Good Monday

Well, our broken water pipe proved to be a bigger deal than we initially thought. My husband worked on it until dark on Sunday and then took Monday off to finish the job. The materials we thought we needed actually weren't going to be compatible with the particular piping used so he spent three hours being send all over town to different plumbing supply stores until he finally found a place that had all the necessary parts and a very helpful guy who walked him through the process step by step. It took another 3 hours once he got home to finish, but it appears to be fixed, we have water, and we are hopeful this will last. Part of the problem is a huge mesquite tree whose roots entangled and punctured the pipes causing the break. We would like to rip it out but our Gestapo home owner's association mandates that every front yard must contain one 5 gallon tree (ridiculous considering how close together our homes are). So, now we have to have a plumber come out to look at the tree, the roots and their proximity to the pipes and hopefully put in writing the fact that if we leave the tree the roots will cause further damage. It is then our hope that we could successfully contest the mandate. I'm not a lawyer, but it seems to go against common sense that an HOA could mandate the necessity of certain foliage when the presence of that landscaping would cause damage to the actual dwelling.

In other news, we were supposed to find out the sex of our baby tomorrow. My husband was going to take the day off and come with. Long story short, since he took off yesterday to deal with the water pipes I called the office to see if there was any way we could come in and have the ultrasound done then instead. They actually said yes, which I totally wasn't expecting so we hustled out.

The baby looks perfectly healthy and was very active during the ultrasound, although proved to be very modest, refusing to uncross the legs. I was starting to get a little anxious because I wanted to know the sex, not really for myself, but the kids were dying to know. Finally at the end we got enough of a glimpse to determine.................................IT'S A GIRL!

Our two year old son was thrilled. He has said since the moment we told the kids I was pregnant that he wanted a sister. However, today when we were at the store, my daughter was pointing out all these cute little girl clothes and I don't know if he started to feel left out because all of a sudden he started crying and said, "I don't want a sister anymore. I want a brother." Broke my heart.

Cursed

Yesterday, on the drive to church, I was telling my husband that I hadn't had any morning sickness for a week, nor had I suffered a migraine. Both had become daily occurrences over the past 4 months of this pregnancy. I made the comment that the worst seemed to be over and that hopefully I'd continue to feel better.

About halfway through the service I started feeling a little funny, but figured it was hunger since I hadn't eaten breakfast. Well, on the drive home I became very sick. My husband stopped to get me some McDonald's french fries....my go to food during pregnancy. I couldn't even keep those down.

Then an hour later I got a migraine that knocked me out the rest of the day and well into the evening. I was so miserable. Why did I have to curse myself by mentioning the absence of the two things that cause me to suffer the most during pregnancy?

The today, I have had a horrible headache all day long. No amount of Tylenol or coke (the cola, of course) has been able to alleviate the pounding.

I'm thinking that next time I go a week or so without a headache or morning sickness I should just keep it to myself and not tempt fate. It hasn't been kind to me.

Coming Soon: Version 3.0

I have been sitting on some news for the past few months and that is we are expecting baby number three in a handful of months. We are obviously very excited and so far our other two children have reacted wonderfully to the news. I have been incredibly ill this pregnancy, but the baby is healthy so that is really all that matters.

Yesterday I went in for a second ultrasound (the first ultrasound 4 weeks ago had a weird fuzzy line across the screen that prevented the doctor from getting a measurement of the head so he wanted to redo it just to make sure). The baby was crazy active: punching, kicking, flipping around all over the place. It was awesome. Everything looked perfect, which I thought was the case, but it is always nice to have that confirmed.

The bad news was that for the second month in a row my blood pressure has been high and yesterday's was really high. This is not normal for me at all. My blood pressure is usually in the ball park of 116/65 to 120/72. I have not had any history of high blood pressure in either of my other pregnancies. A month ago, since it was the first high reading they weren't really that concerned. This week they were. So, I have to go back on Monday and if it is still high they'll have to decide what to do with me (at home bed-rest vs. admitting me to the hospital, both of which will be a disaster).

So, I'm incredibly worried now, which obviously isn't good for my blood pressure. The doctor tells me to go home, rest, take it easy, etc. Uh hello....I have two young kids and my husband works 80 hours a week. Take it easy? Rest? Yeah, right! Nevertheless, I am trying to do just that, knowing that if I can't get my blood pressure down on my own the alternative is not going to be something I like.

On that note, any prayers, good vibes, etc. you can send my way would be appreciated.

Baby on Brain

A couple different sets of friends of our recently had babies. Like within the same week. Within this same time span we have had three separate announcements from others that they were with child. This is a lot of reproducing going on.

Suddenly, my four year old daughter is OBSESSED with me having another baby. We have gone, in the mere matter of days, from her telling me I should never, ever under any circumstance have another baby to her practically charting when I'll be ovulating for the next six months.

Every morning she wakes up and says, "Are you pregnant yet?" Or, "Is there a baby growing inside your tummy yet?" Every day. Multiple times a day. Did I mention everyday?

This morning, after sitting through breakfast while she quizzed me on whether or not I was pregnant yet, I said, "See this little pill that mommy takes? This makes sure that mommy doesn't have another baby right now." She responded by suggesting, "How about you just don't take those anymore. Then you can have a baby."

Don't get me wrong. I am not opposed to having another child and in all honesty if we do decide to have a third it probably won't be that far down the road. However, it's not happening right this second as my daughter would apparently like. Nor would I be advertising to my four year old we were even trying to get pregnant.

I think the factor that swayed her was when she looked at me earnestly one day about two weeks ago and asked, "If you have another baby, can I boss it around?" I said, "Well, I'm sure you'll boss a new baby around the same way you boss your brother around." She looked very contemplative for a few minutes and then decidedly said, "Well, then you can have another baby. I want you to."

So, there you have it. I guess that settles it.

To Indulge or Not to Indulge

I was one of those rare creatures that HATED chocolate. I didn't like the taste at all and I never understood the compulsion others had to satisfy their craving by consuming vast amounts. All of that changed in October of 2004. For it was in that month that I became pregnant. Within months I was craving chocolate cake with an intensity that I didn't know I possessed any more. I began my search for the perfect cake and eventually settled on a huge, deliciously rich and moist cake from Costco that I would send my husband out to buy on a weekly basis. It is amazing to think that during that pregnancy I only gained 18 pounds considering I probably ate that amount in cake each week. This strong urge to consume chocolate in all forms lasted the duration of the pregnancy, but for the most part disappeared once I gave birth. Every once in a while that craving would return, which I'd satisfy, and then it'd be months before I even thought of chocolate again.

Then August of 2006 hit and I was pregnant again. Almost immediately the craving for chocolate returned. Only this time, in addition to cake, I craved chocolate ice cream and candy bars too. It was nine glorious months of guilt-free indulgence. Then I gave birth and the cravings did not go away.

So here I am almost two years later and every once in a while get these intense cravings. I try to eat healthy and work out as I'm still trying to lose a little more weight. In my mind I figure by caving I am only undoing all the hard work I put in at the gym or off-setting all the healthy choices I had made with food. But man I am dying. Every once in a while I give in and I'm okay with that as long as it remains the exception and does not become the rule because but if I gave in each time I had a craving I'd be over 200 pounds.

So, how do you deal with cravings that become consuming at times?