La Famille Armstrong

And, I'm just plain tired from growing this baby! I totally forgot that it's no fun to feel miserable. We're so blessed to have 1 healthy baby so far and hope to have 2 healthy kiddos soon. I know I'll be crazy tired and busy once this one comes but we'll be excited for more adventures with our entire (as far as we're planning at least) family. 

Once we get moved in I'll post some pics of our new place... email me if you'd like the new address. We should be pretty well settled within 2 weeks. If you or anyone you know is selling or getting rid of furniture let us know! We're kind of picky but hey, it's worth asking :-) Have a great weekend!

As I applied for OHP (medical coverage for the pregnancy) I decided to see if I could find a $ amount that they limit people at. Well, while I still haven't heard officially, it seems we make a few too many dollars each month, even for FHIAP assistance. The thing is, making $300 more a month won't near cover a C-section without insurance. And the policies I've read so far count pregnancy as a pre-existing condition that they will not cover. 

So, I started thinking "Well, maybe I should try a homebirth or something cheap" but neither Mark or I are confident that I could do it. Not b/c I am a big weeny (although I kind of am) but I don't think with my tailbone and pelvis structure that it would even be possible with a baby who has a small head! Mind you, the AVERAGE head size at birth is 12"... yeah, having a baby with a 15" head doesn't leave me much hope for something much smaller. I could try, but we both really feel like I will just end up in the hospital in surgery anyway. 

The other alternative (besides admitting defeat and having a $30,000 medical bill) is finding a PT job that gives insurance without questions. But I just want to cry at the idea of working again. I am a weeny I guess. First of all, I would hate to miss out on all the things Asher will be doing over the next 8 months. Walking, saying "mama" and "dada" and all kinds of incredible things. Second, how am I going to endure the physical part of it along with the emotional part of not seeing Asher or Mark all while pregnant? I was so looking forward to working more on my photography and really investing in these relationships I've formed with some great women this past year. I honestly have no idea how this will turn out.

So, please say as many prayers as you can for me. I want to trust God completely but I have to admit, I really don't want to have to work and take care of this myself... God would be providing but in a more "natural" means. I've been praying that the person reviewing my case has some degree of lenience and will have compassion for me and just approve us. Right now, I'm just desperately asking for that and trying to keep my mind still until I hear something different. Pray for my heart, that it would be completely surrendered to God's will and that if the worst happens, I would be able to get through it still knowing that He is good and loves me. After all, many things going in my life lately have really shown that God loves me so much, He's willing to give me the stupid, petty things I long for. Maybe someday I will understand Him better and trust Him more.

Anyone interested?

About Madeleine:

She's an easy cat... indoors or out. She will use a clawing post, is great with getting her nails clipped and will follow you everywhere. Very affectionate, hasn't messed up 1 piece of anything since we've had her as a kitten. Is spayed but probably a year behind on shots. She's had fleas in the past but has never had any type of sickness. She's technically a grey tabby but has some orange colors too. She has beautiful green eyes, short hair and it's kind of striped but not really. 

She will get along with other cats (might take her a week of hissing and running away) and has never attacked anyone or any animal before. She is great with using a litter box, although it needs to be a domed one, like an igloo, since she's a bit crazy with her flinging of the litter. She'll be 4 years old this June.

I don't think there's any other pertinent information really. She's such a sweet cat. She lets Asher pull her hair and doesn't even react. She'll get fat if you let her so you have to be good about her food. She's got many quirks (like how she used to play fetch with q-tips and will bark at bugs out the window) and she's not bright (aka "box of rocks") but is very loveable and won't run away. We really love Madeleine but with 1 baby and another on the way we just can't see really keeping up on the cleaning of cat hair... I'm behind on laundry as is!

If you know anyone who would want her let us know! She is a great cat and I'll be sad not to have her but I just know I won't have the energy or time to take care of her and the house! We don't want to take her to a shelter but we'll have to find a place for her somewhere and we feel bad ditching her at Kory's since he'd have to keep buying cat food for her. Here's a couple cute photos... she's a great pet for any age!!!

