Entering the final countdown

So it's been a crazy couple of weeks. With the holidays and all I'm beat. I spent more time in a car driving around to family functions than I care to admit. And, Merry Christmas to me, my ankles decided to leave the building on Christmas day. Fortunately, they stop by and visit every day... And to top it all off, I've had the worst head cold this past week (also came in time for Christmas). So I have this wonderful Catch 22: If I prop my feet up to get rid of the swelling, my head plugs up and I can't breathe. If I prop my head up so I can breathe, the swelling doesn't go down nearly as fast. Have I said how excited I am for this pregnancy to be over?!

On that note, I went in for a checkup today. I'm already dialated to 2cm (1 1/2 cm more than I was when I went in to be induced with Andrew at 38 1/2 weeks) and the baby's head is down. I'm also measuring on the big side so I go in for an ultrasound next week to see just how big this baby is. If the baby is as big as the doc thinks he is, the doc wants to induce me probably next weekend or early the next week. So it seems as though my misery will soon end. And there is still a chance that I won't go that long anyway.

I have to admit, I wasn't totally prepared for it to be this soon. I wished and hoped to hard that it would be an early delivery and now that the chances of that happening are probably in the 90% range, I'm not sure I'm ready. I still have baby clothes to wash and put away and bags to get packed and arrangements to make (in case Clayton's not home and I need a ride to the hospital).

I'll keep you updated on what's happening. Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well!

And HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of my friends and loved ones who take the time to read my rantings and ravings!

39 Days...

Last night Clayton and I went to do the OB Orientation/Tour of the hospital that I will be delivering at. There were probably 10 or more couples during our tour. I'm starting to think that I'm not en vogue with delivering vaginally. I know more than half of the women there had scheduled C-sections. I didn't realize how popular they have become. I am aware some of them may need to have C-sections, but I'm sure of part of them are just doing it to make things "easy". I overheard one woman say she didn't have to worry about all that labor stuff, just had to come it and be cut open. Now, I've never had a C-section, so I don't know for sure, but I'm having a hard time grasping that having major surgery is easier than labor. I know I had a pretty easy labor with Andrew, and like I said, I've never had a C-section so I can't compare. It's just hard for me to fathom.

The hospital is relatively new and really nice...much better than the last hospital I delivered at. I'm really looking forward to having a big room, plasma TV, the option to use the Japanese soaking tub, maybe taking a walk in the serenity garden, and most of all having the baby in the room with me all the time as long as he's healthy. Andrew was in and out of my room. And Clayton is loving the fact he'll have internet (even if it isn't wireless) and having a relatively comfy looking couch to sleep on if needed, rather than one of those horribly uncomfortable sleeper chairs from our last experience.

I'm excited, but a little nervous. I didn't "go into labor" on my own with Andrew. I went in to be induced because he was getting so big and my water broke at the hospital. So I have no idea if I go into labor how long to wait until I should head in and living a good 45 minutes away from the hospital makes me nervous, too. My mom labored for 36 hours with her first and had her second in less than two hours. Less than two hours could mean having the baby on the side of the road. YIKES! I may just go in and stay with family when it looks like the time is emminent since they live 15 minutes from the hospital, rather than chancing an unexpected arrival in an inopportune location.

39 days.... Seems like so long, at yet, I know it's only just a little more than a month...and I think it would be just fine if this one decided to come a little early, too.

WooHoo!

Clayton is done with school for this semester! He's got three and a half weeks off before he has to start back up. We are all so excited that he's going to be around a little more around the holidays. Especially Andrew. He misses his Daddy a lot. When Clayton's not home, Andrew sometimes sulks around saying how much he misses his Daddy. Clayton's doing really well, but with that comes time away from us for class and for homework. I'm very proud of him though. I can't believe how quickly the first two semesters have gone by. Hopefully the last one goes that fast, too.

On another woohoo note, my wrist is finally starting to feel better. It still hurts a little if I twist it wrong so I've been keeping it wrapped up so that it doesn't get worse, but I'm so happy it's getting better. It's been really annoying not being able to use it.

Woes...

This past week has been a little rough on our little family. I woke up last Monday with a slightly sore wrist, that I had attributed to sleeping in it funny. By Friday, I could barely move it so I went to the doctor, just to find out that I was doing all the right things and that he didn't think it was broken. It's finally starting to feel better, but imagine trying to deal with a 2 1/2 year-old when you are 7 1/2 months pregnant and can't use your dominant hand... *sigh* And to add to the fun, Andrew had a cold all last week and was extra grumpy. Clayton ended up home most of the week sick, too.

Even more fun than all of that... I'm starting to have contractions. My OB wasn't super concerned about it yet. They are pretty random and aren't painful yet, just uncomfortable. He did tell me that I was probably doing too much and I needed to take it easy. He also told Clayton to do the grocery shopping. :o) The bad thing is that "taking it easy" includes not doing dinner and not much of anything else. If I do much other than walk around the house, I have a contraction. So, I guess my body is deciding to put itself on a little bit of bed rest.

