NOT DIABETIC!

I realize, of course, that most of my readers could say the same thing, and that this really doesn't seem like news worth reporting.

But it's the most exciting thing happening for me right now.  Let me 'splain.

I had gestational diabetes with my first pregnancy.  After having it once, a woman's chances of having gestational diabetes with every further pregnancy is 90%.   90%!  For most of the 10% that don't get it, they have lost a lot of weight between pregnancies, decreasing their odds of recurrence.  With the next pregnancy, I took it for granted that I would have it.  But I didn't.  And then I was again not diabetic with the third.  Strange, but I'll take it!

Diabetes tests are administered in two rounds.  If you fail the first, you take the second before officially diagnosed.  When I failed the first, I was just sure, given my history, that I would fail the second.  I had already begun telling friends that I was GD again.  I was grieving.  The strict diet to which I would be assigned is incredibly boring.  There can be no eating out or even eating in friends' homes.  I would have to poke my finger four times each day to monitor my blood sugar.  There would be extra doctor appointments.  But the worst news of it all is that being GD means that you have a 50% chance of developing full-blown type 2 diabetes later in life.  Diabetes for two or three months is nothing compared to dealing with it every day, with little hope of a cure, as I am sure that some of my readers know first-hand.  Having gotten away healthy in the last two pregnancies, I was hoping that my GD with Bethelle had been a fluke and that I did not have that 50% chance.  When I failed the first test this time, it all came flooding back to me.  No fluke, I thought.

Well, as already indicated, I just heard back from my nurse that my sugar levels in the second test were a little higher than usual, but not to the diabetic level.  I told her that it had been my intention all along to cut back on sugars and carbs for my last trimester due to my history.  She said that sounds great, but to "go celebrate with a cookie!"  Don't know if I will.  But I will at least blog about it.

Because One Vacation is Never Enough

I have developed a personal tradition of taking myself and my youngest baby (who flies for free) on a little vacation before each pregnancy.  In this way, I have visited friends in New York, Texas, and Hawaii.  The trips never cost much more than the plane ticket, I get to see people that I miss and love, and I try to psyche myself up for the months of my life that I will soon give up.

That trip never really worked out this time around, as we were in San Francisco during the time that I might have gone.  There were no grandparents accessible to help with the older two kids, and Nick was far too busy to take on the mothering assignment.  But I found a new plan.

Every Christmas season, it seems that my old roommates all (OK, mostly all) get together for a night in Salt Lake City, as they are in town visiting in-laws or they themselves live nearby.  I have always wanted to go, but I never just "happen" to be in town like they do.  I really have no reason to be there.  So this year, I made them my reason and just went.  I hopped around, staying with the ones who still live in the area, and we spent one night together at the Grand America.

These girls mean so much to me.  Over our five years together, they became a part of who I am.  Being so involved with my own family now, I haven't quite discovered a way to become that close with people that I have met since.  I am not sure that it is even possible when you don't live together in the cramped quarters that we shared!

Some of my girls: Janae, Melinda, me, Amanda

A clock tower at BYU.  My, how campus has changed!

Me...  The big "Y" is on the mountain behind me, but good luck finding it in the picture.

Me, Michelle, Sara, Amanda, Janae

The surprise snow we received after our night at the Grand.  Our room is somewhere in this picture.

Thank you so much, girls, for taking the time away from family to make me laugh like I haven't laughed in nine years!  I miss you already.

The Post-Christmas Cure: Portland

Remember how I mentioned that after Christmas I couldn't shake the run-over, complete exhaustion that set in?  Nick found a solution.  I told you that he was the greatest.

We spent December 26th cleaning up a bit, assembling new toys, and organizing the chaos.  Then, on the 27th, Grandma came over.  And we left.  Nick and I drove a couple hours to Portland, where we spent three days and two nights just the two of us.  No kids.  No mess.  No cooking.  No laundry.  No guests.  No to-do lists.  No responsibility.

It was perfect.  He even surprised me with a room at the Hilton.  I'm sure I've never stayed there before.  Thank you, kayak.com!

