Temporarily MIA

So it's been a busy couple of weeks...

"Miss Priss" (aka Maddie) arrived a wee bit earlier than expected. I was scheduled for a c-section on Wednesday, 7/7-- I went in on Monday to have my last NST and get all my blood work taken care of. Well, my BP was WAY high and wouldn't come down. The nurse said, "I'm going to call the Dr.-- but there's a good chance you will be having this baby today!"

(Insert Hubby almost falling in the floor here)

A few minutes later she comes in and says, "The Dr. is on her way-- let's get your IV started!" Talk about not having time to totally process, let alone be worried or scared. Hubby and I were not exactly prepared-- didn't have our bags with us, his phone was on it's last ounce of power, and while I did have the camera-- it's battery was also in need of a charge. Oy!

Everything went great though. We had a fantastic anesthesiologist-- he managed to keep Matt calm by discussing the World Cup and all things soccer... And he did a great job of explaining the spinal block to me and keeping me calm!

About an hour and a half after the announcement that Miss Priss' arrival was imminent, she was here! WOW! She was still breech-- sitting indian style, with her back to belly. First thing the Dr said when she saw her was, "We have a baby moon!"

After we heard her first cry, hubby and I were greeted with the most beautiful, wide-eyed baby girl ever! She is simply perfect! She has a head full of hair-- was DARK brown when she was born, but has since lightened. She is VERY alert-- loves to look at you, make faces, and just listen. For as stubborn as she has been the last 9 mo. she is a very easy baby-- rarely cries, sleeps well, etc.

Our only issue has been weight gain. She was 6lbs. 14.5oz. when she was born-- later dropped down to 6lbs. 3oz.-- which is normal-- but then we had a booger of a time getting her to bulk back up. We went to the Dr EVERY day for weight checks. I am happy to report that as of today she has surpassed her birth weight-- she gained 9oz this week and now weighs 7lbs. 1oz.!

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(*PS-- some of you may have noticed that my blog temporarily disappeared-- apparently my email account got hacked, and thus suspended... )

Spinach Lasagna

It's what's for dinner!

Spinach Lasagna


Ingredients:

16 oz. ricotta cheese
16 oz. shredded mozerella (*I use 8 oz. mozerella/ 8 oz. parmesean)
1 jar sauce
1 pkg. lasagna noodles
10 oz. spinach (*I use frozen-- thawed and drained)
1 t. minced garlic
1 t. minced onion
chopped onion


Mix ricotta, 1/2 mozerella/ parmesean mix, garlic, onion, & spinach.

Layer a 13 x 9 or 9x9 pan-- Sauce, noodles, cheese mixture-- repeat. Top with other 1/2 of mozerella/ parmesean mixture.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour

SNORT!

I cannot stop laughing! My friend Pete posted this on his FB page-- a spoof of Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart video... Any child of the 80s is familiar with this over-the-top, slightly creepy video... a true classic!




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On the baby front-- Miss Priss refused to turn-- so now we are scheduled for a C-section on July 6th-- a week from tomorrow!! I can honestly say I am BEYOND ready for her to be here-- and OUT of my aching body!  Between achy back, hips, etc... and the HEAT and HUMIDITY (I'm sorry-- it's ridiculous to be 80 degrees at 9am!)

Hubby is, of course, upset that England is out of the World Cup... personally I am kind of glad there are no more "life-altering" matches we HAVE to available to watch. I mean, he will watch the rest of the matches, but if one is missed-- it isn't a tragedy. I'm soccered out! Glad this only rolls around once every 4 yrs.  I'm ready for some good ol' AMERICAN football!

I have one of my last Dr appts today... hopefully the BP will be down and this will not turn into a 4hr event... as it USUALLY does! oof!

Donde Esta??

Yes, yes... I have been MIA for awhile... but I have good excuses!

BEST excuse is that hubby is FINALLY here! YAY! Almost 10 mo. of the immigration process about did me in-- but I survived! It has been SO nice to have him here to help. And he has been quite busy-- though never fear-- he's had plenty of time to keep up with World Cup! (Too bad England has been rubbish! -- even my MIL says so!)

with the brothers after England's draw with the US

We have also been busy finishing up the nursery-- I saved the shelves project for him! And he has done an EXCELLENT job painting and hanging the shelves-- I am SO happy to have them up and ready--

Another biggie has been getting, putting together, and installing the travel system. This has resulted in some "colorful" language and hilarious quotes-- "Do not take anymore pictures because I am really not happy!" (I was, of course, photoing the whole event)... "You need a f-ing mechanical engineering degree to put this together!"  "What the hell *is* this?!"   "Look! Little hubcaps!" "How do stupid people do this?"

Again, Daddy has done a great job!

Next up: the baby!! Miss Priss is still breech-- they are going to try to turn her on Monday, so we shall see. I am ready for her to be here-- well OUT of me anyway... It is HOT (mid to upper 90s most days), humid, and I am really uncomfortable. I was positive my feet/ ankles would split open last night. Everyone tells me how great I look-- but WOOF! I am NOT feeling it!

