Not me Monday!

Join me and Dee for another week of Not me Monday. Let out all the stuff you "didn't do" this last week! 

I did not eat my entire box of chocolates in less than a week with no help.

I was not secretly proud of my three year old for her restraint in only opening three presents 

I did not take an hour nap Sunday, and LOVE every minute of it, even though hubby had to deal with a cranky girl. 

I did not pretend to be asleep Saturday night so I wouldn't have to put M back in her bed for the 18th time. 

I did not let my three year old eat candy all day Sunday. 

I did not chug two bottles of water during my last 4 hours of work, and have to take four potty breaks. 

I did not forget about my stinking WIC appointment twice this month and I do not have to call them again and tell them how stupid I was. 

I was not tempted to let my 3 year old drink that nasty glucose drink and tell my dr's office I couldn't test because of it. 

I did not sit and laugh at my poor husband while he was trying to do the balancing game on the wii and having Natalie all over the board. 

I did not buy too much for Christmas and have to shorten the food budget for the week (can we say leftovers??)

Christmas Stories!

Never fails. 

Every Christmas you come away with some intersecting story. 

This year was no different for our family. 

It all started Christmas eve, my good friend came over and helped me to wrap all the presents I hadn't gotten to. We hid them until I thought M was asleep and then I neatly arranged them around the tree. 

We went to bed. Sometime during the night M ended up in our bed. No big surprise, she always does that! 

We got up Christmas morning and went to open the presents. I noticed a few things different than they were, but no real issues there. I have little short term memory these days. 

When M comes out of her room with a Spongebob Ants in my Pants game, I was thinking "how did you get that? I thought that was one of your presents" I said so to Jimmy. 

He got up and went to check her room, and sure enough there was wrapping paper strewn about. We figured out the little snot had opened three presents before hopping in bed with us. 

She got one of Natalie's (not one of the big ones, so I wasn't too upset) one of mine, and the one of hers. 

She also took both the Christmas bears into her room. It was actually quite funny. I think had she opened all her presents I may have been a bit more angry. But I had to just chalk it up to the fact that she is three, and it was partly my fault for not anticipating that she wouldn't "explore" on her own. 

At least I know for next year, M needs to be gated into her room Christmas eve, if we want all the presents Christmas morning. Our tree:

Anyway. We had a good Christmas. Full of family, friends, and food! How was yours?

Merry Christmas!!

I pray that everyone has a safe and happy holiday. Merry Christmas everyone.

Not me Monday!

 

Join me and Dee for another wonderful Not me Monday! 

It is really refreshing to get all the "not me's" off your chest! 

I did not bribe McKayla with candy to get her to stop crying. 

I did not bribe McKayla with soda to get her to go to bed. 

I did not drink two 44oz Dr Peppers in one day. 

I did not play on the Internet while my friends were over playing video games. 

I did not eat three brownies, and then take 5 more home for later. 

I did not eat a bag of popcorn every night before bed. 

I did not wish that I bet against my doctor in the placenta movement issue, really bad. 

I did not buy another bag of sweet stripes soft peppermint candies and eat the whole thing again. 

I guess it hasn't been a week for eating! lol

25 down

15 or so to go. :) 

Thought you all would enjoy a belly picture. 

Notice the jammie pants? Yeah, they are comfy! 

Anyway, sorry for the late post, its been a crazy day. Wait a minute, nope, no, it hasn't. Just been too lazy! lol. 

Hope you all had a good Sunday.

My grownup Christmas list

Yesterday, my dear friend Megryansmom posted this song by Amy Grant, its 

"My Grown up Christmas List." 

I must admit I cried a little. You see this song holds SO MANY memories for me. 

From the time I was a little girl I have attended The Salvation Army Church in Albany, Oregon. It is basically my second home. 

When I was little there was another family that went there, I will call them the W's for their protection. Anyway. Mother W was a WONDERFUL singer. She would get the old solo tapes where one side had the singer with the music, and the other side had just the music. She would sing solos during church to those tapes. And almost every Christmas she had a song for us. 

One Christmas it was this song. She actually sat on "Santa's" knee (we had a gentleman that would dress as Santa for the kids for our Christmas party, we had a way of incorporating Santa with the Christmas story) anyway. She sang that song to Santa, and I can remember it like it was yesterday. 

From that day on all I wanted to do was sing like her. She was amazing. 

Her and her family ended up moving a few years later, but I will never ever forget her singing that song. And I will never ever stop wishing for all the things that song mentions. 

Read the words and think about them this holiday season. 

Remember the best gifts there are, aren't always able to be given. 

Do you remember me? 

