Alive and... well, maybe just alive.

We're still here. I'm still puking - sometimes. I'm 12 weeks now, and hoping things start looking up soon. I called the OB today, scheduled my first appointment. Gee, I can't wait. There's been speculation regarding my sister's twins and her sick desire for me to experience twins as well, so ruling that out will be lovely. Not too worried, but saying "I told you so" to Erin will be sweet. She can keep that experience all to herself!

We went to my parents while Blaine was on location in Florida Feb 27-March 10. Mom and Dad have newborn lambs - although the ewes seemed hesitant to kick into high gear until we were getting ready to leave. Liberty and Eden thoroughly enjoyed the sheep though. Sterling says they are scary and Ruby says that unless Momma goes too, she ain't going. Momma didn't go. There's lots of snow to sled on in South Dakota though, and Dad made a few sledding hills for the kids to play on. I took naps and was generally lazy. Thanks, Mom.

On the way back through, we visited friends in Iowa. The kids have made friends for life in the 52 hours total they've spent with those kids. Fun times. I love meeting up with friends I've had since childhood and watching our children become friends too. The dirt they could dig up on Momma that way...

Weather in Missouri is warmer. Apparently we missed some of the really warm stuff, but it's still warmer. The sound of the birds in the morning is a cheery thought. Spring can come. :)

I'm not feeling funny. At all. It's hard to blog when I'm only upright because I already took one nap, the house needs work but I'm not quite getting there... and I can't find a stinking thing funny right about now. See why I haven't written?

My girls, on the other hand, are figuring out pregnancy. Too many episodes of "A Baby Story" later, their favorite game is labor and delivery. Eden just announced to Liberty that Liberty is 9 centimeters and almost ready to push. I am slightly disturbed, and yet... it's life. They also pretend to give epidurals. Eden was thrilled that the pin they found to use "doesn't even hurt because I'm so chubby". Oh, but I wish it worked that way. That's not life.

Coupon, anyone?

Oreo sent me a coupon for a free package of Oreos when I became a fan on their Facebook page. I redeemed my coupon today, and the kids enjoyed their very first Oreo. Pretty sure they've never had them before. Is that sad? But Eden took the cake - or the cookie, if you'd rather.

"Thanks for buying these cookies, Momma."

"I didn't buy them, honey. I had a coupon that made them free." (Never too soon to implement the money-saving values needed to survive in this world. And mentioning this also lets me remind them, when they want me to buy them again, that I didn't buy them and they are most definitely not in our budget.)

"Oh. Well, thanks for freeing them!"

Oreos: Independence achieved.

(And a side note, Liberty asked me if I could watch for a coupon for her that would make new doll clothes for Felicity free. She doesn't want a dollar off coupon though. Only free. Girl after my own heart.)

Here we go again.

I'm not certain I'm ready for the announcement, but it's hard to hide these days. Baby #5 is due in September. Judging from the way I've been feeling, everything is doing what it's supposed to. Judging from how I'm looking, I'm a lot further along than the 8 weeks that I really am. My muscles seem to have just given up, given in, and let everything go. At this rate, I'll be in maternity clothes long before I'm ready. The girls, on the other hand, are checking every day to see if my belly is growing - and it's seeming to oblige. Then I told them the baby is about the size of a kidney bean, and the wheels started turning. What else is making my belly so big right about now? A friend put it nicely. "You've got to give the baby some padding, so it'll be comfy." Padding, I've got.

Excited? Most definitely. It was a little easier being excited before I started feeling like I'm going to be sick at any moment. That's putting a damper on things. I'll get there though. The nausea is zapping my humor though. Sorry folks.

And so life goes...

Blaine's home. Life's back to "normal". My "old" friend's visit went well. So well, we'll see them again tonight for supper. It was so fun to "reminisce" on times past.

I got a comb stuck in my hair last night. Rephrase: I had nothing to do with it. Names withheld to protect the guilty, one comb cut into many pieces and two hours and waiting for Blaine to get home and help later, my hair is intact and the comb isn't. And one small child now knows that playing with Momma's hair with a comb means combing - not pretending the comb is a curling iron. That is, if said child ever gets to play with Momma's hair ever again. And no, there are no photos. I considered taking a photo of the comb in it's 25 pieces, but didn't. And I didn't consider taking a photo of the comb hanging from my head. Laugh with me, not at me. It's definitely funnier now that I know my hair is not the two inches long it looked like it might end up being when the comb was stuck. Blaine had threats of me finding my shotgun if he laughed. To his credit, he did not. Within earshot.

