I'm a Winner! =)

First of all, thank you so much for all of your sweet and encouraging comments! Your comments truly make my day--especially right now when it doesn't take much to make or break a day! Today I am trying to muster the strength to finish my planting. Most of my plants are in and most are doing quite well so far, but I have several seed packets and some fresh turned dirt waiting on me. I guess I need to tie a bucket around my neck and go get at it. *smile/sigh*

As part of my Mother's Day gift, hubby built the very cool rustic backdrop behind the grill there. The previous owners/renters/someone had let the grill get too hot too close to the house and melted a bit of the vinal siding. This covers that ugly spot and also prevents it from happening on our watch. It's pretty dandy looking and has a shelf on top for plants and herbs or whatnot and even hooks to hang utinsils on while grilling.

Also, you may have noticed the little picture on the left side of my blog--hubby entered me in a Mother's Day contest for our local newspaper and I won! First Place in the Family Fun Division! The prize was $100 to spend at the Mall here in town, $35 towards spa treatments, free cupcakes from Miss Ellie's, dinner at Texas Roadhouse, a 30 minute session with a professional photographer, and a very nice cosmetic bag with soaps and lotions from Body Be Well. I'm pretty excited to get to feeling better so I can claim some of my prizes! It's a good thing that nothing expires for at least 90 days, because I sure can't get out to do anything now!

Kalli and Rick planted a lot of flowers for me last Friday. They all look so pretty and the weather has been perfect! Every once in a while I just have to venture away from the little sick room and take in the fresh air while I enjoy the beauty of spring!

All my girls are back home now! Kammy was the only one who really got very sick. Doctor gave all of them (and daddy) an antiobiotic so they could come back home and not risk exposing Mommy and baby to strep.

What "Morning Sickness" means to me.

Disclaimer: This may be a bit too descriptive for some stomachs. This is written for those of you who simply don't get morning sickness...maybe it will explain a few things. Some of you, I know will totally understand.

Morning Sickness. The while term makes me cringe. It's such a misnomer. I'd love to have 'morning sickness'. Unfortionately, I am one of those lucky ladies who gets morning sickness morning, noon and night. There are several theories on morning sickness, but no one really knows for sure what causes it and why some gals suffer and others don't.  For me, it starts pretty much right away--usually about week five or six. With my first baby, it was my first clue. With #2, it didn't strike until about week 8 I think. I had lunch with my Grandma--cottage cheese salad and BAM! It hit me upside the head out of nowhere. I was sick with her from then until about week 18! With #3, again it was my first clue. #4, I knew for a few days before it struck and #5, I knew for maybe a week. It's funny, because I hardly remember at all being sick with #5 (although I know I was). I had just recovered from a miscarriage and was so thankful to be expecting that I almost welcomed it. Almost. =)

This time, it was again my first clue. Honestly, I didn't feel ready for it. I was so ill last fall and so thankful to be feeling better that I was just reveling in feeling good. Of course, I am a mommy at heart and it really didn't take long for excitement to strike.

Anyway....back to the morning sickness. It's violent! Unmedicated, it is nothing to vomit 20-30 times a day. Nothing, and I do mean NOTHING stays down. I gag when I brush my teeth, I gag when I see food, I gag when I smell something, I gag when I yawn, I gag when my husband kisses me. My senses seem extremely heightened. For example, if I pour ginger ale out of an aluminum can into a glass, I can smell aluminum on my hand and have to go wash it or I will gag. Sometimes the smell of the soap makes me gag as well, so there you go! In my first pregnancy, I lost about 15 pounds in the first month. Starting out at barely 100, I didn't have much to lose back then. I tore my esophogas from retching so much. They pretty quickly figured out that I was going to have to have some meds or I'd be in the hospital on IV's pretty much all the time. I spent enough time there as it was.

Over time and with experience, I've figured out the things I have to do to cope. I really have a couple of choices:

#1. Unmedicated. I can focus on keeping fluids down and spend my time on and off IV's. The benefit of this is that I gain very little to no weight in the first trimester and of course, being unmedicated has it's benefits. The bad part is that I risk constant dehydration (dangerous to the baby) and further esophogesical damage.

#2. I can take the medication and carefully watch the clock, eating every 2 hours. The medication is pretty much proven safe, but it only works to help control the "gag reflex" a little, meaning I still feel badly and like I need to vomit but usually can't. When I do, it us usually dry heaves or stomach acid from a stomach that I let get "empty." (Meaning I went too long without eating. It is very hard to make yourself eat when you don't feel well. Also, I have found that the things I am hungry for--good things--like fresh fruits and veggies don't stay down as well as carbs. I know....it's a real losing battle and hard for some people to understand. Why is she gaining so much weight if she's so sick? Well, that's why. The medication makes me very sleepy on top of being tired already and so we add inactivity and all of its drawbacks to the mix.

So far, I have been pretty fortunate and the weight comes of quickly and easily after delivery, but....I always worry. I'm not getting any younger and this is pregnancy #6. The good thing is that somewhere between weeks 14 and 16 I start feeling better and can eat better. I figure we have about 4-6 more weeks of feeling like this. It's already old, but like I said....I smile while I retch because feeling this bad means something really good is coming! =)

It's Mother's Day, but Christmas is coming!

It's Mother's Day, but Christmas is coming! Something else is coming around Christmas time--SUPRISE!

Our family will be welcoming a very special little package!

Meanwhile, we will be enjoying (okay, enduring) the morning sickness that comes with this process and lasts through the 4th or 5th month. Having been here a "few" times before, we know the drill. Take the medication to keep me hydrated and hungry and alternate between eating and sleeping around the clock.

Thankfully, I have a wonderful almost 14 year old to take over most of the household duties along with the help of her daddy and next younger sister. School is out now, so the timing is great--I'll be feeling quite well by fall and able to handle teaching again.

Kammy was a little disappointed that we are getting a baby people--what she really wants is a baby horse!

Kaite keeps writing on her etch-a-sketch while she says, "Dear Happy Kaite, We are getting a baby." At one point she looked at her potty and said, "Oh dear! We are gonna hafta get another potty!"

Rick has been dealing well with the pregnancy cravings--making those frequent runs to the grocery and teasingly grumbling that this baby is costing him more BEFORE it comes that it will after!

Thank you for your love and prayers for us and the new little one. As always, I am miserable (this too, shall pass), fearful of losing this little life, and a little anxious about having another major surgery at the end of all this.

Now, to answer all your questions:

YES, We really are having another baby! YES, We do know what causes that. NO, We are not "still trying" for a boy. NO, We don't think "we have enough already!" Smile.

I wrote the above last week one day and was going to post it today (Mother's Day). Thursday night, Kammy started feeling ill--sometime Friday Grandma came and got Kammy, Kaite and Kayla (who were not feeling well either). Kalli was feeling fine, so stayed home to help mommy. As it turns out though, Kammy has a confirmed case of strep with scarletina (scarlet fever type rash that sometime accompanies a bad case of strep.)

My Mother's Day is turning out a bit different than usual as I have been quaranteened to my room and my girls have all now been wisked away to Grandma's. I'm not feeling sorry for myself though--I am thankful for my wonderful mommy who I know is taking great care of them. My sweet husband did his best to keep my tummy happy today and while the "morning sickness" is miserable, I know that it will not last forever---I do have a sore throat today, so please help me pray that I do not get strep!!!