Saturday, August 22, 2009
going home
I've been wanting to post everyday this week but my mind has been so preoccupied with getting ready to travel back to our home that it just hasn't happened. We thought we would be leaving on Thursday but that flight was totally booked and the next flight is tomorrow (Sunday). It ended up being a good thing cause it gave us a few extra days to get our act together as far as packing. We were also able to do a little more shopping so now we are not only stocked up on flavored coffee creamer (a real treat for us coffee lovers) and ingredients for baking (regular and mini chocolate chips, dried cranberries and dried blueberries), we also have a few Christmas presents purchased for the boys. And a couple early ones for us (a new coffee maker and a waffle iron--it's the little things that make us happy). Anyway, before you go to bed tonight please say a little prayer for us. Our flight leaves at 10:50 am (10:50 Saturday night on the East coast) and will be staying in the capital city until Tuesday morning and then riding the bus--5 hours--back to our city. We will need lots of patience and travel mercy. Hopefully I'll have some funny stories to share and not one of H1N1 quarantine again.
Friday, August 14, 2009
fashion friday
I don't normally do Fashion Friday but I thought I would share what I ended up with from my shopping. To be honest I have very little clue of what is 'IN' for the Fall--seriously I have no clue...by the way, are vests back in? They are all over the place here and if they are I have one that I made in 10th grade clothing design that could totally make a statement! The statement might be 'I'm dressed like a third grader' but oh well. Anyway, I just know what I like and go with it. I wear mostly basics and throw in one or two pieces to accent. Of course I already showed you my new Crocs. Yes, I may be a little bit addicted to buying/wearing Crocs. Not hardcore fashion by any means but they are comfy and I do what I can to make them work. I have a few basic rules when it comes to fashion. They have definitely changed over the years but this is a list of my current thoughts when shopping and dressing.
1. Most important...dress for your body type. Don't dress for the body that you wish you had, or used to have. I may want to be the size I was five and a half years ago when I got married but I'm under no illusions of what three pregnancies and three c-sections has left me with. If I get there again, great! If not, then I should do my best to look good like I am.
2. Dress for your appropriate age and life stage. I should not show up somewhere wearing the same outfit as a sixteen year old, unless she's dressed like a twenty-nine year old mother of three. I am not in high school and my outer appearance should reflect that. Now a sixteen year old and a twenty-nine year old can wear similar looks but there are definite changes to be made.
3. Be comfortable. This was not always my philosophy. I used to wear some things that were not comfortable (ie: too tight, revealing, etc.) in order to look good but age and a few extra pounds have me singing a different tune. I will be quite honest, I do not own a pair of heels. I have some shoes with some height to them such as these and these, but that's about it. Comfort is the name of this game. And if I'm up all night with a sick kid and feel like going out in sweats, you better believe I will and I will feel good doing it.
4. I think the last of my rules is dress to make yourself happy. Even if that means wearing a hot pink Ben & Jerry's t-shirt that used to be your moms, has holes in it and is easily 20 years old (me! me! me!). Let me tell you, those people on What Not to Wear would have a field day with some of the things I own. Yes they usually know what they are talking about but I think it's just mean to make someone throw away their favorite t-shirt just because it's not in fashion. Of course they aren't dressing stay at home moms that trek around third world countries and occasionally are in and out of villages that don't have power or running water.
So, all of that just to show you my new finds.
I would love to hear what everyone elses fashion rules are and see some looks you like for fall. Post away, I'm interested in what's new that I'm totally unaware of.
1. Most important...dress for your body type. Don't dress for the body that you wish you had, or used to have. I may want to be the size I was five and a half years ago when I got married but I'm under no illusions of what three pregnancies and three c-sections has left me with. If I get there again, great! If not, then I should do my best to look good like I am.
2. Dress for your appropriate age and life stage. I should not show up somewhere wearing the same outfit as a sixteen year old, unless she's dressed like a twenty-nine year old mother of three. I am not in high school and my outer appearance should reflect that. Now a sixteen year old and a twenty-nine year old can wear similar looks but there are definite changes to be made.
3. Be comfortable. This was not always my philosophy. I used to wear some things that were not comfortable (ie: too tight, revealing, etc.) in order to look good but age and a few extra pounds have me singing a different tune. I will be quite honest, I do not own a pair of heels. I have some shoes with some height to them such as these and these, but that's about it. Comfort is the name of this game. And if I'm up all night with a sick kid and feel like going out in sweats, you better believe I will and I will feel good doing it.