I told Clayton I feel like I'm falling apart... This pregnancy hasn't been much fun. Here's hoping that it gets better, at least so I can enjoy the holidays, and that the baby comes early!! :o)

Family Fun Van

Yesterday Clayton and I decided to do something a little different with Andrew. I'd heard of this program through a friend's blog and decided to check it out. I had no idea what to expect, but was really surprised when I got there. The program is called Family Fun Van. It's a free program for kids 0-5 years old put on through the Mesa United Way. It was an hour and a half long and they do it four days a week in different locations each day in Mesa. They had open play for the first half hour. Then they provided a snack and story time. They had rec time, which was basically singing and dancing time, and then arts and craft time. They even sent every single child home with a book to read.

The whole object of the program is to provide an opportunity for parent/child interaction and to prepare each child to be kindergarten ready. We are going to start taking Andrew every week if we can. If anyone is interested in going with us, let us know. It runs from 10a-11:30a. Tues it's at a park near Power and Broadway. Wed it's at an elementary school near Ellsworth and Baseline. We'll be going Wed. next week because I've got a doc's appt. that afternoon.

I wish I had gotten pictures, but with my pregnancy brain and all, I left the camera in the car. Next week maybe!

Oy Vey!

It's been kind of a rough week in the Myers' household. Andrew woke up Wednesday night crying. He came out and found me on the couch. I went to pick him up and there was something sticky all over his pants... I asked him what is was. "I threw up in my bed." So Clayton and I were up at 2am washing sheets and cleaning the carpet in Andrew's room. He seemed fine the next day then Friday, he was acting awfully mellow...only to throw up again. He slept or laid on the couch all day - which is so NOT like him. He seems to be fine now.

Now I'm the problem. I think I'm having morning sickness, part II. I've deserted poor Clayton, having to sleep on the couch. I'm lucky to get 6 hours of sleep at night and nothing seems to be helping. Here's hoping this is a temporary thing and that I don't have two more months of this to look forward to.

Confirmation....

I've had this nagging feeling the past several months about needing to get our food storage in order. We had a few extras, but not enough to live on for very long. So we've been couponing so we can maximize our dollar and buying in bulk when we can in order to build up our supplies. We still have a ways to go, but we have a rough plan on how to get there and what we need.

Well, tonight I got a bit of confirmation as to why. Not that anything major happened to us personally. We went in for tithing settlement with our Bishop. He very directly asked us how we felt about our food storage and ability to live by our own means and encouraged us, very seriously, to do all we can to get it in order as quickly as possible. He told a story from living in Mexico (where he's from) during a time of financial crisis similar to the one we are now experiencing. It's not that they didn't have money to buy food, the food just wasn't available. The suppliers began hording everything for themselves because they were unsure of what the future would bring. They couldn't buy things like flour or rice or any other commodity.

While we can each only do what we are able, I think it wise advice in times of uncertainty to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Now I will work even harder toward getting our food storage in order and getting money in the bank to tide us over if necessary. I would encourage each of you to do what you can do, even if it's only a little.

Quick Baby Update...

We went in for our 29 week check up today. I found out that my glucose test came out great. That was a great relief. My weight gain was minimal and my blood pressure was also great (112/68). I've always had pretty low blood pressure so it's usually not a concern anyway, but it's always nice to rest assured. The baby is growing well and his heartbeat was 148...perfect. So we are well on our way to having a healthy and hopefully happy baby and mommy in about 2 1/2 months.

I've been tagged: SIX

6 TV shows: CSI, Gilmore Girls, Diners Drive-in and Dives, Food Network Challenge, Suns basketball, D-backs baseball

6 Things that happened today: Laundry, Andrew spilled juice on the floor, the computer froze up, the baby kicked, chatted with Clayton, surfed the web

6 Things I am looking forward to: Our baby being born, Andrew being potty-trained, Clayton graduating, visiting my brother in Washington, Christmas, paying off our debts

6 Things on my wish list: Losing weight so I look okay in my dress for Amy's wedding (after the baby, of course), buying a house we love enough to stay in until it's paid off, a "honeymoon" get-away with Clayton and no kids, having a church calling that doesn't require me to do something or be somewhere every week, grass in my backyard, white Christmases

Losing Wisdom....

For the past few days I've been fighting my teeth hurting on one side. Super sensitive to hot, cold, sweets, etc. I figured it was a by-product of my pregnancy. Saturday night the pain was so bad I was up at 3am online looking for anything that I could do to relieve the pain that wouldn't be harmful to my pregnancy. I had already decided I was going to go to the dentist first thing today. Then yesterday, driving to my sister-in-law's for a family dinner, I was feeling around in my mouth. I noticed the one wisdom tooth that has grown in had a piece missing... Well, no wonder it hurt.

So I went to the dentist today. The tooth was nasty. It had grown in crooked and tipped so I always had a hard time cleaning it and it showed. Well, I won't have trouble anymore. 31 years old and I had my first wisdom tooth pulled today. I still have one more that hasn't grown in that I'm sure will need to be dealt with sometime after I have my baby. The other two were taken out as buds when I was 9 or so. I already feel better. My jaw hurts a little, but other than that, the tooth pain is gone.

