Quiet times

Have you ever had a time where all you wanted was just to be quiet? Quiet from the yelling chaos of toddlers, sometimes playing, sometimes fighting,... whichever! :) Quiet from the constant thought process in your head. Quiet from all the "distractions" of life. Just to be still in spirit and quiet. That is where I am these days. I know that comes with the end of pregnancy, and I am SOOOOO thankful this is a temporary feeling. I am feeling the need to push through and plan everything from meals to babysitters to date nights to trips to things still needed for baby... You know, just the everyday hum drum in my head! :) So because I want to make the most educated decision I can at the moment I need to, I submerge myself in all the details of whatever I am trying to "plan". Like freezer meals and infant car seats that I have to only take someones word for in quality. It's exhausting! Then we add the normal potty-training toddler life to that, and let me just say, my husband is a miracle worker for getting all the laundry washed and dried, because I have been so busy trying to keep up with messes lately, it's making me a bit batty. And the encouragement I received today from my dad, "So you are at the beginning stages of exhaustion?" LOL!! Thanks for that! LOL! Yes, I know it will get worse before it gets better, but I am just looking forward to getting all the jobs done, so I can focus on The Job of birth! :)  That, and finding an end to the constant messes. But, then again, I guess that starts all over with this little one in about a year, huh? LOL! Well, I can dream, let me live in my moment, will ya? :)  So, in light of today's busyness: four time clean up of crushed goldfish in furniture, seven sets of peed underwear, four toilet bowl baths, 2 juice spills, 3 hot dogs chewed and promptly spit out all over the floor, countless screaming toddler fits, a few goose-eggs on 2 small heads from a wooden train track, 7 minutes of pure bliss in closed eyes, and of course a bath without the bathtub in the bathroom... I am freshly reminded that His mercies are new every morning, and that I should just Be Still! and know that He is God! For these things, and so much more, I am eternally grateful!

Life is sometimes a bit crazy!

So! I feel like I have been meaning to get to posting something, and then... ___________ happens! Something always seems to happen!! LOL! It's been a whirlwind the last few weeks, and I am not quite sure it's over, just kinda catching my breath for a second. :)
We decided about 3 weeks ago to pull the kids out of preschool, and I am so glad we did!! We were noticing a lot of attitude issues with both the kids, but mainly Sissy. I think she was having a really hard time transitioning from school "rules" to home "rules". It ended up looking like tantrums and screaming fits out of nowhere. So, in addition to a few other things, we let this be "enough" reason,... as if I needed one to begin with. The kids have done FAN.TA.STIC! I mean it! I am freshly aware of how much I need God's grace every single day! But He has not let me forget this is not just about the kids, it's about me, too. I am learning so much about parenting lately, and I have to say, it's not from a book, or a sermon, or a paper, or a "technique". It's simply, and amazingly, the Holy Spirit's leading in our lives. My attitude has been challenged indirectly by my children. I think a lot can be said simply by taking a look at how parents respond and speak to their children and the children's response in turn, it's usually a mirror image. (Kinda scary!) That's how this has worked for us, at least. How can I ask my 2 or 3 year old to control their emotional outbursts, when I am regularly having my own "temper tantrum" throughout the day. Now, there are still moments of chaos and insanity. Do not be fooled, lol, my toddlers still have plenty of meltdowns, but they are becoming less and less.
We also have been potty training, and I have to say, it's going really well! I was terrified of starting, because that meant I had to be "on guard" at all times, and be at home for the duration of however long it took them to "get it". Being the only driver, it's impossible for me to be home all day every day, because Drummer Boy has to still go to work, errands still have to be run, and groceries do not deliver themselves, contrary to what the WWW will tell you, lol! With 2, I thought for sure it would be a very long time before we went a day without any accidents, and yet, it's been pretty quick, I think! God is good!! :) Even in the simple life of potty training! LOL! I find you learn how to simplify as much as you need to in order to get the job done, if you will. Let me just say, we've watched more TV than I care to think about! But it kept them in plain sight, together, and for one, was the very distraction needed to "catch" the act. Outside time will greatly increase soon!! Still a little gun shy of going all night without pull-ups, but I figure they are getting it while they are awake, that's a big step from 2 weeks ago!
In addition to all this, we have been talking about the whole birth and prenatal situation quite a bit. It's been interesting! I really thought we were both on the same page when it came to a doula, and come to find out, we soooo weren't!! I guess I didn't do a very good job of explaining what a doula was, and so Drummer Boy had the impression that she was who we called in an emergency. Well, let's just say, we are still working out the details to this, and we will be in childbirth classes to help him get more involved. Even more than Lamaze led him to be! LOL! I had my 28 week prenatal today, and talked to the nurse midwife on my rotation of practitioners to see about the glucose test. Well, let me start off with, I have done my research, and I stand firm in the fact that I still would make the same decision even if I thought I did have gestational diabetes. But, I really am not comfortable shocking my body with up to 100 G of sugar (that's approximately 3 1/2 snickers bars). I did the drink with my first pregnancy and my blood sugar levels were border line, so the Dr sent me back for the 4 hour test to do it over a longer period of time. GREAT! Turns out, there was not problem to begin with,... Thanks for that, Doc! With my second pregnancy I was able to eat a regulated meal and have my blood drawn exactly 1 hour after and my levels were completely normal. SO! I was on the hunt for the reasons to not ask for the meal option again, and the Dr's office doesn't do any alternatives to the drink. None. So, all the alternatives I offered, and I had several, they said they would not do. I asked why they would not let me do anything other than the drink, and she just said, "because we can't find any testing to see numbers that make us comfortable with it being accurate." [Paraphrased] So, instead we will shock your body into overdrive, to hell with the side effects on mom or baby, just to make sure your pancreas is, in fact, producing insulin! GOOD! I was just eating my 4th candy bar for breakfast yesterday when I thought, "Hmm, maybe I should have my blood sugar levels tested,..." I just couldn't get a straight answer as to why I should do it, if in real life every other day, you would advise me NOT to eat that much sugar. It just doesn't make sense to me. But, anyhow, I declined the test. Which is NOT what I was wanting to do, but I had no choice, unless I wanted to drink the drink. She promptly measured my uterus, and told me I was measuring at 30 weeks, which is big according to my dates. And then that I should have been given the test in my first trimester as well, because my BMI is too high. Do you know the things that were going through my head were not lovely. Something like: "I literally have gained 4 pounds since pregnancy in November, and you want to talk to me about how much I must be a diabetic?! My first child was 9lbs 11oz, my second 9lbs 1oz both at 41 weeks, with a good diet, and I gained MUCH more than 4 stinkin' pounds, LADY!!! Last time I was here they told me I couldn't gain any more weight, because I had reached my maximum for the pregnancy, and now I just don't get it. My midwife didn't even flinch when I hit the 25 lbs weight gain with my first 2, and it didn't stop there! REALLY!?" ..... Yes, something to that effect, lol! Not lovely, I know, just real.