Turkeys...

I got a Turkey tonight and plan on cooking it up tomorrow. It's a young turkey, so a good size for only 3 of us (and leftovers). I'm also going to make some AuGratin Potatoes to go with it, as I have a bit of spiral-cut ham to use up. Looking forward to more tasty food. I really do love this time of year:)

So.....

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We're sufficiently full and happy. It was a great day for us and hope it was for you as well:)

Hives

Dorothy is still getting hives from the Amoxicillin she took, but they seem to be much better than yesterday. Even in the evening yesterday, they seemed to be getting bigger, but this morning they weren't as raised as they had been (although they were still covering her upper body and good portion of her legs). She woke up from nap today with one on her eyelid, but it has already gone down considerably. Hopefully the ear infection clears up on its own and she doesn't get sicker from starting and stopping an antibiotic so abruptly.

Other than that, I am just trying to get homework done intermittently since I didn't get any full days to work on it yet this week. Hopefully Friday I will have most of the day to study. My writing paper needs to get going... only two more weeks until it's due! I can't believe how fast the term went by this time. With being on bedrest, I fully expected it to drag on and on, but the opposite has been true.

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving tomorrow. Today I boiled some yams. Tomorrow I'll peel them and slice them and bake them up candied-style. Mmmmm I can taste the food already. Too bad my stomach hardly holds anything right now. I'll just have to take what I really like and not a bit of everything like I normally do:)

Kicking Myself!

David informed me this morning that I forgot to blog yesterday, so no prizes for me this time:( Not that my odds were that great in the first place, but still. I'm still going to try to blog for the rest of the month, though!

Yesterday Dorothy got sent home from daycare because her eye was oozing green stuff. It had been weepy all weekend, and she has had a pretty nasty cold for close to 2 weeks now. They were afraid it might be pink eye because of the discharge, so she had to go to the Dr. before she could come back to daycare. For some reason when I called the advice nurse yesterday, they didn't put my message in the right box, so even after 3 calls, by the end of the day we still hadn't heard anything back. By the time David got home, I was really frustrated. He ended up calling them again and figuring things out, so we rushed out of the house for a last-minute appointment. Turns out she has an ear infection and the goop coming out of her eye is just from being so congested! She started on Amoxicillin and woke up this morning with hives. Now, she has had this antibiotic before, but they said don't give her any more until we hear back from the Dr. So now I'm a little worried about her reacting even more... I gave her a second dose this morning, and she got a bit of a fever. It's hard to say whether it came from a reaction or her ear infection, but we're keeping an eye on her until we hear back about what to do.

In a nutshell, that's what distracted me from blogging yesterday.

Christmas already!

Today I went to Costco and ordered Christmas cards... I can't believe it's that time again already.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love pumpkin pie? Because I do. And it's everywhere right now.... bad month to be pregnant!!!

I don't think we'll be doing any Christmas shopping this year. I just don't have the energy for it. Maybe I'll make some chocolate-covered peanut butter balls, but that's about it.

Charlotte has been baking for 33 weeks now and I'm really getting impatient for her arrival. Of course I don't want her to come early, but I'm looking forward to full-term getting here soon.

Only a couple more weeks left in the term now. Give me "A" prayers!!

Lunch Out

Last night was nice and we both enjoyed the movie. Dorothy and David are still not feeling well, but were well enough for us to go out (and put Dorothy to bed at Grandma's before we left). I feel like I'm still trying to fight off this cold... sore/scratchy throat and headache, but no full-blown cold yet. Maybe I'll get lucky this time.

Today was a good day, too. I went out to lunch with some girlfriends and then my SIL and I got to go see a movie, too! I'm tired now and ready to veg on the couch....

Date Night

I'm looking forward to my first official date with David since bedrest began. We're going to go see the new James Bond movie:)

Wally World

Today was the first day in a while that I had Dorothy all to myself, as well as my first full day being off of bedrest. So naturally I called my sister (who also has a 2 year old) to see if she wanted to come to Wal Mart with me. Dorothy loves her cousin and she was really excited to go see him. We got a few things at Wal Mart, including stuff to make diaper detergent and a pair of Winnie-the-Pooh shoes for Dorothy. But going to the baby section with a sick toddler *might* not be the best idea and *could* cause a temper tantrum. We didn't stay in the baby section very long.

