I Scream, You Scream

In case you can't read it, this is the promotional poster for an Ice Cream Social on Thursday night at Cold Stone Creamery.

You can get free ice cream.

You can donate to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

You can hang out with us and our family.

You can scream.........if you're outside.

Thursday, September 28th, from 5-8 pm, at your closest Cold Stone Ice Cream Parlor (ours is in Jones Valley). Come on out if you can, and support a great cause!

Heartburn Humiliation

Fortunately, I don't have to deal with nausea too much when I'm pregnant. At least, not like some women do. I generally have "all day sickness", as opposed to "morning sickness", and I've hardly ever actual lost my breakfast (or the most recent meal). It just kinda comes for a little bit, and then leaves. On and off throughout the day, for the first 3 months or so. No harm, no foul.

I suppose if I had to deal with very troublesome nausea, I probably wouldn't have allowed myself to get pregnant as often as I have. Partially because, I'm the type of person who would rather feel sick all day and NOT throw up, then throw up and feel better. I hate puking. With a passion. Not that other people do, per se, but I just can't handle it at all. Period. Hate, hate, hate.

Yet, I have this other problem that just makes life miserable for me when I'm pregnant:

Heartburn.

It's just flat out bad. I get it starting in the second trimester (after the all-day-nausea has passed; what great timing) until the day I've given birth. Sometimes I think that it's because the baby is high, but it still comes after the baby drops. So forget that theory. It's just plain ol' misery. Mainly because it hurts like a dickens AND makes you feel like vomiting. How pleasant is that?

So, I live off of Tums. Extra Strength. Berry flavored, specifically. Yum. I tell ya, those things work like a charm. I have used this brand and this flavor for every. single. pregnancy. I used to eat them like candy when I was pregnant with Michaela. I wasn't used to heartburn--don't know that I'd ever had it before, and it was horrid that first time. I'm more used to it now, but I still go through the Tums. Besides, they have calcium. And they taste good. Don't knock it till ya've tried it!

Unfortunately, I don't carry "Candy of Comfort" with me. You'd think I'd understand this by now--this fact that heartburn hits at all times of the day. But since it hits hardest at night, I keep the bottle on my bedside table, where I can reach it in a hurry. After 6 pregnancies, I just haven't figured out that I need to pack some in my purse for those other times when it's just as annoying, and downright painful.

This lack of preparedness became a problem Wednesday night.

I was at church. I had been dealing with the problem since before dinner. However, I got into my "getting ready for church" groove, and I wasn't thinking about it too much. It was generally mild in comparison to some times, so I all but forgot about it.

Yet, when you're sitting in church, and your world slows down a bit, that raging fire starts roaring loud. Ouch.

So I'm thinking, "Gotta do something about this." I decide that if I eat something, perhaps it will neutralize the acid issue. The nursery workers always bring snacks for the toddlers, so I went there to grab a couple of crackers, thinking that would help.

If only.

Nope. Not the solution. And yet, I DO realize that if I go back to my seat and sit down, I'm gonna be even more uncomfortable. Simply because I'm short, and this already high-as-a-kite baby is not helping my throat feel any better. The idea is to remain standing and hope it goes away. So I stand in the back of the auditorium, trying to pay attention despite my predicament.

Advice: If you DON'T have heartburn, and you're standing in the back of the church, make sure to make a mental note of where the light switches are, so you don't hit them by accident.

Advice: If you DO have heartburn, and you're standing in the back of the church, make sure to completely forget where the light switches are, and turn off the lights in the middle of your Pastor's sermon.

The embarrassment is an instant cure. It's proven. Recently.

It sure didn't help my humiliation that at the exact moment I hit the switch, he was saying, "It's good for us to just stand back and take our hands off....."

Fade to dark.

To which he just kept going, "OR maybe I should say, DON'T stand back......" while he's turning the lights back on from where he is.

You gotta know that every wonderful and decent human being in that place promptly turned around to find the culprit.

Which would be ME.

And I can honestly say that the fire in my throat proceeded to invade my entire head, and the all-but-unembarrassable Kelly was horribly humiliated. I was all shades of red. Or vermillion. Or crimson. Take your pick.

But MAN, it sure did help the heartburn.