 After a quick swim in the pool (because you can do whatever you want when there are no kids around!), we went to a little b-ball game at the Rose Garden.  The Trail Blazers were playing the Sacramento Kings.  This was a highly anticipated game for Nick us.  You should know that the Kings recently acquired Jimmer Fredette and Isaiah Thomas, Nick's two favorite college players last year.  Nick We have seen Isaiah play in person at the high school, college, and now NBA levels.  And Jimmer was pretty much the best point guard that college has seen, not to mention that he played for my alma mater.

Here is the man (Jimmer) himself on the court.  Even the local Portland crowd cheered for him because he was a national college sensation.  My favorite crowd-sign from the night read, "Seriously, who names their kid Jimmer?"

 The next day, we went to lunch with a friend, Sarah, who we both love dearly.  She took us to Pok Pok, a fantastic Thai place.  Trust the locals.  I know nothing about Thai food, but everything we had seemed authentic and tasted wonderful.  We shopped and wandered a bit, then had a nice Italian dinner at Pastini's downtown before going to Mission Impossible: 4 on an imax screen (one of Nick's favorite indulgences).

 On day three, we went to Pine State Biscuits, a little joint we had seen featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on the Food Network.  The atmosphere was a bit cramped, but you can do that when you don't have kids in tow!  The biscuit sandwiches were rich and filling and lived up to the hype.

 After brunch, we did a drive-by temple visit to the Portland Temple.  Isn't it beautiful?  And this was even taken in the typical northwest rain.

 I love these doors, with the raised stars on them.

Ahhhh.  Peace.  I felt completely cured from my post-Christmas fatigue.  Nick is a genius.  Let's do it again sometime.  Soon.

Best Pregnancy Ever

... for me.  So, that's not saying much.

Nick bought me some beautiful flowers when I hit the half-way point in this 40 week endeavor.  Look how the lily tried to open.  That's a lily, right?

Nick has been the greatest husband ever through this battle, and I really think that his efforts have made the difference.  For both of us, it has taken all of these pregnancies to learn how best to handle my various and extremes of symptoms, but I think that the very worst symptom of all, for me, is the mental hardship of not being able to act like myself.  My family culture is one of hard work and accomplishment.  Sitting on the couch doing nothing for months begins to erode my notion of who I am.  This is not good.

Through all this, Nick has never made me feel like I am letting anyone down, by word or deed or careless, disappointed facial expression.  Instead, he has found genuine ways to tell me how great I am and how much he loves and appreciates me.  He not only tried to pick up my slack when he got home from work, he continues to find over-the-top ways to do little things for me.  Things that I could have actually done for myself.  His eagerness to serve me helps me feel so much better about needing him to do the dishes and all the other boring things that I was not able to do.

Nick has always been a naturally great husband, but even from there he has stepped it up through my struggles.  When you add focused effort to natural talent, you get one fantastic man.  Thank you, Nick.  I love you!

Christmas Photo Shoot

Nothing formal about the pictures.  I just wanted to document how cute and festive we are together.

 Can you tell how special they are just from the picture?

 Look closely at the girls' dresses.  I bought them in San Francisco at the Jessica McClintock factory outlet.  It's one of the rare actual factory outlets - attached to the the factory itself.  Anyway, these two dresses were junior sized and I tried them on myself, thinking they'd be pretty hip with jeans, before realizing that I would never be able to zip them up, even though they are size 7 and 12.  So Curie got the 7 and Bethelle's is the 12.  Weird.  True, I did have to take out about three inches around each of them, but they were the perfect length.

 Rigby looked so dapper.  I wasn't sure how he would take to the bow tie...

 ... but he seemed to enjoy it.

I eat her regularly.  If you're a mother, you understand.

GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!

Bethelle is in Girl Scouts this year for the first time and is loving it.  She drools over any sort of organized, social activity, so this is really a perfect program for her.

