Justice.

I'm not sure how many of you know our old landlord, Trig.  He was like family to Jerry.  A while back, he was accused of having a sexual relationship with a minor.  Trig has always denied these accusations.

When we moved out of his house, we separated ourselves from him and completely denied him access to our children.   This was a decision Jerry and I made together and one that was not received well by Trig.  In fact, that it's why we had most of the issues we had legally with him.  He was no longer in control of our lives/decisions and tried to control whatever he could by makeing our lives a living hell.  He failed.

Months followed and almost a year ago, Trig was finally arrested and charged.  He posted a $50,000 bond and has been dragging out his trial ever since.  His kids and ex wife have been raked over the coals.  And he has put them in a financial bind by dragging this all on while not helping to support his kids.

I am relieved to report that a week ago, Trig took a plea bargain and agreed to pled guilty to avoid life in prison.  Although he still it's adamant that he didn't do anything wrong, Trig got a 7 year sentence with the Department of Correction.  And even though it appears he will only have to serve 2.5 years behind bars before he is eligible for parole, he will NEVER get custody of his children and will NOT get to have them overnight without a babysitter.  Yay!

This now allows Trig's ex wife to take the kids and move them closer to family.  They are struggling with all this information and changes in their life's, and they need the support of family.  I will be very sad to see them move away but I know they need away from all this crap.  Then when Trig is released, he will have to drive to see them. . . And will have to go through a different state's legal system to even gain access to them again. 

While this whole deal is sad, I am so happy to report that justice has been served!  I just hope there is a special place in hell for him.

Heidi. Job. Stress.

Wow.  Where do I start? 

One of the main things keeping me from this blog for the last month has been my stress level with my pending employment.

Here's the story:
On May 1, 2012 because of a weight restriction I was forced to start maternity leave. At that time I was told by the HR Manager at DC 6065 that I would have a job when I returned to work, just not MY current position. I delivered my son on June 13, 2012, shortly after I received notification that my job was no longer job protected and on July 24, 2012 my position would be up for grabs.

On August 1, 2012, after getting a release to return to work on August 4, 2012, I went in and talked to the HR Manager who told me that I would have to apply on line to job positions in the DC and I could not return to work until I had a position. However, my old position had not been posted or filled yet. He said it could take up to a couple pay days to start working again. I received notice that I had until September 4, 2012 to find a position or else?!?! I have since applied for 9 different positions and have currently been turned down for all of them. I am at the end of my rope, I never thought it was going to take this long to find a position. I have been employed with Walmart for over 9 years.

I love working for Walmart and haven't had a single problem until now. I feel as though I am being punished for taking maternity leave. Had I known that nothing was guaranteed, I would have rethought or fought the early maternity leave. But I was told point blank that I would have a position when I came back. I never knew that I was going to have to reapply for jobs without a guarantee of position which could ultimately result in my termination from the company.

What is the next step? I have never had anything less than a meets or exceeds expectations on an evaluation. Do I just sit back and get fired for nothing? How can I get a position back within the DC? Surely I am qualified for any position Walmart has to offer - In the store level, I have worked as a sales floor associate, jewelry sales coordinator, layaway/service desk, money center/site2store, cashier, CSM, and Department Manager, and on the Distribution Center level I am a fork lift driver.

I love this company. With all the negative press and associates that just want to bad mouth our company, I stood behind it, welcomed change and embraced it. I am dedicated, strong, and positive associate. I'm not saying that I have bad days, but it never shows at work. I am a hard, independent worker. I take pride in this company, it's my company. Nothing has ever been handed to me and I worked hard to get where I've been and where I am currently within the company. I feel as though I am an asset to ANY facility and getting told that I could get terminated without any reason - is difficult to swallow.

