{TRYING TO PLAY CATCH UP!}

Geez...... Everything seems to hit at once!
Isn't that the way life goes though?

It's been a few months since i have blogged last. I have LOTS to catch up on and some stats to post and what not. But for now ill give a quick overview for posterity sake.lol 
Our life is insane crazy busy right now. From Wednesday until Monday we pretty much are only home to sleep and shower, and maybe cook a meal. We have one thing after another on Kreg's time off, it sucks that that's how it is, but  this is what our life is like for right now and great things are happening, we will take it and wait for things to calm down a bit this winter. Hopefully.lol

So since July:
*Kreg had a tonsillectomy the day before his birthday. 
He chronically had strep and bad breath. Not to mention to incredibly bad snoring and lapses in breathing. Come to find out, his tonsils were blocking his throat by 2/3rds. They were ginormous, and they weren't even infected at the time of the consult. So we decided to have them out now, rather than wait. They needed to come out when he was a teen, poor guy has been dealing with them for far too long!
The recovery was pretty tough on him. I don't think he expected it to hurt so bad, but thankfully he is a good sleeper so he slept most of it off. He got so hungry though and would wake up and then get upset that he couldn't tolerate ANYTHING. But he made it through and has been recovering since. 

*A week or two later after Kregs surgery Klaire started 4th grade!
I can't believe i have a BIG 4th grader! She is in another team teaching classroom this year, which at first i was very hesitant about repeating. Last years experience was tough on us all and it wasn't positive. So this year we were bracing for another bad year. 
Thankfully though Klaire's teachers are the perfect fit for her. They provide her with a good schedule she can rely on, consistency, and an encouraging learning environment. She has THRIVED in that class. She has gone from a sobbing mess when math comes to enjoying it and wanting to consume as much math as she can now. These teachers have an extensive background in resource education and have picked up on Klaires learning style, much like mine. Once things are explained in a way her brain understands, she latches on, she retains perfectly, and she understands. 
I'm so thankful for her teachers!! She has gone from struggling to thriving and enjoying. I think 4th grade is her best year yet, its amazing to hear how much she LOVES school now. I knew it would come with time, im glad i didn't rush or push her.
We had her first P/T Conf. and she has a A average in almost everything, her lowest score is math, but its at a B+, and im sure she will bring that up next term. Her teachers adore her and love having her in thier class. 
She also had a field trip to Antelope Island today. She LOVES the hands on learning environment, but she enjoyed it a little too much today. She took a dunk in the Great Salt Lake and then rolled around in the sand and dirt.lol Only my child would do something like that... The bus driver nearly left her there because she was so filthy! Even the boys commented on how dirty she had gotten.lol When i picked her up she smelled so strongly of the lake that i had to drive with all the windows down and she had to soak in a bath and be scrubbed from head to toe. But the greatest part of it all has been that she hasn't stopped talking about everything she did and learned about! I love moments like that with her.
Silly girl.

*My big girl hit a HUGE milestone! She turned 10!!!!!!
Her birthday was the day before school starting this year. She still thinks that the best birthday gift ever is her returning to school.lol Silly girl.
We celebrated by inviting one of her best friends to go to Boondocks with us. They played arcade games, the did the water boats, we played mini golf, and then a freak storm hit before we could do the go carts. And by that time it was time to eat and then go home. They had a BLAST though and are dying to go back! It wasn't a huge production, it was low key and laid back, but it was still very fun for her and she made alot of great memories.
A few days before her birthday i had some friends give her a small birthday party at a park. She LOVED it! It meant so much to her that they put the time and effort into coming. One friend is a cake decorator and made her a death by chocolate cake. Then we all brought food to snack on. Only small gifts were allowed, but the funniest part is how much she loved the simplest gift.
The same friend also made her real birthday cake, it was an artists pallet. It was heavenly to eat!
I cant believe i have a 10 year old! She seems far too mature for her years, im so thankful to have her and to be the one who is her mom. She means the world to me and i hope i can continue to be a caring, supportive, encouraging, and loving mom to her.

*The next thing was that i went back to the fair unexpectedly.
When i got pregnant Kreg and i had talked at length about the fair. At first we both felt like i could do it, we would have an extra gal in the office and therefore it wouldn't be as taxing on me. So i was going to go back.
Then some health issues had started popping up, and i realized the pregnancy was taking more out of me than what i had expected. I soon realized that it would be more detrimental to me to go back than what the pay and experience was worth. Kreg became very concerned about me as well and had asked me to not go back. So i decided not to go back.
Well, about a week before the fair i had received a call and was asked if i would take someones place next year in a department that i love and thrive in, and if i could come in and observe and lightly train this year. It put me in a HUGE bind in alot of ways, i appreciated the offer and felt like all that hard work was paying off, but i feel like it came at a price. On one hand i really wanted the experience and to do it. But then on the other hand, i didn't feel like it was right of me to go back.
Well, by the end of the first day i was there it was decided i would go back to the fair, i was offered a small pay increase, and that i was going back to livestock.
Kreg was incredibly upset that i went back, respectively so. And i was a bit disappointed in myself for not sticking to what i had told everyone. The money was not worth me going back. It took SO MUCH out of me, i still feel like im recovering, and the experience was so-so. It put me behind in getting ready for the baby as well. But i can firmly say now that its out of my system and i have no desire to go back next year. I want to take time off to be mom and to enjoy those first few years with a baby in the house again.
It was for sure a learning experience in alot of ways.

