Stay at Home Chaos

Tim stayed home yesterday, instead of today, so I could drop Evie off at preschool without bringing in the other two with me. What fun. I parked and walked her in. They had name-tags for everyone… except Evie. Luckily for me, the principal is really good with faces and names, so we got Evie’s made out. The teacher asked her for her name, which she always responds, “Name?” so you gotta ask her again. Instead of her usual happy “WEEVIE!”, she instead said, “Evie..?” with her hands near her face. Then we went and washed her hands, I snapped a couple of pictures of her uncertain and concerned face, and then went and sat her in the group circle, snapped one more picture, and walked away. She immediately turned around and kept her eyes on me.

Us parents had to leave. Evie was the only one who screamed. Then they wouldn’t let us huddle in the hallway. I start heading to my car when I realized I left my paperwork inside. I snuck in the classroom and grabbed it (and saw someone else left theirs in the same spot). Evie was actively looking for me. She didn’t scream again though. I hurried out and headed home.

Tim set up alarms on my iPhone so I don’t forget to drop her off or pick her up. I played Harvest Moon: Animal Parade since Kiki and Ory were napping and Evie was in preschool. I should’ve done laundry. Then I was off to get my daughter! Happy day!

I pull up. Oh no. Evie had someone elses backpack. I didn’t give Evie hers. I immediately inform them that that isn’t hers. I’m embarrassed. Evie got so upset that I wouldn’t let her keep the Tinker Bell backpack. Other than that, she was fine. When we got home, she immediately went looking for her Stuffy and gave him a warm greeting. Then I dug out HER backpack which she hasn’t used in a year.

Later, we went out to get Evie some new shoes. Evie wore sandals and they apparently require socks to be worn with sandals. That’s just silly. So we got her normal shoes. She needed to go up a size anyway. I also picked her up some cold-weather clothes, as we’ve had a couple of cold days already. Doesn’t hurt to be ready!

Today, it’s day #2 of preschool. I won’t be walking her in today and I’ll be bringing the other 2 children with me. Evie’s already excited. She wants to go. I’m glad she enjoyed it.

I woke up not feeling too well today. But that doesn’t matter. I had things I had to do! This included the very important preschool stuff. I dropped off some papers yesterday for my pediatrician to fill out, then went and picked them up today. I brought just Evie with me. She played with a girl in the waiting room as I got and looked over the papers. Then we left to the preschool to drop the papers off. She was very insecure when the lady wanted to shake her hand. We went over the papers and confirmed the open house date. Afterwards, Evie saw a classroom and wanted to go in. There was no one in it, but she definitely wanted to go in. So that’s 1 bad sign and 1 good sign. I’ll take the good sign.

Later, we’re going to the circus! We’ll leave in about 30 minutes. I may say that, but the kids probably won’t let us leave on time. So we gave ourselves extra time to get there. We got 4 tickets and Kiki can sit on our lap for free because she’s under 2 years. It’s a nice box seat too. Tim got it from work! Now thats a perk I can get to fall in love with… Tickets for child entertainment! Yay! I’m actually very excited about it. I was told I had been to a circus before, but I don’t remember. I really want to go even if the kids won’t remember it. Evie loves elephants and I’m assuming they’ll have some. It should go down well if we can keep our kids in their seat. Super glue, anyone?

Preschool starts here on August 30th. Yesterday, I went to a preschool (the one thats actually attached to a school and not a daycare) and signed Evie up and paid one of many upcoming payments. I came home and filled out a monster amount of paperwork. I need to take Evie to the doctor and get her to fill out a paper as well. After all is said and done, Evie will be set up to start afternoon classes of preschool. Yesterday, we started taking nap time away from Evie. She did excellent. We couldn’t figure out where all her energy was coming from! She even appears to have slept better last night too. Ory and Evie are both still asleep.

With Evie starting preschool, it means Ory’s nap time is also going to be put under schedule. He can’t nap as long as he wants anymore, because I have to pick Evie up after school. If we went with morning classes, she’d have to wait a long time. Afternoon classes don’t have a wait and means they should be less crowded.

I’m a bit anxious about sending Evie into someone else’s care every single day. We’ve never used a babysitter, so I’m clueless how this is going to work. I just know it’ll work. She loves kids. When she realizes she gets to play with other kids, she’ll be fine.