It has been a super stressful time with all this uncertainty.  One thing was certain - I HAVE to have a job.  There is no way we could survive on one paycheck.  No way at all.  The fact is we are struggling now, things need payed, things need done.  Groceries or bills?  What do you pay first?  Arg!  It's been stressful.  We never thought I'd still be without a paycheck one month after I was able to return to work.  Even though the stress is there, Jerry and I have gotten everything taken care of.  When we think there is no way to get all the bills payed - we do.  When we think there is no way to stock up on groceries - we can.  When birthdays and school picture days come - everybody gets what they need.  I am so proud of Jerry and I - these days of struggling are hard and I can see how they pull marriages apart.  Jerry and I have taken life by the horns and pushed on.  Stress is there, all the time.  But the kids don't see it, it doesn't get in the way of life.  We went on living.  And I'm SO happy to say that it's paid off.  There isn't anyone else I'd like by my side though all of this.

 

After giving the DC a month to find me a position, Tuesday I put in a transfer request back to a store.  Basically, I'll take ANY position to keep me from termination.  After hearing nothing, I went to Raymore Walmart and found Shawn (co-mgr) and straight up asked if he had a position for me.  He laughed and playing said yes.  Then his jaw dropped and an evil grin crossed over his face when he realized I was serious.  He was like a kid Christmas morning.  After explaining to him that I had to have something by Tuesday or I'd be terminated for failure to return off LOA.  He said he'd put me in any position to keep that from happening.  But he had Department Manager positions opening up and he wanted to make sure that I'd still be able to qualify for them (normally there is a 6-month wait after accepting a position).

 

While I was there, the store manager returned from lunch and told me that the manager from Harrisonville Walmart called asking about me wanting to know if I'd be a good HBA Department Manager.  Of course, he said nothing but good things about me and then told him that he didn't want to share me and that Raymore wanted me back.  Now I haven't been officially offered the HBA Department Manager yet.  But Harrisonville is closer to home and a guaranteed Department Manager.  Both pros!!  However, Raymore pays more and can't offer me a department manager department manager yet.  There are some opening soon, just not opened yet.  Raymore did hint that it wouldn't be long before Departments came open and they are lacking in experience. 

 

So basically, I have a big decision to make.  I went from pending termination to more than one option!!  I think I'm leaning towards Raymore, even though they could only give me a cashier/sales floor position as of now, there are promises for department manager with more pay than Harrisonville.  And I KNOW, that if a kid has an appointment and needed to come in late/leave early they would let me.  I don't like shopping the Harrisonville store, the people are rude and the store is trash.  Even though it's closer and a Department Manager position, I'd be stuck for at least 6-months and I like Raymore so much better.  I have friends in Raymore, and Management is willing to take me back without a second thought.  And they'll reinstate me all my time in and pay if the DC does in fact terminate me.  Raymore is like home and I feel they have my back 100%.

 

Management was super excited and before it was all said and done I had 5 member's of management in there telling me not to worry.  No matter what the DC does come Tuesday, the store can reinstate me and give me a position.  So I am to enjoy my holiday weekend and we will figure it all out next week! 

 

Oh the stress - thanks for visiting but go away!  I am so thankful for everyone and their positive words to me.  I really have great friends and some wonderful angels looking over me.

Sad News

For those of you that know my Godfather, Joe Irons.  This is the email that I received from him today.  Not sure if you guys knew what he was going through, but his email saddened me.

My mailing address is ************. How is everybody doing? Well I have been going to the Moffitt Cancer Center since Feb. I came down with Leukemia and I've have been getting kamor every 3 weeks. Than I get blood transfusion every once and a while. I go for a bone marrow transplant on the 15th of August, My baby brother Jeff was a 100% match and I got him flying down on the 30th of July. Well I'm getting tired I'm going to close----- Love ya Joe

I'm getting ready send him pictures of the kids.  If you have time, let him know you are thinking about him....
Love to all

I took out his address for privacy reasons, if you need his mailing or email address, let me know - I have both.

