It's bearable, mostly . . .

Thank God, the nausea has NOT gotten like it was with Caris. Last week was pretty bad, but this week has been a little better. Still there's at least part of most days that I don't feel well, but my biggest complaint is that all afternoon I have a horrible taste in my mouth and the major burps. Gross, isn't it?

We had such a nice visit with Megan and Jason. I ATE UP having them here, but the joy of it all was mixed with the bitterness of not feeling up to doing what all I'd like to have done with and for them. Megan's baby shower was an absolute blast! The ladies were so sweet, the venue was gorgeous, the food was good, and Megan was blessed with some really nice things. Then the day after the shower we went to Babysightings and got to see Baby Mills swimming and wiggling and as precious as any baby could be. It was AMAZING. And we also found out that Baby Mills can now be called Christian James! We were all pretty surprised that it's a boy baby in there, but HE is DEFINITELY a BOY. Jason is so proud. :-)

Not Nausea

Ok, definitely the extreme exhaustion was WAY better than the nausea. This is inching up to being just like it was with Caris. Please, please let it not get that bad. As of now it comes in waves, with most afternoons being fairly miserable. ::::::groan:::::

7 Weeks

I hope I don't turn my whole blog into a big ol' pregnancy journal. Sorry if I do. The evening of and the evening after my ultrasound, I had quite a bit of spotting. I was so afraid I was losing the baby, but after a few days it stopped. It is interesting to admit that I'm actually thankful for the pregnancy symptoms that have set in since then. I'm having some nausea. It comes and goes and isn't anything like what I had with Caris. Thank God. I'm extremely tired, and though I'll take that over severe nausea any day, it is disheartening that it feels like 11 pm all day long. Hopefully I'll have more energy with the second trimester!

We just finished up a 2-week session of swim lessons. It was to be Caris' first swim lessons in a "big girl" class, but she was kicked out by the young, inexperienced manager 10 minutes into the second day. I was more than annoyed. Malachi and Graham both performed really well and passed all of their classes.

Baseball season is in full swing (sorry for the groan-worthy pun). I am really enjoying it this year, except for the one night I almost threw up at the field. NOT good. Know what soothed the nausea? NACHOS. HA!

Only a few days until Megan & Jason arrive in town really soon! I CAN'T WAAAAAAAIT!

Autobiography

Here's something someone posted on the January 2007 message board. Thought my blog was a more appropriate place to fill it out. LOL

Your Autobiography
Part 1: The Birth of You

Were you a planned baby?: Yes
Were you the first?: 2nd
Who was present at your birth?: I think just my Dad & the hospital attendants.
Were your parents married when you were born?: Yes
What is your birthdate?: 9/7

Part 2: The Family

How would you describe your family?: Succinctly? A typical American family.
Are your parents married? Divorced? Seperate?: Divorced, both remarried
Siblings or an only child?: Older brother, younger sister
If you have siblings are you oldest, middle, or youngest?: Middle
What are your siblings names?: Jerod & Megan
Which parent do you get along with best?: Closest to my Mom, get along with both great
What do you fight about?: Hmm, don't really fight with either of my parents
Do you have step parents?: Yep, but they're not really like step parents - they're my parents' spouses.

Part 3: The Friends
Do you have more than one best friend?: I have several close friends
What do you like to do when you are together? Depends on the friend. I spend the most time with Lynette, and we pretty much walk or just hang out and talk
Do you share the same interests?: Totally!
Which friend can you tell anything to? Lynette, Megan, Liz

Part 4: Your Personality
How high/low is your self esteem?: It all depends on how much I've been in the Word. If I'm distant from God I feel pretty useless.
Do you get depressed about things easily?: Sometimes
Are you an extrovert or an introvert? Hmm. I've always been more extroverted, but I find that now that I spend so much time with my kids, I can really recharge with alone time - but not too much or it makes me lonely.
Are you happy?: Mostly, yes!
Do you live life to the fullest?: Pretty sure that's a big NO. LOL But - I'm satisfied with my life completely.

