Busy, Busy Week

Last week, I was put in charge of the crafts portion of our church's VBS. The theme was Avalanche Ranch, which was very cute. I started out very intimidated and a bit overwhelmed, having never even known what VBS was before this year. By thursday, I was not only feeling almost in control, but also pretty excited about it all. And then. We found out that two of the kids who'd been attending all week were suspected of having whooping cough. The last day was cancelled. Major bummer. And a major reminder of why it's so important to keep our kids immunized.

Just call it the Spring Creek Wildlife Preserve

I think my neighbors are beginning to wonder about me just a little. My erratic lawn caretaking must be getting pretty curious, or at least a little amusing to the outside observer. I think I mowed our lawn once this summer before our lawn mower decided to take the summer off. I was not convinced, so for a two week period, I'd be out there a couple times a day trying to get it started. Jehromy came home, worked on it, declared it fixed, and went back out of town for work. Which began another two weeks of trying, but not starting the lawn mower.

After a month of not mowing, it was getting a little embarrassing to pull into our driveway. Another couple weeks, and I decided something had to be done. It was becoming a fire hazard, not just an embarrassment. So I borrowed my father in law's mower and weed whacker.

That's when things got pretty interesting. Seeing as how I'm in my fourth month of pregnancy, and we're in the midst of a heat wave that shows no sign of relenting, I can only do a little bit at a time. Now, a smart person says, just do your yard work in the mornings and evenings when it's cooler. That person isn't in an exhaustion coma every morning from staying up too late on the phone with her hubby, or on the phone with said hubby the second the kids are tucked in. This person is, and has to do ten minutes here, ten minutes there, all the while taking half hour water breaks. The picture above is what it looked like when I'd mowed my first swath.

When it rains, it pours...

On Saturday, I bit into a piece of candy and lost part of my tooth. Tuesday, I went to the dentist to see what was to be done about it. I was given a referal to a specialist in Reno. I immediately wondered how much this was going to cost me. Turns out, I have a choice. I can pay $800 for the specialist to try to save the tooth, with no guarantees for success, and then pay for a crown. Or I can have the tooth removed and get bridgework done, for around $2000 out of pocket. What makes this a difficult decision is that part about "no guarantee". I don't want to take the first choice, only to have to do the extraction and bridgework anyway. Do I take the chance, or not? I don't know yet.

What did you do today, sweetheart?

I wasn't always a stay at home mommy, and it wasn't a decision Jehromy and I came to lightly. In fact, we both fought it tooth and nail, because of some hilarious miscommunication. He thought that I needed to work in order to feel like I was contributing to the family, and decided that he would not be the one to force me to quit working, even though he thought our family would be happier with me at home. I thought that I'd lose all respect from him if I admitted that I really didn't want to go to work and miss out on all my kids were doing- even if it was diaper blowouts and weird science with the kitty litter.

So, for the first few months we were together, he worked as a delivery driver for Budweiser, and I worked as a bartender. Doesn't that just sound like a match made in drunk heaven? We had opposite schedules, so one of us was always at home while the other was at work. Which worked ok for the kids, but soon Jehromy started calling a babysitter more and more often so he could hang out with me at work. When I realized that he was paying the babysitter more than I was earning, I told him he either had to quit visiting me so much, or I need to quit working. He finally admitted that he really liked having me home when he got home from work, and that he just missed me too much when I went to work, and would I feel horrible if he wanted me to stay home? I was so relieved. I've gone back to work at odd jobs a couple times since then, as needs have dictated, and those experiences have only solidified our committment to put our family first.

The other fantastic side effect of the opposing schedules was that Jehromy got to be home alone with the kids, and got a small taste of life as a stay at home parent- sort of. It was enough that I know when he asks what I did today, it is out of interest in my life, not a question of derision. And on those days when I say it was a worthless waste of a day, he'll find something I did right, even when I just see everything I didn't do. The way he sees it, the most important thing I can do in any day is make sure the kids know they are loved. The rest is gravy. Or icing. Or whatever you like best.

Why, oh why am I not allowed to title my posts anymore? Sheesh.

Ah, well. Moving on. My seven year old son is singlehandedly resurrecting the social life that he, himself killed seven years ago. Oh, I know I could have done playgroups and gone to the park to meet other mommies and stuff like that. But I had more important stuff to do, like oh, you know, surviving a crappy marriage and supporting my family and all. Silly priorities.

So, anyway. My son has a social life. This means I almost have a social life, because negotiating the details of his social life requires me to interact with other mothers. Somethine that has really been quite terrifying to me for quite awhile. I am very much an introvert. But I'm starting to enjoy interacting with some of these moms quite a lot lately. In fact, I even hijacked the phone from Bug to talk to his friend's mom for almost an hour today! My kids thought I'd lost my mind!

I bet I'll even need a calendar once Kat starts school. That kid is so not an introvert. She's incredibly friendly and outgoing, and will find something nice to say about anyone.

Well. This has been quite the blogging hiatus, hasn't it? After the worst morning sickness I've had yet, and then the entire family getting the flu, and then me being in the ER because of a migraine, well.... last week was a doozy. The ER doc told me initially, "you're either having a stroke or a migraine, so we're going to run some tests to find out which it is." OH, ok. No biggie. I'll just sit here in this massively uncomfortable bed wondering if I'm dying or not for the next six hours.

Thankfully, things seem to be gradually improving now. My midwife is concerned that I've lost a couple pounds instead of gaining. However, taking into account the above mentioned situations, and mixing in a heat wave that makes it too hot to even think about eating, and I think we've figured out the problem. She says to eat lots and lots of protein in order to prevent another migraine. A gal can only eat so much peanut butter, nuts, and yogurt before it gets really old though.

Oh, and Blogger won't let me title this post.

Technical difficulties....

I can't seem to comment on my own blog. Don't know why, but it sure is frustrating. And posting seems to be a hit or miss matter lately as well. I've actually posted about three times for every one you've seen, and gotten an error message. So. Please bear with me as I attempt to figure this situation out. (please post, please post, please post.....)