Recuperating from a day at the Amusement Park

Man! Busch Gardens is a nice place to visit, but it sure is nice to be home!!! Jesse and I went there yesterday for Regent Alumni Day with our good friends Laurie and Topher. We had a GREAT time! Although I could not convince Laurie to ride a roller coaster, I did ride a few. Yes, I know, I'm pregnant. I made the informed choice to go ahead a ride a few this time since I'm so early on in my pregnancy and it's not likely that anything would happen. It was a BLAST!! I rode the Griffon for the first time and for those of you who don't know anything about that ride, it takes you almost straight up, and then it hangs you over the 90 degree drop for about 5 seconds before allowing you to plummet down. It was so awesome!! It was like the best 3-4 seconds of free falling I've experience on a roller coaster EVER. The Griffon is definitely my favorite roller coaster of all time now.

We rode a lot of non-roller coaster rides because of Laurie's coaster phobia. Ever rode the teacups?? Those innocent looking teacups? Well, they are not as innocent as they look especially when your husband and friend's husband are spinning it at the speed of light as you are already spinning in what seems like two different directions at once. Yeah, sounds like a regular vomit comet. You would think that I would've had enough after that, but NO. I rode Apollo's Chariot right after the teacups. I should have listened to my body as we were waiting in line, but no, I wanted to ride the stupid thing so bad that I was willing to upchuck as a result. Well, luckily, no ralphing occurred and I was able to ride the train all the way around the park to get back to the entrance (because the train station was just slightly closer than the exit to the parking lot). Ugh....then I was having a craving for McDonald's french fries and a Dr. Pepper. So I made Jesse stop and get me some. That probably didn't help, but it temporarily satiated me.

When I woke up this morning I felt like POOP!! I still felt like hurling, my feet felt like someone had been cracking them with a baseball bat, and I was SOOOOOOO tired. So, needless to say we attended "couchside baptist" this morning and just sort of relaxed. I still feel a little sick, but then again that goes with the territory of being in the first trimester of pregnancy. I still can't believe I'm pregnant. Crazy. I'll try to post some pictures of Busch Gardens later. My camera battery is dead right now and I'm too sick feeling to get up and take care of it.

Ugh. Plop. (That's me crashing on the couch)

Potty update!!

Eve just went wee wee on the potty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was like she was as amazed as I was to see it running into the toilet. I'm so proud of her!!!!

Eve is such a big girl!

I can't believe how much she has developed by leaps and bounds in the last several months alone. I mean, aside from the setbacks of pottytraining, she has really become more a little girl lately than a baby anymore. It's kind of sad, but I'm so exited to see her get things. I can almost see the lightbulb moments she has. Like for example, she went from saying "Cheese!!" to "Want more Mac N Cheese Pees!" I mean, that's an entire almost grammatically correct sentence! And she is able to communicate to us almost everything that she wants/needs now pretty directly. I still think she's confused as to what "Poo poo" really is. She looks at me like I have two heads when I tell her to go poo poo in the potty because I'm pretty sure she thinks her poo poo is her little butt. haha. Why would anyone want to put their rear in the potty and flush it? That's crazy talk. So, I think we have some explaining to do before we proceed any further with potty training. I don't want the poor girl to think we are going to flush part of her down the john.

Little David is getting HUGE. I'm pretty sure he's getting ever closer to 15 lbs. I mean, he has to be close to it and he's so LONG. I look at other babies that are 6 months and David seems just as big to me. He's much more entertained these days in his play mat. You can see him looking at the hanging toys and reaching in a deliberate manner at what he wants. It's so neat to witness those neurons firing.

And while it hasn't quite set in that I'm expecting another one, he or she is probably about the size of a grain of rice right now. No morning sickness yet. That'll probably kick in on Saturday when I'm at Busch Gardens. It always happens that way, right? How awesome would it be to not get any morning sickness? It would be pretty dang awesome!!

I am watching the Wiggles right now...well Eve is, but you know how it is. Rather than watch the View like normal people would during this hour, I'm watching four guys dancing around like lunatics and loving it!! Sad. I know almost every lyric and dance move and I think I'd actually like to go see them in concert. I might just start a mosh pit.

I git Elmo ar-cut!!

That's Evenese for I'm giving Elmo a haircut. That girl loves giving and recieving haircuts...lol. Another favorite phrase of hers these days is "I gitta pink assie!!!" That's Eve for "Give me my pink pacifier!!" She's not so nice when it comes to little oral fixation.

In other news, I'm pregnant again.

