Taking it easy

Monday morning I woke up bleeding. Not good so off to the ER I went. After an ultrasound to check on the babies and another shot of WinRho they determined that I have a placenta previa and put me on strict pelvic rest. Which essentially means poor Rob has to go without. Then my Dr. at the high risk unit at the Civic hospital decided that because the bleeding also starts up again each time I have a bowel movement that I should be on complete bedrest at least until my next appointment on February 9th.

Here are a few pics of our little Junebugs that I got on Monday.

baby news

So as I am sure most of my followers know me in real life I will officially announce to the blog world, just in case people actually read this blog, that we are expecting again.


If you've read my previous posts you'll know that we have 4 wonderful children already. Cassandra (11), Ryan (9), Cohen (4 - 5 in Jan) and Ashton (2).


With our first two children all Rob had to do was look at me and I was pregnant. It took a fair bit longer to conceive Cohen - partly because I had to convince Rob first and because of extended breastfeeding (17months) it took longer to conceive Ashton.


When we decided last winter for just one more it surprised me how quickly it happened. Apparently I don't ovulate according to the whole 14/28 day cycle, because if I did my hubby may have a few questions since that week he was gone.....


We got to 8 weeks 4 days and then I miscarried that little bean. I can't even begin to describe the feeling of loss. Then it happened twice more this past spring and summer. I had some bloodwork done to try to find out why this was happening. At the end of October I was feeling a bit off and picked up a home pregnancy test. To my surprise/delight/shock it was positive. Within minutes I was on the phone with my dr who prescribed a low dosage of progesterone. So far so good. I am 13 weeks 3 days and have had two ultrasounds. The dr understood my fears and concerns and agreed to an early ultrasound at 8w3d and to my absolute shock the tech found TWO BABIES!!! So we are expecting fraternal twins! I had a second ultrasound 2 weeks later when I had a bit of bleeding and cramping (which apparently is common with progesterone use). Babies heartbeats were great at 149 and 160.


At my last obs appointment I requested a referral to the high risk unit in Ottawa (which I am still waiting on) and the dr listened for the heartbeats. He found the one on my left side right off but couldn't guarantee me that the second one he heard was a different heartbeat. He may have been picking up the first one again but figured it was the other baby since the heart rates had been fairly close in range at the ultrasound too.

A to Z: This is me

Following in the footsteps of Lena over at Mom2Memphis&Ruby.

 

 

A. Age: 31

B. Bed size: Queen
C. Chore that you hate:  sweeping/mopping 

D. Dogs: An english mastiff/st.bernard puppy named Diesel.

E. Essential start to your day: morning chat with my hubby
F. Favorite color: pink (at the moment)
G. Gold or Silver: I always loved gold but have taken a liking to silver lately
H. Height: 5’7 and 3/4"
I. Instruments you play: nada..twinkle little star on the piano

J. Job title: Stay-at-home mom and designer/creator
K. Kids: Cassandra (11), Ryan (9), Cohen (4), Ashton (1)
L. Live: Quebec
M. Mother’s name: Melanie (pronounced like Muhlainie)
N. Nicknames: none really
O. Overnight hospital stays: not many, just childbirth. i did spend a week with Cohen when he had pneumonia, adn 3 days in a hospitl in Toronto with my pregnant sister.
P. Pet peeves: the sound of other people eating
Q. Quote from a movie: "SHOW ME THE MONEY" only one coming to mind right now LOL

R. Right or left handed: Right but I notice I do a lot with my left

S. Siblings: 3 younger sisters
U. Underwear: I have a drawer full of cute/sexy/spunky ones but mostly wear the comfy cotton grannies
V. Vegetable you hate: Brussel sprouts
W. What makes you run late: My kids and husband and even the dog
X. X-Rays you’ve had: teeth, ankle, hand, abdomen, back

Y. Yummy food that you make: fajitas
Z. Zoo animal: love the giraffes

~*~GIVEAWAY~*~

I want more followers!!!