We had a good morning, but her cough has been really loose and almost wheezy today. She woke up from nap really congested so my mom had her breathe in steam from her coffee, which loosened her up a bit. I may keep her home from day care tomorrow if her cough is still bad, especially since she gags on the phlegm quite a bit now that the cough is more productive. If she threw up at day care, they'd just call me to come get her, anyway. So far all I've had is a scratchy throat, so I'm hoping to avoid being really sick. David is pretty congested and has a cough. Good thing he has a 3-day weekend to rest up now. We're going to try to go out to a movie tomorrow night, but that might have to wait since not all of us are feeling very well.

Yeehaw!

Well, I am officially off of bedrest today. Cerclage will remain in until 4 weeks from tomorrow, which happens to be Dec. 18th, which also happens to be our anniversary. I am dreading removal because it hurt so bad last time. Hopefully he'll numb it a bit first! I'm still on meds for the contractions and I'll be getting weekly progesterone shots for a few more weeks, but we're getting there! I can't believe there are only 4 weeks left until this stitch comes out. That means only 3 weeks left until the end of the term. Better get working on that writing paper, eh?

Today...

Not too much to report. Dorothy was still snotty this morning, but I took her to day care anyhow. She ran in the door and started playing with the kids without even saying goodbye to us, which is definite progress from the fits she has been throwing when we drop her off. I told them if she was acting like she didn't feel good they could call me to come get her, but she ended up being fine. So I spent the day working on History and a bit of writing. When David and I picked her up, there were fresh chocolate chip cookies that the kids hadn't eaten yet. Dorothy was crying because she wanted to stay and I told her that she could have one of her cookies if she stopped crying. She did, but only until she got strapped in the car seat. Then, mouth full of cookie, she threw an even bigger fit... about what I don't know. I think she wanted the other cookie, but her mouth was full of cookie still, so I said no. She screamed even harder, and proceeded to gag her little head off. When she finally stopped gagging, she was crying and saying in between sobs, "I okay!" That's her new thing when she's screaming and crying is to tell us that she's okay. I will never really know what's going on in that little head of hers, but it's a cute little head....

Poor thing!

Poor Dorothy has a pretty bad cold right now. I hate how "barky" sounding her coughs get. Her little nose is totally stuffed up, too. These horrible colds are sweeping through the area right now, so it was only a matter of time before they hit our house, especially with her being in day care. A month and a half in day care before she came down with an illness is pretty good if you ask me. Now if only Daddy and Mommy can stay healthy. Fat chance, I'm thinking!

Blech

One thing I will be glad to have back to normal is my stomach! I still have days where I feel like all my food is right at the top of my throat. My nausea ended around 18-20 weeks with Dorothy, but it has come and gone more this time around. I took my Zofran tonight and still feel blech.... I think I'll just go to bed and try to sleep it off.

Homework day

Today was another homework day... Philosophy mostly and a little History. My brain is officially on overload;)

Beautiful!

My friend Kristy came over on Saturday to do a maternity photo shoot. She has a preview of one of the pics up here if you want to go check it out. If you live anywhere in Portland area (or SW Washington area) you should totally have Kristy take pictures for you! You won't be sorry, she's very artistic:)

Stir Crazy

The weather here today is super crummy! We've got lots of wind and lots of rain and it's not so much fun to lay on the couch and look at. Especially when you're reading about the early period of the political party system and the ratification of the Constitution. I thought I had it down, but then it turns out that the Nationalists and the Federalists switched their names all up! The Nationalists became Federalists and the Federalists became Anti-Federalists. I had to get it all straight in my head again. I'm really not that in to politics, so it's hard to wrap my head around some (ok, a lot) of this stuff. Independent study stinks! I can't wait until April when I will be back in a real classroom.

It took all my willpower not to go to the grocery store on my own tonight. I really wanted to get out of the house and away from the noise of the Blazer game on TV. I keep telling myself that it won't be long now, but it feels like forever! Most likely, my next solo grocery shopping trip will be at the end of December after the cerclage comes out so I don't have to worry about lifting or not lifting a certain amount of weight...