My washing machine has been down and out for 5 days now. The drain isn't draining and the laundry room floods. I do laundry every day. Things are getting rather slim for pickings right about now. I'm tempted to head to my children's drawers and see what's left - since it's not gone yet, they really don't need it right? Unless the washing machine drain stops draining, that is. Then clothing, any clean clothing, sounds golden.

Off to get my children presentable before supper. If I can find anything clean.

Diet results: unsatisfactory. Must have been the placebo.

I've been on a diet for about 6 1/2 years now. It's the "one bite for you, two for me" method - otherwise known as a hovering child that must eat whatever I'm eating. So tell me, why am I not a good 20 pounds lighter? Like today. Lunch today, sans Blaine, was tater tots dipped in sour cream. Healthy, I know. Without my husband to cook for, things are pretty lax around here. I asked if anyone else wanted some, the older girls did, Sterling most definitely did not. But when they came out of the toaster oven resembling chicken nuggets, he wanted to try them. Certain he wouldn't like them, I dished up the girls and mine, gave him one of mine, and waited for the predicted spit. Didn't happen. I got to eat roughly 2/3 of my original lunch. I suppose that's only fair, since I ate two of his orange wedges as I peeled it for him. But again, why am I not lighter? Maybe it's the stuff I sneak when the kids aren't looking... ice cream, you know, tastes better at 8:16pm when the kids are in bed and mine is the only spit on the spoon.

I get to see an "old" friend tomorrow. It's been 9 years. Life is drastically different than it was back then. But why am I so stinking nervous? And why, just now, do I have to break out so that I closely resemble what I looked like 9 years ago? Seriously.

Blaine's driving home - should be home Monday! He got to leave early, once again. So very cool. It'll be great to have my husband back.

Just an FYI: Fisherman's cough drops are highly effective. Try drinking chocolate milk while you have one in your mouth though, and it works all the better. The flavor achieved is enough alone to scare whatever is bothering you into submission.

Everyday funnies.

Ruby's teething, which means a rash. I took her diaper off, left her bare bottomed for a bit before her bath, and she climbed onto Eden's bed to pee. Really now. I figured I'd be cleaning up a puddle off the kitchen floor - but not washing sheets, blankets, quilts, the whole bit. Seriously now.

All that to say that Eden slept with me last night. She had her birthday party, we were gone all day, and her sheets are still working their way through my overflowing laundry room. Tonight's looking about the same - less the birthday party excuse. But when I told her she could sleep with me so long as I could use the lamp and read without disturbing her, she told me, "I don't care Mom, as long as you aren't too loud reading." Um, honey, Mama doesn't make too much noise reading. Reading silently, after all, is a learned skill - one she hasn't learned yet.

I woke up yesterday with a raging headache - day 3 of such. I don't know. But when Eden found out, she told me we could skip her birthday party with friends. Sweet girl. She didn't, however, balk when I told her we would do no such thing.

Kissing Sterling before bed tonight, I got one very wet kiss. He's started rolling his bottom lip when he kisses, but I asked anyway. "Why was that such a wet kiss?" His reply had me laughing. "It's my boogies, Momma!"

ABC Mushrooms and Food Sharing 101

We had pizza for supper last night. Afterward, I had my younger two in the bathtub while the older two finished eating. Liberty came to me with a mushroom from her pizza. I love mushrooms, she doesn't, it's a good arrangement. I chewed and swallowed before she told me the whole story.

"I was eating my pizza and tasted a mushroom, decided it was too big and I didn't want to eat it, so I spit it out and thought you would like it instead."

"Um, yeah. Honey, next time can you not give me food you've already had in your mouth?"

"Oh."

Ewww. I know she's my daughter and all, but that's just a little too much sharing for me. Again, ew.

Blaine's headed across Arizona at the moment. Destination: San Diego. They decided that Friday, I think, after throwing around many different destinations. He was 8 hours out when I talked to him earlier.

Tomorrow Eden Rayne turns five. Wow! When Liberty turned 5, it was hard, but this almost seems worse. She's the baby! Not anymore, obviously, but she was. I just keep waiting for her to be 5 like Liberty was 5, but Blaine tells me it's not going to happen. Eden's a different breed altogether. She did, however, request that she only open the gifts from Blaine and I before he left, and save the others for her birthday. That was about as grown up as I've ever seen Eden!