Working my way back to "normal"

Whatever "normal" is. I actually don't think Jason and I have experienced normal since Ayden's birth almost 4 years ago. Normal for us used to be coming home from work, plopping my butt on the couch to wait for Jason to get home from work, when he would then slam open the door and yell out "Bitch, make me a chicken potpie". Okay, so he never actually said that...unless he was joking.

I guess normal for me is getting up at 4:45am to get ready for the day. Get the kids dressed and drive them to Marguerite's. Make my way through morning rush hour to the Chamber and put in a nice 8 hour day. Pick up the kids, make dinner, sing the ABC's throughout bath time and then finally plop my butt on the couch for snuggle time before tucking them into bed. And if there's some time in there to load the dishwasher and fold a load of laundry, then it's a even more successful day! Believe it or not, I'm looking forward to getting back to that type of normal after the past couple of months of feeling sick and overly tired. I feel like I've been standing still watching life zoom by me. We'll, I'm ready to jump back into life and normal as I know it.

Part of getting back to normal is resuming my ferocious appetite. Now that the nausea is making an exit, I'm starting to enjoy food again. What made all of my hard work in preparing for our conference all worth is was the fabulous catered meals I got to enjoy. Yesterday topped the charts. Jason's Deli catered breakfast with a beautiful fruit tray, pastries and breakfast sandwiches. By the time I digested breakfast it was on to lunch. We had this sinful shrimp/wild rice dish, grilled chicken in a marsala sauce, a potato casserole thing and green beans. I was in heaven! I was even more thrilled when I found out the caterers brought to-go boxes with them for leftovers. I packed mine to the brim so Debbie and the boys would have a yummy lunch today. In the refrigerator, I found left over Jason's Deli breakfast sandwiches so I loaded a zip lock baggie with 3 sandwiches for them to have for breakfast today as well.

As I was walking to the parking garage with my arms loaded down with food (I forgot to mention the tub of mini-brownies I confiscated), I ran into a homeless man. Now, under normal circumstances...not pregnant, not exhausted from the conference and not as crabby...I may have given him all of the leftovers (except the brownies) and felt like a caring person. But I am pregnant, and I was exhausted and crabby and not feeling very generous. So I walked past him with my loot and proceeded to the elevators. And you know what? I still don't feel guilty. Debbie and the kids will be eating well today and that's all that matters.

Back to the whole getting back to normal thing...I'm really going to try hard to download/edit all my photos this weekend. I'm still trying to scan in the ultrasound pictures but I think half the problem is that there isn't much to scan. Seriously! It's like a black void with this little white bean that's only 2.5 inches long. Not a whole lot to look at. But don't fret my beloved readers. I have another ultrasound scheduled for 6/16 and I bet there will be more to look at then.

Okay, enough chatter. I'm off to process payroll. Have a great Memorial Day weekend!!!

Woo Hoo!

As of 2:30pm, the Epicor Conference was OVER! You have no idea how happy that makes me!!

5,488 copies made
5 hours spent assembling the event bags
41 bound books
10 hours spent binding the books
41 circulations around a table to assemble the 990 package
4 hours spent running errands (most of it sitting in traffic)
2 1/2 hours spent sitting in the hallway after they sprayed my office for ants
0 alcohol consumption

Seriously so excited it's all over. It wasn't easy last night watching everyone enjoy glass after glass of wine. The closest I got was when Paul spilled a bit on my napkin. I almost stuck it in my mouth to suck it off!

I'll be back to regular blogging tomorrow. I've got over a month's worth of pictures to download and edit. I'm trying to get my ultrasound pictures scanned in, but they're not looking so hot. I'll try again from home.

Always in a rush!