Part 5: Appearance
Are you comfortable with the way you look?: NO!
Do you have any piercings besides your ears?: No
Describe your hair? It's brown with highlights, shoulder length with long layers
What make-up do you wear?: All types. I love makeup!
How do you dress? Casual - capris, jeans with fitted tees
Part 6: The Past
Were you a strange child?: No - what a funny question!
What did you use to love that you no longer do? Exercise
Do you have the same friends?: A few
Was there anything in your past that was traumatizing? Of course

Part 7: The Future
What is your ambition?: To follow Jesus
Are you scared of growing old?: No
Do you want to get married?: I LOVE being married!!

Part 8: The Outdoors
Do you prefer indoors or outdoors?: Depends what I'm doing. I love swimming and walking, both outdoors. Eating I much prefer indoors - same with sleeping.
Favorite Season? Spring
Favorite weather? Warm but not hot
Do you like walking in the rain? Well, I loved it in Scotland but it rarely happens here

Part 9: Food
Are you a vegetarian?: No
What is your favorite food?: I love Mexican and Italian and sweets
What food makes you want to gag?: Coconut
What is your favorite dessert?: Dulce de Leche ice cream
What is your favorite restaurant?: Umm, Olive Garden? LOL
Are you a fussy eater? No

Part 10: Relationships and Love

Are you single or taken?: VERY taken
If taken who is the lucky guy/girl? My sweet husband
Do you think love is the best feeling in the world? Yes
Do you believe in love at first sight? Ummm, I think there was a definite chemistry right away for Alif & I, but love developed along the way

Part 11: Experiences

What was one of your greatest experiences?: Ooooh, too many. Being with Alif, dedicating my life to Jesus, moments with my kids, going to Scotland . . . I could go on and on!
What was one of your worst? Again, too many and too depressing to list LOL
Have you ever thought you were going to die?: Yes, after my car accident in 1995
Have you ever suffered from depression?: Yes, but never severe or ongoing

Scrambled Eggs

Ok, seriously? Malachi makes better scrambled eggs than I do. How's that for an exciting blog entry?

Finally sharing!!

Ok, for anyone who can't stomach menstrual details, run now! So - I had my last period on April 1. Shortly thereafter, around the end of April, I weaned Caris. I hoped that within a few months of weaning her, my body would get back to normal and I'd get pregnant. I traveled to Scotland and a few times while I was there, I wondered if I could be pregnant. I was peeing A LOT and actually got carsick on the way home from LAX. Well, no such luck, as I got a period on May 17th. Or so I thought. It was really strange because the whole period started as brown spotting and just kind of stayed that way. My Diva cup was almost empty each time I cleaned it, which is NOT at all normal. Then again, it was 8 days, which is about 2x as long as my usual period. I figured my cycles were still wacky since I'd just weaned & traveled. On May 28th I decided to start charting again. My temp was way high that day, as in post-ovulatory high. What? I was like, how can that be? My period just ended four days ago! So I figured it was a fluke, but the next morning, woah, another high temp! OMGosh! I took a pregnancy test, knowing it would be negative but really wondering what was going on. Oh ~ my ~ gosh, it was positive! We were all home, just having a relaxing, usual morning. I didn't want to tell Alif and have him get all excited until I knew exactly what was going on - what was with all that bleeding?? I had a couple days of bleeding when I first got pregnant with Graham and he was implanting, but 8 days? Oh my. 2 hours later I took TWO more tests - both definitely positive! At that point I called Alif in to take a look, and he was happy and excited and not at all nervous about the bleeding. "Bodies don't always work like we expect them to," he reassured me. I wasn't reassured. I started doing research online and was saddened to find out that one can have positive pregnancy tests long after a miscarriage. Was THAT what all the bleeding was? Why wasn't it heavier, more crampy? Why was my temp still high? I called the doctor, and went in to see the nurse practitioner on June 1. She did an internal exam and said my uterus was enlarged and soft, indicating a very early pregnancy, and ordered both an ultrasound and labwork to test my HCG levels. I had the HCG levels done that afternoon. The next morning we left for an overnight trip, and that afternoon I called the doctor's office and the lab until I could finally get my results, from the Dr. himself. He said my levels indicated a 5-6 week pregnancy, and he'd like to retest the levels on Monday and also do an ultrasound on Tuesday. I had my ultrasound this morning, and lo and behold, there was my tiniest sweet pea, heart flashing! I'm so excited and so relieved I could burst!! I'm due January 31!