Low Stress = Wrinkly Jammies

The dishwasher debacle may be solved. The repairman was so nice, and we now know what’s wrong. : ) The control board isn’t working, so it has to be replaced: $260. We told him to hold off, while we made a decision.

That decision included some online shopping, review searching, price checking, and a long snowy drive to Lowe’s! Somehow two hours evaporated in there! I looked down and it was a little after one pm! Good grief, I can get lost in any kind of shopping! I think the power to spend was overwhelming. Ches called back after he left for work this morning and told me I could spend whatever I needed to get a good dishwasher. It’s something we use about twice a day! And it needs to work well. I ended up getting a Whirlpool Quiet Partner kinda like what we had in our last house. The only difference is the buttons are up on top of the door, so you can’t see them.

For the two hours we checked out dishwashers, the dryers behind them, played in the car cart (Go, Lowe’s!), took a bathroom break, and Ethan tried out every “tractor”. Twice. I was mainly trying to making a decision. It was so hard. The Maytag and Whirlpool were identical, practically, but the silverware thingie on the Maytag took up valuable bottom rack space, so it was the deciding factor. We’ve had a Whirlpool, and it worked well. I read in the reviews that the WP can make a lot of steam and drip out the vent-scary. I’ll let you know, ToMoRRoW! It’ll be delivered and installed by Tomorrow!!! I can’t wait. Oh, farewall, fair paper products! How I long to hear the clink of silver on porcelain. : ) (or stainless on stoneware, whatever.)

So..my “lowered stress” has been impacting the family. I now don’t stress when the clothes are out of the dryer and sitting in a laundry basket for days. Even five days. Then I run out of baskets for clean clothes. Really. I had to sit and fold three laundry baskets of clothes tonight! (I guess now that the dishwasher is being replaced, my fixation can move on?) I had stacks and stacks! And no, I’m very organized when I pull them out of the dryer, so they weren’t too wrinkly. The undies and socks get slung around, but the t-shirts get folded in half and laid flat. The jammies are a little wrinkly-ish, but just don’t come over for the next week After Hours. You will never even know. : )

I got a new book. Again. I know, but I *heart* books! I got Dr. Oz’s new You Having a Baby, and I’m busy making a chart (if stupid Excel didn’t keep closing down, you wouldn’t have heard from me tonight) on all the vitamins that my Prescribed Vitamin doesn’t even come close to! It’s awful pathetic. The only thing is has enough of is Folic Acid, the minimum of DHA, and Iron (enough to constipate me). So, the chart begins. I’ll have to eat 4000 calories a day to get it all in! Where do they get these recommendations, really? Some are like 3 and 4x the FDA’s guidelines. How do I know? Yep, I googled them! Here. I mean, haven’t you always wondered (or not..) when you read a label and it has 15% of Vitamin A, what is 100%? or exactly how many IU is that? (Now you’re wondering about IU, right?)

Ok, the only other thing on my mind is telling my kids. I want to so bad, but Ches says no. There’s always that chance…and don’t think I forget. I just wish they could share in the joy, even if it was short lived. They are precious, and still praying, and I’d like them to know God has answered a prayer. He listens to us! It’s a great lesson to learn, and by golly, it builds our faith!  Another couple of weeks maybe.  We have an ultrasound on the 26th, so that will make me feel better, and maybe we could tell them after that?

Clean under your bed!

I only have a minute, but it's been so long!  Since Thursday night or something?  My hcg came back fine, at 491, so it doubled plus a little, so everything is fine.

We've cleaned Clay's room from top to bottom, moved his furniture (well..Ches and Clay did, and Mary Claire and Ethan helped push on stuff-so cute!), and unstacked his bunk beds.  It looks so nice in there!  I even have been making his bed every day since it's so easy now! : )
We just need to paint in there now.  It still has the white sheetrock mud that got rubbed on last spring after the ice storm when we had a few things fixed (the holes behind his door handles...), so it looks crappy.  His bathroom needs a good paint job too, and new rugs..I'll work on it.

Our new favorite person is coming today: dishwasher repairman!! : ) We hope he can work miracles! : )  In seven minutes, actually, so I have to go get ready! : )

Who thought of toothbrushes with wheels?

Stupid dishwasher is still broken.  I'm still washing by hand.  I even bought a dish drainer-scary, since it means I'm in the Acceptance Phase.  I haven't had time to call a repairman.  I only remember when I'm washing at 7:40 in the morning, or 6:30 at night.  Ugh.  I even went to the store to buy disposable "dishes", and I forgot to actually BuY them (have to remember the List, or it's not Effective).  I got sidetracked looking for a "car" toothbrush (which they no longer sell at Wal-Mart or Target!).  Ethan's been brushing his teeth with one of Clay's Hot Wheels toothbrushes, and he wants his own, only now I can't find them anywhere!  It's like the zhu zhu pet of our house! Frustrating.  And I like to encourage tooth brushing.


I went back for my hcg testing today, and I took Ethan, (wrongly) thinking it'd only take 10 minutes tops like the past few times.  Wrong.  I waited for 30 minutes before I went to ask what was going on.  The lab is always so fast!  Anyway, he was pretty good (since he had that toothbrush hanging over his head), and we made it.  He wouldn't sit in a separate chair from me while I got blood drawn, so he sat in my lap in my chair with the "faint bar/pad".  We both fit, so it was okay.  I told him he could look away, and he asked me if I was getting a boo-boo, and I said yes.  He watched!  Reminds me of Sissy watching her own blood get drawn last year! Ick!  Kids are too brave.  Anyway, they never called me back, so I don't know how it went.  I'll call in the morning to get an update.  It's hard to expect some information and not get it.