Missouri Tornados

In the wake of these horrible tornado hitting the State of Missouri hard, I feel the need to blog.  The days that followed the horrific devastation in hit Joplin, MO were stressful.  Our weather was horrible, warning after watch, watch after warning.  Everyone fast to jump the gun, taking absolutely NO chances. 

Wednesday, May 25th - Raymore/Belton tornado sirens went off - putting my Walmart under a "Code Black".  I, along with about 50 employees and a hundred customers took shelter in the back hallway of Walmart.  I called Jerry, in a moment of comic relief, I let him know if the building caved in, start in the back, that's where we all would be.  We sent our love to each other and he promised he and the boys were just fine, them too taking cover with because of the tornado sirens.  (Sad to say now, that I didn't even think twice of Chloe.  I knew she was in school and that she was in great hands.  I had to trust they were taking cover too.)

I am one of five department managers that carry a management walkie with an earpiece.  Listening to management, trained tornado chasers and law enforcement during the Code Black was eerie.  Behind our store 2 funnel clouds flirted in the skies.  Neither daring to touch down - Thank God!  90 minutes later the storm had passed, back to business as usual.

Checking my phone, I knew that the rumors were that the storm had touched down outside Harrisonville - where?  South west of Harrisonville.  I live 9 miles south west of Harrisonville.  I once again called Jerry, he and the boys were fine.  Nothing happened in our part of town - that he knew of. 

Chloe's school left me a voice mail saying that the school was under a Tornado Warning and all kids were safely secured inside the building.  Why would the school call to tell me that?  I wasn't sure, but I was grateful.  Set my mind at ease.  Then came the rumor of a tornado touch down in Louisburg, Kansas - 7 miles west of Chloe's school.  No one knew the details.  Looking back, I am glad that I didn't know about the touchdown when it happened.  I didn't find out until afterwards and by then the school had already left it's message.  I would have been a complete mess waiting for details of the tornado, worrying about my baby girl.

The school called again at 3:10pm letting us know that the kids were coming home on their normal routes.  When Chloe got home, we were waiting. . . she was perfectly fine.  The school had done such a good job of taking care of the kids. . . Chloe didn't even know anything happened.  She told us is was a play day and they got to hangout in the girls locker room.  They gave them ice cold bottled water and they sat and sang songs and had fun telling stories.  I am so thankful to them!  They did not cause any fear in the weather and to what was happening around them.  I am so grateful to the school for their actions in taking care of the kids without scaring them AND keeping us parents informed!

Our scary skies as the storm passed over us and headed for Sedalia.

Wednesday also brought a powerful tornado to Sedalia, which grew to about three-quarters of a mile wide, did millions of dollars in damage. The tornado first touched down about one mile south of the city limits along U.S. Highway 65, then tracked in a northeasterly direction, taking out businesses along U.S. 65 and causing extensive damage to trailer parks and residential neighborhoods in a half-mile radius.  The tornado gained in intensity as it traveled northeast through Sedalia, absorbing a second funnel that had developed and eventually growing to about three-quarters of a mile wide as it crossed U.S. 50 Highway. Sedalia School District 200's bus barn “took a direct hit” and that at least 25 buses were damaged. The state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is allowing the district to cancel the rest of the school year.

Amanda, Jeremy, Carter and Mom were all in Sedalia when the storm hit.  Mom was at Walmart (also under a Code Black) and Amanda, Jeremy and Carter took shelter at Jeremy's parents house.   Dad, Joanna, and Caleb were in Cole Camp - as far as I know, they just got a little bit of hail.

Two very close calls for this family.  I am grateful for everything I have!  And I am so happy that everyone in my family is okay!!  Praying for those who lost everything, including loved ones.

Sickness

Oi!  It has been one heck of a week!  I went back to work on Monday.  It feels good to get back into the routine of things. . . I'm not use to being up and on my feet all day long, so when 4 o'clock rolled around I was ready to go home!  When I walked in the house, Jaxen was screaming!!  I just picked him up and he instantly stopped crying and stared at me.  His face said it all!! "Where were you?!?!"  Lol, I let him know that this was going to be the new normal. . . and he was going to have to get use to it!

