Friday, June 29, 2007

Off Bed Rest, and other stuff

I can't imagine being on bed rest for weeks at a time. The five or six days that I was on it were the longest days for me, and I didn't even obey the doctor's orders to stay horizontal! There was the trip to the library, shopping at Target, and expedition to Babies R Us to get my nursery bedding. As my sister said, I think I would need to be tied to the bed in order to truly follow those orders.

My mom came in on Sunday to spend a few days with me. It was her first time driving to Texas alone, and she survived. We got so much done this week! We cleaned out closets, worked on my nursery, and finally conquered the 13 or 14 loads of laundry that have been happily multiplying in the dark linen closet. Now that all of the clothes are clean for the first time since February, our closets and drawers are over-stuffed. Mom also cooked for us, and took Zach out for an afternoon so I could nap in peace. I wish she would come more often. It motivated me to continue keeping up with the laundry, and try to finish getting the extra bedroom/nursery ready for the baby. I still have pictures to organize, and toys and clothes to take pictures of and get online to sell.

I went back to the doctor Tuesday, and she did a quick ultrasound in her office. It looks like the placenta is still low, so we are doing another level two ultrasound at the hospital on July 10th. It will be rechecked every couple of weeks until I deliver, and if it stays low, I will probably end up having a c-section at 36 or 37 weeks. The good news is that I don't have to go on bedrest unless there is bleeding. Even though I am allowed to move around now, I am really frustrated at the limitations placed on me by my body. I can't walk long distances, going up the stairs is torture, and I get tired so easily. I guess I should lie around and read all day...

I hired a housekeeper yesterday, YAY! I've wanted one for a while, and got a name from a friend. I talked to the lady yesterday morning, and she told me that someone would come by for an estimate yesterday afternoon, then come and clean this morning. I figured we had last night to get all of the garbage bags of clothes for Goodwill out of the hallway, and didn't worry about it. She then called back and said that they were coming to clean yesterday afternoon. So, I spent a frantic hour hauling heavy bags out to my car, and picking up the entire house. When the three ladies arrived, they went straight upstairs and started cleaning. It took them about two hours, but my house looks great and smells great. It's so nice to be going into the weekend with a clean house. I hope we can keep it up until they come back in two weeks!

Zach has been going to Baptist VBS this week. I've had three hours each morning to run around and get things done, but this is it for the summer for me. Darren wasn't thrilled about my choice of churches, since we are lapsed Catholics. I know a lot of people who go to this church, and if it wasn't Baptist, we might join. All week, I kept thinking how cool and unlike most Baptist churches it was. Well, last night we went for a "tailgate party", and the first thing the kids did was to sing the songs they've learned this week. The second song was one about recruiting, and I thought Darren was going to die! Then, they started naming the children who had made "decisions" about baptism and becoming Christian this week, and we were both praying that we wouldn't hear Zachary's name. That could have been a tough situation to get out of! After the singing, there was an outdoor carnival with hot dogs, rides and inflatables. Zach had a great time, and I ended up sitting in the car for the last 30 minutes. I just didn't have the energy to stand up anymore.

I booked Zach's 6th birthday party today for August. Since it is always so hot, we have to have an indoor party, and since his birthday is the week I go back to work, there is no way I want the party at my house. Every year we are challenged to find something fun and affordable, and this year we chose to have the party at an inflatable jumping place. I am so glad that is taken care of!

I found out today that I did not get the art position at Zach's school. Since I hadn't heard anything, I figured I hadn't gotten it, then I received a letter in the mail from the principal. I'm disappointed, but relieved to be settled for the fall. I guess I'll try again next year!

Saturday, June 23, 2007

I'm Bored!

Bed rest is getting to me. I feel like there is so much that I should be doing, but can't. We have no clean clothes or groceries, and Zach is spreading mess all over the house. What I want to do most right now is bake a cake, because I am craving that. I know that it would not be a good idea for me to stand up and do that right now, so I am being a good girl, and either reading or playing on the computer. It's hard, though.