I sat upon your knee 

I wrote to you with childhood fantasies 

Well I'm all grown up now 

And still need help somehow 

I'm not a child but my heart still can dream 

So here's my lifelong wish 

My grown up Christmas list 

Not for myself but for a world in need 

As children we believe 

The grandest sight to see 

Was something lovely wrapped beneath the tree 

But Heaven only knows 

That packages and bows 

Can never heal a hurting human soul 

What is this illusion called the innocence of youth 

Maybe only in our blind belief can we ever find the truth 

No more lives torn apart 

That wars would never start 

And time would heal all hearts 

And everyone would have a friend 

And right would always win 

And love would never end 

This is my grown up Christmas list

This is my only lifelong wish 

This is my grown up Christmas list

Ultrasound and Update!

So, I had my second ultrasound Monday. I was pleasantly surprised when my friend from school called my name to come back. 

This is the same friend who gave me a free 3-d ultrasound with Natalie. 

So, yeah, she normally doesn't work at our hospital, only like once a month. 

My lucky day huh?? Anyway. 

You are probably wondering what the update was. 

Technically I shouldn't know anything. 

You know, because she is a technician and not supposed to tell me stuff like that. 

The placenta has moved! You know how the doctor was so pessimistic?? ALL FOR NOTHING!

The placenta needed to be 3 cm away from the cervix for them to be able to let me labor normally. 

So, the placenta is now 7 cm away!! Praise God for a Christmas miracle. :) 

Thanks so much Courtney for the GREAT time!! I love them all!! 

Oh, yeah, baby now weighs 1lb7oz. Growing beautifully.

Not me Monday

 

Join me and Dee for not me Monday. And this week I actually got it on MONDAY!!!

• I definitely did not ask my 3 year old if it was ok to push her, and proceed to push her with my foot for 15 minutes. (hey she liked it, and was ASKING for more!)
• I didn't buy a whole box of sour patch kids and eat them all, even though I knew it would kill my mouth.
• I didn't complain endlessly about the self checkouts to which I am contained for the remainder of my pregnancy.
• I did not buy me some new maternity pants that go clear up to my bra (but they are sooo comfy and don't hurt the hernia)
• I did not stay on the computer all evening Saturday instead of cleaning house.....
• I did not drink three vanilla cokes in one sitting.

Now that you all know what I did not do this week, try joining in! Its so therapeutic :D

My name is Betsy....

and I am addicted to sauce packets. 

I don't know why its so hard for me to let go. I get extra sauce at dinner, eating out, and I keep it and stick it in the fridge... 

I LITERALLY have an entire drawer in my fridge dedicated to all the ones I bring home. See:

I have a serious problem. 

The saddest thing?? I actually used a bunch of butter packets one day when I didn't realize that I was out, to make Mac & Cheese. 

Another bit of randomness, just for your enjoyment. 

Feel free to laugh, but then you have to post something that you do, but don't quite know why... 

PS Christmas countdown: 11 days.

Apology.

I am so sorry for the lack of good posts lately. 

I have been soooo tired, and with a fully sick household, it hasn't been easy to get online. 

Both my girls have been on antibiotics for two days now, each had an ear infection in the right ear. 

Plus poor M had a sinus infection as well. 

Anyway. I think we are all on the mend, they both slept through the night last night! So hopefully the posts get better. :) 

Sorry again. 

Oh, and look for an ultrasound update on Monday night or Tuesday. 

I have the u/s at 1pm. Then I also have an appointment with the doctor on Thursday. 

Should be a busy week!

Not me Monday

Thanks Dee for the reminder. LOL! 

So, yeah, its another day late edition of "Not Me Monday" if you wanna join us, feel free!

 

I did not forget that yesterday was Monday, and whine and decide that this was too fun to not do this week. 

I did not eat an entire bag of peppermint soft sticks. (hey it wasn't that big!) 

I did not show up an hour early for my final and decide to play on the computer instead of studying. How much can you study for a writing final anyway?! 

I did not make my husband clean up my daughter after she got into my box of chocolates, again. 

I did not force my three year old into the shower, not even an hour after her bath, because her hair looked horrible. Even though she hates them (in my defense she did REALLY good)

I did not talk to the pediatrician about preemie babies and have him misunderstand me and tell me about c-sections instead. (oops, at least I know a bit more now) 

I did not search online for info on c-sections so I would be prepared, and now worry a little that I will be disappointed if it doesn't? (This makes me feel horrible, but I feel like having a plan is better than waiting and waiting and waiting, nope still makes me feel bad... who wants this to happen?? How crazy am I??) 

