It all goes too quickly.

Quarantined!

Our house has been quarantined until about bedtime tonight. Apparently, that's the magic hour when Bug won't be contagious anymore. Bug had a sinus infection and managed to use that to infect himself with pinkeye- in both eyes. I think the baby might have the sinus infection too, but of course I was more worried about my poor miserable oldest when we were in the Dr.s office to remember to mention it.

So I'm treating the baby the best I can with the over the counter stuff that is supposed to be safe. And I've got to say, I LOVE baby Vick's! It's not near as harsh as the grown up version, but it helps him breath so much better.

And poor Kat feels so left out. Everyone gets sick but her, and she wants the attention that comes with being sick! So I think today when the sickies are napping, we'll have some mother/daughter time together. Heck, I'll even play princess if that's what it takes to make her happy. She deserves to feel special too.

I couldn't resist!

Your Personality is Very Rare (INFP)

Your personality type is dreamy, romantic, elegant, and expressive. Only about 5% of all people have your personality, including 6% of all women and 4% of all men You are Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Perceiving.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

And now I know why I have such a hard time finding stuff in common with others!

Because, you know, it was fun!

Your Brain is Purple

Of all the brain types, yours is the most idealistic. You tend to think wild, amazing thoughts. Your dreams and fantasies are intense. Your thoughts are creative, inventive, and without boundaries. You tend to spend a lot of time thinking of fictional people and places - or a very different life for yourself.

What Color Is Your Brain?

The Lord provided me with shoes- and on sale!

I replace my poor, sole weary, falling apart boots (above) with these
cute shoes with great traction.

I replaced my wonderful sandals that I've worn holes into the heels of,
with these babies, for only $7.oo. And they're adjustable, so they'll continue to fit if I'm lucky enough to be pregnant for part of this summer!

Bugdecided that the shoestore was the perfect place to inform me of the hole in the toe of his shoe.
So he wore these home. No more shoelace battles in this house, thank you!

And I just couldn't resist these, for church. They're cute, they fit, and they were in my budget. Can't beat that!

You've got to visit this woman!

DaMomma is so totally, well, DaMomma! Best post I've read on the subject. Leave Moms Alone really says it so well, I could never do better. Go. Read. Add to the "Amen, Sister!"s in the comments. Really, I mean it.

Holy Savings, Batman!

My MIL and I stopped at Kmart looking for sandals and jeans for me. All of my shoes are falling apart, literally. Many of my jeans are, too. I truly despise shopping, ever since I birthed my first baby.

Today was an exception of epic proportions. While I didn't find the sandals or the jeans to fit me, I did score big on the off season sales. My kids are now fully clothed for next winter, and me too, other than, you know, those jeans. I even got a sweater that would have been 29.99 at full price for 6.00. Our grand total would have been 332.77 before taxes and before the sale prices. After all the markdowns, we paid 92.42. And since my MIL was tossing stuff into the cart just as fast as me, she said she'd chip in a bit. How cool is that?

Now I just have to find some new shoes before I'm tying rags to my feet. Sheesh. I may just buy three pairs of anything that fits just to avoid the torture that is shoe shopping. Does that make me weird?

Bliss

I am at my computer, putzing around doing nothing. The dishes are done. The laundry is done. The floors are clean. The children are playing together in the back yard mostly getting along- all three of them. The weather is blessedly mild, so no mud when they do finally come inside. This is a very good moment in my life.

Organization.... or, the Whole House is Under Construction

My kids rooms are big, wall to wall, every available surface covered in toys messes. And it really isn't their fault. Well, for the most part. They just don't have a system in place. No homes for the toys means no toys get put away.

I saw that this is only going to get worse as time goes on if I don't do something, so I tried to assess the problems and find suitable solutions. Hmmm.

Problem: Too many toys.

Solution: There is now a donation box next to the front door. Whenever they clean their rooms, if they come across something they don't play with anymore they offer it to their siblings. Whatever goes unclaimed gets donated. One huge box has gone to F.I.S.H. already. But I'm not seeing a huge dent in the mess.

Problem: They don't know where they should put the toys.

Solution: I started with myriad cardboard boxes for each type of toy so I could see what exactly needed to be stored, and figure out the best way to store it, keeping in mind that I want the kids to be able to continue on their own with whatever system I devise. Still working on the second part. I'm thinking lots of shelves, at their level, and containers on the shelves for smaller stuff. What do you think? Will it work?

