VBS is over.

As much as I enjoy VBS, I'm so relieved it's over this year. It was a lot of fun. But being early PG made it VERY, VERY DIFFICULT to make it through.

I helped teach 1st through 3rd graders. They're really fun at that age but are accustomed to sitting still (sorta) and being quiet (kinda) and pay attention (sometimes.)

The theme was Arctic Edge: Where Courage Meets Adventure! The decorations were all northwest/Arctic in style. I dreamed of making 3 totem poles for our classroom and managed to complete one. (That's being PG for ya! NO Energy!)

In case you're wondering, the top image on the totem pole is a bird, middle is a wolf/coyote/fox, bottom is a bear. The pole is 1/3 of a carpet roll, which I painted with tempura paint. The pointy pieces are florist styrofoam things covered in wrapping-tissue paper. The bear's snout is a Lil' Debbie Oatmeal cookie box cut in half and turned inside-out. The eyes are made from more florist styrofoam that I covered in tissue paper and put giant googly eyes on. The bird's wings are just a piece of cardboard painted and hot-glued on the back. I had problems attaching the bear's snout and finally resorted to just tying it on with some yarn (I could only find white, so it sticks out bad, but it worked!)

The kids got a kick out of it. It was the only totem pole at our church. Another church picked up some of our "disposable" decorations, maybe this is being used again and again. I hope so. Wish I'd put a message on there to email me when it's used or something. Oh, well.

Just thought I'd share my ONE creative effort for the year. It took all my creative juices. I'll have to muddle through the rest of the year without being crafty at all now! sigh ;-)

Isn't my baby beautiful?????

What?!?!? You mean you don't see it?

It's just so obvious to me.

Gosh! Some people! You have to point out the nose on the baby's face!

Ok, here's some explanation of the picture and WHY I went for an ultrasound at 7 weeks...

Monday night I felt some pain in my left side. It was not in my pelvic area, but it still worried me enough to contact my ob. He said that if I needed to come to the ER during the night, he'd meet me there. If I made it through the night, I should just come to his office in the morning and get a "quick look" with the ultrasound.

I made it through the night very well, I suppose. I slept hard, so I guess that's good.

Tuesday morning I took DD to her summer preschool program and went to the ob's office. They had several pg patients scheduled for ultrasounds that morning, so I had to wait for them to "work me in."

I told the sonographer (is that really a word?) why I was there, and she winked at me and said to lay back and take a look and listen.

Hot jelly stuff squirted on my belly.

Sonogram thingy rubbing on my belly.

Watching the monitor.

The great blob of white stuff is my innards. She pointed out what was what. You don't need to know. (If you don't know female anatomy, then ask your parents!)

The little black pool appeared.

The little white smushed peanut appeared.

She reached over and turned a knob.

"thump-thump. thump-thump. thump-thump. thump-thump. thump-thump. thump-thump. thump-thump. thump-thump. thump-thump."

me: "That's a heartbeat." (duh, she's thinking)

Sonographer: "Yep."

me: "That's not me, is it?" (thinking: it sure is fast, if it is me, then I'm having an anxiety attack or heart attack!)

Sonographer: "No, that's your baby."

me: sniff sniff. Yes, I cried. I was worried that something was wrong.

She clicked at one end of the smushed peanut and drew a line to the other end and said, "you're right about your estimated due date. Feb 1, 2007. We're out of our normal paper, so I'm printing this on our good paper for you."

So I lay there in the warm, dark room with a sonographer who is pg and due July 11 and looks about 6 months along (grrrr). We discuss the very tall, very thin pg gal in there before me who came out saying she is having a boy and how she looks only as pg as *I do* and I'm 7 weeks! We shared evil plans of how we could hold her mouth open and force-feed her fettucine alfredo and movie extra buttery popcorn and Big Macs and make her LOOK pregnant.

I was sent to work without even seeing the doctor. Everything is fine for now, according to the ultrasound.

If I can make it through this long work week that is stacked up with nightly vacation Bible school, I will be soooo much better off next week.

