Weekend Recap…

The weekend mostly consisted of my sitting down.  I haven’t been sleeping well which leads to headaches and quick fatigue during the day.  Of course, on Friday, I felt better than I have in a while.  So, since today is the beginning of week 13, I hopefully will be seeing more days like Friday and fewer like yesterday!

Saturday was a work day.  Eric did a lot of work outside.  I did a little work inside (not much) and a little outside (after it cooled off a bit in the evening).  We’ve pretty much finished our flower beds now, so it’s just up to me to keep them well watered until they get some roots.  And thankfully, it rained some this morning here, so I don’t think I’ll need to water them today!

Sunday we ended up at my parents’ house for Father’s Day.  The original plan was a quick trip to the farm, but Eric couldn’t get through to anyone on Saturday morning. Then we found out that his mom and brother would be leaving right after church/dinner to go to the Methodist East Ohio Annual Conference for the week.  So we decided that a 3-hour drive, to see them for 3 hours was not really worth it.  I think we’ll try again next weekend!

Eric was a little bummed, but he handled it well, I think.  We drove down to my parents after church for dinner and hung out for a couple of hours.  We came home about 5:00 because Eric wanted to leave, I was getting way too tired and had a headache forming, and I didn’t want to end up staying for supper.  So we got home and rested a while (I think I actually did doze off), and then I watched a movie while Eric worked outside a bit more.  Then off for an early bedtime.

Not sure what I’ll accomplish today.  It’s too bad that the rain can’t help me cross off more of the items on my to-do list!  I do need to go to the grocery store, but Eric’s new tracfone is also being delivered today and requires a signature.  So I’m debating about whether to wait until it comes before I go.  We shall see…

Happy Monday!

It’s Friday!

That’s about the most exciting thing I can think of right now.  It’s kind of sad, really, but true…

We had a b-day party for my niece yesterday evening.  She’s pretty darn cute, I must say.  She’ll turn 3 on Sunday.  And if you asked her last night how old she is, she’d say “2.”  She’d only say “3” if you asked how old she’ll be on Sunday.  She’s a smart one!  She LOVED opening her presents and having a Strawberry Shortcake cake.  So, so fun!

Today’s plan is not thrilling.  I may run to the post office and library.  I need to do some cleaning (still), but maybe I’ll actually get to it today.  Maybe…

The weekend is still pretty up in the air.  I’m not sure where we’ll end up for Father’s Day.  Eric really wants to go to the farm, but I’d rather wait until next weekend and really just be.  Having just gotten home from vacation last weekend, I’m not terribly thrilled with the idea of leaving for this weekend.  But if he really wants to, I probably can suck it up and enjoy myself.  We shall see…

Okay, that’s about all, I think.  Happy Friday!

Nothing too exciting to report today, really.  I had a headache and didn’t feel good most of yesterday.  So I did a lot of sitting.  I started to feel a bit better in the afternoon, so I did a few small chores around the house, too.  I’m 12.5 weeks pregnant…I hope these headaches go away very soon!

I did run up to the mall yesterday morning.  I was looking for some early maternity pants.  They make some with expandable waists (instead of panels) which would probably be a good idea before the end of the month.  Unfortunately, I didn’t really find any.  AND I began to realize that maternity clothes are going to be potentially problematic for me.  They always say to buy your normal size (“your shape has changed, not your size”), but I’m already having trouble finding maternity clothes in my normal size.  So I suspect I’ll be doing a lot of trying on and getting by for the next few months…this does not excite me right now.

Speaking of a new shape…I did take a couple of pictures for you ladies.  First of all, it was very hard to take these pictures of myself!  And, the bump might be enhanced by the shirt and the angle, but I promise I was not purposely sticking my belly out!

Anyway, last night we had grilled steak and baked potatoes for dinner.  They were yummy!  And then we watched a movie before going to bed.  Neither of us has been sleeping well this week, so we decided that relaxing on the couch sounded nice.

Today, I have a couple of errands to run this morning (before I wear out), and I’d like to do a couple of chores around the house in the afternoon.  Tonight is my niece’s b-day party.  She turns 3 on Sunday.  It’ll be fun to hang out with family!

Happy Thursday!!

Placenta Brain

This condition, according to my 10 or so friends who’ve had babies in the recent past, is caused entirely by pregnancy.  Its effects include forgetfulness, lack of focus, flightiness, and general inability to function normally.  It seems to hit hardest those who were the most logical, organized, and focused before they began to host a growing little human being. 

Sadly, I am one of those people.  For days, I haven’t been able to focus clearly on anything.  I can’t multi-task anymore (one of my great joys), and my organization is definitely lacking these days.  Yesterday, I had about three tasks going at once.  I’d start something, lose focus, start something else, and then suddenly remember the first (or second) project a half-hour or hour later.  Sheesh!

Forgetfulness seems to be the big characteristic of this pregnancy issue.  So far, I’ve misplaced only a couple of things.  The first was on Sunday.  As we got out of the car at the church, I dropped my sunglasses into their place and walked about 10 steps towards the door before panicking because I didn’t have my regular glasses.  I was almost back to the car, with Eric in tow to unlock it, when I realized.  My glasses were on top of my head, holding my hair back.  I then had to explain placenta brain to my confused husband.