God's Works

They say that God works in mysterious ways. I beg to differ, at least a little. When I look back at my life, at all of those times when I asked "why, God, why?", I realise that there was a reason. And a darned good one at that. I didn't need to be privy to the reasons in order to learn the lessons; in fact knowing why I had to struggle so probably would have negated anything I might have learned. God doesn't have to explain himself to us, just as I don't have to explain my reasons for doing things a certain way to my children. He knows what is best for His children, and I am learning to trust that every time I ask "why?" I don't really need an answer. He is there for me, with me. And He always will be. That's not very mysterious, is it?

Nervous

Me: Are you done playing that game?

Kat: Yes, cuz Monkey-boy was getting on my nervous system!

Hi, My Name Is Vida.....

And I think I might be addicted to Ebay! I type the word "lot" and search the children's books, and oh, the deals, the deals! I've never been able to resist a good book for myself, and now Keeghan has been as voracious a reader as me. I love it so much! I know pride isn't good, but I can't help being proud of my smart boy. I want to feed that thirst so it never goes away, and ebay makes it so easy. But I think my husband is getting tired of building bookshelves on his days off, so maybe I'd better slow down a little.

The Mystery

*Warning. If you dislike talk of bodily functions you may want to skip this one. I'm sure I'm providing you folks with way Too Much Information. You've been warned. Carry on now.

I've been waiting to post about this until today because I thought I'd have a nice, neat resolution at the end of the story by now. Unfortunately, that's not the case.

Here's the deal. For me, early pregnancy symptoms and PMS are remarkably similar. So anytime I'm not using birth control, there's usually a week of wondering about that other possibility. Only this time, it's been way worse, and started two weeks before I was due. Throw in a dash of neverending nausea and a little extra exhaustion and you have me convinced I'm pregnant. The sticks I peed on every day for the last four days say differently. Yesterday, when my period was finally late I felt like I could call the doctor's office and confuse them too! Hehehehe. That was such a fun phone call!

Nurse: "Dr. Blank's office, what can I do for you?"
Me: "I'm not sure. I'm either pregnant or I have the worst case of the flu in my life."
Nurse: "Okaaaaay. Have you taken an EPT?"
Me: "Yep, four. They all say I'm not. But my period is late, I'm sick as a dog, and even with my three kids I was never this sick this early."
Nurse: "Well, the progesterone from the IUD you had removed two months ago might be causing you to be late. Want to wait a few more days?"
Me: "That would make sense if I hadn't had periods like clockwork while I had the IUD."
Nursed: "Really?! Ok, let's get a blood test done, then. They're more accurate anyway."

Can I just say, I almost miss that IUD. I have never been this miserable in my life. I go to get my blood drawn today. I'm so nervous. I've been busy imagining all the life threatening illnesses that I might have, if it turns out I'm not luck enough to just be experiencing morning sickness to the Nth degree. I'll post about the rest of this as it unfolds. Have a happy weekend, all!

*Update-
The blood test was quick, and it came out negative. So now I get to wait some more to figure out what's going on. Pregnancy would have been so much simpler!

WFMW

My Works For Me Wednesday idea is an ongoing one. Years ago, I got tired of hunting for recipes in various different cookbooks, piles of printouts, and favorite websites. So, I bought a photo album. Whenever we develop a new family favorite, I type the recipe according to how I make it (I tweak everything I do to suit me) and I take a photo of how the finished product looks in real life. Then I put them in the photo album. When my kids are grown, I will make a copy for each of them to take with them when they start their new lives.

You can find more kitchen ideas this week at Rocks In My Dryer.

Reasons why I'm behind on housework

1. I was too busy playing with the kids.
2. I was too busy reading my favorite blogs, writing blog posts and then deleting them as not fit for intelligent consumption.
3. I was waiting for the new washer and dryer to be delivered.
5. I couldn't clean the kids' bathroom because of the mold removal after the storm and the leaky skylight.
6. I had to drive halfway to California to pick up my husband, his co-worker and his co-worker's pregnant wife. His co-worker broke down, and Hubs refused to abandon them when his ride just wanted to go home.
7. I refuse to stop hugging my husband for more than five minutes now that he's home. And what do you know? It's almost been five minutes, time to go find him again! Have a great weekend, I'll be back when he goes back to work.