DH offered to take me van shopping this weekend. I said, "maybe. I might just sleep all weekend. a van can wait for my sleep!" I don't know if the sound I heard from him was a snicker or a whimper. DH fears pg-me. ;-)

DD is still very excited and this only grew when I told her that I got to hear the baby's heartbeat and saw it. Her smile was ginormous. Then I handed her the picture.

"What is this, Mommy?"

me: "see the white stuff? that's my tummy stuff. see the little black pool, that's the place where the baby is. see the little smushed peanut? that's your baby!"

She almost cried. She's such a tender-hearted thing.

My feet are swelling. I'm burning up hot in this Alabama summer. The a/c is not adequate where I work. I want to sleep. I need to clean my house and wash clothes. And I really really REALLY want to sleep in tomorrow morning.

I have the most beautiful babies.

Please correct me if I am wrong.

It's possible that I am wrong about this, but I doubt it.

There are intended purposes of the technologies we use. The technologies with which I am concerned today are not new ones.

I'm not talking about human cloning or embryonic stem cell research.

I'm talking about caller id and voice-mail.

There are still people in this country that do NOT have a voice-mail system of some kind - even an old-fashioned tape-recorder answering machine. I've tried to call a few of them lately. Some of them I understand why they don't have one - my grandmother, for instance. She's 85. She does leave the house every day and go to work (yes, still works at 85!) Those who need to speak to my grandmother know where to find her and know the phone numbers there.

But for the rest of us who live the normal, manic, American life of work, school, ball practice, church, shopping, yard work, etc., etc., etc., I just don't understand how one manages without a voice-mail system of some sort.

Until I dial a wrong number. THEN I realize how they do it.

Here's your lesson for the day. If you need this message, you know who you are!!!

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The purpose of caller id is to tell you who is calling you. There are several reasons for knowing who is dialing at the moment. Not the least of which is avoiding someone to whom you do NOT wish to talk! The purpose of caller id is NOT to call back a number you do NOT recognize!!!

I have caller id at home - the deluxe thingy which even tells me who is beeping in on call waiting. I have caller id on my cell phone. If I do not recognize a phone number on ANY caller id, I do something that I've decided is just plain crazy to many people out there. I presume it was a wrong number. I do NOT call it back and say the very UN-intelligent statement "uh I saw this number on my phone" or "uhm, someone at this number called me".

COME ON PEOPLE! And IF you have caller id that says the number came from a wireless phone, save the caller's minutes and DO NOT call them back! Obviously they already wasted a minute or two by calling the wrong number in the first place. Do them a favor and don't waste any more minutes.

Oh, yeah! And the caller id says that the number is from a business - and you do NOT recognize the business name and don't know anyone that works there and don't know WHY they'd call you - don't call and show off your lack of intelligence with the previously mentioned duh-statements! If the call came from a business don't expect the person answering the phone to be courteous. There are usually more than one person with access to outside lines, making it near impossible to determine which one dialed the WRONG NUMBER!!!



I really don't think that I'm wrong about this. I really think that there are some very thick-headed people out there who just don't get it!!!

Please pardon the brief interruption of sanity. She's pregnant.

I was unbelievably irritable yesterday. It surprised even me. I had had a relatively good work-day. I rushed off to pick up DD from "school" and drop her off at Bible school. I then stopped by DH's office to waste a little time and rest. I was very aware of being tired and not feeling well.

The longer I sat there and listened to DH's partner drum his fingers and talk about not smoking, the grumpier I got. He kept saying he was going home. But he took his sweet time (45 minutes) to do it. He knew he was getting on my nerves when I turned out the light while he was talking. hehe

But he did not shut up. And he did NOT stop drumming his fingers.

Then DH's uncle who had helped out in the warehouse that day asked if I was tired.

"Yes, very."

uncle: "I know how you feel."

"No you don't." (did I really say that? this is my favorite uncle. I should laugh it off.) No laughter. A smile is all I can manage. It's not even a sincere smile, more of a 'I dare you' smirk.

uncle: laughs, nervously. "ok" (did he whimper?)







The terror continued for a while. They all know I'm a world-class grouch when I'm pregnant.

If they didn't before, they certainly do now!

"Muuuhaahaahaahaahaaaaaa!"