And I just snorted at an email I received-- something from The Bump, or What to Expect... "36 Weeks: Take advantage of that energy surge!"  Who the hell are they kidding? What energy surge? Where? It took EVERYTHING I had to drag my swollen self out of bed today-- and even then I did it more out of guilt than anything.

Miss Priss is moving-- which is good-- though it makes me nauseous sometimes... And I don't think she is moving to the head down position-- just dancing-- or re-enacting moments from the World Cup. Oof!

So that's where I've been. I hope to be more "with it"-- we'll see!

Post-It Note Tuesday: Weekly Planning

Make sure and LINK UP if you play!!

Picture Pages

More pictures from this week-- it's been quite productive!

Closet-- AFTER I purged about 3/4 of the stuff in there!

Purged closet items ready for donation! WOO!

The closet wasn't the only thing that got organized-- the nursery is also taking shape!

Needless to say, I have been EXHAUSTED since these two projects... I pretty much put myself on bedrest yesterday-- feeling MUCH better today. I have some chores to take care of, but nothing nearly this strenuous. I am looking forward to finishing up the nursery (last baby shower tomorrow, and shelves up once daddy gets here on Tuesday!)

Merci!

Therapy Time! Make sure to LINK UP at The Daily Dribbles if you play....

• To a so-called "good friend"-- REALLY?! Do you honestly think that I am SO stupid that I don't know you are lying to me left and right? See the problem with lying is, once you tell one, you have to tell another, and then another to cover your tracks. And Einstein-- when you tell me one thing, then all our mutual friends the complete opposite-- do you REALLY think I won't hear about it? Do you want to be found out or are you just that bad at lying? I have gone OUT OF MY WAY for you over the last several years-- and for what? To be treated this way? I realize you are in some sort of identity-crisis-can't-find-myself phase of life-- but here's some advice from someone older and MUCH wiser-- DO NOT piss off every friend you have-- every person who has ever been there for you when no one else was... Beacause soon (VERY SOON) you will need those people and guess what? They won't be there this time because you have treated them like SHIT! Do NOT come crying to me next time-- because honestly, I am done! I do NOT care! This is the choice YOU made-- you have to learn for yourself. But in order to do that, I suggest you get your head out of your egotistical ass (not EVERYTHING is about you, by the way-- other people have stress and drama to deal with in theor own lives-- you would know this if you ever took 5 minutes to ask someone how THEY are instead of instantly dumping all YOUR problems on them...) and take a look around-- it's starting to look like a lonely place for you.

Whoa... that felt good!

• To myself-- Why in the heck did you let the closet get so out of control? You seriously have to do better about this!
• To the HEAT-- really? Is this necessary? mid-eighties to 90s... You're killing me! I absolutely DREAD the thought of waddling across the parking lot at the Dr today... HUMPH!
• To the kitchen counter-- why must you always be cluttered? Why? Same goes for you Mr. Dresser! and Dust-- WTF?! GO AWAY!

The Monster in my Closet

So where was I yesterday? IN THE CLOSET most of the day... I have been clearing things out, little by little... 2 or 3 bags to the thrift store here and there. I REALLY thought I was doing good... UNTIL I got it in my head that what I needed to do was take EVERYTHING out of the closet, sort through, clear out, and then rearrange... HOLY COW!

As I removed things yesterday, I went through, bagging up what I was getting rid of... throwing away any trash, or treasures I no longer wanted. I still don't have EVERYTHING out (mainly shoes left), but I do have 3 bags of trash, and 6 BIG bags of stuff to donate! Oy! And I am STILL not sure there will be room for Hubby and his clothes... Hopefully he won't bring much!  ;-)

Before

Keepers stayed on the bed... Cleo made sure they had ample cat hair

OK, I admit... I have a sock addiction... (sigh) I filled OVER half of a large black trash bag with socks to donate... It was hard, but the way I figure... now I have room for NEW fun socks!

Possibly the only thing I have more of than socks, is hangers! As God as my witness- I'll never buy hangers again!


Mr. Sneaky here! Carl camoflauges himself... You can't see me!

So this AM I am back to work... gotta get all the shoes out, vacuum, move some stuff around... then start reloading the closet. I will do my very best to rope off a section for the hubby...

AND, after today's Dr. appt, it's time to move this organizational party downstairs to the nursery! WOOHOO!

LET'S DO THIS!!

Booty-Shakin' Baby Shower

Here are some of the pictures from the baby shower Saturday at King Tut's--

Egyptian Sampler... Mmmmmmmmmmmmm
Pink Lemonade Vodka Reactions..

What teachers do during summer vacation...

Photofetti cupcakes

My hostesses with the mostests

Some of the best "aunts" any little girl could ask for! Lucky Miss Priss!

