The Details

So I had a doctor appointment on Monday. Basically, they checked and nothing was happening. They were concerned about the size because of the gestational diabetes, so they scheduled an induction.

Thursday morning, St. Patrick's Day, we head to Ireland Army Hospital at 6 am. It took a bit to do the paperwork and get me set up with the IV and the monitors. Since nothing had been happening on Monday, I thought they would have to do a special induction "suppository" to get things going. The midwife checked me that morning and I was dilated to a 3. No need for the weird drug. Just start the pitocin.

So they got that started and the contractions were coming quickly, but not that painful. I decided to get the epidural, cuz let's face it, I'm getting too old for this stuff. So that took a bit to get started, and he picked some super sensitive part of my back because I felt darn near everything he did. And everything he poked there made my whole back jump. My legs started feeling it pretty quickly. They had been tensed for most of the pregnancy and the hamstrings were particularly achy and nothing helped. I didn't realize how much it hurt until they started going numb and that pain let up. It was like "ahh".

Well, I'd never had a full blown epidural before. Yeah, I didn't feel the contractions, but I didn't like not feeling my legs, either. It was super weird. I could not move them or wiggle my toes or anything. And they felt super swollen and heavy and they had to push and pull me when they wanted me to switch sides because I had no control over anything much below the bra. Plus, it was making my head dizzy and I was getting a slight headache. When the anesthesia doc came back in, I was asking him to turn it down some. He looked at me like I was crazy. He knocked it down 20 percent, and it actually helped a lot.

So, the nurses kept coming in and asking if I was feeling any pressure. No. I feel nothing but numb!

Not too long after, they said I was complete and it was time to push a little. They had to tell me when to push, but it seriously only took 3 tries and she came out. She was covered in that cheesy stuff, but she was perfect!

She came out at 1:51 pm. This was funny because I had just told Sean about noon that I was guessing 2 pm. Abby started about 6:30 and came out at 8 something pm. Nathan started about 6:30 and came out at 4 something pm. So, keep that trend and Zoe should come out about 2 pm...sure enough! I have such nice children. They come out relatively fast and don't make me go thru labor at 2 in the morning! Ha.

She was 7 pounds, 12 ounces. For all the concern about size and blood sugar, that was pretty good. Abby was 7 lb, 11 oz, so my girls are about the same size. In fact, by the time we were released the next day, they said Zoe was 7lb, 11 oz because they tend to lose a bit right after birth anyway. So there you go.

She was 21 and 1/4 inches long. This seems about the right size as the other 2. I think somebody was 19 inches, but can't remember.

She has lots of dark hair, and hasn't opened her eyes much, but they look like the black-blue newborn color that will change, so we will see. I kept hoping she would get Sean's green eyes, so still crossing fingers on that one.

So, we were still unsure of the middle name. Especially being born on St. Patrick's day...we tossed around Zoe Shannon, and Zoe Margaret. Ultimately, we named Nathan's middle name after St. Patrick, so we figured just go with what we wanted. So then we were still tossing around Melayna for Grandpa Mel or Louise after my Dad's middle name. I wish we could have worked in Dad somehow, but Melayna just sounded so pretty, and she is a little gracious, blessed, miracle.

The day shift nurses messed up and forgot to test her blood sugars to see if the diabetes affected her. So the night shift had to do the tests which required set eating and testing times. Well...pretty much after 9 pm, Zoe was completely TIRED. I mean, she would have slept until dawn if they had left her alone. Instead, they kept poking on her and flicking her feet to wake her up and as soon as I held her to nurse, she would go right back to sleep. So, it was a really awful night.

The nutrition people sent up a steak and shrimp dinner with salad, baked potato, roll, and pie with a whole bottle of sparkling cider to "congratulate" the new arrival. Pretty good for hospital food.

So, to recap: 3rd month. 3rd floor. Labor room 3. 3 cm dilated to start. 3 pushes and she was out. 3rd child. I'm 33 years old...My birthday is the 3rd...

3rd time is the charm, which is an anagram for March...This is either just all coincidence, or there is something special in store for this baby and something very lucky going on.

She really is a good baby. She has spent most of her time asleep unless she is hungry. She doesn't really cry much, yet. Nathan is sort of scared to be near her, but is interested. Abby seems to want her to be talking and interactive already, but she is wanting to help out and do what she can.

I'm feeling pretty good so far. Such a fast delivery. I'm a bit tired and drained from all the feeding, but so far so good. Who can complain? We waited a long time for her and I went through a lot of stuff to get her here healthy. My neck is sore from staring at her. :)

Food for Thought

So, yes, I have way overthought the name thing. And we still haven't decided.