I'm SOO ready for this to move on to the fat and happy phase. This indigestion, belchy, nauseous phase is the pits! I really wish I could just puke!





I know you didn't want to know all that. I just needed to vent.

Oh, yeah. I'm constipated too. NOW I've given too much information!

My gripe is complete. Thank you very much.

And it came to pass...

That has been a phrase from the Bible that has come to mean a lot to me at different times in my life. It didn't mean a lot at all to me for many years. It meant "and one day this particular thing happened."

Inspired by a Southern Gospel song by a sibling trio from Arkansas (the Martins), I've taken one of their songs with this phrase as its meaning and made it into a catch-phrase for me during hard times. (yes, it's sad, but much of my life can be described by some kind of song. Thank goodness, only a few of them are country songs! ;-) )

The song in question makes the point that we are not our circumstances. We are simply in our circumstances. And, guess what, they came to pass. Circumstances don't last forever. Bad times - and Good times, too! - come and go.

What does this have to do with today's blog?

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I'm thinking!!!!

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Oh yea, I remember! I'm already tired of being pregnant. This week has been interminably long. I'm tired of the nausea and want to be able to eat a chocolate chip cookie and drink a glass of milk and NOT get belchy from it! Dog-gone-it! Is it too much to ask that this EMBRYO (not even a full-fledged baby yet) allow me the pleasure of warm, gooey, underbaked chocolate chip cookies and a tall, cold glass of milk?

No, it isn't. But Peanut still objects for some reason.

Meanwhile, I'm wishing I had the energy to get up off the couch and bathe and wash clothes - and EAT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!!!

I mean, really, the tiny amount of caffeine in the chocolate will not hurt Peanut. I don't drink coffee or tea or soft drinks. I pretty much restrict my fluid intake to orange juice, milk and water. (confession: I had a small sweet tea from Chick-Fil-A last night to make sure I could drive home from shopping. forgive my oversight.) I don't drink alcohol or smoke anything. I take very safe medications and only when necessary. I take my prenatal vitamins, plus folic acid and calcium. I'm TRYING to get enough sleep. I eat pretty healthy. I don't exercise enough.

COULD YOU PUH-LEEEEEZE LET ME HAVE A COOKIE!!!

Anyway, I am sooooo thankful that this phase of the pregnancy will "come to pass".

Lord, I need help with this. You know I'm not patient. I'm not asking for patience. I know better than that! I just want this to HURRY UP!!! Thank you and Amen.

Enough whining for today. I have to get a shower for DD's final t-ball game of the season. www.kandielandorioles.blogspot.com

Why can't I sleep when DH is away?

I'm tired. I'm actually very sleepy. DD (aka the "big sleeping pill" b/c of her drowsiness influence when snuggling) is sleeping with me in Mommy's and Daddy's bed while DH is away. She's sleepy and has, uncharacteristically, fallen asleep while I'm still awake and doing something (tv on, reading, blogging, etc) one night this week. But it's not making me sleepy.

I'm NOT a morning person either. So my waking up before the alarm goes off is strange.

I can only blame it all on the "parasite that's eating my brain" (aka the tiny embryo inside me.)

I remember while pregnant w/DD that I had "pregnant brains".

pregnant brains - n. impaired thinking, reasoning abilities; impaired memory; inability to perform tasks which one would otherwise be capable. This condition occurs in the pregnant woman at different stages and can vary in severity and types within a single pregnancy and from one pregnancy to another.

But I think that my pregnant brains occured MUCH later that time. Heck, I'm only 6 weeks! (including those "magical" 2 weeks before conception occurred.) How can I be forgetting an entire phone conversation with DH???

And I've already had my fill with MS!!! I can't stand the thought of eating ice cream or drinking milk. The only dairy product that appeals to me at all is cheese. I ordered cheese enchiladas for lunch today, with cheese on top, extra cheese. Well, I enjoyed the CHICKEN enchiladas with a TINY bit of cheese on top of the red sauce a little bit - but not NEAR as much as I would have enjoyed my lunch if they had gotten my order right.

Strangely enough, orange juice is the most reliable MS cure for now. It surprised me that something that is acidic by nature would make my yucky tummy LESS yucky. Go figure. Not much about being pregnant makes sense.