So, I guess I won't be getting my body back for a long while yet.... Honestly that's the least of my worries. I'm worried about a lot right now. But most of all, I want to prove people wrong who seem to have no faith in me right now.

Oh yeah, and even though I'm not very happy about being pregnant again, doesn't mean you have the right to give your opinion other than that standard "congrats." I really don't know what to think right now, so please... be a little considerate of my feelings right now. At least if you're going to talk about me, do so behind my back. I don't want to hear hear it. Well, I'm off to get ready to go to the gym.

All done!!

That is what Eve says after we have to put the antibiotic ointment in her eye every time. Poor thing. Just to update, her eye is going to be just fine!! No putting her to sleep to remove rust. Praise God!! Now I must go to bed....

Life with kids is UNpredictable!

So today was one of those days. I went to the WIC office as previously planned, but when I got back, Jesse informed me that Eve had something in her eye. The first thing I thought was, "Oh, whatever it is will work itself out on its own...let's just go." So just to be safe, I called the pediatrician to ask about the best way to flush it out. Jesse tried, but the "speck" didn't move off her iris. We packed the kids in the car anyway to go to the YMCA.

On our way there, Eve started rubbing her eye, refusing to open it, and was just generally whining and uncomfortable. I called the doc again and they were able to get us in right then. It's a good thing b/c we already had the kids in the car and were already halfway in that direction. Once in the exam room, the doc wanted to put these eye drops in her eye that turned yellow and glowed in a black light. They were supposed to show if there was any sort of scratch on her cornea or something was imbedded. The doc didn't see an indication of either, but was nonetheless perplexed as to why the darn thing wasn't budging.

So........we ended up at the opthamologist less than an hour after that appt ended per the pediatrician's referral. Poor Eve. More torture awaited. The eye doc wanted to make sure he was able to get the speck out, but before he did he had to put more torturous numbing drops in her poor little eye. She was screaming the whole time, saying "All done!! All done!! Buh bye!! Buh bye!!" That is Eve for "Ok, enough of that, I'm outta here!!" Then to make the situation even worse...they had to use this evil looking device for keeping her eyes open. I couldn't watch this part. Then the doc was able to get the speck out with a cotton swab.

I thought it was over...

Then the doc informs us that it was a piece of iron. So what does iron do when it gets wet? That's right....rusts. So now she has rust left in her eye that likely needs to be removed. There is a chance that in a day or two, the body's natural immune response will "push" the rust to the surface and naturally expell it, but it's likely going to have to be removed and Eve will have to be put to sleep.

ALL BECAUSE OF A SPECK???? WHAT???!!!!!!

And now of course Eve doesn't want anyone going near her eyes and I not only have to apply antibiotic ointment in her eyes 3x a day, but she has to go back to the eye doc tomorrow morning to determine what to do next....and she's gonna have to get those lovely numbing drops again so the doc can get a good look. Yay!! I can't wait to see my little girl get tortured again.

So after all of this, I'm glad we ended up taking her to the doc, but I HATE everything she had to go through today. Poor girl. She was so brave. After today's appt, the receptionist let her pick out a pair of toddler sunglasses (with UV protection of course). Eve picked "color blue" sunglasses....she says the word "color" before each color she says. Funny. Anyway, I don't know if I would have done as well as Eve did today. She's a trooper.

Inside joke

If you don't know who this guy is...well you're probably not Sterling. Hahahaha. I found this picture today and almost died!! This is a special edition of Cross Dressin' Ken that we originally created when we were 13 and 15 years old respectively (yeah, real mature of us, right??) He started off as plain old Cross Dressin' Ken, then became Floral Fantasy Cross Dressin' Ken, then Ooh la la Cross Dressin' Ken, then "I'm gonna wash that man right out of my hair" Cross Dressin' Ken in honor of Sterling's lead role in South Pacific. He has even traveled to NY and taken a ride on the subway. He's very cultured, but we should keep him in our prayers. I think he's a smidge too liberal, don't you think? Hahahahahahaha!!! Sterling has him right now and I'm afraid of when she might give him back to me. She says she's saving him for a "special occasion."

I love you Jesse Robert Wallace!

