The Sinus Plague/Will You Always Be My Mama?

Vivien had her little virus a couple of weeks ago....now it's our turn. Jim and I got hit with awful sinus infections this week. They literally knocked us out. I'm still struggling and finally broke down and had the OB's office call in an antibiotic for me. So far it has ruined our dinner plans for tomorrow. Poor Vivien can only be patient for so long with a sick mom and dad. Jim, as always, has made a lot of sacrifices while he hasn't been feeling well to make sure that I can get some rest. I'm ready to feel better. It's May for crying out loud!!! We need to be at the sprinkler park right now, not sitting around watching movies!


Onto the cute stuff...
Vivien just came up to me a few minutes ago and asked me a question she often asks me, "Will you always be my mama?" She asks this a lot, as well as, "Will you still love me even when you are mad?" She asks Jim the same questions. Today she followed it with, "Will you always be my mama and only my mama." I had to tell her that I would not be only her mama. She was confused for a second and I told her that I would be her brother's mama too. She said, "Okay, I can share!" I'm so glad she was so upbeat with her answer, because I was afraid that reality might be sinking in. But I guess not yet....

Random Pics from this Week

I bought Vivien some new rain boots, but unfortunately it hasn't rained enough for her to go stomp around in puddles. Instead, she played in the backyard.

She decided after bath time that she also has a baby in her belly. But it's a puppy.

Generally when Vivien has an apple, she asks me to cut it and remove the peel. We had lunch at Central Market the other day, so I couldn't do that. She thought she would give it a shot just eating it normally. The little bites were so cute that I couldn't resist taking a picture.

Vivien has talked about wanting a princess dress since we got back from Florida. Everyday she asks if we can get dresses and princess shoes like Gillian has. Today I told her if she was good and let me go to Target, I would buy her a princess outfit. Luckily, she chose one of the cheapest outfits they had.

Vivien's Photo Shoot

One of my favorite photographers was looking for a child to be the face of her 2008 ads. She held a contest and I entered Vivien hoping to win at least something with this photographer. I don't like to enter Vivien in these kinds of things, but I can't afford this photographer otherwise. She won 2nd place, which was a free sitting with the photographer! Here are the pictures she took at the free sitting. Vivien did so great, and the photographer was impressed with how natural she was in front of the camera. The link is only good until the 24th.

http://www.vivian2008.photoherald.com/index.php/view_event.php

28 Week Belly

Mother's Day and Learning how to prick my finger

Mother's Day was pretty non-spectacular, but it came and went without much incident. It started out nicely with Jim and Vivien taking me to Saltgrass Steakhouse for dinner Saturday night. Sunday morning, Jim let me sleep in. The only problem is that I still need to eat pretty early, because when I sleep in, I wake up really nauseous. I mentioned breakfast in bed the night before, but when he peeked in on me my eyes were closed so he didn't want to wake me. I was awake, and was unable to sleep too late because I really needed to eat.

He had cooked eggs for me and they were delicious. Then we hung out most of the morning because I was still feeling poorly. We decided we might try the butterfly festival after nap time. I woke Vivien up a little early from her nap to go, but she threw a fit and said she didn't want to leave the house (this is normal for her). I didn't feel like arguing, so I just pouted the rest of the day. Ha ha. I had been cooped up in the house all week since she was sick and I hadn't felt so hot at the beginning of the weekend. I was ready to get out and hang out with my family. But Vivien had other plans. Namely swinging in the back yard and riding her bike. This little center of attention is going to have a dose of reality in about 2 months. That's for sure.

I was pretty annoyed and went on to finish laundry and make dinner. In the evening, I read a thread on my mom's board that really stuck out to me. It was a condolences thread to those who were not "celebrating" Mother's Day, but rather mourning the loss of a child or mother, or have an estranged relationship with a child or a mother. It reminded me that although my day was rather mediocre, my sister-in-law was "celebrating" Mother's Day at her infant daughter's grave. And then I thought of my close friends who have lost their mothers and the pain they must relive every time a holiday like this comes along.

I am fortunate in that I have a beautiful daughter (and soon a beautiful son) that I can touch and hold. I am fortunate that my mother is here (although too far away) and we have a wonderful relationship. It is silly to have any sort of expectations beyond what we have been blessed with. I am grateful for the efforts my husband puts in to showing his appreciation. I am grateful for hearing "Happy Mother's Day!!!!" from my 3-year-old as soon as I emerge from my bedroom. However, I am most grateful for the reminder to not take these blessings for granted. We all need that reality check from time-to-time.




On another note....I went to learn about gestational diabetes today. I got my glucometer and learned how to use it. My educator was wonderful and very informative. I'll prick my finger 4 times a day for a couple of weeks and check for ketones in my urine, as well. We did a prick this afternoon and I was within the normal range, but my after dinner prick was high. That makes me nervous!! Hopefully it will be fine in the morning. If I'm above the normal parameters all week, we'll just assume I have GD and I'll learn the diet. I'm not super excited about the prospect, but it is what it is!

I know, I know

I'm overdue for an update.... Things have been pretty chaotic lately, and I've been super stressed. I'll just go through the issues.

1. Today was Jimmy's (Grampy) colostomy surgery to remove the cancer from his rectum. I've been really worried about that and worried about my mom. I hate not being there, so it makes it all the more stressful. That was the reason we went to FL when we did, so that we could have some time with him before he was incapacitated for a while. Everything went well, and my sister was good enough to keep me updated. I hope my mom will just go home and get some rest tonight!

2. Vivien is sick. When she is sick, I immediately get on edge. I know fevers are a good thing and show that her little body is fighting, but they also scare the crap out of me. We couldn't figure out her other symptoms since no matter what is going on, she'll say her belly hurts. That all started when I started having the bad nausea with her brother. I took her to the pediatrician this morning and her throat was red with swollen glands. Her strep culture was negative, so it's likely a virus. Which is a bummer because we have to wait it out. She was really upset to learn that she can't go to school tomorrow. I hope my little monkey gets better really soon!

3. I failed my 1 hour glucose tolerance test for gestational diabetes. This means that my doctor would like for me to take the 3 hour test. I do not want to do this test, and it's a looooong story as to why. But believe me when I say that I've done my homework on the subject and would not protest if I didn't think I had a good argument. I was literally distraught when I found out I failed because the 1 hour was traumatizing enough. So I put together a bunch of medical journal articles and a carefully written appeal to give to my doctor. She found it compelling enough that she is willing to compromise with me. I have to check my blood 4X per day with my normal diet for a couple of weeks. If my blood sugars are elevated during that time, I'll immediately start the diabetic diet and regular blood/urine monitoring. Before you freak out or ask why in the world I would challenge my doctor, please realize that I researched this THOROUGHLY given my particular results. MDs are not God and there is nothing wrong with asking for them to reconsider if the information is compelling enough.

4. The deadline to the article I'm writing with my former professor is tomorrow. It's already been pushed back a month because my professor had some family issues to attend to. However, since Vivien is sick and can't go to school, I can't meet tomorrow. We are hoping that we can get this finished and submitted by the end of next week! I'm very anxious to see if the journal accepts it for publishing. That would be HUGE to have a paper published in an academic journal with only a Bachelors degree.

Needless to say, I have quite a bit on my mind. All else looks good around here. DGBB is kicking and hiccuping away. We've got about 10.5 more weeks until we meet him. I'm looking forward to holding my baby boy.