Just this One time

I am only going to complain this ONE time about pregnancy. My body aches and I hardly sleep at night. I am so tired. My back hurts, my stomach hurts, my legs hurt, even my sides hurt! It hurts to walk, it hurts to sit, it hurts to lay down. My legs feel like they weigh one hundred pounds each and the act of getting out of bed is painful. OH! and the random braxton hicks are nothing to pass off lightly. Nothing sounds good to eat and making meals is out of the question. If I have to come up with the idea for dinner, I don't have the energy to make it. I have lots of things to get done around the house before this little man gets here, but I have zero energy to do that. I am barely getting the things finished that are normal tasks. I can't get down and play on the floor with Haydn.  Knowing that there are only 5 weeks left of this is bittersweet. I know it isn't very long, but it seems forever at the same time.
On the other side of things, I am so happy that we have this little guy coming to us. We are all so excited to see him and can hardly wait to hold him and kiss him. We know we'll be tired, but seeing his little face will be so wonderful. There were many prayers asking for him and many more asking for his health and well being. I know I'll miss feeling him move. He'll grow so fast and there will be a lot of "remember when" or "I can't believe" conversations. As uncomfortable as I am now, I am very thankful to be pregnant. I know it could be a lot worse and I have been very blessed through this whole pregnancy.

Ranting

I know I have had a few posts where I ranted. I have no problem expressing my feelings about different subjects, so after much thought and a number of topics I can't wait to write about, I've started a new blog just for that purpose. I know...I will probably make some enemies or hurt some feelings, but I should be able to write out my opinion on subjects too. So, to keep this blog more about my family, the other will be my pet peeves and other 'controversial' topics. Feel free to check it out RantingwRachel.blogspot.com
If you don't want to hear my ranting, don't check it out. Either way, I won't be offended.

To Georgia and Back

I have been home for a few days now from Georgia. It was so great getting to visit my sister and her family. It's been two and a half years since I saw them last! It was also great getting to road trip with my youngest two siblings. Yes, I had talking points and they believe there were cross references. My mind works that way though...everything can be related. =) It's not often that I get to sit down and talk with these two so it was great to have hours upon hours to talk. It also helped to see funny things on the road, like a mattress tied to the back of a semi moving truck.
I guess there was too much fun being had, because I didn't pull my camera out much. I didn't even get pictures with my sister or of her family. Kind of bittersweet I guess. It was so fun getting to see where my sister lives and the people she hangs out with. After we arrived EARLY in the morning Sunday, we all went to bed. However, Haydn had slept in the car for hours already and was ready to play. Sure enough, he played with his two cousins. He hadn't ever really been able to play with them before. They were instant friends and he calls them his cousin friends now. How we miss our cousin friends though.
One evening we went out to my sister and her husband's favorite Mexican restaurant. Haydn had fallen asleep in the car on the way to the restaurant so he was LOTS of fun once we got there. He is very much like his father, very cranky when he is just one of the following three: hot, sleepy, hungry. This fantastic evening, Haydn was all three! The waitress was taking our drink orders after putting chips and salsa on the table. Haydn thought the little carafe of salsa was a beverage. I asked him what he wanted to drink and he insisted that he just wanted "this." After I explained to him several times that he really didn't want it to drink and that it was not a beverage, he insisted. The whole time he was unwrapping a straw. Finally he put the straw in the salsa and took a BIG GULP! I knew what he was going to do, so I announced to everyone to watch. Sure enough, the salsa burned his mouth and he was in desperate need of a drink. However, we had just placed our orders. The only thing I could give him to calm the heat was a chip. This is not the first time I have seen someone do this. When Liz was younger, she did the same thing. The difference, Liz didn't know she was drinking salsa. She thought she had picked up her cup of juice which happened to be red.
We were able to go see several historical buildings in the downtown area. It was actually pretty cool the history of the town. I think we chose the hottest day to go and do that because it was 103 degrees. Whew...it had been hot before we left, but not quite in the 100s yet! We had heat advisories and heat index over 100, and the whole time I had been driving around town with the windows down. (I love fresh air!) But there is definitely a difference when you are walking around in 100 degree heat and riding around in 100 degree heat index.
We also got to go the to aviation museum. Apparently there was a 2 star general at the air force base close to the museum and he had a goal of getting a museum set up. There were lots of airplanes and WWII items. Going through a WWII section was kind of difficult for me. I am currently reading a book series that follows a family through the trials of WWII. Some things are a little more graphic than I can handle and I have a much better understanding of the war. Adam loves history and I really wish he could have gone.
We spent most of our evenings playing board games. I LOVE playing games. We were able to have great conversations during this time too. There's a few games I'd like to add to our family game collection. The worst part of the trip was that Adam wasn't with us. We missed him so much and hope that next time, he can go. He was just too busy with work to be able to take that much time off.

