March Memories

Guess I'll get it over with. I'll blog about March. We found out I'm pregnant and things quickly went down hill. Excitement and anticipation are at an all time high. We can't wait to add this final bean to our family. But to say I've been sick is completely inadequate. I have never experienced anything like this. I am miserable. I cannot brush my teeth without becoming ill. My deodorant has too strong a smell, but of course not wearing it wouldn't exactly fix that problem. Everything smells. Everything. And I can't handle any smells, even good ones.

Ugh, I could go on and on. My poor kids have watched sooooooooooo much TV. I haven't been able to watch my extra little kiddos. I had to call in some Church friends for help and my mom is coming this next week. I am so grateful for the Church friends. Two made us yummy dinners. Another came to my house twice and did laundry, cleaned the kitchen, cared for my kids, and was just absolutely amazing. My visiting teacher, who has three kids of her own, took the kids to her apartment for several hours. I'm sure they were all crazy and tiresome, but I had the nicest break and my kids didn't have to just sit around and watch TV.

There was one afternoon where I could not walk anywhere without having to vomit. This is not an exaggeration. I had a bruise on my forehead from sitting up against the toilet so much. I lost more than ten pounds in just too weeks. I was so hungry and could eat nothing. Man, I was miserable. March was rough, but now let's get to the good stuff.

The kids have loved having swim lessons, and lucky enough -- the two weeks when classes were not held (due to local school spring break schedules) I was the most ill. I would have never been able to take them either of those two weeks. I could hardly leave my bed, let alone the house ... with three kids in tow! Okay, I can tell this whole post is going to have my pregnancy woes weaved into it. Sorry. I just don't know how to write about the events of this month without bemoaning my constant and unbearable morning sickness. 

Reid had the wonderful opportunity of going on a field trip with all his preK pals. I wrote a bit about that back here. The above photo was taken by a friend while they were at the museum. This was their science class. And of course, the below photo is of Nell and I joining him for the Daniel Tiger show. 

That weekend our neighbor came over and gave Nell a much needed haircut. She was so excited she picked her own hair pretties for Church the next day. It's a good cut. Nell does better with short hair. 

Reid made a Lego creation for a contest in the Lego Junior Club magazine. We really need to submit it. He made one last month too, and well ... it's not exactly his fault he didn't win. 

The beginning of March brought on some warmer weather and we were feeling the spring bug! Coraline was a little skeptical about the swing, but she eventually warmed up to the idea. 

The kids were even able to eat their after school snacks outside nearly every day this week. It really made me anxious and hopeful for the nice weather.

During the second week of March Nell had her preschool screening. It's pretty laid back but also very efficient. They fill a big gym with a bunch of toys and activities and follow the child around while they play. Obviously, all three of my kids loved this. Reid even surprised us by knowing some of the PreK administrators (they've been in his classroom throughout the year).

Seriously, Nell cannot hold still for even a split second. So hard to get pictures of her! She did not pass the hearing test, but we went in for a second test just a couple days ago and she was fine. They think she just had fluid in her ears which affected her hearing that first time. 

Coraline has become so particular this month. She won't eat unless she has a utensil in one of her hands. She brings clothes and accessories to me and demands I put them on her. Ben referred to her as a bossy britches in a text one afternoon and I just chuckled at the thought of it. She really knows how to get her way!

This photo is from the middle of month, when my misery set in. Ben has been a real Saint. He's done most of the child rearing and house work these past few weeks. I know it is tiring, but I hope it also feels rewarding. 

When I couldn't decide if I was getting really sick or just having really particular cravings, we drove up to Appleton for a Five Guys burger. We stopped in at the mall so Ben could browse Scheel's and the kids could play at this in door park. Reid shocked us all when we pulled into the massive parking lot and he immediately asked about this play place -- that he hasn't been to in at least 18 months. We never go to the mall. He's really played here two other times in his entire life, and the most recent one was honestly at least a year and a half ago. Ben and I really couldn't hide our amazement as he described this place perfectly before even seeing it. He just smiled at us and said "I have a good remember-er." You sure do buddy, you sure do.  

Monday evening some friends from Church egged our house. I don't know where they came up with the idea, but the kids loved it. They had a lot of fun searching for eggs in the yard and then checking for the prizes inside. They also understood the message really well when Ben opened the empty egg. We don't know for 100% sure who did it, but Nell did say "there goes Maya's dad" when we heard the knock on our door. I'm impressed they'd been running around our yard for who knows how long without us noticing them.

This is when I started to get really sick. Reid's spring break. Which started a day early because of the SNOW. That's right, we had a snow day the day before Spring Break. Oh Wisconsin. I was so glad they were easy to take care of those first few days. They play together so well.  

Coraline was pretty sad she couldn't go outside with them, but she watched every minute of their fort building from the window. 

Both days.

This is also when they started to watch a lot of TV. I loved that they snuggled up together for cartoons. 

Ben took them on a nice nature walk both Saturday and Sunday. That top photo is one of my absolute all time favorites now. When he sent me the bottom he wrote #BFF. It's so true. They are best buds.

These last few photos are all I have from our full week of Spring Break. Reid had been looking forward to play dates with friends and I'd been anxious to use up our museum passes. But we did none of that. We barely survived. Coraline sat with me on the bathroom floor and screamed for comfort. Reid stayed in his jammies all day and snuck Easter ham out of the fridge when he and Nell got hungry. The bottom photo was taken by my friend the day she came to clean and play. Overall I do think they had a lot of fun. Ben pulled off a great Easter. They colored eggs and found them after the Easter Bunny hid them (and their baskets) around the house. They went to church and came home to a nice ham dinner.  All of this while I laid in bed all weekend long.  

We usually don't tell people about our pregnancies until we hit week 13 (or later, I've been known to just never really tell people). But we couldn't really avoid it this time around. Before I became really ill I even thought "I kind of want to mention it on my blog so I can finally record what the first half of a pregnancy is really like." Ha! I've never had a pregnancy like this before. Previously I have felt ill and even vomited once or twice, but this is unreal. I feel like it might be God's way of saying it's okay if we don't have another kid. How could I ever do this to my family again? Anyway, here's to feeling better in April!