Anyway, Asher's Dr appt was great. He's growing well and only had to get 1 shot! He stopped crying the INSTANT the nurse got out the toy basket... it was pretty cute. On days with Dr appts he always gets on a weird schedule. His first 2 naps were really short and he was just acting strange by 3:30 - not to mention that I was so sleepy I almost called Mark to see if he could come home! I put him in his crib and he slept over 1.5 hrs! We had the party to go to at 7pm so it actually worked out well keeping him up later. This morning tho, he was up early and already asleep by 9:30 am... hopefully he'll get back to his regular routine so at least I'll have something predictable going on.

Oh yeah, his appt! I was really surprised. Head size, well that's never a surprise... over 95% at 49.3 cm. He weighed 21lbs 7oz (50%) and was 29.5" tall (75%). I expected him to be fatter rather than taller :-) Still, the Dr said everything was great, looks healthy and seemed to be growing fine. Not that I thought anything was wrong, but it's always nice to hear from someone else.

Not much else really, just busy with random appts and meetings this week. So much so, that I'm really looking forward to Saturday. I wasn't really feeling pregnant until yesterday morning and now, well, let's just say I'm really glad that this will be the last. I'm exhasuted!!!! I could seriously sleep at any point in the day. I haven't felt sick too much, but yesterday morning I was feeling it full swing! I'm trying not to think about how little rest I'll be getting for the next 2-4 years :-) Especially the coming year... I just can't sleep through the night very well when I'm pregnant. Hopefully, the sun will come out throughout the week enough for me to be walking and staying fit... that will probably help. I'm going to be praying really hard that this new baby will sleep through the night as well as Asher does. 12-13 hrs each night is such a blessing... now all I have to do is just sleep during that time as well :-)

He's been doing this thing lately that is so cute. He's learning to clap and almost every time I say "Yay!!!" he starts trying to clap! Talk about hilarious! And he was being so funny at Winco. He would lean back in the cart, lift his hands up to the top of his head and just jabber, waves his arms and smile. I can't say how much I love being around him when he's happy! 

We got him 2 pairs of shoes with flexible but waterproof soles so now we can set him down a bit when we're out and about. He just looks like a little man in them. Plus, they were only $3 and $5 so we're all happy about that! I saw Margy (our Doula) while we were at Winco... she's so nice. She sent us an email later saying that even though she knew I'd be having a C-section with this new baby that I should call her if I need anything... so sweet! All you prego's listen up - if you need a doula or mid-wife... CALL MARGY! She's the best. She just knows exactly what you need when you need it! I cannot tell you how many times she held a cup out for me to throw up in just in the nick of time while I was in labor... she's seriously amazing!

Anyway, I take Asher in tomorrow for his "9 Month" well-check (late b/c of the snow issue) so I'm excited to see where he is with everything... especially his weight. I switched him to a rear-facing convertible seat that will turn forwards once he's 1 year old. I put him in it a couple months ago b/c he was getting close to 20 lbs and 22 lbs was the max on his old seat. But when I weigh him at home he's just over 22 lbs now. Oh well, his seat is definitely more comfortable for him and he loves being able to look around more... I'm sure once he's facing forward he'll love it even more.

Hope you all are having a great week!

Anyway, I rinsed my hands on and off throughout the salsa making process so I didn't notice anything right away. Right as I was finishing, my nose started to sting on one side and  it just got worse! It got so bad I thought I was going to scream (who would have thought a person would end up with jalapeno oils in the nose). Thank goodness for google! I found a couple remedies from other people who were as silly as me. So, I walked around with toothpaste around and in my nose for a few hours and that remedy was amazing! My hands didn't really hurt but they were still really hot when I went to bed. It was an interesting evening but I survived!

Lesson: WEAR GLOVES WHEN CUTTING JALAPENOS!!!!

If you forget, LATHER WITH TOOTHPASTE TO RID OF THE BURNING!

Hope you all benefit from this :-)