Clay tried the teensy, tiny medicine today, but I don't know if it did anything.  He said he didn't notice anything, but he was moody after school, got mad at Sissy at dinner (post meds), cried about his spelling test (Irregular Plurals including: alumni, parentheses, vertebrae, diagnoses, phenomena, antennae-I mean, why?) and wanted to stay home tomorrow to miss his spelling, math/multiplication, writing, handwriting, etc. tests.  I'd rather him study and have confidence than have fear, but he feels differently, and cried.  It may be the meds, but I still feel sorry for him.  He also picked at his nose and eyes (and the nervous ticking/picking can get worse on meds).  He said it felt like something was in his nose, and he thought he had a black dot (pimple coming up, he said) inside his bottom left eyelid!  I'll see how the next couple of days go.  It'll have to be worth it, or we'll have to try something else.  Being a parent has to be the hardest job.  Your job matters now, and in twenty years.  Everything you do matters.  It goes home with you at night, and you only get out of it what you put in, so it requires all of you. 

(I just found one of the car toothbrushes!)

Note to Self: Get Dishwasher Fixed!

The Jones family is safely home, Yay! : )  It seemed like a longish drive (more than the actual 6 hours since we kept stopping to eat).  There was laundry, well, still is.  And the getting back in the routine!  I made dinner, the kids had baths, we laid out clothes, and packed lunches.  I was so glad they had school-we all needed some change and routine!  They got to see their friends, and Ethan was even excited-he wasn't clingy when I dropped him off-and that always makes me have a great day!

I went back for lab work, again.  It was good.  My hcg was at 183, which seems good.  I will get a progesterone update tomorrow, and more lab work on Thursday.  I guess I'm braver than I ever thought I'd be.  I have gotten so many holes poked in me-I used to hate it, but I don't even fear it for hours in advance like I used to: Progress, I guess.  I'm really tired, but not complaining, for I heed my own advice! : )  heehee  I'm just going to bed early.

Clay is getting in with his doctor tomorrow to get his medicine prescribed.  They called today with a cancellation, so we'll fit it in somehow.  I'm kind of excited.  I'd love for him to maintain focus and increase his self-esteem. He's pretty proud of himself, but he can get really down on himself easily.  We'll see how the next week goes.  Apparently it can require adjusting, so we may go/call frequently till we get it nailed down.  I would love to see him utilize all that crazy knowledge he has!

Well, my dishwasher is really broken.  It wasn't working before we left, but we weren't sure if we'd just overloaded it, or if the dishes were really dirty (even though I prewash/rinse them).  There were little brown things on the tops of some of them.  So, I ran it again, opening it halfway through the cycle.  I poured fresh water on them, closed it, and opened it later, to see more yucky things.  It was like the water (wash cycle, maybe?) wasn't running, but the heating/drying cycles were.  Weird.  So, when we got home we had the dishwasher dishes plus the ones waiting in the sink (cause that's how we operate).  So, they allll had to be washed. : (  Tonight I washed all of today's plus dinner dishes.  It took a long time!  I take that workhorse for granted sometimes!  I will appreciate it more when it's working.  I can't decide if I need a service person to repair it, a plumber to check it, or a new one...I'd really like the double dishwashers, but I think you have to have the cabinets changed.  Not happening.  I can dream, but not really practical.  Anyway, I am willing to wash, but I paid a putter-awayer today.  Only fifty cents, but I'd better get it fixed!

Next Tuesday night we have too much to do.  Clay has a boy scout meeting, Mary Claire has gymnastics (which I'm not happy with-she can do her bridge and cartwheel, and has yet to be moved up!), she has a school musical, and her first confession (Reconciliation Service).  I am not sure how it's all going to play out, but we'll make an effort.  She opted not to have a speaking part (she LOVES to sing, but not in front of people, go figure), so I'm ranking it pretty low.  Reconciliation is first, since she has to go to make her first communion.  She could probably arrange to go another time, but I'd like her to be with her class.  The priest will be prepared to hear young kids, and hopefully patient.  It takes some of them a really  long time to name all the sins they can remember from their whole life!  Boy scouts may get bumped-it's three times a month now, and it's a lot.  He never misses, so we'll see how it plays out.  If (Big IF) Ethan gets a nap, I could take him with me to take Mary Claire...  ahhh, just planning it is a lot!

My friend, Sandra, had her baby!  It is a girl, Rose Eileen, and she is beautiful and just perfect!  I went up there today, because I just couldn't wait.  I always say it, but they are sooo tiny, and for such a short time.  Her sisters came up there when I was getting ready to leave, and they were so sweet.  They loved holding her hands (which seem sooo tiny too!), and I think they were happy it was a girl.  I know they would've been happy with either, but it was precious to see the three of them.  I think when you have all the same sex kids, they are close.  They usually have similar interests, and understand each other.  And Emily has had a baby sister before, so she knows what to expect. : )

Clay was soo small (17 months) when Mary Claire was born, that I don't think he remembers much.  They both remember Ethan, but they were older.  They both adore him, even now, so it was fun for them.  I think babies are a gift you give your family. Fun, sweet memories, even despite all the not-so-fun times.  It's just work, and you create the happiness.  They remember even the smallest things!  I think if you asked the kids what their favorite thing was from our trip to Dallas, they'd probably say the swimming every night! (well, and the all-you-can-eat-breakfast!)