  And lastly I did not force my husband to watch 3 hours of house with me on Sunday, rather than go play his x-box in the bedroom. I figured I sat through a horrible game (stinking steelers need to have a better show Leah!! That win was a win, but an awful game!) he could at least watch house with me. :) GAH! I sound like my husband talking about football like that! 

Oh, one more, I did not listen carefully to my husband when he talked about the game, so I could talk to others about it and look smart!

Missed a day??

I didn't even notice. 

Went back to check where my posts were, and I missed the 30th of November. :( that is the first time in six months. 

I am pretty bummed. 

So today, you get a lame post of me whining. WAH WAH WAH!! LOL! 

Sorry. 

Just had to do it. 

Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday. 

PS I wanted to emphasize a bit on the self check out statement I made yesterday. I am more frustrated when customers take out their irritation with the machine on me. 

Today I was verbally assaulted. It was awful. I cried (while hiding in the bathroom, after I ran away). 

Anyway, so the next time you are super irritated by that annoying voice telling you to "please place your item in the bagging area" 

Please, don't get mad at your cashier. :) 

And one more thing, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my baby sister. She is 23 today!! :) 

Colleen, I hope you have the happiest of birthday's and may many more follow. I am blessed to have a sister like you.

Stupid people part II

Working for a major retailer I have seen my fair share of the stupid things that people do. 

Well today I was thinking it would be fun to make a post of some of the stupid things that customers have done while in my presence. 

#1 It always bugs me when children are allowed to come into a BIG store with no shoes and run around! Do you have any idea the crap that every other of the thousand people in the store is dragging though?? EW! 

#2 Another thing, when parents allow their teenage girls to wear clothes that I wouldn't dream of wearing let alone, letting my teenager wear (ie super short skirts, halter tops, SKIN tight clothes) 

#3 People who yell at their children when they are lost and ask to have their parent paged. (I am talking little 5-6 year olds, not the teenagers here). The kid did the RIGHT thing finding someone who worked there and telling them they were lost, praise them for that and discuss with them later the reasons they don't wander off in the store, and for the love of God, don't let them wander that young, one hand on the cart, or in your hand. 

#4 People who get MAD at the self check out machines. They are MACHINES. They don't understand that you don't want to bag the item unless you tell it. Again, its a machine. You have no idea how many people I have seen really angry at the machine.

#5 People who call and ask what time it is. That's it. Just the time. Get a watch people! 

#6 People who call and after you have just answered "thank you for calling your 24 hour ____ how may I help you?" still ask what time we close! WE DON'T! lol. I think I am gonna stop there. I could go on and on, but I won't :) 

So, now its your turn. What in your current job, do you see people do all the time that just bugs the snot out of you? Its nice to vent once and awhile.

Pregnancy update

So, most of you know, because well I talk to people more than just on my blog. But I am going to update anyway, for memory sake. 

I had a doctor's appointment Wednesday. It was my first appointment since they told me at the ultrasound that I had the placenta previa. 

So, the first time I have really had the chance to talk to MY doctor about it. 

Anyway. She said looking at the pictures there is a very slim chance that the placenta will move. She demonstrated it to me by putting up her closed fist, telling me "this is your cervix" then taking her other hand and covering the entire top of it and telling me, "this is the placenta." 

Basically, like I said before, the placenta is completely covering the cervix. She said they would do another ultrasound to figure out if it is moving, and probably more ultrasounds to continue to monitor progress. If it does move, it needs to move ALOT! It has to be completely off the cervix and at least 3 centimeters away before they will even chance me laboring naturally. Its just too risky otherwise. 

So, if this placenta decides it likes it just fine where its at we are looking at a definite c-section, and the date would be at 36 weeks. 

The reason the doctor said they do it that early is so there is no chance of me going into labor on my own. If that were to happen I could bleed to death. SO NOT THE PLAN! :) Anyway, that would put Miss Alivia's arrival in early March. Not quite the plan. 

So, I get to have more meetings with people at school to see if there is any way to rush through my classes and try and get them done early. That way I won't even have to worry about school. But if I can't do that, I'm not quite sure what I am going to do.... just keep me in your thoughts. 

I am most worried about school I think. 

I have my next ultrasound on the 15th, and then another appointment on the 19th. 

They are going to keep an extra close eye on me, which I really appreciate. :)

Anyway. Thank you all for your kind thoughts and prayers.

Wordless Wednesday

She wasn't amused with being locked out of the kitchen. LOL!

Not Me! Monday!

 

I did not spend $60 of my 'bill money' on Christmas presents. (What's a few days late anyway?)

 

I did not spend another $50 on the credit card I was trying to pay off. 

I did not let McKayla have a TV in her room, since daddy had to have a new one! 

I did not bribe my girls with candy canes if they co operated with pictures in front of the tree.

