Am I There, Yet?

Ack!  It’s been two weeks since I’ve last posted.  Sorry about that.  I’ve got a little bit of time to do some updating…so here it goes.

My glucose tolerance test came back fine.  I don’t have gestational diabetes.  That’s good to know, but I’m still controlling my diet because it’s the right thing to do.  No junk food and more veggies & fruit. 

This week was Spring Break for the kids.  Josh took the week off because we realized this would probably be our last chance to get away for awhile.  Once the baby gets here things will be different.  We took a mini-road trip.  With one tank of gas we were able to take the kids to Hershey, PA for a couple of days.  That was fun, especially for the kids.  We stayed at the Hershey Lodge.  It seriously smelled like chocolate the instant we walked into the lodge.  We were given chocolate bars at check-in and housekeeping would leave Hershey minis in our room everyday.  That was a fun little touch.  While in Hershey, we spent time at the Hershey Gardens, the Hershey Museum and Chocolate World.  Hershey World (the amusement park) was closed, but we knew that going in.  The kids aren’t into roller coasters, and since I’m 7 months pregnant, Josh would’ve been the only one to enjoy that anyways. 

Our third day of vacation was spent at the Crayola Factory.  The kids had a great time there, too. 

It was a fun kid-centered vacation.  The next time we go to Hershey we’ll be taking advantage of the spa and golf course…possibly even Hershey World. 

After three days of being on my feet, I came home feeling like a puffer fish.  This was the first time I’ve experienced swelling with this pregnancy, so I spent all day yesterday on self-prescribed bed rest.  I’m feeling much better now.

Guess what I did today?  I registered for baby stuff.  Now, that was weird.  One of the pastor’s wives is throwing a shower for me and our youth pastor’s wife.  We’re both due on the same date.  This was completely unexpected and I feel very honored that they would think of us this way.  It should be fun.  It’s a couple’s open house type thing.  Anyways, the other couple is registered and it was suggested that I register at the same place to make it easier for guests.  So, I spent the morning online going through the Babies R Us website trying to figure out what we need.  It’s been so long since we’ve had a baby (and we got rid of all our baby stuff) that I was a bit overwhelmed.  It seems I’ve forgotten about everything from baby baths to Boppys to bouncers to bibs.  It was not an easy task.   

Well…that’s the short version of what we’ve been up to.  Of course a vacation wouldn’t be complete without vacation pictures, right?  Here are some of ours:

Even the street lights in Hershey get in on the chocolate action.

Lilly & Titus hanging out with new friends.

Hershey Gardens.

Josh, Me & Baby.

Having fun at the Crayola Factory.

The wall of Crayola colors.

When I first found out I was pregnant and got over the initial shock and then excitement, I started contemplating what lie ahead for me.  There were three things that I dreaded:  #1) labor and delivery; #2) morning sickness; and, #3) the glucose tolerance test. 

I survived the morning sickness and it was surprisingly easier this time around than the first two.  Obviously labor and delivery haven’t happened yet.  Two weeks ago I went in for the glucose tolerance test.  If you’ve never had a glucose tolerance test…they’re not fun.  Some people seem to handle them better than others.  Basically, you drink a nasty drink that tastes like orange soda with an extra cup of sugar mixed in.  You wait one hour and then blood is drawn.  I went in to the lab like a big girl and took the test and then put it out of my mind.  It was over with…or so I thought.

Last week I had a doctor’s appointment and my doctor told me that I failed the glucose test and she prescribed the three-hour glucose test.  WHAT?!?!?  I was not expecting that.  I’d always passed this test before.  I thought it was all over with.  I was not happy with this news.  I told Josh I’d rather just assume I have gestational diabetes, change my diet and monitor my blood sugar than to have to take this test.  But, I couldn’t go against my doctor’s orders.

This morning was the dreaded test.  I was supposed to fast for 10 hours before the test, so I ate my last meal at 7:30 last night, woke up early and got to the lab by 7:00.  At 7:30 they were drawing blood on me and then they gave me the drink.  During the three-hour test, they draw blood once every hour.  This is pure torture.  I don’t know anybody who thinks this test is no big deal. 

By 8:15 I started to not feel so great.  I felt really tired and uncomfortably warm.  I put my book down and closed my eyes for a second.  I then got up to get a drink of water.  I caught the eyes of another woman sitting in the lobby and she looked concerned.  She asked me if I was O.K. and I told her I was just feeling a bit weak because I’d been fasting.  I could sense her keeping her eyes on me when I went back to my seat.  I started feeling worse…I started to feel dizzy and sweaty.  I needed some fresh air, but didn’t think I could walk outside by myself.  I could hear my mom’s voice (from 3,000 miles away) telling me to put my head between my legs.  Yeah, right…have you seen my belly?  That’s virtually impossible.  I realized I needed help, so I got up and walked over to the reception desk.  The woman behind the counter was busy helping somebody else so I waited, but I didn’t think I could stand up anymore, so I put my head down on the desk.

