I Could Write A Novel...And It Would Be A Comedy

It seems like when I try and start blogging I just talk myself out of it almost immediately.

I didn't survive a horrific plane crash.

I'm not a career woman turned domestic wife and mother living out on a ranch in Oklahoma.

I'm not a foodie.

And I don't date my husband on a weekly basis.

There are tons of blogs out there...so what purpose would it serve to just throw out more white noise?

But then, ultimately, life takes an insane turn for my family and I think, "DANG IT! Could you imagine how juicy this story would be had I kept up a constant blog?!"

And then I'm back at it.

I think my biggest issue with blogging is the time.

Time that I don't have to think creatively.

Time that is required to author entries that are mentally stimulating, that read and translate well, and are entertaining.

Entertaining is key for me.

I'd rather re-read my own work that makes me laugh then re-read my own work that's heavy and serious and just...blah.

And it's my own work. 

Pretty sad. LOL

But now I have tons of time!

Well, not tons, but more than I did a few weeks ago.

The difference?

I am now confined to a hospital room.

For eternity.

Or the next 9-10 weeks, whichever comes first. 

(And I've been here for two weeks already. Yea, I look super hot right now.)

Oh yes, life has gotten very interesting, very quickly.

So, amidst the lab tests, NST's, meal times, supervised showers, site changes, sunshine therapy, and visits from the chaplain, caseworker, NICU, nurse practitioner, nurse office manager, my doctor and her associates plus the fellows and residents, and my friends and family (who bring me brownies, movies, nail supplies, farmer's market fruit, meals, reading material, and so on...)

you'll be hearing from me.

Quote for the Day:

"If I choose you over sleep

you must be very special."

Community

I am watching 'Community.' 

I've never seen the show before.

But today was a little long.

And we haven't had TV for a few years until we recently purchased an antenna. 

So I decided to kick back and not worry.

Because I had another abruption.

Tonight is the third night of kids, dinner, clean up, naps, and bedtime flying solo.

Unfortunately, tonight was the night I snapped...a bit. 

S has had a diaper rash for almost 5 months now that won't quit. 

In fact, it is SO BAD we go through 1-2 FULL TUBES of Desitin a week. 

Mr. Spin, in an effort to save money, bought cheaper diapers and wet wipes.

Today was the second week on the diapers and the third day on the wipes.

They are awful. 

The rash is worse, partially because of the rub of the diapers and the wipes don't wipe so they require extra wiping (ouch!).

After calling in a refill I sat waiting, patiently for the office to call.

Finally I called back at 5:58 PM desperate.

The office called back with a refill. 

HALLELUJAH!

So I threw the kids in the car and headed to Costco for better diapers and wipes.
I was DONE with the low quality stuff.

Of course, the car was on empty. 

So on the way home from Costco we made it to the gas station and by made it, I mean I passed up other stations that were deserted and scary looking praying we'd make it back to our local area, which we did.

Whew.

Then had to pick up the Rx at the pharmecy.

At this point, I'm thinking I need See's candy. 

Too bad it's 6:30, about the time I said I'd put the kids to bed.

We went to the mall anyway.

1, 1 lb box of soft centers and a free sample later...

We went to the play area for a few minutes which of course was cut short because D had to go potty.

So we left for the car.

And walking to the car...I felt the abruption.

And then again getting out of car.

When we got home I grabbed a few diapers and the Rx while D carried the maple syrup (organic and pure!) and the See's chocolates to the house as he was doing the happy pee dance.

So he had to hit the bathroom first, while I handled S and his diaper issue...

during which I was summoned to the bathroom for 'wwwiiippppeee!' time.

Heh heh...oh well.

During this I managed to NOT fall apart on the kids, whether via anger or desperation tears.
Finally, a victory!

Parks and Recs is on and I still have that 1 lb box of chocolate soft centers.

Mr. Spin should be home soon.

Not worrying.

:)

Twice Baked

Dude, last night I made THESE.

They were actually really, REALLY good.

It's always tricky finding things on Pinterest because I never know how the food is really going to turn out, even though another person (whom I've never met) has raved about the recipe.

I will say I did add some Hidden Valley Ranch dry seasoning to them, and that really enhanced the flavor.

They were really good, but...

today I woke up with a wretched stomach ache and slept through majority of the morning (only to then wake up at the last minute for school pick up and find S blew out in his crib and needed a bath. Yay.)

Oh bacon, dairy, processed food with additives and nutrient starved starches, why must you taste so good to my pregnant tummy?

So back to clean eating today.

Or at least until tonight. Mr. Spin doesn't have class (hallelujah!) so he's taking me out on a date. 

Say, what?!

:)

On a side note, I made a recipe Saturday night and prepared WAY too much quinoa for it so I was left with 5 CUPS of cooked quinoa. 