I also did not make us even later for church than we already were because I HAD to have starbucks (THANKS ALOT KACI!!! LOL!) 

And lastly I did not hide in the bathroom when it all became too much for my already full of hormones brain to handle at church. 

I am so glad I got that off my shoulders. :) Thanks Dee! It really is therapeutic!

Thankfulness

There are so many things for me to be thankful for this year. 

I am thankful as always for my husband. He never ever keeps me from doing the things I think I need to do. He is a wonderful man who encourages me in every thing I do. He has been such an immense support to me going back to school. Without him, I wouldn't be where I am. I probably would have given up after learning I was pregnant again. 

I am also eternally thankful for my children. For the fact that they are healthy and thriving. I love hearing from other people how smart they are, or how beautiful. :) I am glad they are both perfectly healthy and mostly happy. :) 

I am also thankful for the child I am still carrying. She is already such a part of our lives. I love hearing M tell strangers that mommy has a baby in her belly and her name is Alivia. I can't wait to see her again, and see if I am going to get the natural delivery I am praying for. 

My mother is someone I am especially thankful for. It seems she is with my children more than I am these days. I don't think I could handle what she is doing. I appreciate her every day for sacrificing her time and her energy to make sure that someone who loves my children as much as I do. She is the Godly influence on their lives in a day to day world. 

Equally a wonderful influence on my children is my sister. She has grown so much in the last three years, and she is really someone I count on for a shoulder. I appreciate that she is willing to watch my kids, even though she may not be completely comfortable. 

There are too many things to name that I am thankful for. 

In this difficult economy it is easy to get caught up in the "we can't afford this" attitude, but there are SO MANY THINGS to be thankful for. 

I am so glad we have this day every year to really reflect on how good we have it. 

While things might be worse than we are used to, they are never as bad as they could be without the family and friends we have around us.

Thankful Thursday

This week I am endlessly thankful for the Twilight series. 

If you haven't heard of it, you must be living under a rock. 

Twilight is a series of books (4 actually) that are about a vampire family. I know I know, vampires. Not my usual kind of reading, but I wanted something that I would be able to talk to my sister about. She is REALLY into them. 

So, I started reading the first one, and got hooked less than halfway in. 

I finished all four in less then a week, only reading at night. Not an easy feat with work and school and the kids. But I did it. 

Anyway. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the books. I am going to read them all again soon, they just kept me so entertained. And there is a SUPER HOT vampire in them... like seriously hot. And for those who don't know, with this previa condition, I am on pelvic rest. Meaning this preggo woman kinda wants some! lol. 

In the meantime I get to be ENDLESSLY thankful for the VIVID dreams that pregnancy bring on (well halfway, I will tell you more about that later. lol) I get to dream about this man:

I just LOVE him. He is one of the stars of the new movie. It is based on the first book. I think they did a good job keeping in the writers style and such. 

Some parts of it were really corny, but that is pretty normal in first movies. I kind of compare it to Harry Potter, in that the first one may have been a corny movie, but it only got better from there! I can't wait until the next ones come out. Until then I will keep myself happy with Edwards beautiful face. :) 

Anyway, if you haven't read them, just try the first book. If you aren't hooked then you are free to put them down. But if you are anything like Leah, you will be hooked!! lol. 

Oh, I remember I promised to tell you more about the second half of my dreams. The first half is spent being with the beautiful man, and the second is terrifying nightmares about a c-section. In one of these such dreams I imagined that they cut me open and because of my hernia all my guts fell out, and then they had to try and put me back together, but it didn't work very well... needless to say I have a few repressed fears about a possible c-section. lol. Anyway. 

Thankful this week for Twilight. :) 

Tune in tomorrow for more things I am thankful for, I know today's post is really corny, being that its Thanksgiving day I should be more chatty about the things I am seriously thankful for, but in all honesty I have to work today and it doesn't really feel like Thanksgiving. 

So, again, tune in tomorrow, blame it on the whims of a pregnant woman, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Wordless Wednesday

Future Twilight fan??

Not Me! Monday

Ok, so I know its not technically Monday, but I just saw this on Dee's blog and HAD to join in. I thought it could be a humorous way to begin my week. So, my first ever

I did not let McKayla eat Smarties and Vanilla coke as a bedtime snack.

I did not feed both girls Warhead candy just to see the expressions they made.

I did not spend half hour of my homework time blogging and browsing the Internet.

I did not spend my last $5 on pumpkin pie and then have to BORROW some for gas.

I think that is making me feel better! lol. Why don't you join with me and Dee next Monday for another round of Not Me! Monday! Seriously, it will be on Monday next time. :)