Tuesday evening we had a Birthday Party for Chloe at the bowling alley.  It was so much fun and Chloe had a blast!  We had 2 lanes, 10 kids and 2 hours of bowling.  After the bowling alley we went to dinner at Pizza Hut with Joylynn and 4 of her kids.  It was a very fun evening and we didn't get home until 830-9pm.  The evening didn't end too well for Jerry and I - We made someone mad at us because we didn't want to be part of their drama anymore, and he gave us notice - starting in April, he was raising our rent $100.  I'm still furious at him, but I can't do anything about it.  When we questioned him about it, (heck we use to call him family!) he said it was just business and we don't have a contract with him.  So, I think Jerry and I are looking for another place to live.  I can't imagine paying as much as we do and not own the house.  And we know that we can get a loan from the bank (we asked about it when we got the new car), just have to find a place we like.  The only other option we have is to buy this house from him and I know he only bought this place for $39,000 and he said he'll let us buy it for $75,000 and we've done all the work on his house, he hasn't done anything!  Plus buying this place means I'm stuck her for a while, and I really want a yard.  We really want to stay in the area and keep Chloe in the same school district. . . and maybe get a couple acres of land with a house.  It's a big decision and it's really scary to make.  But I don't feel like we can afford to stay here with the rent going higher.  I know we can for a while but I think we would slowly sink and I can't afford to do that with three kids.  I can't see staying here and living in fear that if we tick him off, he can kick us out just because.  I need something stable for my family.  He will be the one screwed over when we move out.  All it takes is a single decision at a specific moment to change your world forever. . .  just know that we are thinking about everything!  We will make a decision that we feel is best for us and our family.

Sorry about the ranting there. . . I always have a way of keeping quite when it comes to these kinds of things because I don't want anyone to worry.  But there it is, the latest drama in our lives and probably the biggest reason we need to move and get him out of our lives altogether.  Anyways, Tuesday night was a long night for me, I was stressing and I think Jaxen knew it.  I was up with him until 3am and my alarm went off at 545am!  Then after work I had Girl Scouts!!  So you can imagine how tired I was. . . LOL!

Thursday I had to leave work around 2:30pm because the school called and Chloe was running a fever and needed to be picked up.  The school had given her Tylenol and she was acting fine when I got her home.  But just before dinner she feel asleep on living room floor and was running a high fever when we woke her up.  She didn't eat that night she got medicine and layed in my bed.  When I went to work Friday morning, she was still there. . . sleeping!

Chloe stayed home from school Friday, because of her fever.  She basically slept Friday and Saturday away!!  Saturday night Jacob fell asleep on my living room floor and he too was running a high fever when I woke him up.  Medicine and to bed he went - only to end up in my bed a few hours later because he got sick in his bed.  Today, Chloe's been fever free - just giving her cough medicine to help with her runny nose and horrible cough.  However, Jacob has been on Motrin and Tylenol all day!!  I can't seem to get his fever to break. . . he runs a 100.8 fever with Motrin. 

***Since writing the above, I have called our 24-hour Nurse Line (offered by our insurance).  Poor Jacob had 103.2 fever again and I was starting really worry.  I have never not had Motrin and Tylenol work after 24 hours.  Plus in talking to my mom, I realized that Jacob had been in a diaper since 830 last night and I changed a wet diaper after he got sick in his bed and moved him to my bed at 1130 last night. . . but he had not peed since.  Worrying about dehydration, I got him in the bath to cool him down and called the Nurse Line.  She walked me through everything, gave me confidence in the things I was doing correctly and gave me ideas to get Jacob back to normal.  She informed me that a temperature of 103.2 under his arm is equivalent to a temperature of 104 by mouth.  But after assessing Jacob on the phone, she didn't feel it was necessary for me to run out in the middle of the night and take him to the ER.  Not yet anyways.  The nurse gave me a list of things to watch for and recommended that Jacob see his doctor within 24 hours.  So waiting until morning and not creating a ER bill seemed the most logical.  Jacob's fever has since gone down and he sat up and was talking with me for a little while, I think he's drank more in the last couple hours than he has all day!  Nurse wants me to watch him closely tonight (set the alarm for every 3 hours), monitor his temperature and his mood.  She also told me to trust my instincts, Mommy knows best - so if any time I feel he needs to go, I am to take him immediately to the doctor.  She said not to second guess myself. 