*While working at the fair on Sept. 14th at 4am or so my lungs and airway decided to spazz out. I sleep with an oxygen concentrator and even with that my lips were blue tinged from the bronchial swelling, and from my lungs limited air capacity. Things were crackly and painful, not a good sign at all! My oxygen concentration was incredibly low, and it was taking alot out of me to move minimal amounts of air. W
I can't describe how it feels to not be able to breathe in and out. With every breathe feeling like pins and needles inside your chest. And the harder you try to move air the more energy it takes out of you. 
So at that point Kreg and i decided that the best thing would be to get me to the ER to load up on steroids and to get some nebulizer treatments in me. When we went in, my peak flow was incredibly low, almost non existent. My oxygen saturation again, was incredibly low too. There wasn't much improvement overall after the drugs, but things stabilized and i just had to wait things out.
Ultimately though, my body freaked out, which is does from time to time when i push it too hard. Its happened before, but its just been a while and i had forgotten my limitations.
I was around too much dust, animal dander, animal hair, too much mold/mildew spores from the sawdust floating around me, and too much physical and mental stress on top of cramped airways from being hugely pregnant. And i got a big fat "I TOLD YOU SO!!!" from Kreg. It was humbling and the smack in the face that i needed to realize that i needed to be home resting, giving my body a break. 
Its been a slow recovery, but overall, i feel better slowly each day. I'm not as reliant on  my meds and rescue inhaler now. 

*About a week or two later.... It was Kregs turn in the ER!lol 
Seriously, when it rains.... IT POURS!
He was having chest pain, abdomen pain, vomiting, and other symptoms. At first he played it off as heartburn. But it steadily got worse and i took him in. I had them check his heart, he has a pretty little ticker! It couldn't be more perfect! Then we checked his appendix, again, perfect. Then his gallbladder was checked and BINGO! It was full of stones and he was having a gallstone attack. We are pretty sure he has had them since before his mission, but again, went untreated. He has always had some mysterious chest pain, they attributed it to him being too cold. Which always seemed weird to me honestly. But now it makes sense, he was have gallbladder attacks, and after a while he developed stones. Now that its out his chest pains have totally gone away. So that tells me he needed to have this done about 15+ years ago. Awesome!
So, we were faced with either having it done now and using up some paid maternity leave, or putting it off until we can afford to have it done which would have been about a year from now, risking it becoming infected which it was already showing signs of. 
It came out! 
So this past Friday, Sept. 28th he had surgery again! Kreg has had 2 surgeries in about a 45 day period.  Poor guy! But he has gotten through them like a champ and is feeling so much better! 
This surgery wasn't nearly as bad for him as the tonsils were, but still he is pretty sore and getting used to things again. He had to go to work before he was supposed to, the surgeon was a dick head about it all, but we kind of had no choice in the situation. Kreg takes it as easy as he can, the guys have picked up alot of slack for him thankfully. He is riding it out until the baby comes, once that happens he can take the time off to rest and recuperate.

*And brings us to today! MY DUE DATE!!!! Oct. 3rd.
Today was pretty uneventful. We bought a new couch, a new vacuum,  Kreg took us out to dinner, and then The Boy got some new diapers. 
I spent the day just being by myself, left to do whatever. It was super nice and relaxing.
I have my 40 week appt. tomorrow.
Today my blood pressure was 118/86, my weight was 280 (ive gained a total of about 8 lbs. in 40 weeks of pregnancy.... Not bad!!! Im very proud of myself!), and I feel The Boy moving LOTS!!
His heart rate has been in the 140's, head down as always, just not dropped and as of last week I was a soft 1. OB and I agreed to taking this to 42 or so weeks. I think Kooper will come sometime next week, possibly the following week. Not sure though, we are going to let him be for as long as we can, we have waited for him for 9.5 years to join our family, whats another week or two?! The longer he waits to come the more time Kreg can build up to take time off. So we are OK with him taking this extra time, we know he will come when he is ready.
I have one more Hypnobirthing class and then we are done with those.
I had my breastfeeding class last night.
I've made a crap load of diapers, covers, longies, soakers, and wipes.
I'm feeling more ready for him to come now than i have for the last few weeks.
I still have to print off my birth plan, finish packing my hospital bag, and get things squared away in his room. This weekend Kreg has some serious painting of furniture to do as well.lol Talk about last minute!
 Klaire is bursting at the seams for her brother to get here. She is at the point that she just cant contain herself any longer.lol Sometimes i think she is going to implode or something because of the excitement and trepidation she has over this sibling thing. She kills me!


So hopefully nothing huge happens between now and Koopers arrival. We are all looking forward to this little dude joining us. We are looking forward to some much needed down time as well. We are all looking forward to holing up and just "being", together, in our home, as a family, together with no expectations or obligations to anyone to be anywhere we don't want to be. Its crazy to think of where we were a year ago and now we are all taking each day one day at a time hoping that today is the day we welcome our new family member...........................
Hopefully the next update will be me announcing his birth and sharing all that good stuff!