Thank you for all your lovely comments on yesterday’s post. They brightened my day.

I am still sick, and that pulled muscle is seriously slowing me down. Between the two I slept pretty much all day long, waking only to get to a doctor appointment and have dinner. As soon as I finish this post, I’ll be on my way back under the covers.

My appointment went well! Aside from the fact that I am sick and injured, the baby is doing great, measuring as he should, and is currently head down. I am dilated a fingertip, which is just perfect for me. That is progress enough to let me know that I won’t be pregnant forever, but not enough to make me think I’ll never make it to term. So, all I have to do is get better and I should be able to enjoy just a few more weeks of baby prep!

Another new Quickutz layout. Maggie completely cracks me up. I swear the best thing about motherhood is when your children make you laugh.

The kids are both healthy. Good for them. I, however, am an incubus of viral plague. Nine days of caring for sick children, and this is how the universe rewards me. I am disgusting in every head cold run amok way possible. I am running a fever. And because all of this isn’t enough to deal with without the benefit of good drugs, something awful happened last night.

I was on my thirty-sixth trip back from the potty at about midnight, and as I was on my hands and knees crawling back into bed, I was overcome by a coughing fit. The coughing was severe enough to pull a muscle on the right side of my huge baby belly, and as I yelped in pain, I knew this was bad. Every cough, sneeze, wiggle, and attempt to move is now incredibly painful, and there is a lot of all those things going on. Now, I know we’ve all pulled muscles and understand how frustrating that can be, but try pulling one and having the little person inside you routinely kick it. To sum up, “YELP! OUCH! *&%#$#(&^! *cry*”

There was a bright side to this coughing fit and injury. The good news was that it happened when I was on my way back from the toilet with a very empty bladder. Had it happened on my way to the restroom, things would have been painful, embarrassing and messy. Silver lining, no? See, I can totally find things to be grateful for when I’m sick, disgusting and in pain. I didn’t wet my bed. So, really, things are good. Right?

Ow.

A little pregnancy layout with some old Cosmo Fleurist, and some NEW Quickutz fonts!

If you were at CHA this weekend (that’s Craft and Hobby Association- where all the newest crafting products are showcased and released twice a year) you might see this layout. I say might because Quickutz has a big team of fantastic designers and I’m not 100% sure if my stuff made it to the wall, or if it will be used as inspiration elsewhere. (Um, if you are at CHA, you could maybe let me know and take a picture for me.) Anyway, check out one of the newest alphabets from Quickutz, my personal favorite from the major CHA release, called “Chandelier”. It’s sort of Saloon meets Paree- and it is perfect. It is also one of the new 4x8 sized alphas, which is not only the perfect size, but retails for under $40 which just plain rocks!

The paper is some gorgeous BoBunny and Making Memories.

I. Am. So. Wiped. Out.

It has been years since I have felt this completely zapped and stupid. Week long viruses and 34 weeks pregnant should not be mixed. I have become almost nocturnal, and every time I think my children are on the mend, I am swiftly and painfully corrected.

Take last night for an example. I was determined to be in my bed by 11pm. This is actually quite late for “normal Leah”, but for “stayed up well past 2am every night for over a week taking care of sick youngins Leah” is early. I got the kids to bed at 8, just as my body woke up from the half-dead stupor it had been in all day. I sat down to relax and scrapbook a little bit, only to discover the the walkman feature on my phone broke, so I had no music, creative energy or motivation. I fiddled with a few bits of paper and chatted with a friend on the phone until Maggie woke up screaming an hour later.

Maggie was doing the horrible nightmare scream where they aren’t quite awake yet, cannot form words, and when you ask what is wrong, they shriek and point at absolutely nothing tangible. Poor kid. I soothed her and took her downstairs. (I always have to leave my bedroom when I have a nightmare- it is as if I feel better just leaving the “scene of the crime”). She woke up enough to acknowledge me, but not enough to use any understandable words and continued to try communication through moans, wailing and hysterical gesticulation. This is helpful behavior, no?