I was watching one of my preacher shows the other day. It was Joseph Prince, a guy from Singapore, I think. Or Korea. He speaks pretty good english, but talks fast sometimes, so you have to listen carefully. But, he's absolutely brilliant and knows all the Hebrew and Aramaic and Greek and explains things in awesome ways. Love it.

Anyway, he was explaining a verse from Paul in Romans (I think) about the old and new covenants and how different they are. Romans refers to the "letter" of the law, which means the commandments, and how it brings condemnation. However, the sacrifice of Jesus replaces that "letter" and by grace, we are forgiven. He even talked about the moment on the mountain when Jesus talks to Elijah and Moses. The people with him were Peter, James, and John.

I never thought much of it, but he pointed out that Peter means "rock", James means "supplant" or "replaced", and John means "gift of God". The "Rock" (tablets of the law, the commandments) has been "Replaced" by the "Gift of God".

Whoa! It was no accident those were the only guys with him to see the transformation. Every word in the Bible is chock full of meaning!

Joseph Prince always opens my eyes to new things. He explains it much better, but you have to watch the whole 30 minute sermon to understand all of it. His sermons are like a college course in God. But this was pretty darn cool.

Anyway, so later on, during one of my sleepless nights, I got to thinking about it. Abby means "Father's Joy" and Nathan means "gift". Cadence means "rhythm" and Zoe means "life".

The Father's Joy is His gift of Life.

Wouldn't that be a beautiful statement about my life? Maybe in the book of Heaven under my name is a small account of my time spent here on Earth. Mostly, it centers around my kids. "The Father's Joy is His gift of life"...

So I think that is where the heavy lean towards Zoe is coming from. Plus, we'd have a-z and all that monkish order stuff. :)

But then the middle names could be added in...

Maxine=greatest, Patrick=noble

The Father's greatest joy is His noble gift of Life

Life rhythm? (Zoe Cadence)
Gracious, blessed, miracle of Life? (Zoe Melayna)

I tried to find something that meant "everlasting" or "eternal" but didn't find much.

So anyway, just some things I've been thinking about. I suppose Zoe Melayna would fit quite nicely in the sentence. But we still like Cadence and I could call her "Cady-cat".

And you know me and cats. :)

30 days or so

The countdown is on! We are in the final stretch, and I think I know why pregnant ladies are so anxious to see the baby. Not because they can't wait to see it...because everything is sore, and hurting, and you can't eat for the heartburn, and you can't sleep or get comfortable. They want the baby out!

Anyway...we are still tossing around Cadence Jillian or Zoe Danielle. Any votes either way?

And would anyone like to guess birthday and weight? Official due date is March 23. Abby was late, Nathan was early.

what's in a name

Picking names is hard.

Especially with a last name like "Teitelbaum". It always has to be spelled, so the first name should be something easy and relatively common. It also has to avoid any nasty teasing with "Tight Bum". "Ima" is right out.

If we were having a boy, it would probably be "Seth Robert". Short and easy first name. Named after Dad for the middle name.

Girls are HARDER. I think girls should have nicknameable names because they may not keep this last name after marriage. So you never know what future name they may have. And nearly anything can be made into a girl's name.

To narrow it down, we thought we'd try to focus on "CJ" for initials because sean's middle name starts with C, and mine with J.

Cadence--came from letters in Camden and the verbage of the Army.
J...that's been a tough one. At first, I was thinking Joy-Louise to play off my middle name and Dad's middle name. But Sean doesn't like Joy so much.

Then we found out he has a great grandma Lillian, which is pretty. So throw in the J instead and get Jillian.

Cadence Jillian?

But Cadence is not all that common. I doubt we could find pencils prestamped with "Cadence" on them. My test for if a name is easy enough is if it is found on novelty items.

So if we go away from CJ, then what?

Lillian Grace?

Megan Roberta?

Amelia Jane?

I'm so undecided.

Insomnia and God

I suppose I've always been a bit of a night owl. I function much better at midnight than at 7 am. Since the thyroidectomy, regaining my health has been a struggle. One symptom of low thyroid function is having a hard time falling asleep. It is also a symptom of low adrenal function. So I probably have a double dose of insomnia, since thyroid and adrenals are co-dependent.

In any case, I tend to be up late. And since high anxiety also tends to ride with low thyroid/adrenals, I typically have a lot of worry. So lately, I've been watching the late night preacher shows to calm myself down to go to sleep.

So, I'm bad with names and numbers anyway, and brain fog also rides with low thyroid/adrenals, so I unfortunately can't be very specific. I think it was on Creflo Dollar. Terrible name, but decent preacher.

Anyway, he was telling a story about how God will provide. In the Bible, Elijah was out in the wilderness (desert), and it talks about how the birds of the air provided for him. The birds brought him food to eat and water to drink, and took care of his needs.

