Vacation Time

We found out half way through the month of July that Joel had four days off of work that he had to use by the end of the month. We were hoping they would let us save some of the days for next month when we had our baby but they said if we didn't use the vacation time this month, it would be gone. So Joel and I looked at our calendar and planned four days to go on some kind of adventure.

     For Joel's first day off of work we went to the local water park, Roaring Springs. Brynlee and Annalyn both got free tickets from school and Brynlee had been waiting to go all summer. We have never gone to Roaring Springs as a family and the coupon couldn't be used on a Saturday so we figured this would be the perfect time to go. Joel ended up inviting my brother Brian and his family to tag along and my parent's came as well. It was nice to have the extra help keeping track of all our kids. The kids had a blast playing in the water. Joel took Brynlee and Annalyn on one of the big rides but I don't think they loved it. The three younger girls did the slides in the kiddie pool section over and over again. Brynlee was too tall to ride those rides and preferred to spend her time in the lazy river or the wave pool. All the kids liked the lazy river and Kyla loved the wave pool while Summer hated it. We went to the wave pool one last time before we headed home and she kind of warmed up to that pool. At least she didn't seem terrified. We stayed at the park for several hours and had a great day. The girls were all tired after a while so we packed up our stuff and headed home. Joel and the girls got some food from McDonalds on the way home and we all went to bed early that night. It was a fun day. I was able to snap a few pictures but for the most part I was too busy enjoying the day to take any.

 

Joel ended up taking that next Friday off of work and he came home a little early on Thursday so we could drive up to Aunt Joanna's cabin. We were a little worried that we were going to have to cancel this trip since I ended up getting sick and having to go to the ER just the day before. Luckily I feel like the Lord blessed us and we were able to go. The kids were all pretty excited about this trip. There were several "are we there yets," and we had to make a bathroom break along the way but the kids were pretty good for the whole trip. We didn't have to pull out the I pads at all. Summer took a nap and was ready to stay up and party when we got there. It was almost seven when we arrived so we were all pretty hungry. Joel made us a fire right away so we could roast some hot dogs and marshmallows. Then we went exploring. Joel and the kids all found walking sticks that they fixed up and walked around with. Brynlee got a misquito bite at that point so we all headed inside and turned on a movie. We watched Mulan together. The kids had a hard time falling asleep. They all found a bed upstairs to sleep in but Annalyn was the only one who stayed in her bed. Everyone else ended up sleeping on the floor in the room with us or else they were in bed with us.

 

We woke up the next morning and had some breakfast. The we headed out for a little walk. We played in some water and had fun looking for animals and flowers. We watched some more movies, played games, ate lunch, and enjoyed the day relaxing together. After dinner we took a drive down some curvy roads and found a fun little river with a bridge over it. We had a great time playing in the water and we enjoyed the beautiful scenery. The kids were pretty tired so we went home and the kids all went to bed much faster and most of them stayed in their beds that night.

   

 

On Saturday we all ate breakfast, played a few more games, cleaned up, and then headed for home. On the way home we stopped and went fishing. Brynlee caught the first fish and was pretty excited. Joel caught three fish but Annalyn and Kyla didn't catch any. Annalyn was pretty upset about that even though Joel let her real in the last fish he caught. The fish just were not biting very much and we needed to get home so we had to call it quits. The rest of the ride home was pretty uneventful. Summer took a good nap, Brynlee started to get car sick and threw up in a bucket I had for her. Then she fell asleep and Annalyn was asleep too by the time we got back into town. Joel's sister was in town because Tyson had just returned from his mission so we went straight to grandma Hirtle's house before heading home. 

 

Joel took his last two days off of work on the 30 and the 31st of the month, a Monday and a Tuesday. On Monday he spent the day doing some chores and things that he hasn't had time to do. He took in a bunch of scrap metal and cleaned up some of his stuff at grandma's house. On Tuesday we decided to spend the day at the lake. My cousins were here from Texas so we took Addison and Kennedy with us and my parents came as well. It was a prefect weather day for the lake and the kids had a blast playing in the water. I just enjoyed putting my feet in the water. The kids made some sand castles and we had a fun day spending time with our family.  

 

We had a lot of fun making these memories and spending time together as a family. I am glad Joel was able to take some days off so we could enjoy a little bit of our summer together before the baby comes. 

Pregnancy Update -Week 35

     Today officially marks 35 weeks and two days of this current pregnancy. I finally went in and did the three hour glucose test when I was 31 weeks along and I failed it. Apparently I "really" failed it by a lot as my doctor said. So I have officially been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. It was a pretty big shock to me. I only just barely failed the one hour test by a tiny bit (you are supposed to be under 140 and mine was 142) and I took the three hour test with Brynlee and was just fine so I went into the three hour test feeling pretty confident that it wasn't a big deal and that I would be fine. I also waited six weeks between the two tests because I didn't want to make an extra trip into the doctor's office. My doctor said it would be fine to wait. The three hour test is a pain as it is because you have to fast all night and then come in and get your blood drawn. Then you drink this really gross drink and wait for an hour for them to take your blood. I had an appointment during that time and then I sat in the waiting room and read a book. I started and finished the book Tuck Everlasting while I was there because you have to get your blood drawn every hour for three hours after that. It was a long morning and I was super ready to get home and eat after that appointment. 