Post-It Note Tuesday: Baby Shower Lyrics Edition

So this past weekend I had not one, but TWO fantastic baby showers. The one Sunday was your typical chicken salad croissant affair... But Saturday night was different! It was the rockin'est, most booty-shakin' baby shower ever! Three of my amazing friends from high school organized the event at this crazy joint nearby called King Tut's... Pictures will follow in the next post. For now, on to the business at hand...

One of the most fun things about King Tut's is the music... sometimes it's kareoke, sometimes it's just get up and dance... And then there is always the music in the car on the way there. So today's post-its feature some lyrics from Saturday night's festivities--

I'm willing to bet you now have one of these stuck in your head.

You're welcome!

Make sure and LINK up if you play!

Heartburn, Peanut Butter, and a Soapbox Rant

First of all... 8 mo. preggers + Mexican Food + Criminal Minds = HEARTBURN and CRAZY dreams! Luckily I am pretty sure the team from the BAU saved the day every time!

This of course led to me being wide awake at 5:30am... woof. I will HAVE to have a nap later... before the big baby shower party at King Tut's!

Yesterday was a good day-- certainly better than Thursday! No emotional breakdowns... No crazy ass-hot weather... and NO WALMART!  :)  Lacy and I accomplished a LOT on our day of errands... well, I accomplished a lot-- poor Lacy was just kind of there for heavy lifting and support. I finally got some new glasses-- after carrying the prescription around for a month or so... This was quite a feat-- after awhile all the glasses started to look the same... (Hubby got new glasses yesterday too-- and said the same thing-- "Sometimes you can have too much choice, like peanut butter!"-- the first time he was here in the grocery store with me, he was AMAZED at the selection and varieties of peanut butter we have-- "Who could ever need THAT many kinds of peanut butter? Crazy Americans!")

Also got some more shorts, eye make-up, & cell phone cover... plus Lacy and I got rid of a bunch of books at the used bookstore... YAY for decluttering the classroom... a little, anyway...

Speaking of classroom... YES, I know it's summer break, but I came across this article--

How to Handle a Problem Teacher

Needless to say the title intrigued me.Yes, yours truly has been that PROBLEM TEACHER a few times... Including this year (you're shocked, I know...)  Decent advice for the most part... wish some of my parents had read this...



Something else to ask yourself, "Is everything my child saying COMPLETELY TRUTHFUL?" No parent wants to think their kid is a liar-- but how many times have we all exaggerated a teacher's behavior? I've been accused of craziness and things that don't remotely make sense... and if the parents stopped to think about it, they would have seen this too.

And bypassing the teacher and going straight to the principal-- first of all, YES, it blindsides the teacher-- which let me tell you does nothing really but piss them off. But it also usually irritates the principal as well. This happened to me this year-- and my princi was MAD-- not at me, but at the parent. When you think about it-- this is something we teach the kids at school-- conflict resolution! We encourage students to try to work out problems on their own-- before running and tattling to the teacher. It's the same in real life-- when you have a problem at work with someone, do you instantly run to the boss? Do you get mommy and daddy to call your boss and solve the problem for you?

THIS behavior is going to lead to a lot of problems for several kids I know-- yes another reason I can't wait for them to get to middle school and high school. Those principals and teachers won't allow parents to intervene as much as in elementary school. It's called growing up-- look in to it!


Just sayin'...

Thank You Very Much

I have intentionally NOT done this for several weeks now, mainly because my anger and frustration has been at a boiling point... and I am supposed to be trying to keep the BP down... but as I have been even more furious today, I figured, What the heck?

• To the US Embassy in London... SERIOUSLY?! Could you PLEASE take a little longer to send hubby's passport back? It's not like I am over 8 mo. pregnant and in desperate need of my husband for various reasons.
• To the OBSCENE heat wave we are having-- 90 degrees in April  and May?!! Take that idiots that say global warming is a farce! I wish all those idiots could be pregnant and dealing with this heat and humidity.
• To the kid I called an idiot at Walmart today-- yeah, I meant that.
• To all the other people at Walmart today-- yeah, I pretty much think you all are idiots too-- I just didn't have the energy to tell each and every one of you. I used all my spare energy telling the kid.
• To gestational diabetes-- I F***ing HATE you!! All I want is frickin' donut! or a Frosty! or a Blizzard! Why must you make these days more miserable for me??  (By the way Oreo and Chips Ahoy commercials-- you better get the &$%^@ off my TV now!!)
• To neighbor across the street-- I still hate your ugly, 1980s blue Camaro-- GET RID OF IT! It's not cool. It's not classic. It's trashy.
• To Cleo-- I know you can't help it, but PLEASE stop yakking around the house! How many hairballs can one cat have?

OK... I will stop... Here's to hoping tomorrow is a better day.

Got someone to thank? Go to The Daily Dribbles and link up!

Post-It Note Tuesday

I'm in a mood... so some aren't so nice... hormones people, hormones... Trust me, it could have been WAY more hateful!  :)