Too bad you can't put THAT in a Tums bottle!

TMI

(Heather did this, and it sounded like fun.......)

Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know About ME:

1. I am French and Irish.
2. I am third generation American.
3. My birthday is on January 27th, and I've always hated that it was so close to Christmas!
4. My earliest memory is from a huge blizzard when I was only 2.
5. I am the first grandchild on my mother's side.
6. I am the oldest of 3 children.
7. I was the only child for almost 7 years.
8. I have 2 brothers and no sisters.
9. Both of my brothers are over 6 feet.
10. I am 5'3".
11. Before I was married, I lived in 5 different houses; all but one in the same city.
12. Since I've been married, I've lived in 6 homes in 2 cities and 2 states. Three in each.
13. I played 3 sports: soccer, softball, and basketball.
14. My favorite positions were: goalkeeper, first base, and point guard.
15. My softball nickname was "Scoop." Scoop Shaughnessy--catchy, eh?
16. My hair was VERY short for much of my growing up years.
17. I've been wearing glasses/contacts since I was in the 3rd grade.
18. I've had bifocals.
19. I was a tomboy growing up.
20. My Dad once bought me a slingshot, and it was my prized possession for many years.
21. I think I still have it.
22. My Mom bought me 8 pairs of jeans for school one year, and I got holes in the knees of all of them.
23. I love the water.
24. I almost drowned when I was 7. My Dad saved my life.
25. I've always loved animals.
26. I had a stuffed bear and a blanket as a child, and I still have them in my bedside table.
27. I LOVE Legos, even to this day.
28. I played the violin, the string bass, and the guitar when I was in school.
29. I've played on a Stradivarius violin, arguably the best made violin in the world. The person who loaned it to me is a felon!
30. One of my closest, dearest, and bestest friends has been so since we were 8.
31. I USED to have an IQ of 142. I think I'm in the 130s now.
32. I love math. I'm only average at it.
33. I hate English. I'm pretty good at it though.
34. Science is probably my favorite subject, and thankfully, I'm good at it.
35. I also like law.
36. I love art. I almost went to art school.
37. I was a crayola crayon for Halloween one year.
38. I have never broken a bone (unless you count the toe).
39. I've never had surgery.
40. I've been badly bit by a dog.
41. My grandfather hardly ever called me by my real name. He always called me "Murphy".
42. I've always considered nicknames terms of endearment.
43. I wouldn't eat broccoli, cheese, or green peas growing up. But I eat all of them now.
44. My favorite food growing up was Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. It's still my favorite.
45. I love Chinese food.
46. I love growing flowers and such. But I usually kill them.
47. My first car was a Ford Tempo Piece O' Junk (it's only redeeming factor was that it was blue)
48. Oh, yeah, my favorite color is midnight blue. Hunter green is a close second.
49. I am analytical to a fault.
50. I am extremely opinionated, but I try to keep that to myself (I said I TRY!)
51. I am not competitive, but I love a good game.
52. I am a Scrabble fanatic.
53. I love acting and the theatre.
54. I wish I could be paid to do it.
55. The only decent role I've ever had, I played the devil as a teenage boy (the short hair came in handy).
56. I've been out of the country once--to Canada.
57. I love to travel.
58. I've always loved kids.
59. Before I got married, I wanted 6 kids---2 girls and four boys.
60. Michaela was conceived on my honeymoon. I was 19.
61. I named her after my dearest cousin growing up--Michael.
62. My name was supposed to be "Sarah". My Mom changed it on my Dad at the last minute, after I was born.
63. I've never had a miscarriage, thankfully.
64. I've never bottle-fed a baby.
65. I had a friend with epilepsy growing up. Chris almost dated her.
66. Chris is the only man I've ever kissed (ok, my Dad and brothers don't count!)
67. I never smoked.
68. I've been offered drugs, but have never even seen any, nevermind used them (now, I HAVE smelled it)
69. I love frugal and homemade things. I think I should've been a homesteader.
70. I'm a sucker for a big rope hammock!
71. I'm not the best at cooking, but I like to do it at my leisure. Especially baking.
72. I make my own butter for fun.
73. I'm a Sesame Street connoisseur.
74. I LOVE a good practical joke!
75. I wanted to fly an F-14 Tomcat with the US Navy when I was a kid. I had posters of planes all over my walls (you would've thought it was a boy's room!)
76. My favorite flower is the Purple Lilac (the NH state flower, actually)
77. I'm a conservative republican, but I'm not a follower. If it interests me, I'll research all the options.
78. I love laughter, even if it's at my own expense.
79. I like camping, rafting, canoeing and fishing.
80. I went to college before I graduated from high school (for nursing).
81. I hate roller coasters.
82. I love fried dough.
83. I once "ran away" from home. For 2 hours.
84. I am very hard to offend.
85. I am very often misunderstood.
86. I "put my foot in my mouth" on a regular basis, much to my chagrin.
87. I use words like "chagrin" a lot.
88. I love the sound and smell of freshly fallen snow.
89. I hate to spend a lot of money, unless I can consider it an investment.
90. I've gotten stuck in quicksand (actually, it was quickmud)
91. 4 of my kids (including this baby-to-come) were born in a tub of water; 3 of them at home.
92. I have a low tolerance for pain.
93. I cannot ice skate to save my life. But I can ski.
94. I like things neat and tidy, but I don't necessarily care if they're clean.
95. I like true stories. Can't get into most fiction.
96. I make up words and use them regularly.
97. I am hopelessly gullible.
98. I talk too much, but I'm working on it.
99. The weirdest thing I ever wanted to eat was applesauce and spanish olives. And yes, I was pregnant.
100. My friend from #30 is always accusing me of giving Too Much Information.