Things got a bit fuzzy after that.

The next thing I remember was somebody coming from behind me and grabbing my arm.  I recognized the voice of the woman who was watching me in the lobby.  “WE NEED SOME HELP OUT HERE!!”  She was banging her fist on the desk to get somebody’s attention.  I then felt somebody else catch me from behind and then a third person grab my other arm.  I could tell that the people were walking me into the back and they lay me down on a bed.  I tried to open my eyes and could barely see somebody putting my purse and coat onto a chair next to me.  They opened the window for fresh air, placed an ice pack under my neck and on my forehead.  They elevated my feet and gave me a pillow.  For some reason I remember thinking I needed to lift my arm and was confused as to why I couldn’t lift it.

It only took a few moments for me to start feeling better.  My doctor was called and she said that if I wanted to quit the test that I could.  I asked if I had to take it later and she said that I did.  So, I opted to continue taking the test…I didn’t want to have to go through all that again.  Let’s get this over with.  They took the second vial of blood and told me that I should continue to lie down for the remainder of the test.  I lay there for the next couple of hours while they came in every hour to take more blood until the test was over.

Before all the drama, I noticed another pregnant woman in the lobby.  She was there for her 1-hour glucose test and her daughter was with her.  Her daughter was probably 8 or 9-years-old.  They ended up in the room next to mine and I could overhear what was happening.  Apparently, the girl watched the whole drama scene starring me in the lobby and it scared her.  She then went and watched the tech draw blood from her mom’s arm.  Well…this was too much for the little girl and she passed out.  I could hear people tending to her.  I heard the tech explain to the mom that some people will faint after watching somebody else faint.  She said she’s had grown adults faint after watching somebody else do the same.  I felt horrible…I really wish this little girl didn’t have to see all that.  I know my kids would’ve been shaken up by the whole thing and I’m glad they weren’t at the lab with me.

Later on, I overheard a man talking with one of the techs.  He asked her, “So…do you have very many people faint in here?”  She answered, “Well…we had two just this morning.”

Gee Whiz…I’m glad I could be a topic of conversation.

Anyways…I survived and I’m home.  Josh came and picked me up from the lab.  They wouldn’t let me drive myself home.  Both of my arms are sore (they sucked one dry and had to draw the last two vials from my other arm.)  I’m tired, but I feel much better.  I’m glad that’s over with. 

I’m really not concerned with the outcome.  I don’t mind changing my diet…I can handle that.  But, please, no more tests!  

I went to bed last night feeling drained.  I knew why I felt physically tired.  This is normal for me these days.  But, I couldn’t figure out why I felt emotionally tired.  I tried to go back through my day in my mind to figure out why I was feeling so crummy.  I quickly figured it out after putting all the events of the day together.

I’ll start by saying this, my kids aren’t perfect.  I could give you a looooong list of things they do that drive me crazy.  But, I can confidently say that one thing they are is respectful.  R-E-S-P-E-C-T is a value in our home.  We have a no tolerance policy of disrespect.  The kids have picked up on this quickly.  Do they fail in this area from time to time?  Sure.  Of course we still have moments where they are rude to each other or disrespectful towards us.  However, we’ve consistently taught them that people are important and all people deserve respect.  It is important that they treat their friends, teachers, neighbors, family and even strangers with the respect they deserve.  Kindness and consideration for others go hand-in-hand with that. 

How do I know this value is sinking in?  Because I hear it from their teachers at school and at church.  I see how they treat their friends.  When I drop Titus off at school and a half dozen children swarm the gate to greet him, I know he’s a good friend and is respectful of his buddies.  If he were a rude bully, he wouldn’t be Mr. Popularity.  His Sunday School teacher said, “I love it when Titus shows up to class.  He always brings a big smile to everybody’s face.”  His Preschool teacher said, “Titus brings sunshine with him to school.”  Lilly is the same way.  I see the way she interacts with her friends.  She’s thoughtful and giving.  Her teacher noticed the same thing and commented on what a good friend she is and how considerate she is towards others.  She appreciates Lilly’s willingness to help others.

That being said…I bet you can guess one of my pet peeves.  Disrespect.  Thoughtlessness.  Unkindness.  Rudeness.  I know, I know…kids will be kids.  But, shouldn’t we as parents, teach our children how to treat others?  Isn’t that something our children need to learn before they leave the nest? 