It's cookie selling time, and I thought she could take advantage of the internet to get some of it done.  If you'd like to order any boxes, she will personally deliver to our friends in Gig Harbor, Port Orchard, and our current city, and maybe the cities in between, as well as at Nick's work.  If we get enough Bainbridge Island orders, we'll head out your way too.  Friends from Nick's work can see him to order.  Each box is four dollars and will be delivered in mid to late February.

Oh, she will only personally deliver if we know you.

Here are the flavors this year.  I personally suggest the classics, like Samoas, Tagalongs, and Thin Mints.
   Savannah Smiles (lemon with icing)
   Trefoils (shortbread)
   Do-Si-Dos (peanut butter sandwich cookies)
   Samoas (vanilla with caramel, coconut, and chocolate drizzle)
   Dulce de Leche (carmel chips)
   Thank U Berry Much (cranberry and white fudge)
   Tagalongs (cookie topped with peanut butter and dipped in chocolate)
   Thin mints (choc/mint wafer coated in chocolate)

Orders must be made by this weekend!  Leave me a comment including your full name and how many of each flavor you would like, or you can send me an email, call me, or order on my facebook page or by facebook message.  Just hurry!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

The holidays themselves finally came and went.  Christmas is my favorite time of year, but it really did wear me out this year.  Since last Christmas (yet another low-key event around our house), I have been determined that 2011 would be the year that Christmas returned.  It's hard for me to turn back once I have committed myself to something.  Not even pregnancy will stop me, though maybe it should.

Here is the house, decked out with Nick's hard work.  There he goes again, turning my dreams and ideas into reality.  That little patch of light that's out in the top left was a fluke, just for the picture.  Thanks, lights.

 Preeetty.

On my side of the family, Christmas Eve is the big event.  Nick says this is unselfish of my mother, but that's just the way life has always been for us.  Growing up, we went to Grandma's house on Christmas Eve.  That grandma of mine could really cook.  Christmas Eve will never be the same without her, but we still try.

This year, the event was at our home.  All the local cousins came.  They played and the adults ate.  I guess the excitement of Christmas got the better of the children's appetites.  Major props to my dad for coming over hours early to make the turkey, complete with stuffing and gravy.  Hosting is much easier that way.

Here are all the kids, ready for a brief Christmas story and game before presents are passed out.

 And here is the chaos, in all its glory.

 Our house survived the event.  We had never had so many people in our home and were pleased that we fit in fairly well.

Christmas morning.  The greatest day in any kid's life, and the longest night in any parent's life.  At least my kids have not figured out how to wake up at five am yet.  But we did have to do Christmas, eat, and get everyone bathed and dressed in their Christmas best for 11 am church.

 The present highlights were Curie's play kitchen,

 Rigby's array of Star Wars spaceships and characters,

 and Bethelle's longed-for sewing machine.

 Church services were sweet and simple.  And well attended.  In our area, I saw notices in the paper and on signs outside churches that church would be on Saturday that weekend instead of on Christmas Sunday, due to the fact that very few people were planning to attend on Christmas morning.   I am glad that they found a way to get people to church, but I don't understand going all year and then skipping on Christmas so that you can forget Jesus and open presents.  Just my little rant.  Sorry.

We spent the afternoon and evening at Nick's parents' home with all the siblings, cousins, and Aunt Violet and her family.  It's so nice to see them and celebrate together.

 Patsy's home always so beautiful at Christmas.  She has an eye and a talent for detail.

 More Star Wars for Rigby.  He was easy to please this year.

 This picture could be from any year, if it weren't for the kids growing.

 Dinner was again fabulous and over too soon.  At least I had a fridge full of leftovers from the previous night.  That may be the best part of hosting.

Santa himself made a surprise appearance with a bag full of presents.  No one seemed to mind that his mustache was hooked over his nose.  Not even Bethelle.  All the kids enjoyed the gifts, but I think Rigby's was the coolest: a husky in a can.  Go Dawgs!

Phew!  That's it!  Jammies on, drive home, and Christmas was officially over.  I told Nick that I felt like I had run a marathon and I could not catch my breath.  And the next morning was not any better.  I needed a vacation!  Stay tuned for the next post...