Edited: Ayden is a huge faker! I called Debbie to check up on him while driving to my appointment. He had a miraculous recovery and wanted to resume normal activity at Marguerite's. Too bad little man! So he's spending the rest of the day at home with Mima and mommy canceled his appointment. My appointment went well. I don't care how many times you do it, to hear your baby's heartbeat for the first time is an absolute miracle! I've got my next 3 appointments scheduled and now I need to make an appointment with Dr. Korotkin (perinatologist). Oh, and they changed my due date to 12/26 after the ultrasound. Dr. McSwain just laughed and said due dates don't mean a thing to me...I'm always early. She's got a point:)

leaving in 20 minutes for my first OB appointment at 11am

excited to see baby whozit for the first time

then have to rush home to a sick Ayden

his appointment is at 1:45

really hoping it's nothing serious

tomorrow is his last day of school

really hoping that he doesn't have to miss out on "Bike Day"

There really is such a thing as too much of a good thing

Oh yes there is. And I'm suffering right now because I've EATEN too much of a good thing. I made dinner last night for us mommies (Deb, Debbie and yours truly). Stuffed tenderloin, twice baked potato casserole, grilled green beans and homemade cheesecake. It was the first time I made the twice baked potato casserole and it was super yummy. I was so excited about all of the leftovers! So I brought the entire container of said leftovers to work with me today. I simply couldn't wait for lunch so I heated up about half the contents for breakfast this morning. Yum, Yum. It was even better the second day! So for lunch I thought...why the heck not? There's nothing wrong with devouring such a high caloric dish for 3 meals in a row!

I'm dying folks! I stupidly shunned my maternity pants today and decided to wear "normal" work clothes. Stupid! My pants are now cutting off the circulation to the poor little baby trying to develop in my tummy. And speaking of maternity pants...I'm in complete shock that I should even be wearing them at this early stage! I know that as you have more and more and more children, your body just knows what to do and jumps right into second trimester mode after taking the pregnancy test but I'm just not ready yet. No, having to dig out the maternity clothes at 8 weeks is not exactly giving me the time to accept that I may very likely have THREE little boys running around my house. Do you know the two that I have now??? Then you can totally understand why the thought of three of them makes me want to go hide in the closet.

Okay, enough about crazy little boys that get into everything...including fire ants and the pan of scalding hot fluff for our stuffed tenderloin. Let's go back to the twice baked potato casserole. Do you like potatoes? Do you like cheese and sour cream? Do you faint over an entire pound of bacon cooking on the griddle? If so, come back tomorrow for this dreamy recipe. I'd post it today but I left the cookbook at home and quite honestly...if I had to write down the ingredients and go over the directions in detail right now, I may hurl in my newly carpeted office. I also think my CFO would frown upon the hurling part. So tomorrow it will go up...while I'm wearing some loose maternity pants and eating fruit and a salad for lunch.

News, news and more news

So as the idea that we're actually going to have 3 babies in our house sinks in, I received a lovely email from my sister. She's very encouraging...especially since she has 3 children of her own. Or should I say 4? Oh yes, my sister and brother-in-law are expecting their 4th child at Thanksgiving! This came as fantastic news since I've always wanted to be pregnant at the same time as my sister, but it never worked out that way. Now we're due just one month apart from each other!!! The only thing that could make this more crazy is if my brother and his wife happened to get pregnant soon too. I think I heard a rumor somewhere that they're working on it.

In other news, today is Jameson's birthday. When did my goober decide he could turn 2 on me? Jason and I woke him up this morning to a very off-key version of the happy birthday song. Ayden wanted to know where the cake was. Jameson is completely oblivious. I think we'll take him out for dinner tonight (any excuse for mommy not to make dinner right now) and we'll celebrate this weekend with cake and ice cream. We sort of learned our lesson with Ayden that a big birthday party at the age of 2 isn't exactly necessary.

Yesterday I had an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon about my back. About 3-4 times a year, my back acts up. I'd been seeing a chiropractor for my pain, but after dishing out thousands of dollars to them over the past couple of years, I decided to get a second opinion. So I had xrays done on my lower back and hips (while I was pregnant but didn't know that I was pregnant so it's really not my fault) and got a referral to see a specialist. Good thing I made that appointment because on Sunday I experienced the most painful back spasm ever while picking up the vacuum cleaner that Jameson had tipped over. I spent most of Sunday and all of Monday in bed. I seriously couldn't move. Dr Perry was nice enough to inform me that all of my disks look normal, it isn't nerve damage and no, I don't need hip replacement. Apparently I have right SI joint inflammation. The SI joint is what connects your hip to your pelvis. Um, ouch. So this joint is extremely inflamed right now and because I'm pregnant the only option for me is physical therapy. If I don't get this under control soon, I'm going to be in big trouble as the baby gets larger. I don't do well with pain so I'll be starting my physical therapy asap.