I had my birthday over the weekend. I’m now 24 years old. I got a figurine, a new tea pot that I asked for, and a watch. Evie noticed the watch right away and enquired as to what it was. She now knows that watches go Tick-Tock. During my birthday, I hardly got to talk to my twin. My last hamster living, Riddick, died. He was acting really well yesterday, so I knew to check on him today. When I checked on him, he was laying on his back twitching… actively dying. His tumor on his paw had shrunk drastically. He died within 30 minutes, when I checked on him again. Tim spent my birthday cleaning and I watched Scooby Doo for nostalgic purposes.

Kiki started getting on her knees and bouncing up and down in the cute baby dance. This means nothing to her mobility. She can already army-crawl anywhere in the house. She’s just trying to figure out normal crawling. She loves sitting up as well, but she can’t get to her tummy by herself if you sit her up. She tries falling forwards and her legs get in the way.

Tim also got me birthday cake and ice cream. We put candles in the cake and let the kids go at it. You can put an unlit candle in front of Ory and he still tries to blow it out. My kids are adorable little monsters.

I’m not very happy today though. I had a depressing time before bed and it has carried on into this morning. My eyes are swollen and I battled the need to throw up all night. My dreams were even against me. In my dreams, people are waving different items in front of me to see what would make me sick. Then I’d wake up dry-heaving. It was a hard night. Then all 3 kids got up consecutively this morning. I didn’t brush my teeth because I knew it’d make me sick. Instead, I got everyone downstairs and got sick once I got down here. Then Tim left for work. This goes back to why I was depressed to begin with. I have no one here. No one. No support. No babysitter. No friends. When I need help, I have to rely on Tim, and I never know when I’ll get the support. I don’t get it today. I hope I can stay awake.

Exhaustion is taking its toll. I’ve been trying to get more sleep too. I woke up in the middle of the night last night to calm Kiki down so Tim could feed her. I then proceeded with the morning sickness path and gagged and spit but didn’t vomit even though I really, really needed to. This went on for about an hour until I finally got sick and managed to get back to sleep. Then I was out like a log.

I’ve decided that I’m just way too tired to continue my school work. Tim agrees with me. I’m having problems keeping up as it is. My concentration is quickly straying and my free time is going as well. I don’t enjoy my me-time anymore because I’m tired and just want to sleep. I won’t be ever going back to school. I’m going to have 4 kids. I think it’ll be best if I just stay home. WIth my luck, when they’re in school, they’d each get sick on different days of the week.

I learned today that my cousin, Jimmy, has estranged himself from our grandma within the past month or so. I’m ecstatic. Our ranks are growing. I’m not speaking to her, Jimmy isn’t speaking to her, and I know several other of my cousins, her grandchildren, despise her as well. I like knowing that there are others who feel the same as I do. That it isn’t just me. Here’s to a wonderful future!

I went in and had an ultrasound yesterday. Everytime I’ve had an abdominal ultrasound this early, the technician typically applies a lot of pressure. This one didn’t. We found the sac, but we couldn’t find the baby. I saw it, and it was empty but very bad quality. We moved on to a vaginal ultrasound, which was my first time for that. We found the baby really quickly with it. The picture was very clear too. We could see the baby, its heartbeat, and the yolk which was shaped like a pear from our point of view. She said I was 6 weeks 5 days, which I calculated to a due date of approximately March 13th.

I talked with my university mentor about what to do now. His idea is to make me work harder so I can have a break when the time comes. I hope I can pull it off. I have little time as it is.

Our neighbor, Denny, came by last night as well. Gossip ensued. Last Saturday, I noticed a couple fire trucks, 2 EMTs and several police officers across the street. Once everyone cleared away, a woman got in her car and followed. I saw that Denny was over there during all of that. Now we know what happened. A girl named Elizabeth who lived over there had died unexpectedly. She was 17 years old. Her funeral is tomorrow morning. Out of Denny and Tim, I was the only one of us three who even knew her name immediately. I looked up her obituary to learn a bit more about her. I check the obituaries of where I grew up, but I never considered checking the local ones. I would have immediately recognized her if I did check. That’s a shock though. No idea how she died. Sad day.

Kiki had her 6 month checkup on Thursday. In summary, she’s fat with a large head… Just like Ory was! But now, Ory is just short with a big head (off the charts in size). We started Kiki on solids on Thursday as well. That’s going well. We’re still trying to figure the new highchair out. I’m thinking of unscrewing the built-in tray. It’s real hard to get her in under it. There would be no safety issues if it were unscrewed because it still fits tight in, and there’s the 5-point harness and also a separate wooden part to keep her legs in. We’ll see what I do.

