The First Sleepover

Last night, M had one of his little kindergarten friends over for a sleepover.  It was loud, raucous, and a lot of fun.  The highlight of the evening was giving the boys (and tagalong L) a couple of glow sticks and setting them loose out back after dark.  

Authentic, hand-crafted sign designed to keep girls out.

The boys slept in the tent that we have in what should be our formal dining room.  (Wait.  You don't have a tent up in your living room?)  Over the course of the evening and in to the wee hours of the morning, I discovered that kindergarten boys giggle and shriek exactly like little girls.  Go Figure.

Family Vacation

This year for Spring Break, we packed the car and hit the road for San Antonio.  We were only gone a few nights, but we hit up two main attractions:  the Alamo and Sea World.  The plan was to get up early and hit the road before sunrise and let the kids sleep most of the way in the car.  Yep.  That did not happen.  Sure, we got the kids up early, but they did not pay attention to the part of the plan that called for them to fall asleep.  So everyone was awake the whole time on the way down (though I may have dozed off for a moment or five).

Our car is a little old-school in that it does not have built-in DVD players for the kids, so we had to entertain the kiddos the old-fashioned way, through lots of songs and stories.  Since we were en route to San Antonio, I figured why not teach the kids the good old Texas classics.  We spent a great deal of time singing Deep in the Heart of Texas.  I could not remember all the lyrics to Yellow Rose of Texas, but I managed to teach the kids a modified version.  We listened to Johnny Cash's version of Remember the Alamo a number of times, but I opted not to teach the kids the lyrics -- we'll wait until they're a little older.  Of course I had to regale the kids with the story of the Alamo (somewhat edited, of course, to accommodate the 3 year old and 5 year old in the car).  M was totally engaged in the history of the battle and was, of course, reverent when he entered the shrine.  I was very proud of my budding historian.

Overall the trip was a success - fun was had by all.  The ultimate highlight was the visit to the Alamo.  M and L had already seen it once, but it was Steve's very first time.  I suppose that makes him a true Texan now.

Ooooh look!  An old cannon!   

Yep, they're brother and sister.

Happy visitors!  Lauren was clearly still saddened by the loss of the heroes.

Subchorionic Hemorrhage

It's been a while since I've posted, not that we've been terribly busy doing fantastic things mind you, we've just been busy with everyday, run-of-the-mill stuff, which, when you think about it, is awesome.  That being said, lately we've been processing something rather heavy - a subchorionic hemorrhage. 

I'll spare you the gory details, but in a nutshell within the past six weeks I had to make a handful of emergency visits to my OB/GYN because of irregular bleeding.  I underwent a battery of ultrasounds and other assorted probes only to be told to take it a little easy and just wait and see.  Which, of course, I did.  It was tense and stressful (let's not forget about the antibodies) and I wasn't on official bed rest, so I couldn't even kick back and watch my stories.  Fast forward a few weeks and another OB/GYN visit and we've gotten the all clear.  The clot is no longer visible and the bleeding has subsided, so we are very thankful.

Soooo...this hemorrhage on top of the antibodies on top of the fact that I'll be over 35 when #3 comes around, which in medical jargon translates to me being older than Methuselah and opens up yet another batch of potential problems, has made for a pregnancy unlike the previous two.

Spring Break 2011

My Kids, the LARPers

The other day, I overheard this interesting exchange between L and M.


M to L:  Let's play Star Wars, you be Qui Gon and I'll be Darth Maul.  I'll use the lightsaber, you can use your unicorn.

...grunting and swiping that results in L crying...

M to L:  Ok, Ok,  You can be Darth Maul now.  I'll be Obi Wan.

L to M:  NO!  I'll be Darth Vader.  You be Obi Wan.

...grunting and swiping that results in M stalking off angrily...

Alas, no pictures of the kids in battle.  This is from 12/2010.

What I forgot about being pregnant

Given that this is our third pregnancy, you would think that I would have the hang of it down by now.  Alas, I seem to have forgotten a number of things about what it feels like to be pregnant.  I know pregnant women are supposed to glow and have fabulous hair and skin and have inordinate amounts of energy to nest and clean, but apparently I have forgotten the, how do I put this delicately, blahs of pregnancy.  Please indulge me for a moment while I wallow in self-pity.

This day-long "morning" sickness really blows.  Though I do not have any solid evidence, I firmly believe that it was a crusty old male doctor who coined the phrase "morning sickness."  

My gag reflex is hypersensitive, which makes brushing my teeth awkward and dangerous.  I had this with #1, #2, and now #3 is right on track.

My sense of smell is also hypersensitive.  I nearly lost my lunch in the grocery store when I passed by the meat counter.  That elderly lady in the salmon cardigan probably thought I was having some sort of seizure.

Finally, I contend that my emotions are also in hyperdrive.  On Sunday night, when Randy Newman sang "We Belong Together" at the the Oscars, I kind of lost in on the couch.  Steve made fun of me, so I tried to blame it on my pregnancy hormones and he replied that I was not that pregnant and therefore had no excuse to be crying over Randy Newman.  He is clearly made of stone.

2009

2010

Thank goodness babies and kids are cute.

What's in a Name?

The other day, L and M decided to offer up some suggestions for the baby's name.  If we go with any of these choices, it looks like we'll end up with a flower child or a nerd.

L's Suggestions:  Rainbow, Unicorn, Purple, Polka Dot, or Baby.

M's Suggestions:  Skywalker, Yoda, Chewie, Jedi, or Darth Maul.

Darth Maul Chalmers. 

I'm no expert

The other day, someone asked me why I was posting all this personal stuff on the blog.  I am not all that great at thinking on my feet, so I mumbled some response about sharing our story with other people.  That individual made a good point though, since we are dealing with some heavy issues and by posting them on the blog, I went ahead and made them public news...well, "public" for my blog anyway.  I suppose we could keep our experiences a secret, but the way that I am looking at it, for now at least, is if I can offer a tiny tidbit of information to someone else who may be wrapping their head around antibodies, for example, then I suppose it is worth it.  Not that I am saying, of course, that my measly little posts should be the go-to sources for information concerning any of my topics.  From antibodies to ligers, there is probably someone out there who knows more than me.  So please seek the advice of your doctor (or your local liger expert).

My liger expert.