So I may be a little less wise than I was this morning, but at least I'm not in pain any more!

Pregnancy Whine...

WARNING: Hormonal rantings! Read at your own risk!

So I'm six and a half months pregnant. I have just over three months to go. And I'm miserable! I feel like my stomach is ready to explode. If I eat more than a bowl of cereal or a piece of toast I feel like everything in my abdomen is being stretched to its limits. I'm starting to get morning sickness back again. Bleh! My back, hips, knees and shoulders hurt so bad at night that I can hardly sleep. I am back to sleeping on the couch about half the time because I either have horrible heartburn or I'm so sick to my stomach that I can't hardly stand it. I'm soooo not looking forward to Friday when I get to do my glucose tolerance test. I think I'll make Clayton take me out to breakfast afterward just for suffering through. ;o)

Okay, I think I'm done. All in all, things aren't so bad. The baby is moving around A LOT! Which doesn't help the discomfort, but at least lets me know that he's still okay.

Oh, I so have to tell you what Andrew did the other day. Clayton and I have been talking about names for the baby. I like Luke. My mom suggested Lucas. So Clayton and I were talking about how we both like Luke (don't go getting T-shirts printed...it's just another name to add to the list of possibilities), but we don't like Lucas. A couple of nights later Clayton had class so it was just Andrew and me at home. We were talking about the baby and all the things Big Brother is going to teach him. I decided to ask Andrew what we should name the baby. He got this mischievous smile and said, "We should name him Lucas...cuz you don't like that name" followed by the most evil little toddler laugh you can imagine. I couldn't believe he remembered it. Then to be such a little turkey and suggest something he knows we don't like. All I can do is shake my head. Looks like he's going to get his dad's sense of humor.

Results of my money saving efforts...

So I thought I'd share how much money I was able to save. It's not as good as serious couponers, but considering I only get one Sunday paper and don't keep every coupon in every paper...

I spent a total of $261.15 and saved $275.35. That's over 50%. Some of that savings was club/vip card savings; some of it was ad matching at Walmart; $52.33 of that was in coupon savings. I figured that's pretty good for a baginner.

So here's some of what I got:
35 lbs of flour 40 lbs of sugar
2 lbs of brown sugar 1 lb of powdered sugar
15 lbs of potatoes 3 jars of peanut butter
48 boxes of mac n cheese 48 cans of tomato sauce
12 cans of fruit 12 cans of chili
12 cans of spaghettios 6 cans of evaporated milk
12 4-packs of pudding 8 1/2 gallons of milk
2 cases of bottled water 4 cans of Pledge
4 cans of Scrubbing Bubbles 4 bottles of Lysol bathroom/kitchen cleaner
2 containters of Lysol wipes 2 bottles of Windex
6 Glade Scented Oil warmers 6 Glade Scented Oil refills

I also bought some other things we needed, but this was the bulk of my purchases. We're stocked on cleaning supplies for a LONG time. I'm sure it's more than a year supply of that. We also have a lot more food in our food storage. We still need to stock up more of toiletries and a few other essentials like that, but it's a start.

We are considering extra copies of the newspaper for more coupons and I've been spending time online printing coupons from the Internet and doing research into how to save money. I told Clayton I guessed if it was his job to make money, my job is to save as much of it as I can.

I'm completely addicted...

I've always been a reasonable frugal shopper. A year or so ago, I started clipping a few coupons here and there. Then I got the itch... The money-saving itch. It could have to do with the economy in it's current state of chaos or just my frugality. I'm not sure which. But thanks to a gal in my ward (Connie), I'm getting really addicted. A few websites that I frequent to find out the deals and how to save and which coupons to use are listed in my "Places We Go Often" list on the side of my blog. I figure if it's Clayton's job to make money, it's my job to save as much as I can. Clayton thinks it's great. And it gives me something constructive to do with my time. So I'll start letting everyone know how it goes. Tonight should be a good trip. I'm actually, for probably one of the first times in my life, excited to go grocery shopping. I HATE grocery shopping. If Clayton doesn't go with me, it more likely than not won't get done at all. If anyone has and great ideas...let me know! I'm always open to new ideas. And I'll share any tips and tricks I get!

Eight is Enough....

I'm taking this tag from Heidi. Thought it might be fun. I'm not tagging anyone though. If you want to do it, great. If not, great.

8 TV shows that I love to watch:

1. CSI
2. Gilmore Girls
3. Diners, Drive-ins and Dives
4. Food Network Challenge
5. Super Nanny
6. Nanny 911
7. D-Backs Baseball games
8. Suns Basketball games

8 Favorite Restaurants:

1. Texas Roadhouse
2. Carrabbas
3. Chili's
4. PF Changs
5. Dilly's Deli
6. Papa Kelsey's
7. Canton (It's a long drive to Idaho Falls for it, but it's worth it!)
8. Sonic

8 Things that Happened Yesterday:

1. Drove home from my mom's house
2. Spent time researching candidates for office so I can make a semi-informed decision.
3. Read a little from "The Divine Center" by Stephen Covey
4. Talked to my grandma on the phone
5. Cleaned up a doggy accident.
6. Chatted a little with Clayton while he was at school. (I know I shouldn't distract him, but I miss him on the days he has school and work.)
7. Took a nap.
8. I forgot something.

