Well we made it through the blizzard including a rather treacherous Sunday drive to get Isaac back from his dad, followed by two snow days and now a two hour delay tomorrow.  I am always a fan of snow days, but especially this year since I will be on maternity leave when it is time to make them up.  BRING ON THE SNOW!  We were a little concerned since Ryan is still so weak and not really in physical shape for removing over 2 feet of snow from our driveway, but we were able to arrange for a teenage boy in our neighborhood to help clear out driveway and sidewalks.  He did a great job, so that was a relief.

In other news, we bought Hannah a toddler bed from someone in our neighborhood and have been working with her on actually sleeping in it, instead of cuddled in between me and Ryan in our bed, where she would sleep if she had her way.  So far she makes it through the night about 50% of the time (and mind you, it is at the foot of our bed).  I would love to have her moved out of our room completely by the time the baby gets here, but I would settle for just consistently making it through the night in the toddler bed. 

We also reached the end of the initial 12 weeks of speech recommended for Hannah.  We have seen so much improvement in her vocabulary and articulation.  They toyed around the idea of dismissing her but we decided to decrease her services from twice a week to once a week for 8 more weeks and then re-evaluating her progress then.  Today she said "pizza" for the first time which was exciting.  She does not label things often, but will say "No this" or "I want that".  I know she is working really hard though and I am proud of how far she has come.

 I am now officially in my third trimester of pregnancy at 27 weeks.  I had the dreaded glucola test and it went well.  I am starting to feel a lot bigger and at the end of the day I am so stiff I can barely move.  I am dreading how much worse it gets over the next 13 weeks.  I am just not someone who enjoys being pregnant.  We still have some major items to purchase for baby #3 (car seat and double stroller) but we still have some time.

Ryan is continuing with his Remicaid treatments.  He had a bad reaction to his first treatment, so they took some precautions to try to avoid those this time around.  The treatments totally compromise his immune system, and  he now has an upper respitory infection in addition to everything else.  He is always exhausted and wiped out during the day, but one of the medicines he is on keeps him up during the night which is frustrating for him.

Living with someone who is chronically ill can be challenging.  I feel bad feeling that way since I am the healthy one but it's true.  It just feels like such hard timing with the baby coming.  I know I am being unfair when I feel resentful that Ryan is napping on the couch and I am running the kids around after a long day at school.  Other times I am just scared. My mind always races to the worst case scenario-- that Ryan will never be able to return to work and we will never be able to afford a bigger place or to live more comfortably.  That I will never be able to leave my job that I hate because I carry the health insurance.  I am scared Ryan may get much sicker and I will end up raising three kids alone. Sometimes I wonder if we will just ever get a break. 

Christmas recap

Hello.  Back from another little blogging break.

We have been enjoying our Christmas break.  We spent a few days with my parents for Christmas and Hannah's birthday on the 26th.  I was stressed out about Christmas as we were waiting on a bonus check from Ryan's job that didn't come until the very last second.  Ryan really took the lead with buying and wrapping the gifts this year.  It was out of my comfort zone to give up so much control, but he did a great job.  Isaac got a playstation with some games, some new clothes, and a bean bag chair, among other things.   Hannah enjoyed lots of Doc McStuffin's gear, new pajamas and books and a little set of child size housecleaning tools.  A highlight of Christmas was movie tickets for  Isaac, my dad and Ryan to see Star Wars. 

My mom and I took the kids to the North Science Museum in Lancaster together.  Then Ryan joined us to take the kids to the Crayola Factory.  My mom has taken Isaac many times, but this was the first time that Ryan and I had been.  It was a great day.  We loved playing with all of the products and exploring the exhibits.

We did pre-Christmas and New Year's Eve trips to say goodbye to Sesame Place.  We definitely got some good use out of our season passes this year. Hannah is big enough to ride most of the rides there and really seemed to enjoy them.  She isn't afraid at all and will sign "more" after it ends.