I really felt better after talking to the Nurse.  This was the first time I called the Nurse Line and I like that they are there to help you make an educated decision on whether or not to go to the ER.  They say a fever is nothing to mess with so as a parent you automatically think the worse, but she gave me my confidence and let me know that a high fever wasn't horrible as long as Jacob was responding to me and aware of his surroundings.  So it looks like another long Sunday night for Mommy!  Daddy is on stand by at work and I've kept him informed.  We think it's best to let him rest him and home and if he shows any signs of dehydration or his fever gets any higher, Jerry will be on his way home so I can get Jacob to the hospital and on an IV.  So as of now, Jacob and I are bunking together in my bed and I will call his pediatrician in the morning to see what he wants to do.  Hopefully, by morning the fever will be gone.  Fingers crossed!

If anything changes, I will let you all know.

Counting my blessings. . .

It was definitely not the greatest week ever but in reality it could have been a lot worse!  As most of you already know, we were in a pretty terrifying car accident Thursday morning.  I'll spare you all the details - mainly because I don't want to relive all of them - but since Chloe was out of school, we were on our way to Warsaw/Sedalia to take care of some personal business.  Bad idea, definitely.  Next time we will listen to my 'gut', because I had a weird feeling that morning.  I told Jerry about my feeling as we were pulling out of our driveway.  Omen or Ironic?  Whatever it was, never was I expecting that less than 20 minutes to our destination, we would loose control of our Explorer and end up in a ditch on the opposite side of the road, facing the way we were coming from and laying on our side.

It all happened really fast, yet my brain will play it in slow motion for me several times a day.  I remember fish tailing and screaming at Jerry, hitting the ditch on the passenger front, seeing snow fly, seeing everything in the car getting thrown about, the coming to a stop and looking down at Jerry.  Then hearing a terrifying screaming and crying from the backseat, my heart stopped and I jumped into action.  I remember fighting to release the seat belt and then landing on Jerry.  After a quick look over, making sure everyone was okay, with Jerry's help I was finally able to climb out of the car, making room for him to get the kids unbuckled and hand them out to me.  Jaxen slept through the whole thing!

Thank God, everyone was okay and there was a house really close by, with a really nice lady who let us come in to keep the kids warm.  She was a Great Grandmother with young grandchildren so she had toys for them to play with, she read books to them to keep them occupied and she knew exactly which channel had to best cartoons!  I owe that old lady a lot and the kids loved her.  She gave us the peace of mind that my kids were warm and safely away from the road, giving them time to be kids and not worry about what just happened.

Everything else kind of ran together, a lot of things happened all at once.  Had to deal with the EMT's - who looked over all three kids and put my mind at easy, especially with Jaxen because he's the one who can't tell me what hurts.  Talked and filled out the accident report with 3 Highway Patrol Troopers and a Cass County Sheriff.  Dealt with the tow truck drivers - who knew my sister through a friend of a friend and towed the Explorer to Mom and Dad's and knew where they lived because they had been there before!  And I had to call someone to come and get us. . . Thank God for Joanna and Caleb!  They were a life-saver.