8 Things I'm Looking Forward to:

1. Not being pregnany anymore (Boy do you I hear you on this one, Heidi!)
2. Not being tired any more.
3. Being able to work out again.
4. Having Clayton out of school for the first week in November.
5. Clayton finishing his Masters and being home more.
6. Fall weather... I'm tired of roasting when I go outside.
7. My grandparents coming to Arizona for the winter.
8. Going to my brother's Navy retirement ceremony next May/June.

8 Things On My Wish List:

1. Having the rest of my pregnancy go well and delivering a healthy baby boy!
2. The housing market to recover so we can sell our house and move closer to civilization.
3. Andrew finally grasping the concept of potty training
4. Fitting into the same size clothes I wore before I got pregnant with Andrew
5. Learning to decorate cakes and make pasteries...maybe having my own little bakery someday.
6. Going to see General Conference live sometime
7. Having good enough retirement savings to be able to do some travelling...maybe going on a mission with Clayton.
8.

The Rat Pack

Clayton and I have season tickets to Broadway in Arizona at Gammage Theater. It's not super expensive since we get balcony tickets and it pretty well guarantees a date night at least every other month or so. Last night we went to see "The Rat Pack: Live at the Sands". It was a really good show for the most part. I love music from that era and so does Clayton. The first act was awesome. The second act left me with a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. It was basically "Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin" stumbling drunk all over the stage. As we were walking to the car, I told Clayton that I'm glad we just saw a Broadway show and not an actual concert. If I had paid top dollar (which I'm sure tickets to see The Rat Pack were back in the day), and the performers were out on the stage that drunk and out of it, I would have gotten up and demanded my money back. I can't imagine anyone being so unprofessional and disrespectful to the people who made them famous by acting that way. I'm sure it happens more often than I care to know.

On a little different note about the show, I realized just how much my husband misses playing the trombone. The band they had was awesome and in an unusual twist one of the trombonists had a solo. I looked over at Clayton and he looked like a kid on Christmas morning. His face just lit up! I got him to admit he misses playing and want to get a trombone again someday. He's even trying to teach Andrew to "play the trombone" by showing him how to blow into a toy hose and make noise. Andrew's got it down, Dad's in trouble, and Mom's nerves are shot!

Doctor's Appointment

I had another regularly scheduled doctor's appointment today. Everything looked good and it was short and sweet...although that meant almost two hours of driving for a 5 minutes appointment. Found out that I've done a pretty good job with my weight. I've only gained about 10 lbs. And it was this time last pregnancy that I started to retain water really bad, shot up 17lbs in a month and started to look like a walking water balloon. So far, no major weight gain and no swelling. I'm happily still wearing my wedding ring. WOOHOO. I'm not even going to try and say I'll get through the whole pregnancy with it on. I'd hate to disappoint myself like that. I'm just happy I can still wear it.

Andrew was surprisingly good. I try to schedule my appointments so that Clayton can go and help corral the kid. No such luck this time around. But I told Andrew if he was good he'd get a surprise afterward. I was actually stunned when he sat in the chair in the exam room pretty much the whole time and didn't get into too much. Doctors' offices are just so much fun to play around in. And whose crazy idea is it to not have a kids' play area in an OB/GYN office? There are so many of us that end up having to take our kids with us that it would only make sense to give them something to do than destroy everything. My doc just moved to a new office a year or so ago and it's pretty posh. The waiting room looks more like a spa than a doctor's office. Nothing like making mom's blood pressure go up having to keep kids from knocking over lamps or knocking pictures off the wall.

I'm not really looking forward to the next appointment...The dreaded blood glucose test. Seriously, how do they cram 50 grams of glucose (sugar) into a 10 oz. drink? My levels all came back fine last time so I'm not too worried this time around either.

I'm getting too old for this...

So I had the perfect weekend planned out. My in-laws wanted to take Andrew for the weekend. It worked out great. My best friend was having a Mary Kay party Friday night and I could go without having to wait for Clayton to get home from work. Then Saturday, I was going to get up early and go pick up more peaches and some pears to can about 7:00am. Go home; clean my house; maybe doing some canning or dehydrating; take a nap; watch Women's Conference....

I dropped off Andrew and headed to my friend's house. It was so wonderful. It's been a long, long time since I did anything with "the girls" and I was so in need of the recharge. So much so in fact that I didn't get home until almost 11pm. I had totally forgotten in all the excitement that I had to get up super early. By the time I got home and unwound, it was after midnight before I got to sleep. My alarm went off at an offensive 6:15am. 6 hours of sleep wasn't close to enough. I went to pick up my produce, only to wait for over half an hour because the truck was late getting there. I got the stuff home and I was POOPED! I couldn't even hardly muster enough energy to eat, let alone all the other stuff I was going to do. I struggled along until after lunch and passed out. I'm still tired, but feeling better. I'm still good to go on the Women's Conference, thank goodness.