Darren has been working really hard the last few days to get his work done and take care of the house. He's done a great job of taking care of me, but Zach is getting impatient with me. He can't understand that Mommy can't wait on him hand and foot like he is used to, and is getting cranky. He's watching way too much TV right now, but with no friends on our street to play with, I don't know what else he could be doing. Maybe it's time to learn to do some chores around the house. He spent most of the day yesterday with a friend from school, which was wonderful. Darren was able to work uninterrupted, and I finished two library books.

Today, Darren is trying to finish our never-ending backyard shed project. We bought this shed in March, and he started working on it in early May. It has rained every day that he has had the opportunity to work on it, and all that is left is to secure the roof to the sides, and put the doors on. Then, we can start hauling stuff out of the garage to put in it. That will be so nice! In the meantime, I think Zach is trying to cover as much square footage in the house as possible with toys and art supplies. I think he is going to succeed.

My mom is coming in tomorrow to stay until Thursday. It will be nice to have her here, to get the house into shape. She has offered to do laundry and cook, as well. I just hope Zach listens to her and isn't rude. He's gotten quite an attitude lately, and if he is corrected by someone other than Darren and me, he gets angry. What a fun age 5 is!

Thursday, June 21, 2007

On Bed Rest

This has been a strange week. Zach and I were scheduled to go to Cub Scout camp from 8:00-1:30 every day, and I planned to come home and nap every afternoon. It was hot out there, lots of bugs, and muddy. We made it through Monday okay, and he had a great time. We got to meet other Cub Scout parents from the area, and the boys did lots of activities toward their Tiger Cub badges. Zach and I both had the opportunity to shoot BB guns for the first time. I'd kind of like one to take care of the possums on our back fence who harass the dog!

Anyway, I was feeling pretty bad Tuesday evening, and on Wednesday, I started having contractions around noon. We had to stand up at the archery station for quite a while, and it was really hot. We left camp a little early, and I called my OB on the way home. I went in to see her, and she examined me, and did some sort of test that can predict whether or not I am in danger of going into imminent labor. Everything looked okay, but she ordered complete bed rest until I see her again next Tuesday.

That put a major cramp in my plans, because at this age, Tiger Cubs have to have an adult partner with them at all times. I spent the evening trying to figure out how to tell Zach that he wasn't going to get to go back to camp. I finally worked up the nerve, and the only thing he was concerned about was missing wrist rockets (slingshots) this morning. I called the camp and asked if Darren could go as a visitor for an hour, because all partners are supposed to be registered with the camp. They said it was fine, and Darren arranged to take Zach this morning and work from home for the day. So, they were able to go and do wrist rockets, and come home. Zach wasn't too upset about missing out on anything else, and I was relieved that he had that opportunity. I laid around all day, playing on the computer and reading. I created baby registries on Target and Babies R Us, and it was fun to shop without spending money. Darren is going to work from home again tomorrow, and my mom is coming in Sunday to stay until Thursday. I've arranged a playdate for Zach tomorrow with a friend from school, so it looks like we're going to be okay.

I've still been having contractions this evening, but not horrible ones. I think I just need to rest for a few days, and try not to do too much, and not stress over this.

Interview update: it was for the art position at Zach's school, a job that I want more than anything. She is interviewing three other people, and plans to make a decision by July 2nd. There may or may not be a second interview. I think it went well, but don't know either way for sure. I wish there was some way I could do something else to influence the principal's decision, but it is out of my hands. I guess if it's meant to be, it will happen.

