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And I'm hoping to do a home tour next week sometimes. :-) If you're interested in learning more about the community, the website is here.

27 Weeks

Tomorrow, I hit 27 weeks into this pregnancy. Based on the likelihood that I'll be induced 2 weeks early, I only have 11 weeks left. It's so crazy to think that its coming so fast. I'm not ready, lol!

Really, I'm not. We haven't bought anything, and probably will not until October. We know this baby will cost us about $500 in supplies, and we have about $5000 of our stupid high deductible to pay. Those bills will start rolling in sometime in December. My hope is to make arrangements to pay with next year's tax return. So, financially, no worries.

Emotionally, I'm doing better. Liam and I have been having less stressful days. At least once a week, I say 'screw the housework!' and we just play all day. The dust bunnies and dishes don't mind. Liam can now get into the fridge. It was cute when he'd bring the gallon of milk for a refill. Not so cute now that I'm finding fruit, butter, syrup, etc all over the house. So, I'll be installing fridge and cupboard locks this weekend. He's also refusing to wear pants, so he's pretty just been in a diaper and t-shirt if we're going to just be hanging out at home. I'm usually in my pajamas most of the day, so whatever.

Physically, I feel good. The sciatica is gone, thankfully. I'm massively huge, but that comes along with being pregnant I suppose.

Husbandly... eh.. Same old. Minimal physical contact, not much communication. I guess on the positive side, we're not fighting. I hate feeling like I'm just raising my kids with my best friend... but I guess it's better than raising them with an enemy or something.

School starts Monday. Wish I had thought this one out. I'll have a month of classes after Haven is born. I'm going to email my instructors this week because they are able to issue me an 'incomplete' at the end of the term and give me something like 17 weeks to catch up the work. If I can do that with essays and stuff, that would be ideal.

I am now a Foodie Pen Pal! I'll explain all that in my next post. ;-)

Food Poisoning? Really?!

As effortlessly as I seem to handle pregnancy (*snortsnortsnort*), sometimes situations arise that even I can't handle. Today was one of them. I found myself projectile vomiting across my living room around 11 am.

Liam. Walked. Through. It.

I manage to clean it, and him, up.. just in time to vomit again - in the SAME SPOT!

I started having some cramping. My brain immediately went to "OH SHIT! KIDNEY STONES!". And then we calmed down and remembered that kidney stones HURT. So, I clean up, put Liam in the car and head to meet up with Seth for lunch and go to Target to get my FLYlady control journal supplies. Well, we made it the 1/4 mile tothe gas stattion, got gas and left. Then proceeded to pull over twice in as many miles for me to open the door, pray to God a car wouldn't take my head off, lean out the door and vomit.

Repeat in Target parking lot, so we skipped that. When we got to Seth's work, I called my OB. They recommended being seen if I threw up or had more pain. I hung up, and started cramping. So, off we went.

The visit went fast. I'm fine, baby is fine. The DR believes it to be food poisoning. Greeeattt. So, I'll be tossing my V8 and onion dip since they were the only things I had eaten.

Seriously, whats next?? So far it's been placenta previa (fixed), diabetes, sciatica, migraines, weird shoulder/neck pain, something wonky in my right foot, a bartholin cyst, and now this. How about I just fall and break my leg and call it good? Sigh...

Hurt Feelings

My mother in law texted me wishes for a happy birthday on my birthday. My own parents completely forgot... despite having seen them 2 days prior... Nothing from my siblings, friends... no one. It's occasions like that that cause me to feel so isolated and bitter. Maybe I'm bothered because I do make the calls and such on every one of their birthdays. I don't know... I really think I'll be stopping that from here on out. Why waste energy putting forth effort towards people who aren't inclined to reciprocate?

That's kind of what causes me to have no friends. At all. The only person I have to really talk to is my son. Im tired of people only calling when they need something. It's devastating knowing that I'm not worth the effort, or at least having it confirmed. I know I'm not worth shit to anyone except my child. Having that affirmed outside of my own head catches my breath sometimes. It hurts knowing that for the most part, I'm on my own. Someday my kids will find their own path outside of Mommy, and then I'll really be alone again. Seth and I can't seem to communicate outside of Liam's needs lately without ti turning into an argument of some sort. I wish we could just fix it.. I'm hormonal and insane, he's stubborn as hell.