This weekend just reminded me that I'm not 20 any more and my "old" pregnant body can't handle the late nights and early mornings of it's youth. So if I ever come to your house for a party and I'm not gone by 9:30pm, lovingly kick me out and make me go home. I'm just getting too old for this...

How "Canny"

So I took my first foray into the wonderful world of canning this week. I had the opportunity to buy tomatoes and Utah peaches for a pretty good price. I bought enough to make canning worth it and decided that I'd give it a shot. Now, I have to admit, I'm not a complete beginner. I spent a lot of time during my growing up years helping my grandma with her canning. But I had never attempted the process myself.

Saturday was tomatoes and the peaches that had bad spots that had to be used right away. To be honest, I didn't do it alone. I had my mom come and help me. And she had done canning when I was young. But being 5 months pregnant with a bit of a trouble-finder of a two year old, I couldn't very well attempt it alone. I couldn't even lift the pot of water to boil the jars in for goodness sake. So we spent all day making a huge mess and canned 28 quarts of tomatoes and made two batches of peach preserves. It was supposed to be jam, but it turned out to be somewhere between a jam and a syrup. But it still tasted good! By the end of the day, I was completely spent. My feet hurt; my back was killing me... And I still had at least one more day of canning to go to get the rest of the peaches canned.

Thankfully, the peaches were ready to go yesterday while Clayton was home to help me. Here it was... my very first attempt at canning by myself. No one with any experience to help me. Just my hubby who did what I told him to. With the exception of a momentary bought of dizziness and lightheadedness (I'm sure because it was so warm in the kitchen), we were able to work straight through and got all the peaches done before lunch time. And it was a complete success. 20 quarts and a pint later, my body was again hating me. But every single jar sealed. And for a first time and having done 48 quarts, 5 pints and 12 half-pints, that's pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.

And though my body still hates me today, I haven't felt this good in a long time. I actually accomplished something that I can see...I can show people...I can eat. I now have the canning bug and want to can all the time. It's such a great feeling to know that I am capable of a skill that will help me to build our food storage and provide healthy food for my family. Of course, I still have yet to attempt veggies that require actually pressure canning. That will be the next skill. Maybe I have a little Holly Homemaker in me after all!

Thoughts on Ike

There's been non-stop news the last few days about Hurrican Ike and all the devastation it could cause/did cause. Clayton and I were talking about the people who decided to stay behind even though they were told to evacuate. Then they needed to be rescued from their homes. First of all, I don't understand why people chose to live in a hurricane prone area and then dare complain about the destruction caused by them every year. If you can't deal with it, why don't you just move somewhere else? It's like people (though I'm one of them) who complain about the heat of the summer in Arizona. If you don't like it, move. I have adapted. I just avoid going outside as much as possible during the 100+ degree days.

Anyway, back to the hurricane. I'm sure the government has spent an outrageous amount of money rescuing these people who didn't abide by the instructions they were given. Why are we, the taxpayers, now responsible for bailing them out? In Arizona, there is a law in place that if you drive through one of the many washes that flood during storms and get stuck, you have to reimburse the govt. for the cost of the rescue. Basically, if you are dumb enough to go against the warnings, you should have to pay for it. I think they could solve this problem by simply instituting a "Stupid Person" law. If these people feel like they don't want to evacuate when they are told to, fine. But when they decide that they need to get out and can't of their own accord and need to be rescued, they should then be responsible for paying the cost of that rescue. I think something like this would really make people think long and hard about whether or not it is really worth it to try and stay when they have been told to leave.

Along these same lines, why are we, as taxpayers, bailing out people who used risky mortgages to buy houses they couldn't otherwise afford and have now found themselves in foreclosure trouble? I feel for them and their families, I do. I know people who have lost their houses. I just don't think that I should have my hard earned (okay Clayton's hard earned) money be used to bail them out. When we bought our house, we agreed that if we couldn't get a fixed-rate loan, we couldn't afford the house. And as responsible home-owners who pay our mortgages and other bills on time every month, what are we getting in return? Nothing, other than bailing out those whose choices landed them in a very rough spot.

I don't want to offend anyone, so if I have, I am so very sorry. Just remember most of this is the rantings of a pregnant, hormonal housewife with a lot of time on her hands to think about things that annoy her. :o)

The curse of Grandpa Myers...aka Testostrone Way

So I went to the doctor's office yesterday for my ultrasound. I was a little nervous. I'd been reading too many horror stories of babies with problems and was kind of freaked out that mine would fall into that category. I know...not smart. And who's brilliant idea was it to make a pregnant woman (whose bladder can't hold as much as it used) drink that much water? I thought I was going to pee my pants before it was all said and done. So we waited and waited while the tech did all the diagnostic images...only to find out the baby had it's legs so tight together we weren't sure we'd be able to find out what we were having.