Well, one little boy in his congregation heard this, and having the faith of a child, took it to heart. So the boy goes home, stands in his back yard, and yells at the birds to bring him $10 so he can donate it to the Church youth group or some project of the Church. He designated a tree, and told the birds to bring it to that tree.

At first, not much happened. But over the next week or so, a few pennies were found. Then, 2 and 3 dollars. When it stopped, the boy had collected over $175...something way beyond his expectation.

So Creflo explained that this is the concept of "abundance" and it is all over the Bible, but we haven't been taught about it for a long time because the idea of pious/poverty/deprivation has been taught. This was not God's will, for us to be poor and miserable. Why would any "outsider" see a disheveled, poor, starving person talking about God ever decide to believe? God wants us to be living in abundance as a blessing and also as a beacon to the nonbelievers.

Anyway, I heard this and probably went to sleep thinking about it. Made sense. Didn't seem hard. Just believe and God will provide.

The typical end of any late night preacher sermon is commercials for books, cds, dvds of that preacher that you can buy, and any profits will go towards the ministry. Some of them sound pretty interesting, and I kind of wanted about 35 dollars worth of these books/dvds. Of course, this was just before Christmas, and our money has been tight, and I didn't want to "frivolously" spend anything since I, myself, don't make the income around here.

So, I prayed. I asked God to provide $35 worth of "supernatural" money so I could buy from one of these preachers, whoever God wanted me to buy from. Birds could bring it. I could find it dropped by the road. $35 of money that Sean didn't get in his paycheck.

At first, nothing happened.

About a week went by...not even a penny in a parking lot.

Then, we decided to go at the last minute to the Knox Hills Christmas party that we had forgotten was going on.

And we enjoyed ourselves, but near the end, I had the urge to go play Bingo.

There were only 3 games left. The first game, I lost. Some guy won a big motorized toy car for his kid to ride in.

The penultimate game of the night, the prizes were a big kid's wagon and a basket of lotions/gift cards. I was NOT doing very well. A lot of numbers had been called. I thought it was pointless since somebody was sure to win very soon. But I thought in my head "God will bless me if He wants to bless me".

And what do you know, I WON! And it wasn't using a Free spot or anything. All five numbers had to be called.

Since we already have a wagon for the kids, I took the gift basket, not really looking at what was inside.


So turns out the basket had $120 worth of gift cards...including a $50 Visa card. $50 to spend on absolutely anything I wanted. $50 that did not come from Sean. $50 that we didn't know was coming when we woke up that morning. $50 "supernatural" dollars.

So I started wondering...OK, God gave me the $35 I had believed for, plus some extra in abundance...who does He want me to support in their ministry?

At first, I think I went to the Creflo Dollar website to look for the original books he had promoted, but the month had changed, and something else was offered that I wasn't that interested in. So I prayed again. Who gets the money?

The next day in the mail, I got TWO things from Jesse Duplantis, one of my favorite TV preachers. One was a newsletter he sends out, and the other was...A PRODUCT CATALOG.

OK, there's my answer. I bought a bunch of his sermons on MP3 and loaded it to my ipod and we listened to it on the trip to Florida. It was really perfect. It was also weird in a way because I was looking for something new to hear on the trip, and Jesse was the ONLY ONE offering sermons on MP3. And timing worked out because if I had bought the book/dvd tangible things, the shipping time would have not made it here before we left. I was able to download MP3 right then and there.

Take it for what you will, but this was one of the most profound things I've ever experienced. It still gives me goosebumps.

name game #2

Cadence and Amelia were front runners in the last poll. What about:

Lillian. This is actually a grandmother name from Sean's side.

Shiloh. Biblical, goes with Abby and Nathan sort of. Also because I can tell someone she's kicking and as soon as a hand goes on the belly to feel the kicking, she stops...thus shy...Shiloh. Shiloh Teitelbaum...too Jewish?

Sara(h). Abby's favorite name at the moment.

Truth. Uses "ruth" but also works in the alliteration. A little too modern, maybe?

Megan. Before I had the miscarriage, I had dreams about this name. Once it was called Megan, and another time it was called Maggie. Coincidence?

Zoe. Short and sweet...then I'd have A-Z. Mom's nickname for me was "Joey", so "Zoey" could play off that.

decisions decisions

So we finally got our furniture we ordered in August. Yes, it is now December. We will never buy furniture online again. We will not use Humble Abode. It finally gets here and the drawer box under the bed is drilled wrong so it isn't exactly bolted together properly. Not sure what to do. I don't necessarily trust Sean to drill new holes and I don't want the hassle of fighting the company again.

In other news, we must decide between Wichita, KS and Belton, MO. There are many pros and cons to both places. Strictly jobwise, it goes to Wichita. Familywise goes to Belton. Medical is split as Wichita would have Tricare offices to yell at people in person, but KC has a bigger pool of doctors that might deal with dislocated lenses. Schools are a toss up. There are some highly rated schools both places and some real crappers. Anyway, not sure which way to go.