It took quite some time to calm her down enough to send her back to bed, and about fifteen minutes after I had her sleeping in her bed again, she woke up and crawled into my bed. Fine. I heard her whimper a lot during all of this situating herself, but busied myself elsewhere, as my presence just seemed to rile her up. At 11:15 she seemed asleep and I got ready for bed.

I moved Maggie to a pile of pillows on my floor, and within minutes she was back in bed with me. She writhed, kicked, wiggled, yelped, moaned and made sleeping impossible for me. This went on all night, even with several attempts to get her out of my bed. When my alarm went off at 7am for church I mentally cursed at it.

My husband was up, alarmingly chipper, attractive and putting on his tie. I felt like the swamp monster. I hauled myself out of the bed and Chris flipped on the light, which caused Maggie to come alive and start screaming, “NO YIGHT! NO YIGHT! TURN THE YIGHT OFF!” This is not normal Maggie behavior; apparently, her night had been rough as well.

I got rid of the light and went downstairs where I was met by Jonas, still sick. Clearly, I was not going to church. I was also not going to have a good day because of the state of exhaustion I was in, and I knew it. Since this is about the eight day in a row of this, and I’m pregnant, I burst into tears, sobbing to my husband that I just couldn’t do another completely unproductive, stupid day. He hugged me and recommended going back to bed, which was not met positively, as I really would like to get my schedule back on normal and off of nocturnal. He sympathized as best as he could while I blubbered like an idiot into his shoulder.

Maggie’s voice resonated down the stairs. She began screaming, “my ear hurts! My ear hurts!” Oh my poor baby. At this point, everything about last night clicked into focus. Chris and I dosed her with Motrin, and I snuggled with her in the bed. Both she and I were asleep within minutes, and stayed that way for a few hours. When Maggie woke up, her ear no longer hurt. I asked her to please tell me if her ear ever hurts again, and she told me, “it hurt in the night when the day went away. . .and it hurt when I was playing Jumpstart yesterday”. Basically, her ear had hurt for almost 24 hours and she never once used her words and told me, so we’ve all been completely miserable when I could have fixed the problem quickly. Unbelievable.

I have managed a few things since waking up, but aside from a swept floor, Jonas’ homework, and a pot of chicken soup boiling on the stove, it has not been an impressive day. It is now five pm, and I could go back to bed. I really need some sleep tonight, as I have caught the children’s cough and my asthma has kicked in, so now I’m a choking, wheezing, sleep deprived person. Beauty, that.

Tomorrow is another day!

A little more Cosmo Cricket “Girl Friday” going on here. This will be up on display at CHA as well.

If this is 33 weeks, I’d just like to say that I’m askeered of 40.

Officially- I am bigger than when I delivered both other kids at 35 and 36 weeks.

Miraculously- still have a functioning cervix.

Mostly- I’m grateful. This is awesome. I’m up. I’m running (with huffing and puffing, but still). I’m taking care of sick kiddos and running errands and not strapped to a hospital bed and monitors with no dignity or underware. Life is good.

Small Request- If we could arrange to have my left leg not go numb in every position known to man, that’d be good. K thnx bai.

It is strangely quiet at my house. Yesterday I spoke to soon about the kids being better. Ever since that post they have tossed a 101 fever back and forth like a football; one spikes while the other one takes a lap. Right now they are both napping, and Chris has come home from work and errands and is also asleep. It is four thirty and the house is completely silent. It is utterly bizarre. This house is rarely quiet.

I tend to crave silence and will go to great lengths to gain moments of solitude. Chris has been asked many times (nicely and sometimes not so nicely) take the kids and leave the house. Sometimes a person just needs a little silence, a little breathing space, and a little time to be completely alone with oneself. With all the napping I’ve gotten quite a bit of this this week. It is nice, but strange, and I wish it were under better circumstances.

This simple layout will be at CHA this weekend in the Cosmo Cricket booth.

It is an old shot of Jonas that I love, and one of the few shots of Jonas engaged in quiet play ever. The new line is called Lil Man. It should make anyone with a typical little guy into cars and sports and all things boy pretty happy.