I had my doctor appointment yesterday during nap time. That way I was leaving Tim with sleeping babies. I get in there, do the cup thing, and my most favorite nurse asks me, “Were you planning for #4?” I tell her I was not. She responded, “Well, you’re having one anyway!” Pregnancy confirmed. We chatted a bit, which lead to me jokingly stating, “I got pregnant because I just missed you guys so much!” She laughed and claimed that she knew that must be the reason why.

I got seen by my doctor. Told him what happened, dates, symptoms, and he says they don’t add up. I’m 7 weeks according to my LMP, but my symptoms aren’t up to par with it yet. I was just recently hit with fatigue, for example. Nausea is getting worse, but I haven’t thrown up yet. I’ve had absolutely no breast soreness, which is unusual for me. I got my pap smear and breast exam done. I know the drill. I go out to the front desk where I’m greeted by a bunch of ecstatic receptionists. “We get you got another 9 months!” and “I’m SO happy!” I just knew they missed me. I get my next appointment scheduled, my ultrasound scheduled, and my paperwork to get my blood work done.

I almost opt to do my blood work next week, because Tim is home with the babies and they’d probably be waking up soon. I call while I’m in the car to see if I can do it now, he says it’s OK. I go back inside to the lab. Here’s where the fun starts.

Receptionist: Is it your first?
Me: No, it’s my fourth. But it’s my first accident so I’m doing pretty good.
Receptionist: My daughter was an accident. She was the best thing that ever happened to me! Things happen for a reason. You’ll love this baby! How old are your kids?
Me, while wishing she hadn’t asked: Three. Two ….. 6 months.

Now, the moment I said “6 months” is when her eyes widened. “Hey, you asked.” I said. It was interesting. So I wait until the nurse gets in to take my blood. I get pulled back and she informs me I also have to use the cup again. I just peed an hour ago! Luckily, having been in this situation before, I still managed to go. I have talent. So I get my blood drawn.

Nurse: Is this your first?
Not again… I can see where THIS is going.
Me: My fourth.
Nurse: I have 2. How old are they?
Me: Three. Two….6 months.

Again, as I say “6 months,” her eyes widen.

Nurse: Wow! Mine are 5 and 1. You’re lucky to be pregnant now though, that way you won’t be pregnant when it’s the middle of summer like my youngest was last year.
Me: Yes, I know. One was born in July. My two year old just turned two.

It makes me feel better that I know someone who’s baby is due two days before her baby turns one. But it’ll be her second. I feel like a freak of nature though. I’m waiting for the sarcastic comments of people thinking they’re being clever to start. I’m starting to get moody, so it’s not going to be pretty.

Ory turned 2 years old 2 days ago. We had a little party for him on his birthday and he went for his 2 year check up today. He’s decided he doesn’t like doctors anymore, and Evie’s decided they’re OK as long as they aren’t touching her. Ory is short, a little chubby, with a large head. Other than that, he’s on track even if he is a little slower with words (he’s been picking them up increasingly).

Ory had a Cars cake for his birthday. Evie blew out one of his candles, but he got the other one. Evie had jealousy issues throughout the whole thing. From us he got a large talking Buzz Lightyear, and small batteryless figures of Buzz Lightyear, Woody, and Jessie. He also had another Buzz Lightyear figure and a bucket of army men that I confiscated to not be used for birthday purposes. He hasn’t received those yet. His Aunt Laura got him a play toolset that everyone seems to love, including Kiki. Tim’s parents got him some clothes (which he despises but Evie loves), a Buzz Lightyear plushie, a book that was torn immediately, and some sand toys for the new sandbox. He got $10 from a great-grandma. His present from my mom hasn’t shown up yet. I have a feeling that I’m forgetting something, but I can’t remember what it is if I am.

Here’s some pictures.

Evie was giving unwrapping privileges because she pouted. Tim’s parents got her a present, but one wasn’t enough. I’ve decided that we aren’t going to allow the “other kids can have presents too” thing anymore. I can’t imagine doing this another year. They need to learn that their siblings have their own special days.

July 7th, my menstrual cycle was still missing. I had some light bleeding the day before, but it didn’t turn into anything. I was already over a week late by that point. I had taken a pregnancy test a couple days prior, but it was negative. On that particular day though, I had a suspicion. So I took my remaining test. I was unsure of the results having heard of evaporation lines before. July 10th, I took another one of a different brand.

The pregnancy line came up before the control line. My only accident. No idea when I’m due yet. I still need to go to an OB/GYN for confirmation and a due date. But I think I should be due sometime in March ’11.

So it looks like we’re expecting our fourth child next year! Here’s to hoping for a smooth pregnancy. I’m excited.