As a sad note, the baby I lost on Mother's Day was due today. Perhaps it is a good thing since we just can't handle any more toys in the month of December. Our house is so buried in toys, it is crazy. We still have some decisions to make with this current baby. I'm 25 weeks, so that is good.

Some names we are considering:

Amelia (props to grandpa Mel). We almost named Abby this.

Revee (French conjugation of "dream") Sounds like Renee. Also an anagram of the sounds in "Vera", which was Dad's mom's name.

Vera (Russian for "Faith") Short and sweet, but sorta severe sounding.

Grace. Rhymes with Stace.

Cadence. (Latin for Rhythm) Play on the letters in "Camden". Also works being born on a military base. Cady for short?

Emerald. Born near St. Patrick's day at "Ireland Army Hospital", and Ireland is the Emerald Isle. Emma for short? (Points off for "Emma" being uber popular at the moment.)

Joanna. Female form of "John"...Sean's also a form of John and his mom's maiden name is St. John. My middle name. Kinda plain, tho.

Rebecka. Anagram for "A Becker" Biblical, so it goes with Abby and Nathan. But also kinda plain.

Eden. Paradise on Earth. Last part of Cam"Den". Short and easy to spell. Also Biblical.

Vivian or Vivica. "Vi" is found in Melvin, Elvira (dad's mom, she went by Vera), Virgil (from sean's side)...lots of Vi found in the family. But both conjure up images of African American ladies for me. Not sure why.

We are open to voting, discussion, and suggestions. Girl names are hard to come up with.

First Pics

Looks like she is smiling already.

Sooo...

Whaddya think? Look more like Abby or Nathan?

Let the name suggestions begin!

Christmas Ideas

OK, so if things go well and we can come to Thanksgiving, I would like to bring our Christmas gifts then and avoid shipping costs. So if you want something from us, you'd better send me some idea of what you want.

As for us:

Nathan:

Piston Cup Garage (Cars, seen at Target and ToysRUs)

Geo Trax Cars complete set (seen at ToysRUs...has Lightning, Sally, Sarge, etc with buildings from their town. Runs about $100)

Toy Story 3 Action Links sets. He has the garbage truck. He would really like the train or any of the other sets.

Cars playset with the wrestler. He has the Materdor track set and the mini track where Lightning jumps to avoid the impound. He also has the tractor tipping one with Frank. Any of the other track sets he would love.

Pillow pet duck. I don't see the play value, but he seems to want one.

Abby:

Computer/DS games involving pets/animals. She has DS Littlest Pet Shop and Cooking Mama. We have macs, so keep that in mind.

Pet Shop LPSO pet as apparently, the VIPs of years before are being shut down.

Bratz Kidz dolls/clothes/pets.

Twin size Littlest Pet Shop comforter in pink and purple...not the yellow one at WalMart.

Monster High Cat girl doll. I don't know what this is really, but she saw it in the ToysRUs catalog.

Sean:

ipod nano (not the microscopic shuffle) for exercising. Perhaps the arm strap or good exercise ear buds to go with.

itunes card for music

Me:

New cookie sheets. 10 years of use has rather destroyed my current ones.

4 at a time (or more) waffle iron, character if possible. Our Mickey face waffle maker broke in the move. And/Or slim design 4 at a time toaster. (not the monsters that have slots like ////, but like ==)

New Bible verse calendar for the wall.

ipod touch >8gb...the super capacity one would be cool...thought i'd built up enough credit card points to get one, but alas, no.

This is not a complete list and it may change slightly. But at least a starting point.

Government Healthcare at work.

Typical Tricare: My test strips have a mandatory call-in refill (i.e. I can't just walk up to the counter and get them...must call). My strips were running low Monday, so I called in. The machine told me that any refills take 72 hours to complete. OK, so they would be done Wednesday, about when they would run out. Punch in numbers and alas, it was too EARLY to refill that script. Earliest time to call is Wednesday...the day they run out...thus won't be ready until Saturday...which leaves 3 days without test strips.

Brilliant.

And this is a federal holiday weekend, so they won't be ready until next Wednesday. Oh darn, a week without testing...I'm so heartbroken. @@

The Immunization Clinic

SO I mentioned awhile back that Nathan got his school shots and didn't cry as much as he does about actually going to school. I didn't tell you the story of what happened BEFORE the shots.

Imagine if you will a very crowded waiting room on a hot afternoon. It is nearing closing time and they are obviously backed up. There is a group of soldiers waiting for shots, probably getting ready to deploy. There are some retirees who are always in medical clinics. And of course, moms and dads and kids in the flood of back-to-school immunization compliance.