Sitting in a Doctor's Office

After sitting in the doctor's office for 3 hours for a glucose test, I saw a LOT of things I don't think I should have. I have some advise for pregnant women.
1. It doesn't matter how bad you feel, but wear clothes that match...mismatched clothes scream fat, not pregnant.
2. Don't wear pants that are too tight where everyone and their dog can see that you are wearing panties that are too small. Wedgies are never cute, and especially not on an oversized, pregnant butt!
3. Wear shorts that are long enough. Yes, most women get stretch marks, but we don't want to see them running down your legs.
4. Adding to the stretch marks, nobody wants to see the stretch marks on your belly, or your arms. Please cover them up.
5. Please do not discuss the conception of the baby. I don't care if you are a teen, 20s, or older. Trust me, nobody wants to hear that!

On the other hand, it was cute seeing so many couples getting to 'see' their baby for the first time or finding out the gender. I even saw one soon to be grandmother bring in balloons. So sweet.

Good news for the Roe's though, no gestational diabetes. I previously thought that gestational diabetes is no big deal, but there are so many complications caused by it. I am so glad that we are both healthy!

Happy Birthday America!

I know, I'm a day early. If I don't say anything now, I'll miss it. Soooo...Happy Birthday America! I am so thankful for the freedoms we enjoy and the men and women who made and are still making that possible. I don't want to forget the families of those men and women. I know it's a huge sacrifice for the families to send their loved one off to war and wonder if they will return. I always get teary-eyed when I see soldiers. They will never know how much their job means to me personally.

Adam and I have been watching a show with a heavy military presence. The characters are either in the military or married to a soldier. I am also reading a book series that takes place during WWII. With those two current influences of military in my life, I feel like I need to show my thanks that much more. I just don't know how to show it. Sure, I've seen the youtube videos about signing "thank you" to soldiers, but do they really appreciate that? I don't know.

I know, this is a holiday about our Freedom and not to thank the military. However, our freedom wouldn't exist without the military.

Happy 4th of July everyone! Enjoy it, be safe, and remember those who made/make it possible.

Girls Camp

About three years ago I had asked to go to Girls Camp. It's a camp for just the young women (ages 12-18) in our ward (along with the other wards in our stake) to go to a camp and be spiritually enlightened and learn camping/first aid skills. I went the few years I lived in Washington but never went as a youth in Missouri. I was asked to be a leader one year when my little sister was going and that was pretty fun. Anyhow, I asked about 3 years ago to go to camp but they had enough leaders then. This year, our ward was short on leaders or leaders could only make it for a couple of the nights. I only went one night but made a lifetime of memories. I got to know several of the girls that I otherwise wouldn't have. It was interesting to me to see the different styles in running the camp. When I went as a youth, we camped with other girls who had been to camp the same number of years as us. This time around, we camped as a ward. Either way, friendships and bonds can be made. I missed all the silly camp songs though. That's the problem with having it at a Boy Scouts camp. There were several fun activities the girls could do at this camp that they probably wouldn't have been able to do elsewhere. Anyhow, I had so much fun with the girls and the other leader from our ward, I hope I can go next year.

Mac and Cheese

I feel like the only thing Haydn will ever eat each time I make it, is Mac and Cheese. He loves that stuff! He seriously will ask for it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! When we go out to eat, Mac and Cheese is what he orders. (I have no idea why in the world someone would ever order mac and cheese when they go out to eat...on that note, I don't know why anyone would ever order MEATLOAF either!!! Blech!) The smell of noodles cooking kind of make me nauseous. I could explain, but then you might be disgusted at the smell of noodles too. Anyhow, I often give in to the mac and cheese. We even had to make a rule that we will not make mac and cheese every day. So far, we've been good. My biggest concern about the mac and cheese is that it really doesn't have a lot of nutritional value. He doesn't like a lot of fresh fruit. He'll eat bananas (only about half of it though), grapefruit, and grapes. He claims to like blueberries and requests them all the time, but I've never seen him actually eat one. I can get him to eat canned mandarin oranges, peaches and pears. He'll eat just about ANY fruit as long as it is dehydrated. Seriously...raisins (what kid doesn't like raisins), apples, bananas, even mangos! So how do I get him to eat something other than mac and cheese? I've tried telling him that he needs to eat all his food so he can grow big and strong (which he has interpreted as really tall like my dad). I explained that Thomas the Tank Engine gets his energy from coal and water otherwise he wouldn't be able to go anywhere and Haydn needs to eat food and drink plenty of water so he can get his energy too. I shouldn't complain...I'm pretty sure I was a pickier eater than he is!