Total Randomness

This is what we've been up to the last couple of weeks:


 We celebrated my birthday with some friends. As we walked them to the door to say good-bye Megan seized the opportunity to grab the ice cream bucket and drink the rest of the melted ice cream. I tried to get a picture of her with the bucket to her face but the little stinker caught me!

 The girls made rice crispy turkeys.

Being on my diet I just had to have some chocolaty goodness.  So I made no bake cookies with blue agave instead of sugar.  Mark didn't like the taste but they sure tasted good to me!

Our neighbors got married in Santa Fe.  This is a famous chapel there.   There is a spiral staircase in the back and legend has it that Saint Joseph himself built it.  No nails were used and the carpenter left without pay.

Now let me tell you about Santa Fe.   People rave about how historical and fun it is there.  Uh-huh.  I didn't see the glamour.  I guess if you like art and stuff it'd be more fun.  The roads reminded me of San Francisco - small, one way streets, people walking all over, etc.  I would take San Fran any day over Santa Fe.  Do I like driving in San Fran?  No.  Did I like driving in Santa Fe?  No.  BUT San Fran is a super fun place to visit.  Santa Fe?  Yeah, I don't think we'll ever go back.

Unmet Expectations

I expect too much and should just be grateful.  I saw my perinatal today for another ultrasound on baby.  As a side note I just want to mention that I'm so glad I save receipts!  They had no record of my last payment of $350.  I brought my receipt with me to prove I had paid that!  The visits are cheaper now that we only have one ultrasound and one doctor to see.

Okay, so now back to my visit.  I had hoped by doing Dr. Brewer's diet that baby's abdomen would grow to 30%.  I have eaten so much food, fat, and dairy.  I was surprised to learn that I had only gained 6 pounds in the last month...how very consistent of me.  The good news is that her placenta looks good, her growth is consistent, and her heart and everything else looks great.  Her abdomen grew, but is still very small.  The doctor showed me the graph of her abdominal growth and at her first ultrasound to second it dropped dramatically.  So he's happy it hasn't dropped further.  I was bummed because I have eaten this diet, passed on white pasta, cakes, candy, etc. to see her grow.  I was so hoping she would.  I did read on the reviews that babies, whose mom did the diet, stayed consistent and didn't drop.  So perhaps the diet did help.  I wish I had a control subject.  So I'm lowering my expectations to "consistent growth" for next time.

Halloween

Halloween was a busy but fun day for us.  Here are the girls posing with their pumpkins.  When we came home from one party, before trick-or-treating, our pumpkins were there along with a full bowl of candy.  We always leave a bowl out while we're gone.  A half hour later our bowl was completely empty and Kendra's pumpkins were gone.  She was devastated.  We didn't see them smashed anywhere.  She cried and cried and after talking to her decided she would pray to find her pumpkin.  After the girls were in bed, like a half hour later, Megan's pumpkin was gone too!  The next morning Kendra was relieved to find one of her pumpkins smashed in the arroyo and the other smashed on the road.  We found Megan's too smashed on the sidewalk.   

Next year I'm going to booby trap our pumpkins.  Let's see how that teenage kid likes that!

Family photo:

Mark's watermelon.  It's amazing this plant survived after being eaten five times by a bunny! 

School carnival:

Lab Tests

When I received a call from my doctor's nurse about my failed lab results I was not surprised.  Story of my life with this pregnancy.  I failed the glucose test.  She stated that I needed to take the 3 hour glucose test - no eating after midnight and drinking oodles of sweet glucose and then waiting at the hospital for 3 hours until the lab drew my blood.  I chose to exercise my right of freedom of choice and said I would not be taking that test. 

Nurse: "He might want to send you to a perinatal doctor then."

Me: "I'm already seeing one so that's fine."  Send away!

Nurse: "Oh....Let me talk to him and see what he recommends."

Yes, you do that.  I mean what are they going to do - send me to a dietitian or nutritionist?  Go ahead - I've been on Dr. Brewer's Pregnancy Diet for the last 12 days.  No sugar, no white flour, no processed foods.  It consists of eating 4 servings of milk, 6-8 protein, 2 eggs, 5 whole grains, 2 green leafy veggies, 2 vitamin C, 1 vitamin A, 3 fats/oils, and salt, water, supplements.  So isn't that pretty close to a diabetic diet anyway?  Bring it.

I began the pregnancy diet because baby #3 is measuring small - well her abdomen at least.  It measured at 11%.  When her abdomen reaches 5% that is when the doctor takes action.  But I thought, why wait?  I love research so let's see if this diet is all it's cracked up to be.

I go in at the end of the week for a hemoglobin test instead of a 3 hour fast test.  Awesome.  Sometimes being stubborn pays off.  In a couple of weeks I'll find out if my diet is helping baby to grow.  BUT if she does happen to grow, and my hemoglobin test comes back positive for gestational diabetes, the doctors are going to think that she's growing due to the diabetes!  I just can't win!!

Which Of These Things Is Not Like The Others

Remember on Sesame Street, "one of these kids is doing his own thing.."  and you had to pick out the one that was different?  Well here are pictures of our five chickens.  They were sexed and suppose to be all hens.  Can you pick out the one that I think, and have thought all along, is a rooster?  Mark still has hope that it's a hen, but "he" does not look like the others!

First Two Weeks of October

We had a Halloween party for our ward last night.  I like to make costumes for the girls but had to make them 2 1/2 weeks early for the party! 

