Stromboli

I wonder if I should be flattered that at supper tonight Liana told me proudly that she "didn't even gag yet."

I added some mushrooms to the stromboli tonight. It didn't go over too well, I guess. ;O)

Awol again, sorry!

I've been asked where I am, so here I go with a much belated blogpost... Sorry guys!

Thanks everyone for the emails and posts about my dad... What an emotional rollercoaster ride it has been on our whole family. He's actually feeling pretty good right now, I think, and his pneumonia is clearing up pretty well. His regular hemotologist came back from his vacation this week, and Dad got right in to see him his first day back, and was able to hear some good news about the bloodwork that had been worked up... He had been told that he had leukemia and myeloma just a few weeks ago... further testing has shown that to be false. *whew* His hemoglobin, platelets, etc are still horrible, but at least the other two "biggies" aren't going to have to be dealt with too. There isn't a whole lot they can do for him, however, to improve his health other than to make him comfortable and careful about not getting injured etc. He's been talking more and more about heaven and seeing Mom though, and while I am sooooo happy that he has that peace, it is hard to know that my Little Fish isn't probably going to know Grandpa like the other grandchildren in the family, especially since Grandma will also be "just pictures" to him/her as well.

Speaking of the baby, lets just say I'm getting to the "uncomfortable" stage of things with only 3 weeks left before my due date. Not sleeping well these days, and am feeling like I'm a whale. I'm DEFINITELY "Big Fish" right now! lol!

The kiddos are doing fine and dandy. Not a whole lot to report... Um. Hmm. Nope, not a lot happening there. They're all wonderful. Most days. ;O)

Prayer Request

Asking for prayer here... My dad went back to the hospital today to get two blood transfusions (his hemoglobin is like flat-lined)... when his body freaked out on him. He didn't even get one of the units of blood in him when his pulse and bp went out of whack, temp spiked, and he couldn't breathe. It wasn't a pretty sight. They had to "call in a team" to get things back under control, and kept him in the ER for closer observation until things stablized.

Plus, this week the doctors found some Leukemia and Myeloma cells in his blood. Just what a man with hemophilia and hepatitis C doesn't need. They took 14 vials of blood and we will get some more definitive results when his hemotologist gets back from Ireland on the 22nd.

Very hard for me to be so far away being 8 months pregnant. I'd love to hop in the car right now and see how he is for myself.... *sigh* Please pray for my dad, and also for us kids who are worried about him and wishing there were more we could do...

Eeek!

You know you're the mother of an impulsive pre-teen son when you get to the bottom of your ice water, notice something strange inside your ice cube, fish it out, and see that there is a big ole SPIDER frozen inside it.

Can you say, "EEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!"

Shower!

It has been such a busy weekend! Fun, stressful, more fun, less stress....

My big sis threw me (and John!) a baby shower on Saturday! Husbands were invited, so I got to see my brothers AND sisters at this one. And three aunts and two cousins. It was really, really, really nice. Got a ton of loot, and had a great time. It was truly a day I'll never forget. John's mom and sister had a shower for me a few weeks ago which was really nice too. Little Fish sure has a lot of people out there who are excited for his/her arrival!

The stressful part came in as we all watched my dad barely be able to breathe... He had just gotten out of the hospital on Wednesday after a three-day stay for a scare with bleeding from his intestines, and had developed pneumonia. He didn't want to go back in to the hospital, though, until after my shower. So. The poor man slept in a chair most of the afternoon. After the shower, John and I hauled him to emergency where they took one look at him and admitted him. John and I finally left the hospital after 11:00pm!

The good news is, that with the antibiotics and iv fluids they pumped into him, he was looking much more like himself by the next morning. He still stayed Sunday night though... I hope they keep him until he is good and well!

The Fishers also had some gifts from folks at our old church... John and I were at the hospital with Dad Sunday morning, so we didn't get them ourselves. John's mom also gave us a rocking chair that had been theirs from when she was pregnant with John. Very nice. She also gave me ice cream cake. Well, kinda. John's sister's birthday was Thursday, so we went to the Olive Garden for dinner and afterwards, we had ice cream cake. I only had a tiny sliver, and my blood behaved itself afterwards, but I did take a brisk walk after dinner and before cake time just in case! ;O)

But anyhow! We got home with all our loot, and there was a package on our doorstep from TULSA with yet another baby gift for us! (Laurel! How adorable! Thank you!!!)

After the kids went to bed, I spread alllll the loot allllll over the livingroom. Had to sort it you know. *wink* It is still quite a disaster in here, but it's a blissful one! :O)

Speaking of disasters! lol! After leaving the shower on Saturday, we were asking the kids how they enjoyed the day, etc., and Liana told us that she was talking to one of the twins (you remember my twin nieces I've mentioned?) Liana told us that Annie or Katie had told her that after the baby is born, that she was going to come and visit us. Liana told her, "Oh, ok. I'll try to make sure the house is clean."

She keeps me humble, doesn't she? lol!

Snack-time Issues

Well, I think the baby stuff is getting squared away. Finally! Just a few more things to do (Still need a dresser up there), and we'll be all set for Little Fish's arrival.

My dad has been in the hospital this week - been pretty stressful over here. He's ok, but it's rough to be so far away sometimes. Sniff, sniff.

Snack-time is an issue around here. If the kids see me eating something, they deserve it too you know. Even if they have something even yummier awaiting them, they still need what I've got. Drives me BATTY because I CAN'T have theirs, and now I have to feed them MY snacks, some of which are rather expensive. Yes, I have been saying no to them. Not always, but I have. And yes, we've had bad attitudes about it at times.

None of my kids are real "pudding" eaters. They just don't like it. So, I figured if I had some for my snacks, it wouldn't be an issue. Liana informed me that when pudding comes in a plastic cup from the store, that it tastes different, and that she likes those. (What. Ever.)

The other day we made two apple pies. (Early, for those of you who know we usually do that on Columbus Day). The kids still ate up all the peelings and cores. Fine. I half-expected them to. It's kind of a tradition by now, right? But after we were finished, I sat down with my snack of cottage cheese and cherries (How 'bout that, those frozen cherries have come in handy!), and of COURSE the kids were instantly starving. Starving for cottage cheese and cherries. Even though they had JUST finished off the cores and peels of at least 16 apples. Very frustrating to this mama. There is just plain no way they were starving for anything. They just didn't like that I had something that they didn't.

I just cannot comprehend the hunger these kids have known... Very hard for me to wrap my mind around.