Five years ago today, I married my husband of five years. Little did I know that the road we would take would sometimes resemble a rollar coaster, but in the end we have a wonderful marriage that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world and two beautiful children to show for it. I am so proud to say that we have made it through the first five years. Many marriages don't make it through the first five months anymore. It feels so great to know that we have persevered through difficult times as well as rejoiced in the good times. I'll be the first person to admit that our marriage isn't perfect, but if you know someone's who is...well it probably isn't!! Out of everything I know for a fact that God is a God of miracles and if he can work the miracle that he did in our lives, he can do it for you. I hope and pray that our marriage can serve as a testimony to others who think they are ready to give up. The grass is not greener and nothing is more blessed or wonderful than the covenant of marriage. I wake up every day knowing that no matter how nasty or horrible of a person I am that day, that Jesse will love me regardless. I wish that for everyone on our anniversary day. Be reminded that God loves us when we are unlovable and that is how love in a marriage should be and can be.

1 Corinthians 13
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

I feel like a hermit

Does any other mom feel this way? I feel like I spend 99.9% of my time indoors taking care of my two little ones while missing out on all the great weather outside. I definately don't take my kids outside enough. Poor Eve has never even had a hint of a tan her entire existence and David...well, he's at least got a little more natural pigmentation to his skin.

And poor Eve! She has had this nasty rash on her tummy, back, bottom, and upper thighs for the past 48 hours. We have a doc appt tomorrow morning, but it didn't take long for Eve to scratch herself to the point of bleeding. Poor girl has scratch marks on her back and bottom and they look more irritating than the rash itself. I just have a feeling that the doc is going to say it's just an allergic reaction...blah, blah, blah. But that means nothing to me unless I know what she's allergic to. So frustrating. I don't want to subject her to extensive allergy testing, but for real....this girl has some serious allergy issues. She has kept a runny nose and dark circles under her eyes for about 3 months, sneezes on a regular basis (usually on me), and now this rash appears. Yay! Another reason to visit the good ol' doc! I hate going to the doc b/c I can usually diagnose what's going on with my kids better than they can, I just can't write my own scripts. Just give me one of those pads,and I'll write my own!!

So yesterday I had a great time at my local MOPS meeting!! I got 2 1/2 hours of childfree time including a pedicure, makeup session, 5 min massage, and I got to make my own aromatherapy bath salts. Fun!! They were even doing free dry haircuts, but I've got that covered already. Thanks mom!

Oh yeah, anybody want to buy a 2005 Volkswagon Jetta?? We're likely going to sell ours real soon so we can make the leap. Yes, that's right...I'm going to drive a minivan!! Whoo hoo!! If you're interested, let me know!

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ggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg

I thought I'd let Eve try out her blogging skills. I see that she's really into the letter "g". "F" is a close second. So Mother's Day was good. My favorite moment of the day was giving my mom her necklace and earring set that I made. It's so pretty!! I will refrain from posting a picture on here yet b/c I haven't given Julie (the mom in law) hers yet. They are fairly similar so I don't want to give anything away just yet. Julie is coming to visit tomorrow afternoon through Wed. I'm excited b/c she's going to come to my MOPS meeting with me and get to meet all my MOPS peeps. Good people.

So I'm so excited that Joan Rivers beat out Annie Duke on Celebrity Apprentice. I really did not like Annie very much. Not good people.

On another note, I registered for one class this summer. It's only one credit, but it's helping me keep up the momentum. I SO want to finish school. I've invested so much in it so far...too much to just quit and cut my losses. Plus it's really what I want to do. I can't really see myself doinganything else. For those of you who don't know me very well, I'm in a Doctoral Program for Clinical Psychology and I'm just about 13 credits away from graduating. My biggest hurdle is dissertation. Grrr. The thought of it gives me a migraine, but I know I am capable of doing it. I just have to have the time. I know so many people have offered to help and watch the kids so I can finish school. I just have to start taking people up on those offers. I think starting in the Fall, I'm going to make a schedule so people can sign up for a few hours when they feel they can help me out. If you would like to volunteer, I'm sure your time will be tax deductable!! haha. I'm not sure about that. Maybe. You'll have to ask someone who knows something about taxes and I am NOT the person.

I will try to post some pictures later. Keep keeping up with the Duggars!!

May 6th 2009 progress

Blood, sweat, and beads!

Ok, so I've decided that since my goal is to lose this last 10 lbs of baby weight, I will periodically post pictures of the progress. This first picture was taken on Wednesday, May 6th and I have been working out about 3 times a week since 6 weeks after David was born, so I really don't have a complete "before" shot, but this is what I look at just a little over 3 months postpartum. I am determined to lose this weight....maybe if I make it a public battle, I'll be more likely to stay on track.