Someone loved me enough to have the tech let me go pee and shake up the baby a bit. After some gentle prodding, the legs spread to reveal... a boy. Honestly, I was a little disappointed. I thought it would be a girl because my pregnancies have been so different. Goes to show that every pregnancy is different and is no indicator of gender. After some reminding from Clayton of all the good things:
Two boys to be friends with each other
Not having to start from scratch with baby stuff
Father and Sons outings (leaving mommy home in the quiet)

I am now excited about having another boy. Doesn't mean I may not try again for a girl. So without further ado, here is the newest member of our family... Baby Boy Myers~

I do have to admit, we think this is all Grandpa Myers' fault. See, Clayton's dad is the only boy of 8 kids. Grandpa Myers so wanted to have more boys in the family and was so excited when Clayton's family ended up with three boys and two girls. Grandpa died when Clayton was about 18, so we've decided he's up there "directing traffic" and pointing all the boys our way and sending the girls off to some other nice family. And so far he's done a good job. Of the boys in the family to have kids, this will make three kids and three boys. And one of the boys hasn't even started his family yet.

So, I get to look forward to at least a couple more years as the only queen of the castle and get to enjoy my fair share of testosterone.

Computers, dogs and school

So, our computer is really sick. We have a back up we are using, but I can't get to the USB port to download pictures to, so as soon as we get something working I PROMISE more pics! Until then, you'll have to live with boring text!

So we've been enjoying Clayton's two weeks off from school. We decided to get the family a pet... She's an Australian Shepherd/Lab mix that we rescued from the Animal Welfare League. She's a year old and luckily she's housebroken. She's good with Andrew and if we could break her of play biting and chewing all of Andrew's toys, we'd be happy campers. Andrew likes to play with her, probably too much. He's thoroughly pleased by chasing her with his vacuum or trike or truck or anything he can push that will make her run.

Clayton starts school again tonight so I get to look forward to more "single" parenting and lots of sad Andrew who misses his Daddy! I know it's going to be worth it, but boy is it going to be a struggle. It doesn't help that I have pregnancy hormones that are going crazy and make me cry at the drop of a spoon or a spill of juice.

So this week has been pretty chaotic in the Myers' household. The week started off with Clayton's finals (take home...not sure if that's a good thing or not). They were super time consuming and made for some long days for both of us.

Tuesday was pretty good. We went to the doctor and finally got to hear the baby's heartbeat. I seem to have babies that like to hide. Andrew did the same thing. Andrew thought hearingthe heartbeat was pretty cool. I'm almost positive he had NO idea what was really going on, but he still thought it was cool.

Wednesday...more final exams... I think Clayton thought they would never end (and to be honest, I didn't either).

Thursday was a really stressful day. Andrew's been fighting a tooth infection for a couple of weeks. The dentist scheduled him for Thursday to be sedated and have x-rays and whatever dental work needed to be done. When we went in originally, the dentist said he thought Andrew had a cavity and that it was possibly causing the infection. That pretty well wracked me with guilt. The x-rays showed no cavity and no real obvious reason for the infection. He felt it would be best to pull the tooth now because it would have to be pulled eventually and it was better to not put Andrew through any more pain and us any more money than necessary. So...at 2 years old, Andrew is down one tooth. Fortunately it is one of his molars so it's not real obvious. They put in a spacer to allow his permanant tooth a natural path to come in (in like 6 or so years). I still haven't been able to bring myself to look at the tooth. Have you ever dealt with a toddler that's just coming out of sedation? Complete Jekyll and Hyde. He'd be screaming mad one minute over something as simple as a closed door or juice in the wrong paper cup. The next minute he was happy as a clam. Until he couldn't get down because he was still a little hungover...then it was back to the complete emotional breakdown. I suggest avoiding this if at all possible, especially if you're pregnant. I was in tears as much as he was just because of all the stress of it and all the raging hormones!

But, now finals are over. Andrew is getting better and sick at the same time. His mouth is fine, but I think he's getting a cold or something. So, we are very much looking forward to the next two weeks with daddy home every night to help mommy and play with Andrew! Only nine more months and school will be DONE!

Memories....

Here's a fun one... (Thanks, Amy!)
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't have a blog, still leave a comment for me so I know you were here!

The storm before the calm

So we are looking at a hectic couple of weeks around here. Clayton's school work is really starting to pick up now that he's in the last two weeks of the summer term. He's got three big things this upcoming week and then it's finals week. We'll so be looking forward to the two weeks he has off after that before it starts all over again with his next set of classes.