Yesterday, I actually said that I was ready for this baby to be born! Yes, I realize I'm not patient at all. That's something everyone in my life already knows. This is an exercise in patience and release of control for me.

Me, the control freak, is out of control of her body for 9 months. Everyone run and hide!

I must be crazy for posting this picture. Very unflattering. I took this Tuesday, June 6, 2006. I'm 6 weeks = 4 weeks gestational age.

Do you want to puke now?

No, I don't tan. Well, if it comes out of a bottle, I'll tan. But the sun and I don't make good friends.

Routine. Ritual. Habit. Rut.

There are things that we each do every single day. Things we don't think about. Things that are just simply part of our day's activities or preparations for activities.

Of course, I have something in particular in mind. I realize that not all blogs have a point. But, in general, most bloggers begin their posts with something that they want to say.

Well, today I have on my mind deodorant.

Anti-perspirant.

As I get dressed to do whatever chores await me at home or get ready to go somewhere, I apply my deodorant... "deo" as I put it on my shopping lists.

But there are days. Today, for example. My routine gets interrupted. And somehow that interruption seems to always occur at the time for me to put on my deo.

I can't answer the obvious question of "why do the interruptions occur at deo time?"

I CAN answer the other obvious question of "does the deo EVER make it to my pits?"

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Sorry, another interruption.

Just kidding. No interruption then, I was just building the suspense level of this exciting post.

Yes, I do manage to get back to put on my deo. It might take a little while to get back to my routine. I do remember it at some point.

Today, for example... MS interrupted my dressing routine as I was preparing to go to church. (for MS see the post just before this one) I found some potato chips to try to settle the yucky tummy stuff. While letting the yucky tummy settled, I picked Trixie here (my new name for my laptop) and began to surf some. Time passed. Yucky tummy settled.

I'm now still sitting here with Trixie in my lap, realizing a few things...

1. DD would be a lot more comfortable and sweet in my lap than Trixie.
2. I would love a nap.
3. I forgot my deo.

So...

I'm off to put on my deo; snuggle and nap with DD and DH; and put Trixie in time-out - she's had enough attention today.

Trixie is quite the attention hog.

Bad girl, Trixie.

It's here. Morning sickness. MS

I'm so nauseous at the moment I would like to puke. But I can't. At least not yet. I still have hope. The thing is that with morning sickness, I'm not sure that puking would completely relieve the nausea.

Oh well... I've already bathed to go to church. DD's dress is laid out. DH was still needing his shower when MS hit. DD is disappointed. Me too. Kinda wanted to let her tell our church family about the baby "in Mommy's belly." She's sooooo excited.

We let her call DH's dad and tell him about the baby...

"Hi, Grand-daddy!"

I don't know what he said to her; we don't have a speakerphone at home.

"Great news! Mommy has a baby in her belly!"

Again, I can only guess his response. I think at some point he asked her whether she wants a baby brother or sister.

"I want a Sister! Boys stink!"

She's great. Still in her purple "Up & Coming Princess" pajamas and beautiful. Rat-nest hair and all.

Can someone explain this blogging format thing? I'm BEYOND confused!

As you may have already read, I've had trouble with the format of my blog lately. I've finally gotten it MOSTLY straightened out. Now, I realize that some of my old posts are in a different theme/format thing!

How did that happen? I thought that when I changed the theme that it would change the theme for ALL my posts.

I guess not!

How annoying!

Well, if you look at some of my old posts here and see the different themes, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for them to "stick". I like this one with the white background.

sigh

Guess What!!!

DD is going to be a big sister!!!

We told her last night. She is VERY VERY excited! Squealing, jumping, shouting. Heck, she almost cried!!! (She's so much like me. Bless her heart.) She really thinks she can see the baby in my belly. ;-)

I've added a "pregnancy ticker" to the header of my blog. See? It should automatically update everyday to tell us how far along I am and how many days are left.

We're all excited. It's finally real to us. We're still cautious with the knowledge that a pregnancy could end unexpectedly at any point but especially in the early weeks.

My first prenatal appointment is on June 14th.

This is all I have time for now.

Have a GREAT weekend!