Yea.

So I headed to Pinterest and found this recipe (and a whole bunch more but this is the only one I've tried yet).

I altered it slightly, keeping in the egg yokes and adding an extra egg, twice as much garlic, spinach, and way less cheese. Again, super good AND the kids and hubs liked them. 

So, added bonus. 

Served them with strawberries, blueberries, and sliced bananas. 

Mr. Spin even commented how great his stomach felt after.

If I can wake up we will have them again tomorrow. 

I've got to use up all this quinoa!

Oh, and this Pinterest recipe?

No-stinkin'-bueno.

Just a heads up.

YEAST

I learned last night why it's important to 

ALWAYS 

ALWAYS 

ALWAYS 

give a yeast recipe time to rise.

I tired to make dinner rolls with only about 1/2 hour of time from start to finish.

The flavor wasn't bad, but holy density!

They ended up in the trash this morning (and holy cow were they loud when they hit the floor!). 

We did end up going to the library yesterday after we went and saw Mr. Spin for a few minutes at his baseball game. 

Once I finally got D out of the car the game trip went great, but the library didn't go so well.

S was all over everything and NOT cooperative so we left early.

I did not have my library card and at check-out looked like a crazy mom trying to keep track of both kids.Then I let them run around the fountains outside which was fine until S go brave and ran directly through the fountain when the water was off, or so he thought.

I didn't see his attempt, I only heard the baby screams and saw the soaking wet aftermath.

It was time to go.

This morning the hubs has been home ALL MORNING long! 

It's been so strange!

We washed walls, vacuumed, did laundry, dishes, moved furniture to clean and vacuum some more...plus we had breakfast AND lunch together. 

*Awesome*

Ok, strange, but still awesome.

Tonight is the big 'Legends' basketball game at Mr. Spin's college that he's been working on for the past few months. 

Lots of late nights...

I'm a little excited. 

Me and the kiddo's are going to go. It's going to be hazardous but I'm still really pumped to see it come out. 

I'm so excited in fact that I have J.Lo's single 'Waiting For Tonight' playing on repeat in my head. 

*Waiting for tonight, oh oh oh...!*

Tomorrow I think we'll go to the beach (after Mr. Spin get's home from work, of course).

So glad it's not going to be 82 degrees today after all!

Loaded PB and J's

I don't know if you've ever had a loaded pb and j before. 

It's pretty good.

My grandma, who is a bit of a food addict, was my caretaker when I was a kid. She did everything that needed to be done when it came to my brother and I, including cook and food prep. She'd make monstrous burgers, salmon patties, and occasional a pb and j. But her's weren't just a slap of peanut butter and a slap of jam...

Her's were LOADED.

By this, I mean she'd smear peanut butter on both slices of bread and then fill them with jam. 

Of course the jam would just ooze out anyway... 

She reasoned this by saying the peanut butter sealed in the jam and as a child it made sense to me.

It wasn't until adulthood that I realized this was not the norm. 

I got many strange looks when I would make my sandwiches at our local institute of religion.

I never really figured out why...

Only later in life did I realize she was a bit of a food addict and so this was a way to throw in more calories and sugar, but I digress...

Anyway, today I kept D home from school.

I needed a break from carpool and driving and cramming things around a pre-set schedule that simply doesn't jive with our day-to-day (nap time is torture now!).

So I've cleaned, they have played, D has painted, I've finished a grocery list in hopes of braving the stores with the kids alone on this 14 hour work day for Mr. Spin, and then D decided he wanted a pb and j.

So, I made them loaded. 

The end.

:)

PS: It was confirmed yesterday that it is a boy. 

The doctor is concerned. 

She's hopeful but...I'm a high risk momma {for miscarriage, pre-term labor, pre-term membrane abruption (which means basically means we're screwed if that one happens)}. 

I kind of didn't realize how big of a deal it was until I asked her what the prognosis is.

 Mr. Spin and I have decided to just move forward with life in general.

We're done with the bummer party.

So adios 'what ifs' and 'should haves' and 'why cants'.

And now it's nap time. 

'Be My Valentine'...REALLY?

I recently started blogging again because typing is just faster than writing in a journal. I thought, hey, just blog! That worked for like, a week, and then all the ugly stuff that no one really posts on a blog started happening. 

You know the type of things, 

like,

say,

fights on Valentine's Day...for example.

Welcome to my blog.

Ok, so it wasn't a bare knuckles brawl but it still was a bummer.

I started the week off Sunday morning making a special breakfast for the fam (french toast roll ups from pintersest- they turned out ok...ish.)

The nausea and fatigue make cooking difficult, and the less sleep I get the more nauseous I am. 

But I wanted to do a week of Valentine's this year again for the hubs, so I pushed through.