Do you think I do?

Not Sick, and Obviously Not Blogging

So, I'm not sick anymore, and actually haven't been for quite some time now. In fact, I'm probably so far removed from that last sickness, that I'm due for another one (see previous post for reason why).

But I'm not blogging either, and this disturbes me. Mainly because I WANT to, but I can't.

Why?

My brain is fried. Flat out fried. I cannot write.

I feel like a zombie so much of the time, that I don't know how to put 2 words together it seems. My kids are even picking on me for messing up my words. I can't really tell you why it's like this. Because I'm pregnant? Because we started homeschooling? Am I not getting enough sleep? Beats me. But my brain is mush, and as much as I've tried, I cannot de-mush it.

I'm surprised I'm functioning as much as I am.

You know, perhaps it's my own fault here. Well, no, it MUST be my own fault. I am too much of a perfectionist and simply cannot just post for no good reason. Or without a readable story. Or just to say "hi." It's not my style, I guess, but that's only because I've molded my little blog here into that. Perhaps, if I felt as though I could just write a paragraph, a little something, then you would've heard from me a lot more.

But I can't seem to make myself do it.

This post in itself is a case-in-point. Wasn't this supposed to be quick? Yup.

Didn't come out that way, huh?

Also, I hadn't started this blog until November of last year, and so I'm thinking that this could just be a seasonal thing. Like, this time of year just isn't good for me. I'm not in a school routine yet. I have no doubt I will be by November, and more than likely even earlier than that. But I didn't realize that Aug/Sept would be bad blogging months. I've never blogged in Aug/Sept. before. Good to know for the future.

And I've never blogged while pregnant either. Now, now, you men don't be brushing me off on this. Ask any pregnant woman what it's like to keep your mind while you're gestating and they'll all tell you the same thing: Mind O' Mush. Not possible. It's a strange phenomenon, I'll grant you, but don't dismiss it. Don't knock it less you've tried it, in other words. And since you men can't wear these shoes, well, then, you'll just have to take my word for it. My blogging capacity speaks for itself.

But no matter WHAT it is, I'm not blogging much. And like I said, I WANT to. In fact, I had two posts within this past week that I wanted to write. Couldn't just sit and do it. Oh, I've been READING plenty, commenting a bunch, just not writing.

Yet, don't count me out so soon. I'm not shutting down or anything. I'm just not.......something. Guess it doesn't really matter "why" or "what". And with the length of this post, you'd think I was flat out lying about the whole "mush for brains" schpeal, but I'm telling ya, it's my problem right now.

The fact that I wrote something this long is surely gonna take me out for another couple of weeks or more......

You just can't expect much out of a fried mush brain, it seems.