What's Up Wednesday

I'm linking up with a Sheaffer Told Me To, Mix & Match Mama and The Larson Lingo

for What's Up Wednesday!

1.  What we are eating this week..

Nothing special ha! J has been working late so the kids and

I have basically snacking for dinner the last couple nights.

2.  What I'm reminiscing about...

When my 8 and 7 year olds were little. They're growing up way too fast!

3.  What I'm loving.....

Fall is in the air! And new schedules and more structure with school starting. :)

4.  What we've been up to....

Getting back into the school routine

5.  What I'm dreading........

Minor surgery in November, then recovery

6.  What I'm working on.......

Trying to get back to blogging, using my Canon more

often and trying to motivate myself to get to the gym lol

7.  What I'm excited about....

Fall! Cooler weather! Fall clothes!

8. What I'm watching/reading

Just finished watching Unsolved Mysterys on Hula. That is some creepy stuff ha!

Reading 'Rushing Waters' by Danielle Steel. Oddly appropriate after Hurricane Harvey and

Hurricane Irma threatening to hit the East Coast



9. What I'm listening too

Currently listening to a super annoying Netflix cartoon the kids are watching



10. What I'm wearing

Oversized t-shirt and yoga pants. Lazy day around here.



11. What I'm doing this weekend

Not sure yet



12. What I'm looking forward to next month

Indie Grace turning 2! Having her party! And Halloween!



13. What else is newJust getting into the back to school routine. The first week went
pretty smooth. The next few weeks the kids have a few new activities coming up 

catching up

Well, miss S has been here for a month already and my head is just starting to come out of the fog. She's a really good baby but having a new baby is always an adjustment especially when you have other children. The first couple weeks I was in the typical just-had-a-baby/still in pain/sleep deprived fog then my husband went back to work and C has been CRAZY as heck for a couple weeks. Poor guy. He was the baby for 3 1/2 years and he's a typical hyperactive little boy and he's just trying to figure out his new place in the family. On top of that we decided to kick him out of our bed and into his own room about the time we brought the new baby home. Bad idea. And the kids just switched from two days of day mother's day out to one day so they haven't been getting out of the house so much. Anyway, C has been driving me out of my ever loving mind the last couple weeks. He's not a particularly naughty kid.... he's just very, very, very active especially when it's cold out and he's stuck inside for days at a time. He also wants to "help" with the baby but that means smoothering her with hugs and kisses, frantically shaking her toys two inches in front of her face, jamming her binky into her mouth.. things like that. He tries to be gentle but a three year old boy's idea of gentle is a little different at times. When the baby was first born we were staying home quite a bit since it was pretty cold out and flu season was in full swing. So we all had cabin fever and I was going through the typical postpartum hormonal crap that I always go through. Thankfully that seems to be over since I'm not breastfeeding and know what to do to prevent the PPD that I've gone through before. I feel SO much better emotionally, this time around, than I felt right after I had my other two. Thank goodness!!



Anyway, we had a few rough weeks of adjustments but things have really started looking up this week. The weather has been really nice and I realized we need to start getting out of the house to save our sanity. We went to my mom's for the day on Monday. I didn't sleep really well the night before so baby S and I took a long two hour nap together while my mom took the big kids outside to play. C was a different boy while we were there. I really think he just needed to get out and do something different. And going to grandma's is always the best! On Tuesday the big kids went to MDO and baby S and I met a childhood friend of mine who was visiting from out of town. It was great to catch up! Tuesday afternoon the kids and I took a nice little walk to the playground. Today, by some miracle, the big kids played beautifully together all morning and I hardly heard any arguing at all. So, things are looking up. Getting out and about has really helped! We want to get to the museum later this week and if the nice weather keeps up we'll try to get outside some more too! We're definitely ready for spring around here!!



I'm way behind on posting. As soon as I upload my pictures I'll try to post more pics and updates of our sweet baby. I can't believe she's a month already!

I hate migraines!

Reasons I HATE migraines:



1 - They HURT.



2 - They're ANNOYING.



3 - You lose hours at a time, sometimes DAYS in a row, of your life.



4 - You don't know what's going on outside your pain.



5 - You can't be there for your kids or husband.