4. I think the last of my rules is dress to make yourself happy. Even if that means wearing a hot pink Ben & Jerry's t-shirt that used to be your moms, has holes in it and is easily 20 years old (me! me! me!). Let me tell you, those people on What Not to Wear would have a field day with some of the things I own. Yes they usually know what they are talking about but I think it's just mean to make someone throw away their favorite t-shirt just because it's not in fashion. Of course they aren't dressing stay at home moms that trek around third world countries and occasionally are in and out of villages that don't have power or running water.
So, all of that just to show you my new finds.
My new bag. The brown is much more obvious and the green a little more subtle in person. I just loved the not quite matching flowers and texture of the fabric.
Some necklaces. Yes two red, I couldn't decide and red is my favorite AND everyone needs a little flower power (the other red is one long one that can be a single strand or looped). The turquoise will also go with so much that I have.
Scarves are new for me but I like wearing the few that I have so I thought I would try a couple new. The camel is pashmina and is wide enough to be worn like a shawl and I loved the color combination on the purple. And they say that purple is good for brown eyes...we'll see how I do with those.
I would love to hear what everyone elses fashion rules are and see some looks you like for fall. Post away, I'm interested in what's new that I'm totally unaware of.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
swimming with the sharks
So here we are, day three into being a family of 5 on our own. Stan's parents left early on Sunday morning. My picture and title may need a little explanation. I am in no way calling my three adorable (and highly rambunctious...well the older two at least) boys sharks. I'm just comparing this new experience to swimming with sharks. In my mind I've picture the opportunity to swim with sharks as highly exciting with a little bit of fear thrown in. This may all stem from the overload of Discovery Channel viewing over the past 6 weeks or from the fact that Larry took that cool shark picture at the aquarium a few weeks ago, but where ever the inspiration came from I'm thinking it's a pretty close description.
Our first few days have gone well. The boys have had a trip to the pool and probably another to come this afternoon, Stan and I have both managed dentist appointments--almost 30 years cavity free for me...Stan has to go back on Thursday for more work, a lesson for all little girls and boys to brush and floss every day--and Judah has stayed on his schedule through it all. The boys will have dentist appointments on Friday, their first ever. Not sure if I should try to prepare them or just show up. Bennett won't really get it if we talk about it ahead of time but Kirby sure will. Of course cautious Kirby will be the one to worry about anyway.
We may venture out tomorrow. I'm on a mission to buy some new accessories. I figure that while I'm not feeling so hot about my body and having to wear some slightly ill fitting clothes I can spice up my life with a few new accessory additions. So far I have bought a new pair of shoes (don't get too excited, it's just some Crocs (in red, of course), but I think they are cute and I have to remember where I live and what will be most useful/appropriate) and a couple of necklaces. I am still going to look for a couple new scarfs and maybe a couple of purses, one I already have my eye on. It's not life changing but with some mixing and matching I may get to leave my home feeling somewhat put together. I'm also hoping to find a few little decorative things to add in at home. Especially in the living room. I'm a total bare bones decorator and I REALLY dislike nick knacks, but a cool bowl, vase or print could pull things together a bit so I'm on the look out. A fun outing for lunch and some shopping may be good for us all. Now shopping is not really a favorite of Stan, Kirby and Bennett so it may turn into a family lunch and a mommy and Judah shopping trip. We'll see. I've been having some lingering healing issues (nothing serious at all, I'm just making sure I don't over do it) so it will depend on how I feel.
On a much different note I would like to ask you all to pray for my family, especially the Moores. Larry's mother passed away on Friday night (I hope that's right, with the time difference I may have it wrong). She was in declining health for a while and she finally went home to be with her husband and Jesus. We love you Grandma and Grandaddy Moore and we celebrate your reunion in heaven!
Friday, July 31, 2009
ten
That is the number of days postpartum I am and the number of millions of things it feels like are going on around here. At this moment Stan has gone to the hospital to help get his mom checked out (more to come on that), Kirby is acting out what he wants to happen and the pool later this afternoon, Bennett is playing in the curtains (he must want a spanking), Judah is napping and Grommy and Poppy are on their way back to Gastonia. Here's a little more detail on everyone...