Nathan and I find a seat and he is happy to play with his toy car he brought with him. I settle in for what seems to be a long wait. As we are looking around the room, a young mom walks in with 3 boys. The youngest is instantly attracted to Nathan's toy and comes right over. The mom and the oldest are at the desk checking in.

Somehow, the middle boy notices Nathan's glasses and starts pointing and getting excited for his mom to see. Unfortunately, this is rather common for us and young kids are all too observant of a kid with giant lenses. I start to brace for what will inevitably be a tricky question and/or explanation that won't destroy Nathan's ego.

Instead, the mom comes over and says, "Oh, did he have the surgery?" "The surgery" as tho there is only one that is done on eyes...but at least she seems familiar with eyes that need surgery.

Turns out that her middle son was born "blind" with not exactly a cataract, but something similar. They did an "experimental" surgery that gave him his sight back and from what I gathered is now called "Lasik". Wow, what a coincidence that another mom I just happened to meet knows this stuff and has been down some of this same path.

In another jaw dropping moment, and I don't remember exactly how it came about, but her oldest son was born without a thyroid.

!!!!!!

Really, what are the odds of that? Not only the odds of being born without one, but that a woman would have a kid with eye issues and a kid with thyroid issues would be here the same time as I am?

So the oldest son starts to get excited that he's met someone who is also without a thyroid.

Somewhere in the middle of all this, I start to notice a definite wave of indignation coming at us from all over the room. It was like everyone was giving us the stink eye. We were totally chatting about eyes and thyroids and she home-schools because the middle boy has ADD and the schools wanted him doped up. She skipped grades growing up and went to college at 14 and it was a terrible experience...

There is a black lady a row over trying to get my attention. The mom goes up to the desk for something and the black lady demands in a very surly attitude, "Whose child is this?!" She is pointing to the youngest son. I point to the other mom. Black lady assumes we are bestest of friends and that I should be able to discipline the boy for hitting her daughter. About then, the mom comes back and the black lady is saying, "Excuse me...excuse me!" and mom seems oblivious as she is telling her oldest son not to point fingers at people. At this point, a second black lady sitting a few seats down from first black lady steps in and with very rude tones tells mom that her son needs to apologize to first black lady's daughter for hitting her. Mom gives a look, son gives a very insincere almost inaudible apology and you could almost feel the black ladies seething with anger.

Sometime in this exchange, I start to notice paper airplanes are being flown all over the room. Not just one or two, but like a LOT of airplanes. They are zinging by people's heads. One nearly landed point-first on a sleeping baby. One landed on a guy's shoulder which he promptly ripped off his shirt and crumpled. Lots of frustrated anger is pouring from the rest of the room towards our little corner. I'd been so caught up in talking that I hadn't noticed that her boys where the ones making and launching all the airplanes...running around the room after them...and generally being loud and out-of-control. No wonder I'd been feeling a collective stink-eye!

So luckily, she gets called back for her appointment and they are ready to go home. You could almost hear a collective sigh of relief when they walked out the door. It was so ODD. I never expected to meet someone that deals with the issues I deal with...I have never felt such animosity from a group of strangers...and I don't know that I've been associated with someone who causes people to think "Good riddance!" when they leave.

So now I'm torn...we exchanged phone numbers to have a play date...I haven't heard from her yet. I'm slightly intrigued as she is really the first person I've had a good talk with since we moved here...and yet...do I expose my rather well-behaved kids to her not-so-well-behaved ones? Do I want to be alienated and given the stink eye at a playground where injuries are much bigger than a papercut? Hmm...

For posterity

Just to record this for future reference, and OK, maybe to brag a little...

Abby's teacher said they are doing assessments to see where the kids are at currently. In one reading assessment, typical second graders score between 200-400. Abby scored 781.

They will be sending her to 3rd grade for reading now.

:)

An on-Knox-ious weekend

Well, they try to have fun around here. Saturday was the "National night out" event hosted by the Knox Hills housing people. They had burgers and hot dogs, chips, juice and water. They had bingo, tents from the Red Cross, a firetruck and stuff. We didn't see everything because it was bleeding hot. Not sticky sauna hot, at least, but hot. For whatever reason, National "NIGHT" out was held from noon to two.

So we got a free lunch anyway. They had a police dog demonstration that was pretty cool. First dog found drugs hidden in suitcases. Second dog did obedience commands and an obstacle course. Third dog did a chase-down-and-subdue a target. That was pretty cool. The guy had a big puffy bite sleeve on and that dog went after it. They demonstrated the best thing to do is stop moving. The guy took off running again and the dog started after him, but as soon as the guy froze, the dog just ran past and didn't bite. Almost makes me want to be a dog trainer.