6 - Your kids are effected. Suddenly their mom just can't be present anymore. I can't talk to them, can't help them, can't even have them in the room with me :(



7 - My husband has to take over completely when he's at home, after working all day. Sometimes for several evenings in a row and a whole weekend. It's not fair to him.



8 - My mom cancels her plans and keeps her schedule open because she never knows when I will need her. (I can't say how MUCH I appreciate this!) But it's not fair to her.



9 - Your kids cry because they want their mom and things just aren't normal for them.



10 - When you come out of your migraine fog you hardly know what day it is. You don't know what's happened while you were out of it. You don't know where things are in your house. Your house is usually a wreck. The kids do things and get into things they're not supposed to. You have to reorganize and resettle your family back into normal day to day life.



11 - Your kids act like brats for two days after you recover because they want their grandma and have been spoiled rotten for a few days.



12 - Just because your migraine is over doesn't mean you're instantly back to normal. Sometimes it takes me two days to feel normal again.



13 - You plan everything knowing that if you have a migraine your plans will be canceled. Your kids have their plans canceled often.. and now take it in stride.. because it happens so often. You pray hard to be able to make it through one event and it feels like you won the lottery when you make it through your son's birthday without a migraine.



14 - If you take anything for pain you worry about your unborn baby. How does all this effect the baby?



15 - One side of your face gets burned, often, from heated rice socks. Not using them is not an option during a migraine. One side of your face looks burned for days after your migraine. After years of migraines and using rice socks one side of your face is actually much more wrinkled and damaged than the other side.



16 - You can't do lots of normal, every day things you would love to do without lots of planning and or compromising. I've never been to a concert and not sure I could go to one. The noise and lights can be huge triggers. Even the circus (!) can be a trigger. Besides swimming you can't do any summer activities outside. The heat and sun are triggers. Even a few hours at the pool takes planning. Will there be shade? Do you have all your migraine pills and "gear"? You can't stay too long, regardless. Painting your house has to be done with caution and sometimes rescheduled for days or weeks at a time because you can't handle the smell. And SO much more.



17 - Time on your laptop can be a trigger. So blogging, uploading/editing/organizing photos and connecting online have to wait until you can handle it.



18 - When you are able to take a prescription you have constant anxiety that your pills are running out for the month and you won't be able to get more for several days or weeks.



19 - You seriously consider NOT trying for a fourth baby even though you've always hoped for four kids because you're not sure it's fair to yourself to put yourself through another 9 months of migraine pain, it's not fair to your children, your husband or your mom....



20 - You're planning to not breast feed your baby because you know you can't go through several months of breast feeding another baby without a prescription.



20 - You were in a migraine fog for a good part of all your pregnancies and a lot of your kids early years.



21 - You have anxiety and mood swings because you are SO worried and fearful of getting another migraine. Every sound, light and smell can be triggers and your kids have to be very quiet and mindful of your headaches ALL the time. They can't play with certain toys, watch certain shows, go certain places, play outside when they want to and more because you could get a migraine.



22 - You try to cram all your cleaning and normal life into a few days because you *know* you only have so much time before another round of migraines hit.



23 - Almost every vacation and many special occasions from your past are littered with memories of having a migraine. Had a bad one in Jerusalem. Check. Had a bad one during that awesome musical. Check. Had one in Peru. Check. Was crying during church because my head hurt so bad. Check. Had one on the plane to Germany. Check. Threw up in Mexico City while an old boyfriend held my hair back. Check. Couldn't go to a friend's wedding shower because I had a migraine. Couldn't go to a friend's engagement party. Got a migraine and threw up in my Honda Accord, all over myself in my Honda Pilot, outside my VW Bug, in my parent's van. On and on. I hate that my life has revolved around stupid migraines for SO many years!



(Disclaimer: Some of this list applies only to migraines in pregnancy/this pregnancy.  I know that people all over the world go through things MUCH worse than migraines and don't have the help that I have. But you know what? I just need to vent. Migraines really SUCK for me. Really suck. This is MY life and what I go through. My life may be better or worse than your's or someone else's but this is what I'm going through. I try to stay positive and suck it up. I try to keep things in perspective. I AM thankful that I have lots of good days, I have wonderful help and at least I can take a prescription when I'm not pregnant. But for the last few months my life has REALLY revolved around migraines and this is what I have been going through, more than ever, lately.) 

crazy day at the eye doctor

Oh boy.