Sunday, June 17, 2007

New England Vacation

Two weeks of my precious summer break have slipped by already. We spent the first week on vacation, which was much-needed, but not relaxing in the least. My mom, my sister, and I flew to Boston on June 2nd (the boys took a separate vacation out west in an RV--more later on that), where we had dinner with my sister's best friend, Beth, and her husband, Adam. They are the ones who got married in Newport last May. The next morning, we drove up to Jackson, New Hampshire to stay with Beth's parents, the Cantys. We've known their family since 1981, and they are like second parents to my sister and me. They do still live in Louisiana, but spend their summers in New Hampshire. I had never been there before, but the area was exactly as I pictured it would look. There were covered bridges, large country inns, wooden houses, and unique shops everywhere. We drove around a lot up there; it seems like most of New Hampshire is part of a national forest. It was very cool and foggy for most of our visit, but cleared up on our last day. We were able to see Mount Washington, which still had snow on the top, and where the "Old Man of the Mountain" used to be before he met his demise four years ago. We hiked to the Flume Gorge, which I don't recommend if you are pregnant and out of shape like I am, and did some shopping in Jackson and North Conway. We all bought lots of new clothes for my baby, since there is no sales tax there, and there were great sales at the Carter's outlet. We hoped to see some moose while we were there, but the only wildlife we were able to spot were a deer, rabbit, and beaver. We also saw some chipmunks on the Cantys' back deck, but they are unwanted pests there. We really enjoyed our time with them, especially all of the wonderful food that Mrs. Nancy fed us, but our time there was limited.

On Wednesday, we drove down to Newport, Rhode Island. I think it was supposed to be about five and a half hours, but the drive took us eight. We made a stop in North Conway for some more candy at Zeb's, drove through the lake district of New Hampshire, and stopped in Tilton at the outlets there. My sister and I were on the quest for a new Coach purse, and with no sales tax, we couldn't resist. Once we arrived in Newport, it took us about 45 minutes to find our hotel. Even the GPS, who we nicknamed Betty, couldn't help us. Once we did find it, it had a stunning view of the beach on one side, and the bay on the other. We drove around a bit that evening, and ate at the Brickyard, where some of us ate last summer. Thursday, we drove back over to the shopping area, walked around and shopped quite a bit, then boarded a trolley for a tour of the town. Our driver was a bit chauvinistic, and liked to tell Republican jokes. I thought my sister was going to lose it with him! We got off the trolley and toured Marble House, one of the mansions of the Vanderbilts. I wouldn't want to have to clean that house!Later that afternoon, we drove around and took pictures, then ate at a restaurant near our hotel.

Friday, we packed our things and headed for Boston. We checked into our hotel, then took a shuttle to the waterfront. Our shuttle driver arranged for us to take a duck tour with a questionable-looking shopkeeper. We were herded into a Town Car with a man from Finland and his two children. Four people do not fit into the back of one of those cars! As we were zooming toward Charlestown, we were all wondering if there really was a tour ahead of us. We were quickly dropped off by our driver, then waited for the duck tour to begin. Getting off the vehicle was one of the P.E. coaches from my school; what a small world it is! She was in Boston for someone's graduation from law school.

The duck tour was fun, but didn't go past a lot of the sights that we had hoped to see. It ended with a splash in the Charles River, where it went around the U.S.S. Constitution. Once we got off the tour, we wondered how we would get back to Boston. Luckily there was an inexpensive water taxi that took us back to the waterfront near the aquarium. My sister and I decided to take the subway, or T, back to our hotel. We had to convince Mom that we knew what we were doing, but she went along with it. When we got off, we had to walk over a mile through a questionable area to get to our hotel, but we made it back in one piece.

Beth picked us up around 7:45 for dinner. We planned to eat near the theater district, then meet Mr. Pete and Mrs. Nancy for dessert after their show. Dinner was at Maggiano's, which was wonderful, but the portions were enormous. I think Beth took home enough food to eat off of for a week. After dinner, we walked over to Finale, the dessert place, and Adam met us there. The Cantys joined us much later, and we had a wonderful time eating dessert and chatting. I sure wish I could have had some wine; I had to settle for hot chocolate. We got back to the hotel around midnight and passed out.

Saturday, we met the Cantys for breakfast, then headed to the airport. I was sad for our trip to be over, but anxious to get home and see Darren and Zach. I'll write about their trip later. I have Cub Scout camp really early in the morning, then a job interview tomorrow afternoon, so perhaps I ought to get to bed...