     Having Gestational Diabetes requires me to test my blood sugar four times a day; Once first thing in the morning and then two hours after every meal. Poking your finger kind of hurts and at first they gave me ultra fine needles so I had to poke three or four fingers almost every time just to get enough blood to test with. In the morning my numbers are supposed to be under 95 and two hours after a meal they should be under 120. I am supposed to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day and I have to avoid all things sweet and sugary and I have to really watch the amount of carbs I eat. Things like potatoes aren't good either. I usually only drink water anyways so that has been easy at least. It has been hard to find things to eat. For the most part my numbers have been fine but when I eat things I shouldn't the numbers usually show it. Cookies and sweet things are the worst but I can't do rolls or white bread either. Even one bite of cookie has pushed my numbers out of the good range. It has been hard to find things to eat but it has been manageable. I have learned a lot about eating healthy so in a lot of ways it has been good for me.

     Joel keeps making cookies and bringing home donuts and things I can't eat so that makes things hard but I have been pretty good to avoid all of those temptations. Since going on this "diet" I have lost four pounds which my doctor said was fine and just a good indication that I was making good changes and I have not put any of that weight back on yet. Exercise also makes a huge difference in my numbers so I have been trying to go on as many walks as I can. It has been so darn hot though that it makes it hard for me to want to do anything. I normally get really hot while I am pregnant anyways and being pregnant during the month of July has not been fun at all. My hands feel hot all the time.

     With my diagnosis comes more visits to the doctor as well. I have to take a low dose aspirin every day, and my doctor said she will most likely have me induced. Her cruise was canceled so she said I could have the baby anytime but now I will probably be induced before 39 weeks depending on how my numbers look. I had to get more blood work done at my doctor's office again and they will watch what things look like there.

     Not only have I had to make extra doctor visits and trips to the pharmacy for medicine, I also had my first trip to the ER with a pregnancy. I guess my body it getting too old for this. It was the day before our trip we had planned to go up to the cabin and I woke up feeling super dizzy. I tried to walk when I felt better and literally fell over. The room started spinning so violently every time I tried to move. The only thing I could do was lie in bed. When I did get up I got super nauseous and kept throwing up. I could lay on my side and feel fine for a little bit but then I was get sick again and the whole world would start spinning. I had no idea what my kids were doing and realized I could not parent them that day so I called my mom and she came and got them. I got out of bed to check on everyone and felt so dizzy that I had to crawl on my knees, I was still throwing up, and I couldn't even hardly talk to my mom when she came. Brynlee was pretty worried about me and opted to stay home to take care of me. She called Joel as soon as my mom left and told him he needed to come home. Amazingly he wasn't busy and after talking to me on the phone for a minute, he came home and checked on me. I called my doctor and they were supposed to return my call but never did. I called them again an hour later and they told me to go into the ER.

     My mom took the kids to the library and then came back to get Brynlee so they were all gone and Joel was able to take the time to drive me into the ER. We were there for over four hours. They tested my heart, gave me fluids and some medicine, and took a urine sample three hours into the thing. That's when they discovered that I had a UTI. I have never had one before and I had no other symptoms of it. Although, I was up several times the two previous nights having to go to the bathroom. The ER doctors gave me a prescription for some antibiotics and sent me on my way. Joel had to work late that night and he had to work longer than he anticipated but we were still able to make it on our trip to the cabin. I actually feel pretty blessed that things turned out the way they did and that there was an easy fix. When my mom brought all the kids home that was the first thing all my kids asked me, "Do we still get to go to the cabin?" I am so glad I was able to tell them yes. As soon as I got some medicine I felt way better.

     Besides all of those little complications with this pregnancy I am actually doing just fine. My back has not been as sore as usual. My doctor thought that following this diet and exercise regime should make we feel a lot better than normal and I suppose that must be part of it. I haven't noticed a huge difference. I still get heartburn but not as much or as often as I was getting it before and not as much as I usually get with my pregnancy. Here is a picture of me at 34 weeks while we were at the cabin.

     As for baby, right now she is doing well. I feel her moving all the time and she is head down. My doctor did a quick ultrasound to make sure she was head down and she is still a girl. Joel and I came up with two names that we kind of like so I think she will have a name when she is born. We are all getting pretty excited to meet her. I washed all her baby clothes and hung them in her closet just so I could see what I we needed to buy for her. We have a lot of baby clothes so we don't need a lot but this is my first baby that is not born in the spring so I will need to get her a few new outfits in the right season. We can't wait for her to come.