I could sit here and tell you a ton of conversations that I've had with Jerry and the kids, both before and after the accident, that would make you believe in miracles.  But I think maybe they are too good to believe.  But I will tell you I have a pretty profound 5-year-old.  Chloe was SO worried about the car and not having one because it was broken.  So worried about it that she cried and cried - not because we just wrecked but because we broke the car.  It took a little convincing that I didn't care about the car and that the only thing I cared about was her and her brothers.  And I thank God that none of them were hurt.  And like a light bulb going off, she looked me square in the eye and told me that God was hugging them in their car seats because he didn't want them to get hurt.  When I agreed whole hearted with her, she told me that God squeezed them really tight.  Guardian Angels were in the backseat with my kids, there is no way they weren't.

Jerry and I are okay physically.  We both have muscle stiffness in our shoulder/back.  My hips and knee feels like they are out of alignment. . .but getting better everyday.  Jerry's wrist is sore and I think he cracked (or at least badly bruised) a few ribs.  Emotionally, Jerry is upset with himself for losing control, aggravated that he wrecked our only vehicle.  Of course, he's beating himself up because I do not feel any frustration towards him - just happy, that he's okay and we all walked away from it.  I was lucky he was there, I don't think I could have physically gotten myself and the kids out of the vehicle if he wasn't there.  And I could care less about the car.  I'm having a hard time getting the accident out of my head, it's on repeat.  When I close my eyes to sleep, I can still feel the car fish tailing, I can still hear Chloe screaming, I can still see the fear in Jerry's eyes when the car came to a stop, I can still hear Jerry telling me to turn off the engine, I can still feel my heart race when I think about Jerry handing me Jaxen and his car seat, I can still see a the tow truck tipping the Explorer back on to it's tires, I can still see the state troopers removing Chloe and Jacob's car seats from the car, I can still see the tow truck drivers cleaning up the broken glass off the ground.  It's all still really fresh in my mind and it makes it hard to sleep but it also makes it real easy to count my blessings. . .

Why the "Baby Blues"?

Can you believe it's true.  I can't believe it's already been 9 months.  It feels like Jerry and I just started this journey again and now it's almost over with.  But honestly, the way I feel lately, I am so ready for Jaxen to be here in my arms, laying around recovering from surgery and getting use to my new life as a Mommy of three.  It's all really bittersweet.  This is probably the last time I get to take this journey into motherhood. . . and as much as I complain - it really is something I enjoy.

I've probably said it once and I will continue to say it, but this time feels totally different.  Being on #3 doesn't seem to be a 'big deal' to anyone else but me.  And lately it's putting me into a depression type mood.  Which is scary to think that I'm depressed just as I'm about to add more to my overflowing plate. . . I can only imagine it getting worse.  I am emotional about most things lately, not crazy emotional were I blow up at people and act like a crazy person or cry on the drop of a hat if you hurt my feelings.  But emotional when I am alone.  I won't cry in front of you and you'll never know you actually hurt my feelings but when I'm home and in my element the water works can start.  And they can be about anything!  Jerry seems to get a lot of it, and honestly most of it doesn't even stem from him.  And more often than not, I don't even cry in front of him.  I just need an open reminder to myself that depression is completely normal! And the first step is to admit it and ask for help. My doctor (along with Jerry's help) is prepared to recognize and treat depression if it gets worse after delivery, but the best thing to do now is to keep it in check by again recognizing that it's normal!