 They don't look like much, but it took me much longer to sew those than other projects in the past.

 See the hats?  I'm so proud of those.  I'm not that creative but check those out!

 Thank you creative person from makeitandloveit.blogspot.com.  She used this costume 2 years ago and I loved it so I recreated it for me and Mark.

 During conference Mark learned to boondoggle. 

 Mark's friend from his mission, and roommate after came to visit for a regional gymnastics competition for his son.  The girls loved having visitors.

As I struggled to finish the dresses all was quiet.  That's a bad sign.  What was Megan up to?  Putting my makeup on!

Gender Reveal Pics

We bought the girls pink and blue cotton candy at the fair.  The next day this idea came into my head:

Here's Kendra's reaction:

Teaser

Mark and I have known for the last two weeks what we are having.  We are slowly telling people, beginning with the girls, then grandparents, siblings, and eventually the cyber world.  Since this is our last one I wanted to do it in a fun way.  This is how we told the girls:

Inside the cupcakes is a colored cream filling that tells the gender!  I wish I could show Kendra's reaction, but it shows the color!

NM State Fair

Well giddyup it's state fair time again.  It's been a couple of years since we were able to go.  One of the kids is always sick!

As we waited in line to buy our admission tickets an older man came up and said, 'here you go sweetheart.'  He handed me an adult ticket to save us money.  How nice is that?  Kids 5 and under are free, so we had to pay for Kendra.  The person at the desk asked us how old she was and we told her six.  She then said, 'eh, she's five.'  And didn't charge us!  Wow, two breaks within a couple minutes. 

What did the girls want to see?

Chickens:

Then we saw a white tiger show:

And the kids had their faces painted:

And a pony ride:  (I know, we really splurged this time because we NEVER do this!)

Then we saw a bird show:

And that was our fun family outing!

Gems From Heaven

Yesterday was Kendra's first counseling appointment.  After filling out the paperwork I realized Kendra would be very mild compared to most kids that go there.  I wondered if she really needed some therapy but after her appointment her counselor told us that she is anxious.  She has a lot of fears about various things and we hope we can figure them out and help her.

The waiting room is super fun with a couch and magazines for adults and a play area for kids.  Megan had a great time while she waited for her sister.  One parent/guardian had gone back to talk to the counselor before the child did.  The kid took off, and when the parent/guardian came back out her eyes were red and tearful.  About a half hour later someone called the parent/guardian and I heard her say, "she stabbed me with a pen!"  I guess there was a fight and the kid stabbed her arm.  Then another little girl arrived early with her caretaker.  She chatted with the wounded parent/guardian about the little girl and why she was attending the counseling facility.  Something to do with her father.  It broke my heart to see this little girl shut down as she was talked about.  I mean, literally her head sank, her eyes faced the floor, it was just so sad.  I think another young girl about Kendra's age was there for behavioral issues.  After our appointment I began calling my girls "gems from heaven."  They have their issues and have put me on the brink of insanity, but my goodness, they are so sweet and fun and literally, "gems from heaven."

It's Done!

Mark's proud moment:

 The chicken coop is done!  And what a beauty it is!

 

 Inside you see Mark's engineering skills - nesting boxes, roosting bars, and a door that opens for easy cleaning.  On the outside of the nesting boxes another door opens for easy egg gathering.  There is a window on the side that can open for more ventilation during the summer or remain closed during cold winter months. 

 

 Kendra was scared of the chicks so she stayed behind me so they wouldn't fly on her.

 

 Mark was happy when a chick found the ramp.  Look how friendly that Barred Plymouth Rock is.  It's my favorite chicken.  She just stood there while Megan pet and squished her.

I love how comfortable Meg is with our family pets.

 

Life Is Like A Chair Of Bowlies

It's actually been an exhausting week.  It began last week when I went to see a counselor for Kendra for her anxiety.  I had to fill out a ton of paperwork (I was there for about 45 minutes) on our family history.  Then at my doctor appointment I learned my blood tested positive for downs, which really didn't bother me but my doctor was concerned.  So he sent my paperwork to a perinatal doctor for an ultrasound and amniocentesis if I so chose.  The next day they called me and asked if I could come in on Monday.  Why was everyone so anxious and concerned when I wasn't?  Once again I had to fill out a ton of paperwork about family history and genes.

This week Mark and I met with Kendra's counselor and went over everything I had already written and then some.  Then, the next day we met with a genetic counselor and again went over everything I had filled out in more depth.  After those two meetings I realized that Mark and I should never have had children!!!  Basically this is what happens - long ago something traumatic happens to someone in your family line, it then gets passed on to the next person in line, who has their own traumatic experiences to add to it and so on and so forth.  So by the time it gets to me I am a complete twisted mess and shouldn't pass any of it on!  I get it now!  Thankyou!  This pregnancy has been hard on me and I've told Mark that it is my last.  And now, after meeting with a psychologist and a genetic counselor, it sealed the deal for me. 

I've never seen a perinatologist but after talking with the genetic counselor we had an ultrasound that focused on the heart and blood flow, then the doctor came in and took his turn, then I had to meet with another doctor.  It took forever and I was happy, so happy to leave.  Even though baby looks fine it was just an emotionally exhausting day.  So now I am "high risk" and get to go back every month.  Boo. 

Truly the most concerning thing for me is my weight gain.  I gained 1 1/2 pounds in the last week!  How is this possible?  I don't mind gaining 30 even 40 pounds, but I'm well on my way to a 50-60 pound weight gain.  Yipers!