The Way It Is...

So I am still on bed rest.

Now, I think that there is often the idea that bed rest means that you are taking a nap in bed...or sitting on the couch watching TV...or knitting baby booties...and eating bon bons...

But that is not MY bed rest.

Oh, no.  MY bed rest is one where I have to be in bed.  All day.  Every day.  For weeks on end.  We don't know yet when (or even if) I will get off bed rest before the baby comes, who is due towards the end of November.

PLUS...not only do I have to stay in bed, I can't even sit up.  I get up to go to the bathroom, and I sit to eat, but other than that, I am completely on my back.  Well, side, to be exact.  So, I am limited to doing only what I can do while lying in bed.

That is difficult when you have 4 kids...heck, that's difficult when you have ONE kid!

Anyway, that's why I haven't been posting on here.  It is hard to use the computer when you are on your back.  Someone did lend me a nook, which is awesome, but extended typing on that is not really that easy.

So, seeing as I can't really be sitting so I can't be on the couch for long periods of time, and I can't go upstairs, so I can't get in my bed, we have had to turn one of the downstairs rooms into a makeshift bedroom.

I am sleeping on an air mattress that someone very kindly lent us, which is much more comfortable than the couch, and they also lent us a 'visitor's chair' so there's somewhere for someone else to sit, too.  Other than that, it's pretty much just boxes and piles of the stuff that we had to move out of the way to fit the bed.  Actually, the room looks much better than it used to since Jimmy worked in it today to get some of the other stuff out of it.  I'd hate to see the shed.  But then again, since I haven't seen anything except the bathroom and this room for a week, it's not likely I'll see it for quite some time.  All I know is that when it's time to find something in there, like winter clothes for the kids, it's going to be quite a chore!

And all those pink things on the floor?  Those are handkerchiefs I cut out of an old ripped sheet.  (Try THAT while lying on your back!)  But, since I can't get up to put them away, Jesse threw them all on the floor, and that's where they still are.  

That being said, I am still looking for a nanny to come in and help us everyday, so if you know anyone who would be qualified, let me know!

Gymnastics!

 I got these awesome huge blocks from Target a few years ago at their after Christmas clearance sale.  They are so fun!  There are 2 inclined planes, one cylinder and one cube.  The kids love them!

Gabriel and Jo are a bit rough on them sometimes, but since they're new to Baby B, he's still getting his footing on them.  He's catching on quickly!

It's fun to put the inclined planes against each other and watch the little ones go up one side and down the other.

Playground!

For some reason (I think it had something to do with Gabriel and the camera spending time together) the camera was taking really weird pictures today, but they were so fun, I can't just not share them!

We were on our way to the playground and we ran into our neighbor Peter and asked him to join us (much to his chagrin, I'm sure.  He was walking home with one of his buddies and there was a pack of girls following behind them...)

But he agreed to join us anyway, and what fun!

...and then there was sand where sand was never meant to be...

Peter, the horse.

Static is a wonderful thing...especially when your hair is long and wispy!

Oh, yeah...looking for trouble...

Totally tubular, Dude!

I Believe

I believe in little kids

Kinda squirrelly

But they're fun to be around

I believe in bare feet,

Gettin' dirty,

Climbing up and falling down

I believe in quiet time

After lunchin'

Take a load off, lay it down

I believe in snackin'

Munchin' crunchin'

Say a prayer and gather 'round

I believe in playing

Roll the dice!

See who wins!

I believe in stories

Imagination!

Tell a tale and travel far!

And I believe in Jesus

 He loves the littles 

Loves them just the way they are!

When Gabriel Gets the Camera....

Although he's not supposed to be using the camera, I knew that Gabriel had been up to something and then I found these on Elizabeth's memory card...

Jesse just laughed at the situation....

...while Baby B went up to investigate...

Then I found these of this weekend where Jo went with my family to see the fireworks.  

Jo was SOOOO tired!

Day 8: Feeling Catty...

So, today would be day 8 of bedrest if I were actually ON bedrest.  The first day, I actually stayed in bed.  Then it all went downhill from there.  But I can say that I have been taking it easier and have been trying to get a nap every day.

I'm pretty tired of the whole thing anyway. This is torture!  When this baby comes, I will have stories to tell her about this pregnancy!

I have been staying home, though, and  I can say that I'm not picking  up the babies.  So that counts, right?

The thing is that it is impossible for me to stay in bed.  There is too much to do to keep the house running, and if I am at all alive, then I have to be in it otherwise by the time I resurface, things won't even be recognizable, and so what good is that?  The recovery from that situation would be enough to put me back in bed!

Jo's birthday is this Saturday, too.  I have planned nothing, and no one has gotten her a present.  Elizabeth was supposed to be painting a doll house for her, but since I have been 'down' and not pushing the issue, it hasn't gotten done.  And since it's at my parents' house, it is a pretty good bet that it's not going to get done by Saturday.