The storm doesn't start there though. It started earlier this week. Some of you know and some of you don't know that when Andrew was a year old, he decided to try and knock a bunch of teeth out...twice. We ended up taking him to the dentist. We were lucky he kept all his teeth and as far as we can tell, there has been no long term damage or discoloration. Well, that kid is bound and determined to lose a tooth someway, somehow. He's been complaining of his mouth hurting for a week or so. He's kind of bad about picking at his gums when his nails get too long so I thought that was all that was wrong. When the pain didn't go away, Clayton fought Andrew and made him show daddy his mouth. Lo and behold, he had white spots on the gum below one of this molars. We immediately called the dentist who had us come in right away. We don't know what caused it and we aren't sure if it's just his gums or if it's affecting his tooth, too. Andrew was put on antibiotics and an appointment was made for two weeks out to have him sedated (that scares me) and, depending on the damage, possibly have either the tooth removed and a spacer put in or have part of his tooth removed and to have a crown put on. I was of course in tears. What did we do? Why is this happening? Why do I have to be so hormonal and emotional when I'm pregnant? We of course won't know until his appointment what's going on, but it's nerve wracking knowing something is wrong with your child and you can do absolutely nothing to help him other than give him his medicine and pray for the best. It could just be an infection of the gums and may not be affecting his tooth at all. That's what we're praying for.

So, we are getting ready to buckle down and push through the next couple of stress-filled weeks. If you don't hear anything from us for a while, don't despair. We're just chugging along trying to make the best of it. And we are hoping that this is the storm before the calm!

The Sound of Silence

This week has been a quiet one...literally. We went to a b-day party for our nephew, Stephen, at my in-laws house Tuesday night. When Clayton and I left, we left Andrew there. And it's a good thing, too. He was so hyped up on sugar from cake, ice cream and candy from a pinata that I don't think I'd have wanted to bring him home. :o) He's been with grandma and grandpa all week. It's been so nice. Don't get me wrong. I've missed him a lot. But it has been nice to sleep as long as I want and not have anything or anyone else to worry about other than me. I'd like to say I spent the time doing all of the stuff that I have needed to for a while, but that is so hard to get done with a two-year old around, but I didn't. I relaxed and well, that's it. I relaxed. I do have to admit that it's been a bit lonely. I don't remember the last time I had the house to myself for this long. Probably before Andrew was born.

He's coming home tonight and we are looking forward to showing him his big surprise... We moved his big-boy bed into his room while he was gone. I'm sure he'll love it. I made a cute Thomas the Train quilt (thank you for the help, Grandma!) and there's a matching pillow case. Andrew LOVES trains so he loves his blanket. I'll be sure to let you know how it all works out.

Next stop...potty training.

Kids say the darndest things....

So Clayton and I have both noticed a great increase in the number of surprising, and often times funny, things Andrew says. As his vocabulary grows exponentially, so do the jaw dropping or gut-busting things he says. I thought I'd share of few examples...

I'll start with a couple of real heart-warmers. I was sitting on the bed the other day. Andrew climbed up next to me, leaned against me and said, "Mama, you're my best friend." Today again, I was laying on the bed. He climbed up and laid down next to me and said, "Mama, you're my best friend, ever, in the whole world, in my life." Those kind of things make all the terrible two's disappear. A few days ago, Andrew said, "He's a superhero." I asked him who was a superhero. His response, "Dada is a superhero."

Yesterday, Clayton asked Andrew to go get his shoes so we could put them on to leave. Andrew got his shoes and brought them to his room. Clayton told him thank you and Andrew responded, "It was my pleasure." We just had to shake our heads and laugh.

I've decided that Andrew is psychic. I went to get him up from his nap the other day. I had been cutting celery in the kitchen when I heard him wake up. Before he ever left his room, he said, "Mama, you making celery?" Now how in the world did he know I was cutting up celery. The world may never know. Though he did say something last night that makes me hope he's not psychic. I was visiting with a friend. She asked if was having a girl baby or a boy baby. He said a girl. Then she asked how many babies were in my tummy. He looked at my tummy, pointed and started counting, "One...two...three." Even the doctor said he hoped not when I told him.

One of the biggest gut-busters came the other night. We were chilling out in the living room. Andrew said something to the effect of "Wabba Wabba dobie do." I asked Clayton what he'd said. Andrew looked and me and said, "I said Wabba Wabba dobie do," repeating the last part slower as if that would help me understand. Clayton and I were laughing so hard we were almost in tears.

I'm sure that I only have more of these moments to come as Andrew talks more and more. He's so smart. And I'm so blessed to have him in my life!

...How does your garden grow?

So our little family decided to delve into the wonderful world of vegetable gardening this year. Neither Clayton or I had ever planted a garden so we really had no idea what we were doing. I did a little research about how to prep the horrible concrete-like soil we had in our yard and we planted a pretty good variety to see what happened. We waited and waited...nothing. We had created rows and planted in the high soil. We decided to do the opposite and plant in the "valleys" and within a few days we had little green leaves poking up out of the ground. The cantaloupe was the first to come up. We left for a two week vacation to Idaho the beginning of May just as everything was starting to come up. When we came home, the garden had exploded.

Now, our venture hasn't been filled with 100% success. We learned after it was too late, that we had planted about two months later than we should have. Because of that and the scorching heat we have in AZ in the summertime, the green beans plants and the peas look a little brown and our tomatoes pretty much bit the dirt. It didn't help the tomatoes to find two of these....