-Yesterday morning my Mother-in-law woke up and her leg was swollen and splotchy. Since they had just arrived on Monday night from FL and had been out for two days with their group (they are spending their first week working with some folks from our home church in FL and a good friends ministry here and week #2 is just for us) the biggest concern was that she had a DVT. Stan and his dad took her to the hospital to have her checked out. They admitted her so that they could run tests and monitor her closely. All tests came back normal and they are releasing her now. Huge praise!
-Judah is doing well. He's getting on a regular 3 hour schedule, the biggest concern right now is that he's still a sleepy head and sometimes falls asleep before he's finished eating. It's slowly getting better as he is more and more alert. This boy also has amazing neck control.
-Kirby and Bennett are still so in love with Judah. Kirby does this funny thing to love on him. He rubs his chin or cheek on Judah's face. This is because ever since Kirby and Bennett were babies Stan will tickle their faces with his facial hair. Kirby imitates Stan in so many ways so it just makes me laugh that he's doing that, even without having facial hair. Bennett is doing better than I thought but his hugs and kisses are just a little too rough, we're working on it.
-Grommy and Poppy flew out this morning. :( It was so nice to have them here. The boys soaked up every minute. I wish I had had more time with them. Of course the first few days I was so pregnant and miserable there wasn't much fun to be had and then it was hospital and newborn time. PTL parents excuse some grumpiness, I hope at least. I'm praying they will be able to make a trip to China so they can see our home and city...maybe they will win the lottery.
-Stan has been the MVP. This is the first time he's really been around for those postpartum days. Usually it's right back to work but now our job situation is different and allows us to have this time together as a family. So he has been running errands, keeping the boys entertained, he took my parents out a couple of times so they could see more of Bangkok than just the hotel and helping me in so many more ways. Unfortunately for him I don't feel the guilt of waking him in the middle of the night like I did with the other two. That's what you get when you don't have to be at work at 6 am anymore. He obviously can't help me feed Judah but he has helped with a few fussy times. Nice for me, not so much for him.
As far as things go for me, I'm feeling pretty well. I went to the doctor on Wednesday so she could take the plaster off my incision and check out the healing. I told her that I had been itching so much so I was worried there was a problem. Found out that the incision looked great but the itching was from a slight allergic type reaction to the plaster itself. Perfect. She gave me a little cream to put on it and after one day it was so much better. Only she said that bikini style underwear would irritate my incision so I needed to wear briefs (aka: granny panties). Since I don't own any I begged a couple pair off my mom--sorry to talk about your underwear mom--and have to just wash them constantly. I must say the doctor was completely right on that call, it's so much more comfortable. My pain level has been pretty minimal. I found out what I thought was such a great pain pill is really just slightly stronger version of Aleve. So I stopped taking that one every 12 hours and have just gone to taking two Extra Strength Tylonol. No I'm not a crazy person but I know the more pain meds I take the more like Superwoman I will feel and I will definitely over do it. If I take enough not to be miserable I can monitor my activity level much better and, hopefully, heal quicker. I did give in and took the Aleve before bed last night, but let's be real, there's no need not to sleep as comfortable as possible. Oh and speaking of sleep I have been able to sleep on the bed again. That has led to my leg and ankle swelling to go way down and a much better time of rest. I still don't get why I couldn't lay comfortably at first--I'm thinking cause they cheated me on the good pain killers.
I hate that I still look pregnant and that I'm so wiggly and jiggly. I lost 13 of the 35ish lbs gained in one week so hopefully by week 4 when I get checked before we leave I can be pretty close to pre-Judah weight. Wearing maternity clothes for weeks after giving birth is simply torture. I refuse to go anywhere without Judah because if I get asked when I'm due I'm pretty sure I would become violent. The day after Judah was born he was circumcised and here they watch them for 4 hours after the procedure to watch for excessive bleeding. During that time is when we got our daily visit from my parents and the boys. Since Kirby couldn't find baby Judah he looked at my tummy and asked me if they put him back in. Nice. Not to mention that I was about 40 lbs more than I would like to be anyway (moving to the other side of the world led to stress eating--don't judge) so I will be doing what I did after Bennett was born and working my butt off to lose the weight. I tried to convince my OB to do a c-tuck (tummy tuck done during a c-section) but she wasn't supportive. Something about complications could lead to not being able to care for my baby. OK, that might be a valid reason. Anyway, I am totally looking forward to some stress relieving runs at the lake when we get home and an end to my menopause-esque hot flashes. All in all I will enjoy my last few weeks of my time in Bangkok--my wiggly jigglyness will not keep me from getting some good food at Hard Rock and Outback--and look forward to getting home to a new normal for our family and good friends that I miss.
