Quick One

So an update for anyone who read yesterday's blog . . . I am feeling much more positive today. It probably helped to have some visitors today. :) Anyway, I am feeling renewed and ready to tackle these next 10 days until the c-section. Bring it on!

The Patient Knows Best. Or is it the Docter?

I have a confession. The last several days have been the same. I start having contractions and they give me Nyphetapine. (sp?) It lowers my blood pressure and in turn stops the contractions. But now that I am past the 34 week mark I am so tempted to not tell the nurse I'm having contractions.

There's a danger in being a long-term patient. You tend to start questioning what's being done and if you want to exercise your right to say no. For example, I've been off of an i.v. for many weeks because I've been stable. This week was a little crazy though, and now I have to have one. I hate the way my arm looks; all full of poke marks and bumpy and scarred. I would really like to refuse the next one. But am I really using my brain when I think like that, or is it just emotional? I think I know the answer.

The hardest part of this whole situation has been a loss of rights. There's no privacy anymore; I can't choose when to have housekeeping or the dietician or the physical therapist walk through the door. I'm being told how to eat and that I need to eat more almost daily. I can't make things better at home or be there to comfort my kids. So yeah, maybe a little control is what I'm seeking. It's a dangerous game to play with your health, when the only reason you're refusing what's best is because you need to make sure your voice is still heard.

Turquoise

So Pantone, the big color gurus, announced this month that turquoise is the color of 2010. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I doubt we'd use this color in any of our decorating. I am thinking of doing a series of paintings though with this being the main color. Not sure if they would sell better with it being trendy or not.

When I was a little girl I went through a phase when I LOVED pink, purple, and turquoise together. Maybe that's why I'm having a hard time accepting it as a grown-up hue. :) What do you think? Love it or hate it?

I Like

I think our nursery needs this clock. Isn't it the cutest? Even the color works. I bet I could make one similar but probably not here at the hospital. It would just take the clockworking parts, a round piece of wood, and some paint or vinyl. And I bet it could be made for a lot less than the $69 price tag.

Oh, bedrest. It gives you way too much time to imagine the possibilities!

(picture courtesy Land of Nod)

Date Night

I have the best husband ever! You know how opposites attract? Well, I tend to be very, very frugal -- Ethan thinks sometimes to the point of being ridiculous. (And he's probably right!)

Today he called me and said he had been looking up activities for someone stuck on bedrest to do, and one that he thought would work for us would be to have a date night with dinner brought in from a restaurant. He asked how I might like having some Goodwood pulled pork . It sounds heavenly! But I couldn't help but be concerned if we had the money for it. I told him I'd rather save our date until I was home again and healed and we could have a celebration out. So he says, why not do both? I was really struggling with this and he pointed out that maybe with all that I've been through the past couple months it was okay to spend $10 on dinner. I like his logic. I'm grateful that he sometimes pushes me to have a little fun!

P.S. Just in case pulled pork sounds good to you too, you can get a pound off the Goodwood a la carte menu for just $10. It is delicious!

Sad

My kids all left the hospital crying tonight. It made me cry too. The one that kind of broke me was Allison. She has been a little quiet at times, but she has been so strong since I've been here. Tonight I didn't even realize she was sitting there with tears rolling down her face because she was in a chair that was out of my line of sight. Ethan noticed and signaled me and I had her come cuddle up on the bed, then she and I were crying and Emily was crying and Ryan too. I told the kids it was time to go home with Daddy and Emily said, "I don't want to leave!" I guess Ryan has been saying "no mama" a lot too at home. Most of the time I think the kids are doing really well but I guess tonight I saw a different side. I'm sure they were tired too, but I know this is wearing on all of us.

Our Playroom/Schoolroom

I have been thinking quite a bit about some projects I want to dive into once I'm home again. (I obviously have amnesia when it comes to remembering life with a newborn!) One area I want to tackle is our playroom/schoolroom. Right now we have four adorable little school desks but are only using two. I have a tall skinny bookcase that holds all of our school books and one of those play shelves that holds containers. Usually kids keep smaller toys in them but we use it to hold scrap paper, writing utensils, glue, flashcards, etc. This and our digital piano fill out the "school" part of the room.

I looked for some pics for inspiration, but most of the homeschool rooms I found had so much clutter. I like this clean and simple corner here, (but you know books have to be hiding somewhere outside the scope of the lens!)



Here's a picture from a friend's house. I love how she has a bulletin board for each workspace, and the shelves above are a great idea as well.

The other part of our room is dedicated to play. We have a huge dollhouse, slide, rescue hero docking station, Ryan's car collection, and some indoor riding toys. It's a big room, but I'm starting to feel that we need a plan!

P.S. The whole space I'm trying to figure out just so happens to be what everyone sees when they first walk into our house!