Then, Monday I took some IBC rootbeer and black cherry cases that I recovered and relabeled (with Valentine themed drink labels I bought from Party City) in with some pretzel party mix to the hubs at work. They are big beer drinkers and like to raze Mr. Spin so I thought it would be fun for the whole office.

Tuesday was orange roll breakfast.

Wednesday was heart attacking his car at work.

Thursday...well, I had the flu so the foot rub was a no go.

Then Friday.

THE day.

Nada.

In fact, I was on mental overload breakdown that day after being to the ER early in the week and then having contracted the flu (thank you, large enclosed building where sick people congregate).

He came home with some tulips...and an att-i-tude.

(Granted, he was sick with a cold but like, I had the flu. So I'm not letting it slide that much).

Um, excuse me?

It wasn't terrible but still disappointing and slightly depressing. 

We're supposed to go to Disneyland next month as a late Valentine's Day celebration.

Hopefully that will blot out some of the 'lover's day' let down.

Glad we have a pretty solid relationship!

In other news...

D and I planted some wild flower seeds today. He's off for the holiday. 

I'm pretty sure baby S is sick- he's really needy today (and yesterday). He even fell over asleep in the high chair. 

Not normal. 

I guess he still is fighting off what I brought home from the hospital. 

Hope he recovers soon.

And 'Legends Night' is this Friday! 

WOOT WOOT!

I hope it goes fantastic and the school realizes they need to increase someone's salary *ahem*. 

Hopefully this week is without a hospital trip. 

PS: I made a crock pot potato soup recipe I saw off of pinterest last week. 

BLEGH! 

Note to self: if it is made from lots of processed food, it's probably still going to taste gross.

A Boat Load of Cheese.

Hmmm....where to begin....?

Guess I'll start with the 'I didn't miscarry but was back in the ER again yesterday' statement. 

Apparently women can bleed a lot during pregnancy and while not ideal it's common enough to not be too concerned about. I didn't find this out until a week after my "miscarriage" and I was still vomiting every darn stinking morning waiting for the hormones to calm down. The doctor pulled me in for an ultrasound and there's the little stinker, waving at the screen. 

"THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE."

First words, no lie. 

lol

Anyway, we figured things would slow down...and then Monday night came and I starting cramping a LOT. 

And then bleeding.

Bah.

I called the on call physician, explained the history, and was advised to not wait 6 hours in the ER for a sound peace of mind and to just call the office in the morning. 

Agreed.

Mind you I was home alone. 

Granny was back in the hospital, family unreachable and Mr. Spin was in class finishing out his 12 hour day.

So the next morning I called the office.

"No doctors are in. Go to labor and delivery for follow up" they said.

"Can't I wait 15 minutes for a doctor to get into the office to speak with?"

"No." They said. "We don't take walk-in's," they said. "We refer to labor and delivery," they said.

K, fine.

Went to labor and delivery.

They sent me to the ER. 

Curses!

5 hours later...

The amniotic membrane has not fused thus making me more partial to a miscarriage. 

Nothing can be done.

(PS: Ultrasound tech said it's looking like a boy.)

Called the office to follow up...

"You went to the ER or L&D?"

"You sent me to L&D and they immediately moved me to the ER."

"Oh..."

Bah.

Mr. Spin is my hero. 

Yesterday was the cruddiest work day of his life which happened after shuffling the kids between care-takers as I was moving slowly through the ER. 

That work comment is not a spin. 

I don't think he's ever felt so dejected and undervalued. 

It was an eye opening situation and I'm hoping some good and some change come from it.

If not, we'll move on anyway.

We always do.

Funny thought:

A few weeks ago I took my oldest (D) around with me while trying to find the different over the counter meds to battle my morning sickness. (It's very difficult to find B12 in anything less than 100 mg, holy cow!). As we were driving around I was hit with intensely painful gas pains- like the kind where you can't breathe your chest hurts so badly. 

We parked and got out of the car and I had to just stop there in the parking lot- I was trying so hard to burp or do something to alleviate the pain. That's when my four year old put his arms around me to hug me. As I was beginning to belch he looked up at me and said, "Mommy, don't throw up on me, okay?"

Best quote of his life right there.

Another awesome moment:

Last night I was bathing the kiddo's together and the oldest can be a bit of a stinker sometimes. He means well but dang, give the little baby some space, please! Anyway, D is sitting in the tub by the spout and the youngest  is standing up, playing with some toys behind him. 

All of the sudden the baby starts going number #1 on my oldest (just for a moment). Although D didn't notice, and I didn't say anything, I was secretly committing the moment to memory for when they are older. If the baby ever gets sad or feels too picked on by his older brother I can simply remind them of this moment. 

And it will be awesome. 

:)