On another note, I've started making jewelry. Well, I've made earrings before, but they are so easy I decided to branch out to making necklaces and bracelets as well. Here's a pic of the set I made for Eve Rene. I also made necklace and earring sets for my mom and mother-in-law, but I can't show pics of those right now. I'll show those after they are given....which by the way I'm SO excited to give them! They are so pretty!! Well, time to try to get a shower and get ready for date night!!

The night shift

For those of you who remember when I used to work the night shift at the psych hospital, you know that I am NOT a night working person. After about 2 weeks of sleeping through the night, Mr. David has decided he wants to reverse his circadian rhythm and be awake all night. He woke up not once, not twice, but THREE times last night and I am just not up for that at the three month marker. I've got to get him sleeping through the night again. Any tips are welcome!!

So for mother's day I've decided that since we're tight on money and I love being crafty, that I'm going to make lovely handmade necklace and earring sets for my two favorite moms ;o) I've been reading up on jewelry making tips and online tutorials, so hopefully they will turn out good. I plan on getting the stuff I need today so I'll have a few days to play around with my ideas. Wish me luck!

Quote from Eve this morning (as she lifts her shirt up):
"Mommy, I goddit bobbies!!" (which translates to Mommy, I've got boobies!)

Eve has always been fixated on "bobbies" ever since she witnessed me nursing David. I even caught her lifting her shirt up trying to nurse her favorite stuff cat named "Yeow". Speaking of stuffed cats, Eve has quite the arsenal of kitties lately. Here's the run down:

Yeow- he's the leader of the pack as he's been around for the longest. Yes, he's a very manly kitty despite the fact that he wears a pink ribbon around his neck. He is also the most loved of the bunch. Eve cannot go to bed without Yeow.

Yami- Yami is a small tiger colored kitty that purrs when shaken. I can always tell when Eve is about to wake up because I always hear Yami purring as she begins to stir in her bed. Yami used to belong to me when I was a teenager with way to many stuff animals and he almost got sold at the MOPS fall yard sale, but I figured I'd hold onto him since Eve loves her kitties!! Little did I know he was the next to join the kitty cat posse

Kitty- Kitty is the smallest of the crew, but don't be fooled. This small grey and white striped kitty knows how to attack Eve Rene's neck. Eve loves for me to pretend that Kitty is getting her neck. She adores this little creature.

Kitty kitty- not to be mistaken for Kitty, Kitty kitty is about 10 times larger than Kitty. She is the latest addition to the cat posse so she doesn't have an established role or identity yet. She is still in the initiation phase.

Who will be next? Will it be the yellow care bear? Who knows?? When you walk through your house, watch your back. The kitties are EVERYwhere....

So far...

The Dual action cleanse hasn't done much of anything for me.

In other news, Eve seems to be developing a cold or just an increase in her allergies. It's hard to tell b/c her nose has been runny for the past three months. I wish I could beat this constant feeling of tiredness. Maybe it's related to having two little ones? Maybe I shouldn't beat myself up for feeling tired?? I don't know. But I'm dragging 24/7 and today is work out day. I guess I'll drag my big butt up there and try to knock out another 5,000 or so strides on the eliptical again so I feel like I'm working toward some sort of goal of skinniness. Well, gotta go get ready for the gym!!

Feeling the energy....

Um...it's not what you think

Yesterday my mom decided to come over to visit me and the kids instead of vice versa. She decided to bring Eve upstairs while I was giving David a bath and they went into the master bedroom. Needless to say there were three items sitting on my dresser that just happened to be there for various reasons; however the combination of these three items made for a slightly awkward moment. Let's see if you can guess. I'll give you a few clues:

Clue #1= wooden gift horse
Clue #2= a color changing stick
Clue #3= jiffy _____.

Ok, just so you know, the "color changing stick" was a VERY old one that we saved as a keepsake...don't ask me why. I found it in a box full of yard sale stuff....again, don't ask me how it got there, but it reared it's head at the MOPS yard sale on Sat and I quickly stuffed it in my car. The other items....well, embarrassing!!!

Peanut butter Carmex kisses

Ok, so today after a relatively nice morning including a trip to the Y for some good fat burning/muscle rebuilding (because your belly turns into a gelatinous mass after giving birth), I said goodbye to my husband as he was on his way out the door to go to work. I went in for slightly more than the usual peck....needless to say he was still chewing a bit of PB&J and had just applied a good coating of Carmex. Ugh!!! That was the nastiest, grossest, most disgustingest kiss ever!! To all of you habitual Carmex users, I'd highly advice discontinuing use immediatly. Anything that tastes like that has to be pure lip poison. Please do others a favor and switch to something more natural like Burts Bees.