Its Cold, INSIDE!

I know its seems preemptive to change my blog background to St Patrick's Day, but I am getting a headstart. The next holiday is St Patrick's Day after all! The last couple of weeks have flown by. It didnt seem like it while we were living it, but now it does. Hopefully the next couple months do as well. As a family we have not done much, there is not much I can do since I tire so easily now. We did share a cold, hence the title of the blog. It was evil, and is still wreaking havoc. Madison seems alright, but Kayla started showing symptoms on Saturday night. We had come back from Jared's graduation ceremonies and headed out to dinner to celebrate. Kayla started sneezing and did not stop. Then she had a fever hit and started crying to go home. Madison started begging to as well. We put them both down at 7 PM and they were out in minutes. Jared and I have been sick for over a week now. He has a cough from heck remaining, and I am still trying to breathe out of my nose. But, we are able to function.

So yes, Jared did graduate from college this past weekend. While officially he is not done until Sunday, he would have to make some serious effort to fail his current class. We are so proud of him and it was really fun to see him walk and get his 'degree'. There was easily 300 students there graduating, and only 3 of them were caucasian! It was hilarious! So in a few more days he will officially have his Bachelors degree in IT Network Management. He has been going to school for so long that I dont think he knows what to do with himself now. He has been talking about getting his Master's degree, but we are discussing the future options as we want what is best for the future instead of what is easiest. Other than that he is just trying to be as helpful as possible around the house and with the kids so that it takes the strain off of me.

I have been doing well on my diabetic diet. I met with my diabetic OB last week and was told that I was doing well enough I did not need insulin. I am so grateful for that because I do not know how I would have been able to give myself a shot! It's hard enough to have to prick my fingers 5 times a day. I am able to back off the testing and only test every three days now just to make sure that my situation is not getting worse as the pregnancy progresses. The baby still has lots of room in my uterus to grow so he is not concerned at all. I dont even have to see him again! I will find out tomorrow if everything is still progressing as normal in every other sense. The doc has not officially decided on my induction date because of the diabetes, but at this point I have 5 weeks and 6 days left to go. Not too long. 5 weeks and 1 day until my mom flies in! I am having to slow down even more. I was finally feeling well enough a few days ago to start nesting cleaning. I scrubbed the entire master bath, including base boards, walls, windows, and light fixtures. It only took me about an hour and a half of heavy motion. I spent the rest of the day with homework, grocery lists, making valentines for Kayla's class, and cookies for her class. The next day I could barely move. I was so tired that I thought I was having sugar problems. I was fine, just overdid it. I am having to learn my limits so that I do not bring this little one into the world too soon.

Kayla finally seems to be getting past her phase. She is being sweet more often and less and less grouchy. She still has her days that she flat out defies us, but it is not constant anymore. I am making a huge effort not to yell at all during the day. I am tired of yelling because it is not getting us anywhere and the kids are only responding with anger. I hate yelling. I am trying desperately to teach Kayla empathy and how her actions are affecting those around her. We are especially trying to focus on her actions and how they are teaching Maddie bad habits. I hope she continues to improve her attitude and realizes that her actions are not acceptable because the consequence of a time out does not phase her, nor does taking toys away.

Madison is getting better as well. She has been pretty miserable as she has been getting in her 2 year molars. They are taking their sweet time. She has one almost all the way through, one about 1/3rd through, and one just peeking out. When she is in pain she just cries and cries and has to be held constantly. That is nice occasionally but it is hard too as she is still rough when she is in my arms and ends up trying to use her brother as a pillow or a punching bag. She is learning to speak still, and while I can understand pretty much everything she says, it is not very clear. I am trying to remember if Kayla was better or the same at this point and I seem to think she could speak better. I am going to try to correct her speech over the next few weeks so that she can start speaking more clearly.

So that is about it. We are just trying to finish up things around the house for baby, and just learn to adjust to our constantly changing environments. This weekend we are going to try to get CJ's room finished completely as well as pick up all the little things we still need for him. My goals this week are to clean the couches and carpets in the living room as well as deep clean the guest bathroom. Next week I want to scrub the kitchen and my bedroom and get the bassinet and changing table set up and ready for the baby. I would like to be completely ready for him by the beginning of March in case there is an early delivery. The last rooms in the house to be cleaned will be the kids' bathroom upstairs and the playroom. We have got to get some sort of storage system going in there.

Us at the graduation ceremony

The monkey wall cling in CJ's room

I know they are useless, but they are so dang cute!

A whole lotta nothing going on!

