Baby Update

Still on bedrest! Last week, my BP was up so high that my doctor put me in the hospital for two days. She wouldn't even let me run home to tie up a few loose ends first! Even though I didn't sleep well in the hospital, the bedrest there apparently worked. She let me come home as long as I promised to keep up the same type of rest - which I have.

Went for my appointment yesterday & my BP was actually down some. She wants to see me again on Fri. & has already scheduled me to be induced Sunday night. So, as long as everything goes well, our little guy will arrive sometime on Monday July 21. I guess I should change the name of this blog since it will now be Four Blessings!

Peace, Munchesmom

Bed Rest Time!

Well, the proposal story will have to wait a bit longer. This is a short post to let you, my dear readers, know that I won't be posting much for a bit. I am on bed rest until little man comes on his own or I reach 37 weeks in about a week & a half. My blood pressure went up some this past weekend so I am to lie down as much as possible. I'm feeling fine - I just need to check the BP occasionally & rest. This is nothing new to me, but in previous pregnancies the BP didn't go up until closer to my due date. Do you know how tough it is to lie on the couch watching your mom & mother-in-law take care of the munchkins, clean up, do the laundry, etc.? I keep wanting to hop up & help.

I'll keep you all informed!
Peace, munchesmom

Time for a Cold!

Well, on top of all the last trimester aches, pains, & general tiredness, I have a head cold! The munchkins each had it last week for about a day & a half. Casinodad's sister came down w/ it on Sat.

Yesterday we took a trip a few hours north to visit Casinodad's dad for Father's Day. I felt fine other than a few sneezes (which is normal - for some reason the air up there really plays w/ my allergies). On the way home, my throat felt sore all of a sudden & by the time we got home, I was very congested. Sleeping last night came in very short spurts. Then I woke up this morning w/ a huge headache. I told the munchkins that I wasn't feeling well this morning so we weren't going to be doing much. I said that I must have caught their colds. Later this afternoon, The Princess came up to me & said, "Mommy, I tink you dave me my told back." (translation: I think you gave me my cold back.)

Despite feeling like I've been hit by a truck, I did manage to change all our sheets (w/ Casinodad's help), do two loads of laundry, do our couple hours of school, & Casinodad helped me move a few things around in our room.

Now if I can sleep tonight I should be fine!

It fits me!

You Are a Werewolf

You're unpredictable, moody, and downright freaky. You seem sweet and harmless, until you snap. Then you're a total monster. Very few people can predict if you're going to be Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde. But for you, all your transformations seem perfectly natural. Your greatest power: Your ability to tap into nature Your greatest weakness: Lack of self control You play well with: Vampires

>http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofmonsterareyouquiz/">What Kind of Monster Are You?

Yep, that seems to fit me these days! My hormones seem to be out of control w/ this pregnancy so Casinodad never knows what kind of mood I'll be in when he comes home from work. I've gone from loving & caring to total anger to downright sobbing at times. The tiniest things can set me off & I don't like myself changing so quickly. I used to say that one of the kids had a Jekyll & Hyde personality - now I know where it came from!

Have a great week!
Peace, Munchesmom

What a Bargain!!

After we had the Princess we thought we were done. In an effort to reduce clutter & make some money, we sold or gave away most of the baby clothes we'd had, keeping only the really adorable ones we couldn't part with. Now that we are about to welcome baby #4 into our household, we're realizing that he will need something to wear. I went through a bunch of the Princess's outgrown clothes, filled up a kitchen size trash bag & took them to a local children's consignment shop. They will pay on the spot for the items or give you a bit more in store credit. I opted for the store credit. They only took a handful of the items & offered me $12.50 in store credit. For what they took I thought it was a fair deal. After the store credit & a $5 coupon I had, I only had to pay 20 cents for the clothes I picked out. Not bad for six baby outfits, two of them still in their original packaging!

Next stop will be to take the rest of the items to another consignment shop & do the same. It's in a different area of town & is a different store chain, so hopefully they'll take some also. I don't (& didn't) expect to sell all of the items we had, but any little bit helps!

Less than three months to go before my due date & I feel huge already. This pregnancy has definitely been the toughest on my old body - taking into consideration the fact that I already have three munchkins under the age of seven, I'm working two days a week, & I am a bit older than the last pregnancies. I have big spider & varicose veins on my right leg. They don't hurt unless I'm on my feet for too long. Also, I don't know if my stretchmarks can stretch any further. I have one that is a bit sore. Is it possible to have stretchmarks on your strechmarks?!?!?

Casinodad has been a great help. He's been getting things for me when I need them, making sure I rest as much as possible, & just been great at taking care of me. He's such a wonderful man & I am truly blessed to have him in my life!

Some Quick Catch-Up Tidbits

Sorry I haven't written in quite a while. We really haven't been busier than normal, I've just been extremely tired with this pregnancy. Chalk it up to having three munchkins already, working parttime, homeschooling & just the regular day-to-day activities. The munchkins still get their daily quiet-time in the afternoon. While The Princess is down for her nap, the boys go to separate rooms to play quietly, read or rest. I've been taking advantage of this time to nap myself. The house looks like a few tornados have been through it several times, but at the moment, I feel that the rest is more important.

We started back to school this past Monday. Plans were to start last week, but Casinodad, The Archangel & The Princess were all sick w/ a touch of the flu & colds. Casinodad even missed four days of work - I've never known him to miss that many in a row. All are better now & for some reason, The Prophet & I were passed over (not that I'm complaining!)

I'm trying to focus more on reading w/ school this year - both read-alouds & The Prophet's learning to read. He's fought it so much for some reason, even though he does quite well. We started using the Pathway Readers series & he seems to be happy w/ them. All the phonics programs we tried just seemed to frustrate & bore him. The Pathway Readers were originally used in Amish & Menonite schools. The stories are wholesome & have opened up doors for discussion on their simple lifestyles. There are three readers for first grade & since we've gotten a late start, my goal is to do three stories a week. The Prophet has already done two for this week & keeps grabbing the book to read them to his brother & sister.

My mom watched the munchkins yesterday while I went for my OB checkup & grocery shopping. I left some work for The Prophet to do. When I got home, she said he had been using his fingers for his addition. She wrote out addition tables that she used when growing up. He seemed to like them. I think I might incorporate them into his lessons. A little extra math never hurt anyone & we'll stop that finger addition before it gets out of hand! (no pun intended!)

My OB appointment went well. My due date is Aug. 9. The baby's heartbeat is nice & strong. What a beautiful sound! I haven't gained much weight yet, but my pants are definitely feeling the squeeze! I'm not quite big enough for most maternity pants yet, but my regular pants are snug. I've been wearing quite a few PJ bottoms & lounge pants lately. My mom bought me a few maternity shirts at Kohl's last week. They were on sale & she couldn't resist. They are very cute. That's one thing I like about pregnancy - you can get away w/ some adorable outfits that you can't normally wear!

Peace, munchesmom