If you're ready to feel like a better mother than me just keep reading.



We just got back from the eye doctor. My #1 mistake was making the appointment at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, right smack dab during C's nap time and J's quiet time, and right after J got out of school. Of course they'd be tired and not on their best behavior. Duh. What was I thinking??



We walk in the door and the place has wood flooring. For some reason my kids love to stomp their feet on wood flooring. So it was stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp while I was talking to the receptionist and filling out paperwork.



After that I tell J to sit by me. She wiggles and squirms and whines for water. Slithers out of her chair. Oh boy. C is relatively good but keeps tapping is half full sippy cup on a wooden table and asking for water. Why? I have no clue since the cup is half full of water. Silly kid.



Two minutes of peace while the kids discover magazines and thumb through them. C immediately grabbed this car magazine and exclaimed "I'll look at cars!" I sent these pics to my hubby and he was quite proud. C is all boy and just like his daddy. :)



Then we're called back to waiting room #2. The kids enjoy looking at the fish tank for a minute before we go to exam room #1.



 This place has like 10 exam rooms and 5 waiting rooms per patient, so annoying. J is first in the chair in exam room #1 and does well while C is jumping around like a monkey. Then it was C's turn and he did well.



On to exam room #2. I held one kid in my lap while they peered into a machine and the other child stood beside our chair and shook it as though their life depended on it. Each kid did great looking into the machine.



The kids get stickers for doing well.



Out to waiting room #3. The room is full of middle aged folks. The kids spend 5 seconds looking at another fish tank then start to squirm and whine. Luckily the room pretty much empties out around that time and only one poor woman is left sitting there. I decide to let the kids watch Mickey Mouse Club House on my phone. I make the mistake of asking J to hold it. She has to get comfy. So the kids settle onto the floor for 30 seconds, then J has to switch places with C, then she decides they should sit together in a chair. C accidently pinches J and J starts to cry/whine/howl and make even more of a scene. She makes a face and says something ugly to me. At that point C starts having a fit. Off to the bathroom we go for a little discipline and a talk.



Back out to waiting room #3. The kids are quiet for 2 seconds then dig into a magazine basket digging for "cards" (they love to play with those little card tear out order forms in magazines) While searching they scatter about 20 magazines across the floor. I help them pick up the magazines and find a "card" for each child. About that time a middle age man comments that my kids must not be quite as perfect in public as they are at home, are they? I replied that they're not perfect at home either.



On to exam room #3 to see the eye doctor. I sit in the chair with C in my lap while J insists on pushing every button and every lever she can find. I finally get her to sit in a chair until it's her turn. During her exam C steps on the levers to raise my chair, pushes every button and machine he can find. Oh joy.



Back out to the front waiting room to wait to pay our bill. C climbs up and over 2 chairs repeatedly, saying it's his playground. J asks for water from my water bottle so of course C needs water from my water bottle. I just pray he doesn't gulp it too fast and end up spewing it all over the floor. (He hasn't quite mastered a regular water bottle yet). Luckily he does fine.



We're called back to pay our bill. I'm sitting in my chair in a little cubicle area and C climbs up behind me while J manages to reach up and touch a HUGE, heavy mirror hanging on the wall and it starts to shake. I missed seeing it but the 2 ladies behind the desk start to freak out. I hand over my debit card and sign a couple receipts while chatting with the lady behind the desk and reading texts from my husband who's asking me to get some paperwork he needs for insurance. Meanwhile J has her hands on either side of a frosted glass partition while insisting that I watch her as she's accidently tapping the patient sitting next to her. And C finds a scented wall plug in right beside him that he's turning around and around and around. SIGH.



Man, I could not get out of their fast enough.



Tell me am I a worse than average mother? Do my kids act up more than typical 4 year olds and 2.5 year olds? I hope not but at this point I'm just so glad to be back home with the kids quietly watching a movie that I really don't care. Remind me NOT to take the kids back to the eye doctor for another 5 years.



On a side note: I did take C out to the store this morning and he was a little angel. Going out with one child is generally like a vacation. It's normally when they get together that things tend to get very chaotic.