Of course, they don’t mention this “issue” in any pregnancy book or website that I’ve seen or read.  I only know about it from other women who’ve experienced it, too.  But still it’s quite humbling to now be so completely inept, all because I have souped up hormones raging away inside me.

Oh well…I guess I’ll straggle along somehow.  Thankfully, I’m told, the brain returns shortly after birth.  I’m glad.  I miss having focused prayer and bible study, being able to tune in to Xanga, television, or certain conversations, and generally staying on top of my own life.  And it’s only for the next 6 months, right?!?

Happy Wednesday!

Stuck at Home…

So it would seem that, upon our return, our possessions have decided to act up…perhaps punishing us for leaving them for a week.  Eric’s radiator is not doing well.  The air conditioner took some major coaxing to get the motor that runs the fan to start.  And last night the garage door broke (again!).  This final one is the clincher because, though Eric can open it manually, I’m not sure that I can get it open by myself (and with a 25 lb. lifting restriction).  So it looks like I’m stuck here at home for the day…

Here’s a quick update on a number of topics that may be of interest…

• We got home on Saturday from S. Carolina to our great delight.  I home!  And we shaved about 45 minutes off the return trip.  Eric actually did the math in his head: if you drive faster, you get home faster. He’s the smart one!

• Sunday I didn’t feel so great.  I think it was just residual from the drive and all the crazy-ness of getting home and settling back in.  I finally started to feel better in the evening.  Oh…and my parents stopped by for a bit which was lovely!  I enjoyed chatting with them.

• Pregnancy update:  Not much new here.  I’m 12 weeks now, and many of my clothes are really starting to work hard to button around the middle.  I did get one more wear out of my cute white skirt on Sunday; I’m not sure it’ll make any more appearances this summer.   Other than the clothes issue, I’m doing pretty well.  If I drink enough, eat enough, rest enough, and take my iron pill, I feel pretty good.  It’s still crazy to think that there are two of them in there (especially after seeing Nixie’s pics from a few days ago!). 

• Good news on the insurance front. For about a month, we’ve been getting letters from the insurance company saying they were dropping our hospital, labs, and doctors.  The first letter came less than a week after I found out we have twins.  I was trying really hard not to worry and panic and just leave it to God.  Thankfully, it was resolved yesterday.  I don’t have to find a new doctor now!  Shwew!

• Yesterday was strawberry day.  Karen picked them, and then we made 4 batches of freezer jam.  There’s still a lot of jam to be made, however.  So maybe I’ll work on that some more today.  Karen may come back in the afternoon to help, too. 

I think that’s all I’ve got for now.  I’m sorry I still have no pictures.  Eric hasn’t taken most of them off the camera yet, so I’ve only got this one.  It’s the view from our balcony last week.  Enjoy!

Home again, Home again, Jiggety-Jig!

Okay, well, not until tomorrow morning, but we are definitely ready to be home.  I plan to spend much of today getting things ready here so we can leave early in the morning for our 12-hour return trip.  Of course, that’s a long drive, but we’ll be home at the end of it.  Yippee!

Highlights from the week (I’ll get pictures for you next week):

• One of the areas we toured in the aircraft carrier was the galley, where they had posted the recipe they used for chocolate chip cookies.   The recipe made 10,000 cookies (one day’s worth) and called for 112 lbs. of chocolate chips, 100 lbs. of sugar, and 1.5 lbs. of baking soda!
• Yesterday we did not do very much because we both got pretty sunburned on Wednesday.  Thankfully, we both recover from burns quickly, but I’ll be peeling fabulously in a couple of days!
• I’ve discovered that my favorite time of the day to be on the beach is sunset.  It’s cool (it’s been over 90 here every day and muggy), and the colors of the setting sun make the waves turn a warm, rosy color. 
• I have enjoyed watching the crabs on the beach.  They hide in their little holes and work all day digging it deeper.  They come to the top of the whole, pause, scurry out, fling a load of sand, scurry in, pause, then disappear into the sand.  And they do it over and over.  So fun to watch!

Happy Friday!

South Carolina by the numbers:

• 2 – tanks of gas needed to get here.
• 3 – the number of real estate sales centers that I have counted so far on the island…
• 80 (dollars) – the price of a bathing suit on Kiawah Island
• 15 (dollars) – the price I paid for a bathing suit at WalMart (near the island)
• 150 – the weekly price to rent beach chairs and an umbrella (set up/torn down for us daily)
• 1 – dolphin sightings so far (they were trailing a fishing boat that was really near the water)
• 4 – the ships we toured yesterday at Patriot’s Point.
• 300,000 – the cost of the cheapest residences we drove by the other day on the island (currently for sale)
• 10 mil. – the cost of the most expensive residence on the island (currently for sale).

I don’t think we’ll be buying a house at Kiawah any time soon!  Happy Wednesday!

No pictures yet…

Sorry for the lack of pictures to post, but at least we do have internet access at our condo.  So when I get some pictures of our vacation spot, I’ll be sure to post them!

It’s been a very relaxing break so far.  We’ve been sitting around, watching TV, hanging out on the beach and just vegging.  Lovely!  I think I am a lot more tired than I realized, but my body is definitely getting a break down here!

Today is a little overcast, but it’s been sunny for the last two days.  And it’s supposed to be nice all week.  It’s also supposed to be in the high 80s or low 90s here this week.  I’m ecstatic!

Anyway, I’ll check back in periodically and hopefully put up some pictures soon.  Happy Monday!