A big issue for me this time is that I feel alone in this journey.  No one connects with this pregnancy more than me and Jerry (even he doesn't get excited over every kick and movement anymore), but the other pregnancies it seemed like people cared.  This time, since it's #3 I hear a lot of crap from everyone, strangers, friends, family. . . they all echo the same things: "You're a pro at this", "Do you know what causes this?", "You don't need anything special for this baby", "You should have everything you need already" and not that I need or want handouts from people but I HATE the fact that people just assume things.  I want to scream - "I am less prepared for this child than I was my first!  So yes, I need things and I don't have everything already."  Now don't get me wrong, it's mostly small things that are needed, I have the crib, bassinet, and odds and ends most parents don't think about.  But as of right now, there isn't a bottle in this house, I have no car seat that is legal to bring baby home in, I have no warm winter clothes (unless we use pink - I have plenty of pink winter clothes!), no baby swing, no infant bouncing seat, no pacifiers, and only a handful of bibs, blankets (unless we use pink - I have plenty of pink winter blankets!), and diapers.  Jacob was a complete summer baby, Jaxen is a middle of winter baby. . . why do people assume everything can be handed down?  And why do people assume that all baby things last 3 kids?  Bottles don't keep their seals, both the baby swing and bouncing seat didn't last through Jacob's infant months, and the car seat both Chloe and Jacob came home in is expired.  Grr!  It's just very aggravating and I don't write this not to make anyone feel bad.  It's just one of the many things that I have heard enough of in the last 9 months that can totally irritate me, and I highly doubt it's hormone related!  I know Jaxen is my third child, but he is every bit as special as my first and second - I just wish everyone had an understanding of it all.  ALL Mommy's and their baby's - no matter what number they are in the birth order - deserve to be surrounded by love and concern. . . All baby's should be celebrated!

Alright, I'll step off my soap box for now.  I just hate feeling depressed, I hate the fact that things have changed, I hate the fact that some of the people I depend on are letting me down.  [ Honestly, I don't think the people letting me down read this blog - so don't assume it's you!  :o) ]  I just want everyone to know that this depression thing is real and this is the first time I've really thought of it being an issue with me.  But I will be alright, I have a great husband, kids and doctor who will keep me from losing it completely!  Even if that means Jerry has promised to go with me shopping for the baby things we need on Thursday just to make me feel like I am ready to have this baby!  Which he HATES shopping, he just really wish I do it myself, but he knows it will just turn into a crying trip. . . lol, I'm glad he still loves me! 

Another good feeling moment for me this week is my baby shower at work.  My best friend at work is throwing me a baby shower in the break room on Friday (my day off!) at 11am.  I am so grateful for all my co-workers who are planning to come and celebrate with us.  It sounds like it's going to be a nice crowd. . . I am blessed to work with the people I do.  They will never know how much this little baby shower means to me.  I cry just thinking about it!

Wow, this is turning into a long Baby post!!  Other than an updated belly picture the only other this I have to report on is the major heartburn that I've been experiencing the last couple of days.  It keep me up most of the night tossing and turning and pacing the room just trying to get comfortable.  Tums don't seem to be helping much, but it's the only thing that the doctor recommends I take. . . so the suffering has begun!  If last night was any indication, Jaxen is coming out with a ton of hair!!!  LOL.

And now for the Belly Picture. . . only 37 days to go!!  Sorry if it's a little blurry, kids helped me take the pictures.

27 week appointment

Whew, there is lots of things happening around here.  All week has been crazy busy!  But here I am taking a moment for myself - at 11:30pm. . . Both kids are sounds asleep in their beds and Jerry is 'napping' before going to work tonight for a few hours.  He doesn't really want to work tonight but doing this for a co-worker tonight will get him off a couple hours on Halloween to go trick-or-treating with the kids.  So it's good for the big picture. 

I used a vacation day on Monday and only worked half a day on Tuesday because Jacob and I had a WIC appointment.  No big deal, all the normal things were done and we were on our way.  Jacob weighed in at exactly 31 pounds and his iron was absolutely awesome at a 13.

Wednesday -  I worked all day and then went to a Girl Scout Service Unit Meeting.  I really wanted to skip it, but I had to go to find out if I was getting a troop here in town or not.  And the great news is that I am!  The only problem is that there were lots of issues last year with a troop leader here in town named 'Heidi' and missing money, parents paid for uniforms and things that there kids never received.  So council is working with me to get the things they were promised and make it right.  So I have a huge up hill battle to get last years girls to re-register.  Next Wednesday night I have a parent / registration meeting to meet and talk face-to-face with these parents so that they know I am not the same 'Heidi' that messed things up last year.  Wish me luck!