I guess I can add an update in here. There has not been much of a change in our family. We have not even done much as a family other than cleaning everything from top to bottom to get ready for baby. We moved Madison into Kayla's room so that they can get used to sleeping in the same room before the baby gets here. One less change for them to deal with. We have scrubbed the new nursery clean, including carpets, windows, and walls. New curtains and decorations have been put up, the dresser has been moved in, and I am filling it with baby clothes! We decided to order a new crib as the one we have has been recalled due to being a dropside crib. While it is still fine, we also wanted to look to the future. Maddie and Kayla have destroyed the toddler bed so we will have to purchase a new one eventually. We decided to pick up a three stage crib. We dont really expect it to last until he can use a big bed, but if it does, bonus! As soon as that gets here we will get it set up.

Other than that, our weeks have literally been spent getting ready for the baby boy. There is not a lot to do, just making sure we have everything covered in case he makes an early debut. I think all we have left is to pick up a couple toiletries and a mobile. I cannot believe they are so expensive! Thinking of getting a light show or something else instead of a mobile because I cannot imagine paying that much money for something he may or may not like.

Jared has been working his booty off. Three jobs at work really take their toll. He has been exercising a lot though and he still somehow manages to come home to us around the same time each night. He gets to spend his weekends with us as well. We only get a few interruptions from work during family times, so I really cannot complain. He is also graduating from college with his Bachelor's degree this Saturday. Even though his class is not over until the end of the month, they are going to let him walk anyways. The next graduation ceremony is not for months and we honestly do not know where we will be living then. Best to get it done now and let him have his time in the spotlight! He has accomplished a lot. I believe that he has been going to school most of our married lives, almost 7 years! He plans on continuing to earn certificates and possibly his Master's degree over the next few years as we wait for our future path to unfold.

I have been dealing with this gestational diabetes thing. It consumes my every waking moment as I am struggling to find a way to keep my blood sugar level low without starving myself or my baby. I am not happy with the help I have gotten from my doctor, but there is not much I can do at this point as I am limited with my own income and the requirements of my insurance company. Regardless, I am doing the best I can. I spend most of my days frustrated and anxious. I count carbs, I watch the clock, I dream of eating sugar and bread. For those of you who know me best, you know that I am terrified of needles. Having to test my sugar 5 times per day is my worst nightmare come true. I keep praying that I dont need insulin injections, but I am afraid it will go that way as I cannot keep control of my sugar levels regardless of what I eat. Apparently drinking water gives me a sugar spike. I know this is kind of a 'boo me' post, but that is what is consuming me at the moment. Other than that, I am still attending school, and looking forward to my two week break when baby gets here. 7 weeks to go!

Kayla is going through...something. I am sure that it is a combination of limit pushing, hormones, school influences, and all the changes happening at home. I know she cannot stand how sedentary we have become so I try to keep her busy on the weekends and in the evenings by cleaning. I know I suck, but I cant pick stuff off the floor so easily! She has learned to clean bathrooms, do laundry, and vacuum. She is always willing to help me as long as it is not simple picking up. She will be 5 in 7 weeks as well. I am really bummed that I will not be throwing her a massive birthday party, but I hope she will forget about it and still have fun. I plan on taking her for a fun filled day so that it will still be a day she remembers, but I cant put together a big party when I am 9 months pregnant. I worry that I will have to call and cancel because I went into labor early. We will have to figure out what to do for future birthdays as she will be sharing it with her baby brother. We have bought her a kid's tablet for her birthday and are working on getting the accessories and a few games for it. She loves technology and cannot seem to get enough. We limit her on her time to an hour a day so that she does not get too absorbed.

Madison is teething. She is getting each tooth one at a freaking time so it is dragging itself out. She has one molar and number two is about to pop out. Poor kid. She keeps getting runny noses and coughs even though she is not really sick. She has not had a fever, has not slept poorly, has shown no other sign of sickness other than a cough and runny nose every time her little gums swell with a tooth. She has been getting so much better with her language. She is speaking in sentences and they are finally starting to make sense more often than not! Her hair is growing out and she is growing as well. I had to move her into 3T clothes because she was getting too chubby for her 2T stuff. Its a little long in the leg for her because she is short, but fits around her belly and arms so much better. She really is not that chubby anymore, but she still weighs more than the average 2 year old.

So that is it. Baby, baby, baby. That is pretty much our world for now and will be for the next several months I am sure. Looking forward to getting orders for our next year either in the military or back as civilians. Dealing with a million doctor appointments and trying to coordinate that between my schedules with the kids and Jared's work schedule. I hope everyone is doing well, especially with my family and friends who have babies on the way now too! My kids will have lots of friends to play with!