And that would be fine except that Jo knows that it's her birthday Saturday, so she will be expecting something.  Luckily, I have a puzzle put away and also a friend of mine let me go through some toys she getting rid of in her move and I found some really cool stuff that I know Jo will love.  Also, one of Jo and Gabriel's friends is having a birthday party on the 13th, so they will get to go to that, so Jo will get to have a fun time somewhere at least.  I will have to make it up to her later after I'm back in full swing.  Maybe I can get Elizabeth to make her a cake, too.

My in-laws came over for the 4th, so we cooked out, and that was a lot of fun!

Corn was shucked...

...shoes were muddied.....

...hotdogs were eaten....

...s'mores were cooked.....

...and eaten...




















and then Jo and Elizabeth and Annie went to my parents' trailer on Solomon's Island with my brother and his wife of 6 weeks.  The most that any one has spent with Jo is one day, and my brother and his wife have never been alone with her.  I have mentioned Jo's issues to my family, so they are well aware of the difficulties she sometimes has, but I don't think they ever really believed me.

Well, they do now.

The thing is that she was over-excited, and then she got to bed late the first night she was there, plus she ate a sugary dye-filled cereal for breakfast (which is a recipe for disaster even in the best of us!) so on Saturday she had a bit of a melt down in the middle of the camp ground.  It was around the time that she should have taken a nap, but since everyone thought that they knew how to handle her, she didn't get her nap and was 'handled' differently than we would have done it at home.  Elizabeth was trying to use the methods we use at home while my brother's wife was trying to calm her and my brother was telling her to leave Jo alone because she was making it worse.  Then someone was saying 'See?  That's what happens when you have kids!' and someone else was saying 'Wait!  One crying kid can't ruin the whole day for everyone' while someone else was asking if they cried would they get all the attention, too.

Jo was worked up, Elizabeth was stressed out over the situation, and a fun time was not had by all at that moment.

Eventually, though, Elizabeth managed to get Jo to calm down, and they went on with their day, but everyone seemed a bit agitated by the experience.  When Elizabeth got home, on Sunday afternoon she was so tired from the stress that she crashed on the living room floor and slept for an hour even with all the kids climbing all over her!

Interestingly enough, Jo has little to no recollection of the incident.  She just talks about the fun she had on the bikes and in the pool and with the other little girl that she met.  She talks about the cereal she ate for breakfast and how funny it was that she got to ride bikes with Aaron and his wife and then they happened to see Grandma and Grandpa riding their bikes, too.

Which personally, is fine with me. I'm glad she had fun.

Here's some pictures of Annie and Elizabeth tubing behind the boat...

Bed Rest: Day 1

Well, so we have made it through the first day.

I actually stayed upstairs in bed until about 6:30 when Jesse went to bed.  I took naps with him when he slept during the day, but a 6:30 bedtime for me is just plain too early!  Both he and Gabriel are liking my sleeping with them at naptime, though.

Annie came by to help Elizabeth with the 3 Littles and Baby B, and it really went quite well.  There was very little fighting or crying coming up the stairwell, and they got to spend a bit of time outside between rain showers.

We are working on that...improving familial relations between Elizabeth and the Littles, and I must say that I was impressed by how she handled them today.

For me, the day didn't drag out too horribly until around 3 when it was getting close to when Jimmy would be home, but not close enough!  And then, he called me to let me know that he would be late!  That threw a monkey wrench into my happiness!  But it does seem that things are calming down.  I didn't have nearly as many contractions today as I had yesterday, and I pray for continued improvement in that area so I can heal completely and have the opportunity to get up!

Anyway, after Baby B went home and Jimmy finally got here, Elizabeth and Annie came up to visit with me and take a break...

Yes, that is a faceplant into a pile of Legos.  She was that worn out...

My in-laws come tomorrow, so I expect that it should be an easier day for everyone.  Jimmy's home, too, since it's the 4th of July, and he also took Friday off so we could move the girls' room from upstairs to downstairs.  Yes, we are once again revamping the house.  The girls are coming downstairs to where my in-laws were and the boys are moving into the girls' old room so that the baby can be in our room with us.  Otherwise, to put the baby in our room would mean there would be 5 people in our room, and that's just too many even if they are small!   I think that we are not going to repaint the room the girls are going in since it is a purple-y color and we just painted it in November when my in-laws left, but we do need to paint the room where the boys are going.  Right now, it is painted a color called 'Potty Train Purple' which is a very deep purple and it has been that color since Elizabeth was 5!

For the time being, we are going to leave Jesse in the crib and Gabriel in his toddler bed for space reasons, but we are on the lookout for bunk beds for the girls.  Right now Elizabeth is sleeping on the floor since we had to get rid of her bed and Jo is in a twin bed, the mattress of which I believe we will be able to keep.  We will put the baby in a bassinet, and when she outgrows that, we will re-evaluated and decide if we are going to get another crib that can change into a toddler bed or if we are just going to move Jesse to a toddler bed and put the baby in his crib.  Jesse is a climber, but so far except for the one time that he fell out of the crib because the mattress was too high, he has not tried to climb out.  

Anyway, I should have more time now to keep up with this here and keep you all posted on how we are doing...probably a lot more up-to-date than anyone really wants in fact...