Disclaimer: Being ten days postpartum, I am in no way responsible for rambling and incoherent sentences. Thanks.
-Yesterday morning my Mother-in-law woke up and her leg was swollen and splotchy. Since they had just arrived on Monday night from FL and had been out for two days with their group (they are spending their first week working with some folks from our home church in FL and a good friends ministry here and week #2 is just for us) the biggest concern was that she had a DVT. Stan and his dad took her to the hospital to have her checked out. They admitted her so that they could run tests and monitor her closely. All tests came back normal and they are releasing her now. Huge praise!
-Judah is doing well. He's getting on a regular 3 hour schedule, the biggest concern right now is that he's still a sleepy head and sometimes falls asleep before he's finished eating. It's slowly getting better as he is more and more alert. This boy also has amazing neck control.
-Kirby and Bennett are still so in love with Judah. Kirby does this funny thing to love on him. He rubs his chin or cheek on Judah's face. This is because ever since Kirby and Bennett were babies Stan will tickle their faces with his facial hair. Kirby imitates Stan in so many ways so it just makes me laugh that he's doing that, even without having facial hair. Bennett is doing better than I thought but his hugs and kisses are just a little too rough, we're working on it.
-Grommy and Poppy flew out this morning. :( It was so nice to have them here. The boys soaked up every minute. I wish I had had more time with them. Of course the first few days I was so pregnant and miserable there wasn't much fun to be had and then it was hospital and newborn time. PTL parents excuse some grumpiness, I hope at least. I'm praying they will be able to make a trip to China so they can see our home and city...maybe they will win the lottery.
-Stan has been the MVP. This is the first time he's really been around for those postpartum days. Usually it's right back to work but now our job situation is different and allows us to have this time together as a family. So he has been running errands, keeping the boys entertained, he took my parents out a couple of times so they could see more of Bangkok than just the hotel and helping me in so many more ways. Unfortunately for him I don't feel the guilt of waking him in the middle of the night like I did with the other two. That's what you get when you don't have to be at work at 6 am anymore. He obviously can't help me feed Judah but he has helped with a few fussy times. Nice for me, not so much for him.
As far as things go for me, I'm feeling pretty well. I went to the doctor on Wednesday so she could take the plaster off my incision and check out the healing. I told her that I had been itching so much so I was worried there was a problem. Found out that the incision looked great but the itching was from a slight allergic type reaction to the plaster itself. Perfect. She gave me a little cream to put on it and after one day it was so much better. Only she said that bikini style underwear would irritate my incision so I needed to wear briefs (aka: granny panties). Since I don't own any I begged a couple pair off my mom--sorry to talk about your underwear mom--and have to just wash them constantly. I must say the doctor was completely right on that call, it's so much more comfortable. My pain level has been pretty minimal. I found out what I thought was such a great pain pill is really just slightly stronger version of Aleve. So I stopped taking that one every 12 hours and have just gone to taking two Extra Strength Tylonol. No I'm not a crazy person but I know the more pain meds I take the more like Superwoman I will feel and I will definitely over do it. If I take enough not to be miserable I can monitor my activity level much better and, hopefully, heal quicker. I did give in and took the Aleve before bed last night, but let's be real, there's no need not to sleep as comfortable as possible. Oh and speaking of sleep I have been able to sleep on the bed again. That has led to my leg and ankle swelling to go way down and a much better time of rest. I still don't get why I couldn't lay comfortably at first--I'm thinking cause they cheated me on the good pain killers.