Today was free movie hosted by the MWR. (Morale, Welfare, and Recreation). We get there and the theater is like a college auditorium. They gave us ticket stubs and a voucher for drinks. We get seated and then they hold a drawing. The second number she reads off actually matched one of our stubs! We won the Karate Kid trilogy from the 80s on DVD. What a surprise! Then, they show a video of soldiers and the National Anthem is playing and everyone stands up. Apparently, they do that before all movies at a post theater. Anyway, we watched the New Karate Kid. I was pleasantly surprised. As remakes go, this was pretty good. It had enough in there from the original that you knew it was there, but the story was just enough different to keep you watching. Jaden Smith was decent for a kid actor, and Jackie Chan showed some layers. But I love Jackie Chan. Abby and Nathan both got a bit bored in the middle, but the end fight was really cool.

So that was our weekend. Free food and free movies. Abby said this is the greatest neighborhood ever 'cause they give us free stuff.

A new chapter

I find myself surrounded by boxes yet again. We are halfway unpacked...maybe. The kitchen is usable and the living room is nearly livable. I guess that means halfway done.

Kentucky is a lot like moving back to Reform. The closest "town" is 15 miles away. The stores there aren't that great. And everything is pretty much lined up on the same road.

Fort Knox is like most Army posts...PX, Commissary, Golf Course, and a Burger King. But it is way smaller than the other ones I've been to... but that was Ft. Bragg and Ft. Hood, the 2 biggest posts in the Army. This PX seems really tiny. Haven't been to the Commissary, yet, but it looks tiny from the outside.

The house itself is tiny...again like living in Reform. Only Reform had a basement and a barn to put stuff in. We have 3 bedrooms and 1 and a half baths. It's been awhile since I shared a bathroom with the kids. And it only has one sink, so it is not a large bathroom to be sharing in the first place. I suppose I survived in Reform with one sink in the bathroom. Sean put his shaving gear in the half bath.

One thing I do enjoy is the location of our house. If you go through the golf course, it dead ends at the Gold Reserve. Our street is just before the dead end, and it is a cul-de-sac, so typically, the only people coming back here are the people who live here. We are at the top of the street, so we have one house next door and a house across the street, and our backyard and other side is all manicured golf course. We have a mature tree line between the backyard and the golf course, so we have shade pretty much all day and relative privacy. It is typically pretty quiet.

Some things to get used to again: They play reveille in the morning and another song at the end of the day over loudspeakers.

Ticks. Charlie came in from his first excursion with about 4 crawling on him. We have since given him a flea and tick treatment on the back of his neck and he now sports a fancy purple flea and tick collar. I guess that tells you how country-fied it is here if we have ticks. Haven't really thought about them since REFORM.

Renting. Even if I've seen elephants spray with more pressure than our shower, there ain't much we can do about it.

No garage. We do have a rather large carport. It is currently full of boxes, tho.


Some funny things I've seen:

A furniture store boasts that new items arrive "daley".

A yellow diamond traffic sign with a tractor silhouette. I recall in Texas seeing "Church" warning signs. This may be my first "Tractor" warning sign, and I grew up in an area thick with tractors. I'm not sure what good a tractor warning sign is: just in case you can't react fast enough to get out of the way as it barrels at you at 1/2 mile an hour???

An adult entertainment business advertising 10% off for military patrons. Um...cuz 90 cents is sexier than dollar bills???

Retired military guys. PX food court hosted an older man in a navy blue pullover, khaki shorts, black socks that went over his knees, and white sneakers. It was a fashion statement, I'm just not sure what it was saying.

Golfers. Golfers. And more Golfers. Where do these guys work that they can golf in the middle of the day in the middle of the week? And they pull out the spiffy gloves and the protective club cozies and every last one has Nike or UnderArmour golf apparel. I swear, some men are fashionistas. "Like, OMG Steve, can you believe that guy is wearing JCPenney? How did he get on this course, anyway?" Brand snobs.


Anyway, off to more unpacking.

Where to begin

So we know we are moving and have to downsize, so we have a big garage sale. A big part of the stuff we got rid of was all the baby gear. Swing, bouncer, packnplay, high chair. Sold.

Seriously, like 2 weeks or less later, we discover that I'm preganant. HA! God sure has a sense of humor. We weren't planning, trying, or anticipating this happening. I'm convinced God wants this baby here since we sure weren't planning for it. Doctors tell me the due date is December 9. It all fits so well. We seem to get pregnant only in March, during a move, around St. Pat's.

It starts to sink in. We'll be having a third! I start to overcome the shock and the worry about the work of a newborn. I'm looking through stores at baby gear--have to replace a few things--scouring baby name books. I buy a few clothes on sale even though I don't need them yet. We had cleared out all the maternity clothes, too.