Behold the great Tomato Hornworm. This has got to be one of the nastiest things I've ever seen. When Clayton found it, he had to save it for me to see since I wasn't home. I found Clayton and Andrew sitting in the garage watching this little "caterpillar". I was physically getting ill watching it crawl around the floor of the garage. GROSS! And as a funny side note, Andrew thought this was the coolest "caterpillar" he'd ever seen. We had to tell him that we had to find the "caterpiller" a new home and I had to take him in the house while Daddy sent this thing to the tomato garden in the sky.

We have had some success though. Our carrots are looking good so far - tall lush tops. The green onions and yellow onions are looking good. We've eaten our first beet and are just waiting for them to get a little bigger. Our corn seems to be doing well. We're starting to get TONS of cucumbers. And our cantaloupe...our lovely cantaloupe. Neither of us had ANY idea how much space the plants take up. They've overtaken a huge part of our garden, but we are getting a lot of fruit. So we feel like we haven't done a horrible job with our first attempt at a veggie garden. Next year will be even better since we have learned a lot about gardening...especially in Arizona!

What a Week

So the last week or so has been pretty crazy around here. Clayton's grandpa died last week somewhat unexpectedly and we didn't get the news at the most opportune time (during the intermission of "My Fair Lady"). Then last Friday night, our A/C went out. And the weather has been well over 100 degrees here lately. We ended up staying with my mom in Mesa until Tuesday when we could finally get the AC guy out to fix our unit. Fortunately, it's still under warranty and it was relatively inexpensive to fix. I'm just glad it was minor and didn't take long to fix.

Grandpa Wootton's funeral was Monday. It was a nice service. He had a closed casket and no visitation, per his request. His daughter, Arlis gave a nice life sketch and Grandpa Wootton's bishop's daughters sang a song, as well as his grandchildren. It was a pretty brief service. He's being buried in Utah with his parents. Any time someone passes, it really makes you appreciate your life and all that you have. A couple of funny memories I have of Grandpa Wootton: The first time Clayton took me over to meet him when we were dating, he told Clayton, "You didn't tell me she was this beautiful." I was embarrassed which I'm sure please Grandpa Wootton. I also remember "Grandpa Wootton kisses". First of all, my family isn't a real kissy family. So when some old man you don't know comes in for a kiss, it's a little unsettling. You were lucky if he shaved. If he hadn't, you were in for a pretty scratchy kiss...probably with some whisker burn to take home with you. :o) And I don't know if it was just for me or if he did it with everyone, but he always licked his lips before kissing me. And he came in hard and fast. If you weren't expecting it, he probably could have broken your nose. So his kisses were prickly, wet and usually got there before you expected it. He was a good man and I know that his family is going to miss him greatly.

In the baby department, I'm still feeling pretty yucky most of the time. But we are pretty excited...a week and a half and we'll have our first appointment. Hopefully we'll find out we are only having one. I'm just petrified that we are going to have twins. I'm not sure I can do two at a time. YIKES!

So for a quick update...

Let's see. There are so many things going on right now in the Myers Family. I'll try and get you up to speed on what's going on with us and then post our random happenings as they occur!

Clayton started grad school last week. He decided now was as good a time as any to go back to school to get his Masters Degree. And since work is paying for it... It's a one-year program through Arizona State in Information Management. He has class two nights a week and some Saturdays for the better part of the next year. It's been kind of hard to get into the swing of things because his work schedule has been all messed up. And this week was especially hard because he had class two nights in a row... And boy does Andrew miss his daddy! I just keep telling myself that it's only a year. Actually it's only about 11 months now. And for the most part he'll only have class on a night he works once every other week so that'll make it easier once we can get into a good rhythm.

For those of you who haven't heard, we're EXPECTING! It's been a long, stressful year, but we've finally been blessed with another. I'm due sometime around January 25, but I won't know for sure until I have my first pre-natal doctor's appointment in a few weeks. This one's hitting me a little harder than the first for a couple of reasons... (1)I'm tired - and I have a two-year old. The last time I had to deal with pregnancy tired, it was just me and Clayton so when I got tired, I took a nap. Not so with Andrew around. I do usually take a nap when he does. I don't know what I would do if he didn't still take a nap. (2)I'm nauseous - and I wasn't with Andrew. Didn't have a drop of morning sickness with him, but my stomach is nearly constantly in my throat, making sleeping and just being kind of uncomfortable. We are so looking forward to adding to our family though.

Andrew is doing fabulous. He's so stinking smart that he scares me sometimes. He's got a memory like a sponge. Clayton and I have to be super careful what we say, because a day or two down the line, he's repeating us. He's so tall, too. Most people think he's more like three than two. He loves the park and would spend every waking hour there if we would let him. It's been really hard with the temps up in the 100s because it's just too hot to take him out to play. So we usually make a trip to the McDonald's playland down the road. And he loves every minute of it!

Hello Everyone!

With so many things going on with the Myers' family right now, I thought this would be a great way to keep everyone up to date on all the happenings.