Thursday - I worked but around 3:20 I get a phone call from Chloe's school saying that the bus tried to drop her off but there wasn't anyone standing outside to get her.  So she was on her way back to the school to wait until a parent came and got her.  Which totally freaked me out!  I immediately called home and talked with Jerry. . . the Insurance Company called about me and he was in the process of getting them all squared away when the bus arrived to drop off Chloe.  He totally lost track of time talking to the Insurance Company and it wasn't until the bus was pulling away that he seen it outside.  So needless to say, I immediately left work to go pick Chloe up from school.  I dang near beat her back to school too!  The bus driver had just dropped her off at the office when I was pulling in the parking lot.  I was expecting a crazy upset 5-year-old when I walked around the corner, but what I got was the total opposite!  She had fun driving all over Freeman on the school bus and she KNEW that someone was on their way to get her.  Thank goodness we talked to her about what would happen if Daddy wasn't outside waiting, so she was okay with the whole thing. . . Daddy was more upset about missing her bus than Chloe was!  That afternoon, we ran to Walmart for a few things that we needed since I didn't get to pick them up after work.  We grabbed Sonic for dinner because I had to attend the Freeman Community Club Meeting to ask the board permission to use the Community Building for my Girl Scout Troop Meetings.  (Which they said YES!)

Friday was my doctor's appointment.  Jerry's sister, Susan watched Jacob for us.  It is so much easier to go without him.  This appointment was the one I dread. . . the horrible Glucose Screening.  I drank the nasty drink, then the world spun, my balance was way off, and I felt yucky but an hour later they drew my blood and hopefully I'll get a phone call telling me that everything was good so I don't have to take the 3 hour test.  Other than the glucose screening, I think it was a very informative appointment.  I got to ask all my questions and state all my worries.  Here's the scoop:  my blood pressure was 120 / 70 which is good.  I weighed in at 137.5 pounds, which means I had no weight gain this month but the baby is still measuring perfectly so there isn't any worries, the weight will come.  Once again we couldn't get an accurate heart rate on the little guy because he wouldn't stay still.  He actually kicked the microphone the whole time we tried to get a reading, even though I don't have a 'beats per minute' average the doctor said that it's a good thing that he's so active and we can tell he has a good and strong heartbeat. 

And now the scary part, okay at least to me, is the pain I've been experiencing is actually because of braxton hicks contractions.  Apparently my uterus finally knows what it's doing!  My doctor says I have an active uterus (kinda a theme this time around -active baby and active uterus!) and that the braxton hicks are normal this early but not to ignore them.  I have to pay closer attention to them and head to the Hospital when they A.) become rhymetic or closer together and frequently B.) become intense, gradually getting stronger or doubling over in pain C.) cause a bloody show or my water breaks.  Most likely the contractions are because I actively work all week long and once I get home and relax for the weekend they start up, practicing for labor.  So no worries yet, but it's something I have to watch. . . the doctor wants to see me every two weeks now, so I'm in good hands.  My next doctor's appointment is in 3 weeks - 11/10/10 @ 10am!!

Jerry is sick -

He came home early from work last night because he was throwing up. He wasn't running a fever, and as far as I know, he hasn't ran one yet. I had to work today, and Jerry said he was well enough to take Chloe to preschool and watch Jacob. . . but he's been dragging all day today. I called him a couple of times to make sure all was good. And as soon as I got home this afternoon, he called in to work and went to bed. I think he's getting better because he can hold down solid food now. I just hope this isn't the start of an the flu bug in my household. . .

On another note, we figured out what is wrong with my Explorer. . . both O2 sensors are bad. Which is causing my gas mileage to be horrid. I use to go 310-350 miles on a tank of gas and lately I can only go 210. So it's not going to cost us as much as we originally thought. Now when I have an extra 100 bucks laying around the Explorer will be fixed!