So I will be hosting a giveaway once I reach 100 followers.

I haven't quite decided what exactly the prize will be but I hope to announce it later this evening. What would you like to see offerred as a prize??

Repurposed Purse

I took one of many pairs of Ryan's jeans that had holes in the knees and turned it into a cute little purse.

You can't really see but the inside is lined with the same fabric that the tie belt is made of.

What I love most about this purse is the fact that I actually get to use something I made! Usually my creations are for Cassie or a customer. The feature that most makes this a great bag is all the pockets on the outside of the bag. The actual pockets from the jeans remained completely intact. So I have great storage for the little things I may want to reach quickly, like my inhaler or my cell phone, or keys.

I should be fair to my handiwork and point out that I did not square off the bottom corners, but I did on the one I just made for Cassie. Also, the stitching is pretty wonky as I was getting useed to sewing through the denim layers and I did not get a straight cut across the bottom, mostly because I wanted to make sure to keep the back pockets.

Next on the agenda is to take some of Ashton's cast offs and turn them into a makeup bag, or a pencil case.

(If anyone has any denim to offload I would gladly take it!!)

How to be a Good Wife circa 1955

An excerpt from Housekeeping Monthly, 13 May, 1955.

• Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have be thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they get home and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed



Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.  



Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.

Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives. Run a dustcloth over the tables.

During the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering to his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.

Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Encourage the children to be quiet.

Be happy to see him.

Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.

Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first - remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.

Don't greet him with complaints and problems.

Don't complain if he's late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work.

Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or lie him down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.



Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.

Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.

A good wife always knows her place.

I have very mixed feelings about these rules. while googling images I came across several blogs referring to this article. What I found most interesting were the reader's comments. Someone would comment about equality and how no woman should cater to a man and someone else would comment about how it should be this way still.

My feelings when it comes to gender equality is that while we are equal as people we are not the same. Men can do certain things better than women. Women can do certain things better than men. And just because we can do things equally as good doesn't mean we have to.

I like being a stay-at-home mom and housewife. I wish we lived in a society/economy that all women and mothers could do the same *if they wanted to*. That being said, some women would rather work than be at home and I believe that's an individual decision and value the right to make that decision.

One day, for shits and giggles, I may try to implement these rules suggestions. Just to see the look on Rob's face when he walks through the door to an actual meal with a clean house, quiet kids and a wife not wearing pjs.

Back~to~School

I am very much looking forward to back to school. Not because I am sick of having my two oldest children tell me how bored they are or anything like that.....but because I like the structure and routine I have when they get up at a decent time EVERYDAY.

This year is one of those milestone years for us. Cassie is going into her last year in elementary school GASP!! She is growing up (and that makes me OLD) and I am NOT ready for her to grow up!

And my little devil, Cohen, is starting preK this year. I am quite nervous about this. He no longer poops in his pants, thank God! But he makes it quite well known when he does have to go. So while I am not worried about that -anymore- I worry about his temper now. If he feels "wronged" or is hurt by another child he will retaliate and it's never pretty. And he's very hard to calm down/reason with until he has exacted his revenge. This is a new behaviour and I've been working on it with him but it's hard to correct this type of behaviour because we really don't want our other kids to pick on him either just to get a reaction, know what I mean?!

And he won't be going to the same school as Cassie and Ryan. We chose to send him to a French school about 15 minutes from here in another small town. We made this decision because I didn't feel it would be fair to any school to have two of my boys at the same time. Just kidding!!

We had originally sent Cassie to this school but chose to switch her back to English after a year and a half. She was very shy and would not participate at all and we felt she wasn't really learning. In retrospect we should have left her there. We figured with Ryan, who has a speech issue, that making him learn a second language would be too hard on him. Bad choice as he has excelled in learning French. So, now you see why having more than one or two kids is good, you can screw up a few times but get it right for at least one child hehehe.

I'm very much looking forward to those 2 days a week when 3 of my monsters will be gone and I get to spend a little one on one time with the mini-monster.