I don't know. I'm just living a very lonely, heartbreaking existence right now.

Simplicity

I really do enjoy a life that is simple. And I feel that one of the most achievable and fulfilling steps to simplicity is within food.

The 'brunch' Liam and I had today was my personal definition of simple food. Sourdough Wasa Crispbread with hearty slices of fresh tomato, a smear of cream cheese, and salt and pepper.

I can remember my grandmother making fresh tomato sandwiches when I was growing up. Fluffy white bread, light coat of butter on both slices of bread, followed by an equally light coat of mayo, slices of tomato, and as much salt and pepper as we wanted to dump on. We'd sit at the table, tomato juice dripping to our elbows, just devouring these treats.

For some reason, that memory also brings one about my grandfather. I can remember many nights where the before bed snack for both Papa and I was steamy mugs of homemade cocoa, and dipping in slices of buttered toast. I know it sounds weird, bit it is So. Good. :-)

Dinner tonight follows the same goal. Patty melts. Burgers, caramelized onion, swiss cheese, and a tiny swipe of mayo- all grilled between slices of bread. Usually rye, but I got an Italian loaf of the reduced rack, so we're using that. For a side, it'll be whatever veggie we get at the farm stand on the way home.

Birthday..

Tomorrow is my 28th birthday, and Liam will be 19 month old as well. I got my present today from Seth. It's a beautiful bracelet inscribed with "A mother's love is the first gift we know, one we never outgrow." Simple, perfect.
Big plans for my birthday? Going to visit my mom for the day, then coming home for a Southwest Chicken Flatbread pizza thing for dinner, and sharing a 'made for 2' cake with the guys.

Everything here is going ok. We picked a name for the newest little guy. Haven Theodore. We love it, my mother hates it, lol. Oooof course she would. I have my next OB appointment on the 13th, and I'm going to ask him to call the local OB directly to try to get me back into that practice. I can't do the long drive to Syracuse. If Seth goes with me to these appointments, and he'll need to for most, he'll have no vacation time left to take when the baby is born! Unacceptable. If they won't, I'm not really sure what I'll do. :-/ Had I known what a mess this would be, I'd have told the original OB that I had no car or way to the far away offices.

Anyway, not much else to update. Things are good.

Melaleuca

Melaleuca oil is simply tea tree oil. And a fantastic company and supplier of products (350 of them) which were made 'green' before it was the cool thing to do. Not only are the products great, they are also, as I'm discovering, less expensive than the store prices for similar, but inferior, products.

My favorite product right now is Sol-U-Mel, which is a suspension of alcohol, tea tree oil of the highest quality and concentration, and green soap. Green soap is a vegetable oil based soap that is gentle, and perfect for people with skin conditions, while being effective. Sol-U-Mel is a cleaner, but it's so much more. So far, we've used it as a cleaner, air freshener, addition to bath water for diaper rash, and a added boost to sanitize laundry. It's concentrated, and one 8oz bottle will easily last us 2 or more months- for under $10.

We're also using Melaleuca Herbal Shampoo, tooth polish, and acne treatment. Next month, we'll be trying various vitamins, body products, cleaners, mouth wash, dish detergent, tea, make up, salon quality hair care and skin care and so on. The plan is to replace every product in our home that we can with a Melaleuca alternative.

So, how did we discover these products? My mom used to sell and use the line, so I was familiar with them. But, a new friend is a marketing executive and I approached her about becoming a customer. For a single $29 enrollment fee, I was in. At first, I found the minimum purchase a little steep. It's about $50-60/month. But, as we began our first order, we realized we'll actually be saving more than that every month by getting our products from here. Best part? NO shopping! I place an order, and it comes to the door.

The best part? My involvement is up to me. I can just happily buy products and save a ton of money. If I want, I can turn this into a job, a real path, promoting this company and these products. I'm not in a pyramid scheme. I'm not a typical salesperson. I USE these products. I love these products. And even if I never make a dime, I'll still buy these products, every single month.

So, if you'd like to try a product before committing, have questions, or would like to start your path to a healthier home and possibly a great career opportunity (I'm talking to youuuu stay at home mamas!), send me an email! I've got the hookup, lol.