the end....

So - I've got 2 weeks left.  Maybe even less if this pregnancy keeps careening downhill like it has the last month.  I'm now 38 weeks and miserable.  I have the same condition I had with the other 2 pregnancies - Gestational Thrombocytopenia (yeah - and I spelled it right the first time I typed it).  It's a platelet issue that causes my platelets to drop during pregnancy.  It's more of a pain in the ass than anything.  All it means is there's a possibility I won't be able to get an epidural if my platelets get too low.  Then there's the Gestational Diabetes that, as it appears, I have given myself with all the face stuffing food I've consumed.  Everyone acts like it's completely unacceptable to eat 1/2 a gallon of ice cream for dinner, seems perfectly fine to me.  So, I've been checking my blood sugar 5 times a day.  Can hardly eat carbs or sweets and am now on the strictest diet ever.  I'm DYING without carbs.  I can literally feel the weight coming off because I'm starving!  But, I did lost some weight.  I also have to go in for fetal non stress tests.  Evidently that's normal procedure when you're fat and have no self control diagnosed with gestational diabetes.

To recap, I can't eat anything good, I have to drive down to the med center for a 20 minute test twice a week and I might have to give birth to a baby without drugs????  What. The. Hell.  There are no words right now...

The good news is that the end is near, my friends.  Every time I see my doctor, I beg and plead to get this over with as soon as possible - I'm not above bribery either.  It doesn't work, but her office staff has been on the receiving end of some bad ass cupcakes that I, of course, can't  eat.

I'm starting to get a little anxious about having another baby.  Almost like first time parent jitters.  I had to ask my friends with new babies the stupidest questions the other day.  For example - How long do I burp a baby?  I haven't done that in years, I don't remember.  Do you stop when they're a few months old?  Until they stop using a bottle?  Drawing a blank.  And labor - terrified this time.  No reason - just scared.  I know I've got this.  It's like riding a bike, right?

I'm also starting to get nervous about having a healthy baby.  My "Nick and I are healthy people, there's no reason to even think that something could be wrong with our child" theory on the last kid was GROSSLY underestimated.  I'm kind of waiting on something to go wrong now, because something already did.  I keep trying to remind myself that the odds are really low that Patrick will have what Sam has, but it's not far from my mind.

A few weeks ago I had the sweetest baby shower hosted by my sister and 3 dear friends.  It was at the Tasting Room...and I thought it would be complete torture with everyone drinking wine around me, but it was great.  It was so nice seeing everyone who joined us and those who traveled from out of town to attend.  If there was any doubt about Patrick's name before that, it's gone now because almost everything I received was either embroidered with his name or had his monogram on it.  I love it!  It was perfect timing too, because I had forgotten about all those little things you need for a newborn - socks and hundreds of onesies because the kid will crap on most everything, burp cloths, bottles, drying racks, swaddling blankets...it looked like the entire store of Babies R Us threw up in my office.  Oh, and those little things called diapers - totally forgot I needed those.  Pics from the shower...

My awesome hostesses 

Bestie!

St. Mark's friends from the city! 

Traveled in from Dallas to celebrate.  And made the cutest blanket and lovey to match P's room 

Best PCB's ever!  Kelly was here all summer from Florida visiting family/friends, but it makes me feel better to think she came in just for this. :)

(what is up with my hair here?  a heads up on the do would have been nice)

We have been VERY busy getting ready for our newest family member.  Every room upstairs has been moved out of, repainted, moved back into by someone else and then redecorated.  I seriously think we've done more to this house in the last 3 months than most people do to their houses in a lifetime.  Feels good - but we're tired of the mess that goes with the DIY projects.  For a few weeks, every item stored in each closet of the house was out and in the middle of the floor upstairs.  I had to create a walking path just to get from room to room.  We ended up throwing so much away.   No more "...well, I guess if I keep this I'll use it for _________..."  Nope.  I'm sorry, but if we haven't touched it since I put it in the closet 4 years ago when we moved in, then it's going in the trash.  Pics of all the kids' new rooms...  Still need to hang some stuff on the walls.

Caroline's new room.  PS - that's the dresser I refinished.  This room used to be the guest room.

Patrick's room.  This was Sam's old room.  The bedding is, of course, back ordered, and probably won't be here by the time P gets here.  I'm trying not to stress about it.

 

Sam's new room.  This was Caroline's old room and it used to be HOT PINK!  

Took forever to repaint it green.  

Pigeon Forge, TN...long overdue post

Shortly after school ended (told ya it was really late), we rented a house for a week in the Smoky Mountains with Nick's family.  The trip was pretty uneventful:  No ER visits.  No babies came.  Everyone got out without killing each other still speaking to one another.  No bear attacks (almost - true story!).  Just lots of fun.

Because I crammed everything I could into our suitcases, I didn't bring my big camera.  So, below is our vacation through the eyes of the greatest inventions of the century - the iPhone and Instagram.  Enjoy!

Our home for a week.  It was a really nice house, but we all learned a hard lesson from this trip - pictures online can be very deceiving.  We had a couple minor issues with the house, but it all ended up ok in the end, thanks to my fabulous complaining skills, we got some of our money back.

The Smoky Mountains are so pretty

My bear attack story:  Shannon and Nick went for a run.  I wanted to get out of the house for some fresh air, so since Dave didn't bring running shoes he got stuck walking with the pregnant chick walked with me.  We're walking through the woods on a path and hear this low growl.  It was more likely a badger or something, but a bear makes the story better.  Needless to say, we got the hell out of there as fast as we could.  Can't tell you how long it's been that I moved that fast.  So there you have it - Dave and I were almost eaten by a bear.  

So serious. 

Went to Dollywood.  Learned something new about Caroline: hates roller coasters.  She stuck pretty close to mom and dad at this place.  She didn't mind at all riding the smaller rides with her little bro at all.

  

Again, serious concentration driving the cars.  He really thought he was in a race.

Everyone went whitewater rafting.  Sam included - and if you know Sam this was a huge step for him! He's in the adult boat at the front.  Nanny took really good care of him and found out the hard way that he doesn't like it when he's wet or dirty.  

Did some sight seeing around the cabin.  Right after this picture was taken, Caroline lost her flip flop and it went floating down the stream.  Also noteworthy in this picture: the sound of the running water made everyone have to go to the bathroom so we didn't stay long...  I got a few pictures of the girls trying to pose around Caroline doing the "pee-pee dance" - I'm sure she appreciates me sharing that with everyone 

Went to the Dixie Stampede to celebrate Sam's birthday.  Maybe I can hope by his 6th birthday that he will learn to look at the camera...His favorite part of the dinner?  Eating with no utensils.  Everyone had to pick up their food and eat with their hands like they did in the frontier days.  It was interesting and very entertaining.  A little advice if you ever go - bring a flask, evidently Dolly Parton doesn't drink.  Ever.  And neither should you.

Caroline went zip lining!

...so did Gia!

Went hiking up one of the Smoky Mountains.  Surprisingly, it didn't put me into labor.

Our last day.  

We all had fun and it was good to get away and relax.  Probably won't do it next year, because of the baby.  That adds a whole new level of excitement I'm not prepared for.