Hannah

Hannah had a birthday and will now proudly tell you she is TWO! 

Eating birthday cake

She is a such a sweet and loving girl, full of energy.  She loves to dance, give kisses, watch Sesame Street, play with her Doc McStuffins doctor kit and cuddle with daddy and mommy.  She watches everyone and tries to copy everything they do, especially Isaac.  She is still very attached to her binky.  We are trying to save it only for the car and sleeping but she is crafty and manages to get one more often than not.  A hundred times a day we hear "Where Hannah binky?.....Oh!  'ere it is!"  We bought her a potty and she likes to sit on it and then shout "I pee!".  If we remember to keep her pantless she will initiate using the potty with very few accidents.    I don't want to push her although she definitely knows when she needs to use the bathroom and does her best to get there when the potty is nearby.  She also will let you know when her diaper/pull up is wet. We just haven't fully delved into full on potty training yet. It would be great to have her out of diapers before the baby comes, but we'll see.
 
Hannah is currently OBSESSED with cookie monster.  We had a character lunch for New Year's at Sesame Place and every time she met a character she asked him/her "Where Cookie?" She got quite a few cookie monster themed things for her birthday and Christmas.

We are continuing speech with her and her talking has really come a long way.   She still doesn't have a very large vocabulary but she has started linking words together.  She can be so polite.  Sometimes she will say "No thank you."  Sometimes when she is emotional she will say "No way!"
She is also very concerned about Ryan and if he leaves the room she will say "I dunno where daddy go?" She has also started handing me things and saying " 'ere you go mommy".   She also loves when someone comes into a room.  She will shout " 'ere he is!" so enthusiastically as if she has been watching hopefully for you all day. 

Isaac

Isaac will turn 11 in February which blows my mind.  He has been busy planning his party (I gave in and said he could have one this year, even though birthday parties rank right up there with root canal on the Things I Would Rather Die Than Do list).  Isaac decided to hold it at a local go kart place.  He keeps himself very busy with sports.  When he isn't off playing basketball, baseball or soccer in formal leagues he is out in the yard kicking a ball or going on a jog through the neighborhood. I am grateful to have a kid that likes to be so busy rather than a couch potato who wants to play video games all day.

Isaac has his dad's flair for fashion.  He likes his outfit, socks and shoes to be all coordinated and will change his outfit multiple times a day (which drives me crazy).  He got a new smart(er) phone for Christmas.  Not the iphone he was hoping for, but he seemed pleased. We have been finishing up his science project which involves using different types of salt to melt ice.   I was concerned that this was going to end up being my project to complete, but he has actually taken a lot of initiative and done a great job.

Ryan
Ryan is still home from work, which Hannah is enjoying.   One of the medications he is on makes him very woozy and unable to drive.  Since his job involves driving all day, it won't really work.  They are still searching for the best treatment options to manage his ulcerative colitis without throwing his diabetes completely out of whack.  He will soon be starting some treatments called Remicaid which are basically like chemotherapy.  It is a little scary and drastic, but hopefully will provide the relief that other options have not provided him so that he can get back to work and start to feel more like himself.

As for me, I am feeling pretty well.  I am in the nice part of the second trimester where I have energy, I am not uncomfortably huge, the baby is moving but not killing me from the inside out.  Some of my looser clothes still fit, but I have been rotating maternity clothes in and out.  I hit the jackpot on a before Christmas sale at Old Navy and was able to add some good maternity basics into my wardrobe.  We have also gotten some clothes and other items for the baby.  The ultrasound let us know we are having a boy.  We will probably name him Tyler.

Work continues to be busy as I am trying to squeeze in all of my IEP meetings in before my leave, and my students this year have so many issues (mental health concerns requiring hospitalizations, out of district placements, homelessness, truancy, legal issues, etc) that require more meetings and extra time.  It feels more manageable than the beginning of the year when I was up working at all hours of the night so far, so good.