We decide to have shirts made up to announce the news. I get athletic style t's with "Nana" and "Papa" and a big number "8" since this will be grandkid #8. We get some for Sean's parents, too. We decide to send them as Mother's Day presents just for a more special day.

And then Friday...

I woke up with some spotting. Had a lot planned for that day, tho, so went about my errands. Nathan and I were at the mall looking for some new shoes for Abby. We take a bathroom break.

I call Sean and ask him to come home from work. There's too much blood.

Nathan and I go to the ER. Things move agonizingly slow. Sean arrives and takes Nathan home.

Initial exam is mixed. Yeah, there's blood, but the cervix is still closed, so perhaps baby is protected. They have to do an ultrasound. That involved a catheter to fill the bladder. That was no fun.

Ultrasound find no signs of the baby. No speck, no dot, no heartbeat.

I get sent home.

Saturday we went to the zoo. I'm still bleeding and cramping. Maybe it'll be ok. God wants this baby here. There is still time for a miracle. I watch the parade of strollers and other babies that are everywhere you look at the zoo. I hear other mommies yelling with mean tones at their babies to sit down or be still and I just want to smack them. Then I want to cry that these gifts are given to mean people, and yet, I don't think I'm mean to my kids, and my gift is being taken away.

Sunday after my breakfast in bed and presents from Abby and Sean, I go to church. Maybe if I go talk to God in person, he'll relent and stop the bleeding. It is a mother's day sermon. I can't sing along or I will not be able to stop sobbing. When it is over, I hole up in a bathroom stall and try to cry without anyone noticing. Too many people start waiting for a stall, so I dry it up as best I can and go out to cry in my car.

The cramping is so bad. Sometime that afternoon, something passes into the toilet. I couldn't really see it for all the blood. I don't understand. 9 is supposed to be my lucky number. The baby was due on the 9th of December. I was 9 weeks along. And it left me on May 9th. It seems especially cruel to have a miscarriage on Mother's Day.

So...now what. I don't know how to deal with this. A baby I didn't know I wanted is no longer coming. And I'm heartbroken. And I don't understand.

Eye muscle Surgery

I was in the middle of a dream when Sean called my name. The clock read 5 20 which was a bit later than we'd planned to get up. Sean says his alarm didn't go off, but Charlie got him up. Good Kitty.

The scramble began to get a shower, get dressed. look minimally presentable, get Abby up, dressed and mostly ready for school, and get Nathan up and into the car without a chance to eat anything.

Abby popped right up and got dressed. I'm very lucky to have her. She is so good and self-motivated.

I was running around gathering Abby's things for Papa to have after school in case we weren't back. I went into Nathan's room to find a button-up shirt for post-op and he popped right up. After only 5 hours of sleep. He was not cranky and was in a good mood.

So I was packing our hospital entertainment bag when it got to be 6:20 when we had wanted to be on the road. I brushed Abby's hair and Sean took her over to my friend Stacy's house. She was willing to watch her for us and take her to school. When Sean got back, we got in the car and headed out.

Luckily, the traffic was good, and we got there a bit ahead of schedule. They checked us in and took us to our room.

Nathan was so happy for so little sleep. He was playing with his cars and his Ocean Tots from Sonic. The only time he got upset was when they forced in the eye drops. The anesthesia people came in and asked him what he had for breakfast, and he thinks for a second and says, "I had night breakfast," which was way cute, but also true since we kept him up late to eat up until the no-food deadline. And he happened to eat cinnamon swirl raisin bread which is what he likes for breakfast lately.

About 9, they took him back. About 10:30, the doc came to talk to us. They adjusted both eyes, poor guy.

He slept hard until about noon.

The nurse came in and put a pressure cuff on his arm. He kind of tried to shrug it off and utters, "I just want to sleep" in a perfect teenagery "five more minutes, ma" kind of tone.

So he wanted me and I went to hold his hand. He was doing a Stevie Wonder thing where he either couldn't or wouldn't open his eyes because of the ointment they put on them. I started tickling his arm which got him giggling. I was shocked. He was mad and inconsolable coming out of anesthesia last time.

He doesn't drink soda or much juice, so getting him to drink something was a trick. He's a milk and water guy. They diluted some apple juice, but he didn't want it. So we tried some dluted grape gatorade. Nope. He finally sucked on a cherry popsicle which satisfied them that he could keep down clear liquids. A lady came to take out his IV, which he was so happy to get off he didn't even grump about the tape pulling at his skin.

We got dressed and he got to pick a toy from the treasure box. Last time, he got a webkinz. This time, they were some cheap lamo toys. He got a yo yo that looks like it will break any second.