*edit*
OK, so my willpower wasn't so strong. I did end up going to the store, BUT I had the courtesy clerk help me out:)

The countdown....

Notice the ticker over on the side there? It says 60 days to go. That's until I hit my due date, which I most likely won't. This baby is coming soon!!

But my real countdown is until I get off of bedrest, which is on Sunday when I turn 32 weeks. I could wait until my appointment on Wednesday, but he said as long as everything had stayed stable, I could get up at 32 weeks. I'll just keep taking it easy as I need to, but life will be more back to normal! Not too long now.

Heroes

It's Heroes night! This is the only show I watch on a regular basis right now. It's a great show... if you haven't watched it, you should:)

By the way, the soup last night turned out really good.

Smell That????

It's simmering Butternut Squash Soup...
My rules state that I can cook for 15 minutes, so my adventure today is this yummy soup. I can't wait until it's done:)

Butternut Squash Soup:
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
2 apples, peeled and cubed
2 T olive oil
2 T onion flakes
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp brown sugar

Simmer all ingredients until squash is tender. Add 1/4 cup cream cheese and blend with a hand blender. Eat it up!!

New haircut

A friend came by to cut my hair a couple of weeks ago...

Ah, Friday!

I almost forgot that I hadn't blogged today! Tonight I ended up going to a friend's house to take part in a girls' game night. It was nice to get out of the house and visit with people my own age. Or just people outside the family:) Bedrest can be isolating that way. I definitely enjoyed myself and ate some good snacks. Now it's time to hit the pillow since I can barely keep my eyes open........

Things I like about today....

The leaves are gorgeous.

Baby Charlotte is active and well.

Halloween chocolate was still on sale at Safeway last night:)

I enjoyed a cup of hot tea with chocolate chip cookies.

I took a nap on sheets fresh out of the dryer.

My meals that I froze are tasty. Tonight it was beef stew with biscuits. MMMM!!!

*notice that 3 of the things I listed have to do with food. I like food these days.

History....

is really hard to sit down and read 35 pages of. I'm trying, but blah. So boring! And no assignments or study guides to try to focus in on. I'll be glad when the term is over so I can meet this little one. Spring term will be way better, too! I will be taking all my classes on campus starting then (around April I believe). Nothing new to report. Just watching my fingernails get long. Bedrest is the only time my fingernails get long:)

More Good News!

My appointment went well this morning... cervix is still looking good. In fact, it's getting above 2.5 cm and is now at 2.7/2.8! He said if my cervix is still looking this good in 2 weeks (my last measurement) then I can be off bedrest at that point. Then I'll be like a normal pregnant woman, aside from the stitch still being there and having to take contraction meds. But still. Close to normal is an improvement.

And for your viewing pleasure (Dorothy is the munchkin on the far right):

Crochet....

I finished my first little pair of crocheted pants for Charlotte. I think I'll try to find a pattern for the next pair. They didn't quite turn out like I wanted, but they're cute enough, I think!

Front:



Back:

Teething

We are not so in love with the teething around here. Dorothy has always been a really good sleeper. That is, until she started cutting her 2-year molars. Now she wakes up one or two times a night and hates being put back down. Another lovely thing that came around the same time is her refusal to go to the nursery at church. She used to love it, now she throws a colossal fit. We end up having to hold her out in the hallway and hope she stays quiet enough to not distract everyone. She was never that bad with teething as a baby, but add in being two and she's a different child. She's already cut the top two and now we're working on the bottom two. My hope is that she'll go back to her regular routine once they're through...just in time to adjust to the new baby.

NABLOPOMO

It's NABLOPOMO time again. That's right. A post a day in November. And I should be able to pull it off as long as Charlotte doesn't decide to come early.

I'll be 30 weeks tomorrow. Most likely that means only 2 more weeks of bedrest. I'll still have to be careful not to do too much lifting, but at 32 weeks the survival rate is about the same as full-term. I keep telling myself that the next 8 weeks is going to go by quickly, but right now things are dragging by even with classes to keep me busy. At least it's November already!