I hate that I still look pregnant and that I'm so wiggly and jiggly. I lost 13 of the 35ish lbs gained in one week so hopefully by week 4 when I get checked before we leave I can be pretty close to pre-Judah weight. Wearing maternity clothes for weeks after giving birth is simply torture. I refuse to go anywhere without Judah because if I get asked when I'm due I'm pretty sure I would become violent. The day after Judah was born he was circumcised and here they watch them for 4 hours after the procedure to watch for excessive bleeding. During that time is when we got our daily visit from my parents and the boys. Since Kirby couldn't find baby Judah he looked at my tummy and asked me if they put him back in. Nice. Not to mention that I was about 40 lbs more than I would like to be anyway (moving to the other side of the world led to stress eating--don't judge) so I will be doing what I did after Bennett was born and working my butt off to lose the weight. I tried to convince my OB to do a c-tuck (tummy tuck done during a c-section) but she wasn't supportive. Something about complications could lead to not being able to care for my baby. OK, that might be a valid reason. Anyway, I am totally looking forward to some stress relieving runs at the lake when we get home and an end to my menopause-esque hot flashes. All in all I will enjoy my last few weeks of my time in Bangkok--my wiggly jigglyness will not keep me from getting some good food at Hard Rock and Outback--and look forward to getting home to a new normal for our family and good friends that I miss.
Disclaimer: Being ten days postpartum, I am in no way responsible for rambling and incoherent sentences. Thanks.
Monday, July 27, 2009
dealing and healing
Things are going a lot smoother than I anticipated. This is probably mostly due to the fact that my mom and stepdad are here and Stan's parents will arrive late tonight so there are lots of extra hands to help and extra energy to keep Kirby and Bennett entertained. But Judah is adjusting to life outside the womb well. You can read more about him here. I could definitely use more sleep but I'm feeling so much better than I expected. Since I was pretty much not active in any way since week 24 of my pregnancy I was so worried that my body would just not handle the surgery well at all. I have been pleasantly surprised. I don't know exactly what kind of pain medication I'm on but I do know that it must be pretty strong since I only take it every 12 hours. I only have enough to get me through Wednesday, when I go in to see the Dr., so if she doesn't give me more I may be in for a world of hurt, literally.
It's pretty funny how some things were so very different here than delivering in the States. Mostly little things. Like did you know they still make maxi pads that you wear with a belt? Think: Are You There God? It's Me Margaret. I can now confirm that they do and if you are ever in need of knowing how to use them I can help you out. Let me just say, PTL I came along in the time of self adhesive. Also the doctor gave me a girdle type thing to wear. I laughed at first but can now say that it really makes a huge difference. I have been able to walk around without feeling that my incision would open up and my guts go spilling out...not to be too graphic. Also she used stitches instead of staples to close the incision, so I have a water proof bandage over it that I will have to go in to have removed on Wednesday. At that point she will also check things out to make sure I'm healing well and that the stitches are beginning to desolve. I think all is well cause the incision has started to itch. Also I can cough, laugh and sneeze unaccompanied by a wince of pain. The only bad thing is I can't lie down flat to go to sleep and even laying on my side is uncomfortable. I don't remember this being such an issue after either of the last two c-sections. I've resorted to sleeping semi upright in an arm chair that is in our room. Hopefully for just a night or two more. Baby steps.
I will leave you with picture so you can all admire (and be jealous of) the beautiful flowers my Stan bought me while I was in the hospital. I don't know what I would do without a husband that is also an amazing father. He's the absolute best!
It's pretty funny how some things were so very different here than delivering in the States. Mostly little things. Like did you know they still make maxi pads that you wear with a belt? Think: Are You There God? It's Me Margaret. I can now confirm that they do and if you are ever in need of knowing how to use them I can help you out. Let me just say, PTL I came along in the time of self adhesive. Also the doctor gave me a girdle type thing to wear. I laughed at first but can now say that it really makes a huge difference. I have been able to walk around without feeling that my incision would open up and my guts go spilling out...not to be too graphic. Also she used stitches instead of staples to close the incision, so I have a water proof bandage over it that I will have to go in to have removed on Wednesday. At that point she will also check things out to make sure I'm healing well and that the stitches are beginning to desolve. I think all is well cause the incision has started to itch. Also I can cough, laugh and sneeze unaccompanied by a wince of pain. The only bad thing is I can't lie down flat to go to sleep and even laying on my side is uncomfortable. I don't remember this being such an issue after either of the last two c-sections. I've resorted to sleeping semi upright in an arm chair that is in our room. Hopefully for just a night or two more. Baby steps.
I will leave you with picture so you can all admire (and be jealous of) the beautiful flowers my Stan bought me while I was in the hospital. I don't know what I would do without a husband that is also an amazing father. He's the absolute best!
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