He seems like he's ok for the most part. He wolfed down a corndog and tots from sonic and has been watching TV with dad. His eyes look red and gooey, and he wants to rub at them cause they're "itchy". But so far, so good. I really hope we don't have to do any more poking on him for quite some time. We've had our fill of surgeries around here!

parenting 110

So this week, I have learned that Abby has picked up the capacity for deceit. It was over sneaking a chocolate when I had just told her no more sweets. She was banned from all sweets for 2 days, but she found an easter egg from Papa and Nana's weekend and ate a Cadbury mini egg and lied to me AGAIN even as her breath smelled of chocolate. Ugh. So she is now banned from all sweets for 4 days. (Somewhat making this up as I go...break the rules of the punishment and the punishment doubles...) It may not seem like very long, but how do you enforce a sweets ban during a holiday with a sweets-laden bunny?

And just tonight, I have learned that Nathan has the capacity to cry so hard and so loud that he can make himself throw up. It has been a bit of a problem, the hard crying fit thing lately. Tonight was the first time he actually puked over it. It seems he does not transition well at all. (Or Daddy was too abrupt in the transition). He was really engrossed in a computer game with Daddy and pitched a fit about going to bed. Nathan blames the toothpaste for making him throw up. Poor thing comes to me with big wet eyes after it happened and said his tongue was "itchy". Yeah, that stomach acid burning your throat can make it feel itchy, I guess. Not sure what to do about that. He's been my puker from day one. :( I just hope he doesn't do that at school when it is time to do something new!

Beautiful weather today. Perfect kite weather. We were the only ones out there flying a kite until the neighbors up the street saw and got their's out. In and of itself, kite flying gets a bit boring. But, it is very peaceful and serene and reminds me of summer and being a kid.

Anxiety

again. My tummy has been in a knot all day. I feel like I can't breathe. Ever since this bill passed, I've felt queasy.

It is hard to describe the anger and the frustration. I can't believe they forced this into law against the will of the people. I can't believe the lies they are telling. I can't believe people out there are lauding this as a victory.

It makes me sick. Literally. I've had nothing but problems with government health care and my only recourse was paying out of pocket to use non-government run agencies. Am I going to have that option now???

What really worries me is that I won't be able to get "good" glasses for Nathan. The ones that Tricare made are complete CRAP. I had to go through a non-approved optical shop to get decent ones. What happens now? I wanted to wait for implants to get better before we went that route, but now I'm wondering if we need to expedite just to get it done before this mess gets fully implemented.

I'm so mad and I don't feel like I can do a darn thing about it.

Teeth and tushies

Well, it is amazing how quickly things change. One day, Nathan was digging in fierce to keep his diapers. After our mental face-off, it is like a switch got flipped. He hasn't wanted a diaper on at all. He's been going potty and sleeping in real underwear and *knock on wood* hasn't had an accident at all. Toddler to big boy overnight quite literally. It makes me a little sad that I don't have any reason to walk thru the baby aisles or even the infant/toddler clothes section as he is rapidly converting to the "boys" sizes. Sniff sniff. My baby is no longer a baby.

Today, they both got their teeth cleaned. Nathan had his very first cleaning. Up til now, they've just been taking a quick peek to check for cavities or problems, but today he got them polished and everything. He was such a big boy. Didn't cry or fuss at all. He asked the lady to get the "crunchies" out...I guess the toothpaste was gritty.

Doc keeps saying Abby will definitely need braces. How can they tell? They seem pretty straight so far.

Last night, Nathan was eating some sour cream and onion chips and after he was done, he was really licking his fingers with gusto. He looks at us and says, "Mmm, my hands are really tasty!"

Options

This house is tucked away behind the golf course on a quiet culdesac. It is rather small, but has a carport and has that country-surroundings feel to it because the wide open golf course is all around. Drawbacks: no neighborhood playground, close to the gold bunker, so if Charlie wanders too far, he could experience the electric fence and/or guard rifle.


This house appears to be the same rough size, but is close to an older looking playground.

And, it is on a hill. This is the backside of the house taken from the road that wraps behind it. I can see many a rolling ball/tricycle/scooter and scraped knees, elbows and bruises. Not a big fan of this one. Knowing our luck, this will be the one we get.


This is probably some of the oldest housing, but probably the largest by square footage. And it has a basement for storing stuff. (Who knows the state of the basement, tho...wet or dry? buggy? finished or unfinished?) It also has the newest playground. However, it is a duplex, so we would hear our neighbors, and is encircled by rather busy roads, so Charlie would be rather limited. By far the most "crowded" housing area. But it is within walking to a chapel, the PX, and within biking distance to Sean's work.

Hmm...they all have their pros and cons...In any event, we need to downsize SEVERELY! Anyone have a loft bed for kids they aren't using?

Some pics of the fun at the hotel pool.
Abby has a new swimsuit.

Nathan played with his color change Lightning McQueen and that got him interested in the water. (He usually hates swimming)
He really loved it after he got used to it. He's riding dolphin Mommy.