Ayden is officially a super cool bunk bed dude. My absolutely adorable and loving friend Chere, donated her son's bunk bed to us. I don't think he'll miss it too much since he's now 21, but it was still extremely generous of her. With a new baby joining the household, we have no choice but to put the boys together in Ayden's room. We are apparently missing few pieces to the bed, but managed to get it put together well enough that Ayden slept in the top bunk last night. Both of the boys love going up and down the ladder. I was a little worried that Ayden would wake up in the middle of the night and not know how to get out of bed, but I never heard a peep. He got some serious high fives and hugs from mommy this morning for being such a big boy.

Other than that, all is going well. Jason is tied up with Tyler Perry's new studio for the next year so that pretty much guarantees that there won't be any out of town work for a while. I'm trying to get settled in my new (much smaller) office but am moving slowly because of my back. I feel the urge the throw up ALL OF THE TIME, but haven't actually thrown up. I managed to make dinner last night to my family's surprise and I had enough energy to help Jason completely rearrange the boys' bedroom. Now if only I could finish the mounds of laundry, clean the kitchen and do the ironing. Jason's mom flies in this Friday for a 2 week visit and my dad/Mary Joy fly in next Friday for 4 days. It's going to be a packed house but we're looking forward to having everyone here.

Back to unpacking for me. Now that I'm sitting across from the CFO my "personal" time at work may be cut down some. He's already hinted that I could put the can of Pledge on my desk to use in his office. Someone needs to tell him that I'm already the payroll accountant/HR assistant....I don't have room in my day to take care of him too. Yeah, right!

Fresh Start

I feel like today is a fresh start for me. I haven't been feeling well for the past 2 weeks so I haven't gotten a lot done at home. The laundry is piling up, the sink is full of dirty sippy cups, I haven't cooked a real meal in over a week and I'm starting to feel pathetic. I can't feed my babies turkey or peanut butter sandwiches for one more meal.

So today is my fresh start. While my office is being relocated, I'm going to clean my house, do all of the laundry and plan meals for the next week. Our refrigerator is going to hold more than bread, milk, juice and eggs. My kids are not going to have to make the decision between chicken nuggets or a cheeseburger for at least 2 weeks (nail night equals McDonalds). I'm getting out of my slump and back in the game!

Come tomorrow, I'm going to be able to enjoy my day with my family because mommy won't feel overwhelmed with a huge to-do list.

Have a great weekend everyone! I sure plan on it:)

Where does he come up with this stuff?

First of all, thanks for all of the well wishes. Reality is starting to sink in for me as I battle a queasy sensation all day. Funny, just 2 weeks ago I thought this queasiness was from drinking too much Diet Coke at the Scrap Etc. Event! I had no idea that it was because I was actually pregnant. I never really got morning sickness with Ayden or Jameson so this is all new for me.

Okay, enough of that. I just had to tell ya'll something funny that Ayden said last night. I have no idea where he gets this stuff from but it had me practically rolling on the floor after their bath.

Me: Ayden, time to get your pull up and PJ's on.
Ayden: Okay mommy.
Me: Don't forget Lightning McQueen goes on the front. This is how he knows which way his pull up goes on.
Ayden: Putting his hand out in the "stop" gesture he says Hold on ladies...this is man's work.

I couldn't help but bust out laughing. When Jason got home I was trying to tell him what Ayden had said as we were putting the boys to bed. Ayden whipped it out again and it was Jason's turn to laugh hysterically. Kids pick up the weirdest things!

I totally slacked on posting pictures of Jameson for his birthday countdown. Next time, I think I'll only commit to a week instead of an entire month. Way too much pressure for me otherwise.

Tomorrow we have the day off because of the big move. I still have a ton to pack up today. It's sure going to be weird walking into a new office on Monday but it's also going to be exciting. A new office with a new view of the park. I'm not sure how I feel about sitting across from the CFO though. Maybe it won't be as bad as I think it'll be...he's really not in the office that much with all of his meetings and long lunches:)

Okay, time to get my butt in gear!