Yesterday, Titus had to have a shot.  He had some blood work done that showed he was no longer immune to Hep B, so he had to have that series of shots done all over again.  He was a brave boy and didn’t cry, so when he asked for lunch at McDonald’s I said, “why not?”  He was the only child in Playland for awhile and then another boy his age showed up.  I thought they were playing very nicely together.  But, after we left, Titus told me the boy had pulled Titus’ pants down while they were up in the play structure.  This led to a long discussion about proper play behavior and what to do in situations like that.

Moving forward a couple hours…I picked Lilly up from school yesterday afternoon and she ran out with a big grin on her face.  She was carrying a brand new pack of highlighters that she won as a prize for reading so many books.  She was so excited about the reward.  While she was walking towards me a little girl stopped her and asked her what they were and asked Lilly to give her one.  At first Lilly said, “no” but the girl continued to badger her until Lilly gave her the pink highlighter.  By the time Lilly got to me, her smile was gone and she was holding back her tears.  I saw the whole thing and asked her to talk about it.  Why did she give the girl the highlighter?  Lilly said, “Because I didn’t want her to be mad at me.”  She stewed over this for a couple of hours and asked if it would be appropriate if she asked for the highlighter back.  Her argument is that she worked hard to earn those and it wasn’t right of the little girl to take one from her.  This resulted in another long discussion about not letting people walk all over her and the importance of standing up for herself and how to not let people treat her poorly.  Bully behavior comes in all shapes and sizes.  Even if somebody isn’t threatening to hurt you physically, doesn’t mean they’re not being a bully.

Later that night…the kids were at their karate school.  In between classes there was a little boy running around, doing whatever the heck he felt like doing.  His dad ignored him from the lobby.  This child got a handful of hand sanitizer and ran up to Titus and rubbed it all in his hair.  The dad saw and heard the commotion and said nothing.  Josh, on the other hand, wasn’t going to let this go.  When Titus came to Josh and complained about his hair being all sticky, Josh asked him if he told the boy not to do that.  Titus said he didn’t.  So, Josh and Titus went to the little boy and Titus told the boy that he didn’t like it when the boy rubbed the sanitizer in his hair and Josh asked the boy to apologize.  The boy apologized. 

I know that all of these interactions are learning experiences, and I’m always grateful for learning experiences.  Again, I emphasize that my children are far from perfect.  However, I was emotionally drained last night as a result of these three children behaving inappropriately with my children.  Yes, the little boy was wrong to pull Titus’ pants down.  Yes, the little girl was wrong to take away Lilly’s hard-earned reward.  Yes, the little boy was wrong to rub hand sanitizer in Titus’ hair.

I know there are many more disappointments to come in my kids’ lives.  My job is not to shelter them; my job is to equip them as much as I can for these scenarios.  Learning how to appropriately handle difficult situations and difficult people are an important part of life. 

But, I still don’t want people picking on my kids.  Pick on me…I can handle it.  Don’t touch my children…I don’t deal with that well.

Do you suffer from ‘momnesia’?

Apparently, I’m not the only one:

Lilly had her first school musical/play yesterday.  They’ve been preparing for it for a long time and she was so excited when the time finally came.  They had a sea theme and it was called Sailing to Success.  She had a line in the play.  She did a great job of saying, “Be strong enough to always be yourself.”  She also had the very important job of lifting up the moon during one of the songs.

All the kids were required to wear blue jeans, a white T-shirt and they all got sailor hats.  She’s still on a sea kick.  Last night we rented The Little Mermaid.  (Can you believe my kids are 5 and 7 and have never seen The Little Mermaid?)  Today I was getting out of the shower and I heard the kids giggling outside my door.  I opened the door and both of them had changed into blue jeans, white T-shirts and were wearing sailor hats.  Lilly said, “Ahoy, Matey!   Would you like to go sailing with us?”  Titus said, “We’re going to Hawaii!”  I told them I could never turn down a trip to Hawaii, so Lilly told me I needed to dress like a sailor.  So, I put on my blue jeans, a white T-shirt and a white hat.  We went and sat on the couch…er, I mean the boat…and we went sailing to Hawaii.  When we got to Hawaii, Lilly showed us her hula dance.  She wrapped a blanket around her waist and showed us her moves.  In sticking with the sea theme I suggested we eat seafood for dinner tonight.  After all, what else would we eat in Hawaii?  I took the kids to Joe’s Crab Shack.  O.K…I know Joe’s is no Roy’s, so it wasn’t authentically Hawaiian…but they’re kids, right?  Lilly and I had the crab and Titus had a hamburger.  For dessert they got to “paint” a crab-shaped Rice Krispy treat with strawberry and chocolate icing.

We had a great day today.