Yikes! Two weeks to update...

For some reason, I haven't felt much like blogging lately. Normally, it's something I love to do. I find it very cathartic. The crummy part is that I have good things to tell - no reason to avoid it. So, here's my effort at making up for 2 weeks of non-blogging.

On Sunday (7/12), Rudy started working at the UofA junior high music camp. Caleb and I left for a visit to central AR. Our first stop was in Sherwood, where we spent two days with my grandparents, Memmie and Poppie and my cousin, Mary Beth. We met them for lunch at Red Lobster. Caleb told me before they got there that he was going to by shy...and he stayed true to his word. It took several hours before he finally opened up. I was feeling a little extra-nauseous during lunch and ended up only choking down a baked potato. Caleb ate a few fries and he was done. It was a stressful meal for me. After lunch, we went to Memmie and Poppie's, where I managed to get Caleb to take a nap and took a short one myself. When Caleb woke up, we made a quick trip to Target for a few necessities and back home to play before bedtime. We stayed at Memmie and Poppie's until Tuesday morning.

When Caleb and I got up and around on Tuesday, we headed out for Hot Springs. As soon as we pulled in the driveway at Mom and Mr.L's house, Caleb giggled, "I so excited!" When I got him out of his carseat and he saw Pops in the doorway, he took off running to him and gave him a great big hug. It was great! From that moment on, he and Pops were joined at the hip and I got some much-needed rest. I seemed to struggle a lot with my pregnancy symptoms that week. I was tired and nauseous a lot. I hoped that it was a peak and I'd be feeling better soon.

Tuesday night, I had the pleasure of joining Mom and Aunt Harolyn for a get-together with 4 generations of women from our family. We visited at Aunt AnnaBelle's house and then had dinner at a restaurant. I have not laughed that hard in a very long time! It was a wonderful experience!!!

Wednesday through Friday, we did very little and it was great. We took a boat ride one evening, had dinner with friends on the back porch and caught up on lots of rest. Mom bought me a couple of dresses for some upcoming events and got me some new makeup too. Caleb just played...a lot. He fished with Pops and even caught a couple of little fish.

We left there on Friday and I dropped Caleb off at Jan's on Friday afternoon. I came home and Rudy and I had a quiet evening at home. Saturday, we went to run some errands. We took advantage of being kid-free and went to the AT&T store to look into upgrading our phones. I went in planning to get a Blackberry and ended up walking out with an iPhone instead. I really thought it would be more expensive, but it was actually cheaper! I've been learning to use it since then and have really enjoyed it. Rudy got a nicer phone than what he had and he likes it a lot too.

On Sunday, we went to Ft. Smith to get Caleb from Jan's and then met the Morrises for lunch. After lunch, we went to their house to visit for a while and then headed home. Caleb needed a little time to adjust to being home and back to our usual expectations. He has really been having some behavior problems lately. We've endured lots of tantrums and meltdowns, lots of refusals, yelling, etc. Mealtimes have become almost unbearable. I keep telling myself it's a phase, but it's a phase that we have to get through with some sanity. It seems to be getting better the past couple of days, so we'll see. We did start sending him to daycare 3 days a week instead of 2. I'm hoping that the increased routine will help. He'll do 3 days for a week or so, then bump up to 4 in anticipation of back-to-school week. (ugh)

Rudy's neck is bothering him this week. It started yesterday (Tuesday) and he was down for the count. Today he pushed through it because he couldn't stand sticking around the house again for a 2nd day. He's still hurting tonight, but has managed to stay away from the pain pills.

I am gradually feeling better. Some days are much better than others. I made it all day yesterday without any nausea meds, but not today. Sleep has become an issue. I am so tired all the time, but as soon as my head hits the pillow, my eyes pop open and my mind starts racing. By the time I finally fall asleep (wee hours of the morning), I conk out completely and then morning comes very quickly. I've been sleeping in and taking naps as much as possible to make it through the days. This has to get better soon, though! As bad as I hate to admit it...August is right around the corner.

I go to the OB next week. On Tuesday, I'm doing the early screen and then seeing Dr. Ford for my usual checkup. I had a bladder infection last time I went and the antibiotics that I had to take made me really sick - to the point that I wondered if I might have the flu. I'm hoping that the antibiotic really knocked out the infection because I don't want another round of that.