You know how Oriental Trading Co. has those “assorted” collections of toys and cheap prizes. They’re like 350 pieces for $15 or less, but you will have no idea what’s coming until it arrives. I guess that’s what this post is going to be like…except for free! Lucky you, right? Anyway…
– Megan was given a copy of the Velveteen Rabbit for her birthday. It was a classic edition that came with a large stuffed rabbit, designed to look just like the one in the book. Really cute…except it really looks more like a kangaroo than a rabbit. And my kids still call it Meg’s new kangaroo about half the time. It makes me laugh every time.
– I took my kids to a playground yesterday (Prairie Oaks metro park has a great play/picnic area…seriously, take your kids). Alex & Erin climbed all the way to the top of the rope jungle gym for the first time ever. Meg didn’t get very high on it, but she did like the slides and climbing the other jungle gym a lot. We may go back today with Daddy and walk around and take some pictures.
– I did like 5 loads of laundry in two days and folded them. They are still in baskets, not put away, but maybe I can actually get that done before I have to do another load this time!
– Eric and I watched The Adjustment Bureau last night. I liked it. It was a little slow, but the characters were good. Wouldn’t call it a biblical take on free will/predestination or anything, but an interesting watch.
– My neighbors LOVE halloween. I like that everyone comes outside and talks to each other on Beggar’s Night. But they think it’s fun to decorate their yards with tombstones, creepy heads, and other stuff. I can ignore them, but they freak.my.kids.out. Alex talked all year long about last year’s decorations. And this week, Megan was riding down the sidewalk after Erin a couple of days ago and suddenly melted into a puddle, howling until she reached me. It took me a minute to decipher that the word she was repeating was “SCARY!” She pointed to what had stopped her (she wouldn’t go near it): a tombstone with a vampire, dripping blood, crawling over the top of it. Lovely. I like the camaraderie Halloween inspires on our cul-de-sac. But it’s very frustrating that my kids can’t walk down the sidewalk for half of October. *sigh*
– I also have no idea what Halloween costumes we’re going to have this year. Really gotta work on that, huh?
(Caution: Start of Rant – feel free to skip)
– The other day, my friend was not permitted to buy a bunch of pop at a nearby grocery store because the manager has instituted a limit on pop specials. They felt that people were buying the pop when it was on sale, emptying the shelves for other people also looking for the deal, and then re-selling the pop for a profit. And since that wasn’t fair, they decided to limit what people could buy. It was not a chain-wide policy…just this one store. So my friend refused to buy anything, even though they were going to make an exception for her “just this once.” Good for her.
And the thing is…the whole thing kind of irritated me. Not because I buy a lot of pop and was hoping to re-sell what I didn’t use (which, by the way, is not illegal – just inconsiderate to other shoppers who find the shelves empty). But because it’s indicative of a greater problem with the way our society has started to function. See, the manager has no need or responsibility to determine what people do with the products they buy in his store after they leave it. I suppose there’s some wisdom (though it’s a bit annoying and probably doesn’t really solve the problem) in moving behind the counter pharmaceutical products that could be used for, say, meth production. But we’re talking about pop and canned goods and whatever else the manager decided to limit. Normal stuff with no useful life except for normal people consuming them. A good manager might see it as an opportunity to make more money and work with his people to order extra of those products to ensure that more people can buy them off his shelves…and thus make himself even more money. But no…he made a “rule.”
Why? Why would he care? Why would he feel obligated to control what his customers do?
Because we are a victim society. See, everything that happens now has to have a cause. SOMEONE has to be responsible for whatever bad stuff happens. And the manager doesn’t want it to be him. He creates a limit on pop purchases so that he doesn’t have to face the ire of a coupon clipper who didn’t get her bargain. And in the greater world, people or groups who should have no obligation or concern with people’s actions suddenly have to create limits and rules and checks on behavior so that someone else doesn’t get injured or offended or inconvenienced. To protect themselves. And apparently, to protect me…’cause I can’t be trusted to control my own behavior.
It irritates me. The extra rules and policies designed to police everyone because a few people don’t have common sense and common courtesy. And even more irritating is how many people seem to think that more and more of those rules need to come from government at some level. NO! Bad behavior can’t be pre-empted with rules. And good citizenship can’t be forced or coerced by random or silly rules. It’s something that only comes when it’s expected, when it’s taught and learned through consequences. But that of course opens up soapboxes about parenting and sin nature, which I am not going to get into right now (you’re welcome).
Still…my friend couldn’t buy pop because somebody was getting a bargain and using it to make a little extra cash (legally). And the whole thing just irritated me.
(End Rant)
– And finally, I am now 28 weeks pregnant. We are starting two-week appointments, and most of the time, I feel pretty good. The big concern at this point was the glucose test. I had gestational diabetes with the twins, but we figured it was just because of the second baby (two placentas overworking my pancreas). So with Megan we weren’t too concerned. Except I failed the test again. And the three-hour test, too. And I was crushed.
For those of you who have never heard my GD rant, I won’t go into the details here. But it was annoying to do the finger-pricks, and frankly, I couldn’t see how I was eating all that much differently than normal. But it was, apparently, a big deal. You know, increased risk of large babies and blood pressure problems. Except my twins were 6 lbs. at 38 weeks, and Meg was 7.4 full-term. NOT large babies. And I never have blood pressure issues. Mine is usually almost low. So it seemed silly that everyone acted like I was bordering on needing insulin, when in fact I was bordering on normal.
So, with this pregnancy, we all thought it was guaranteed. At my first appointment, I told my doctor that I was not going to do the 3-hour test ever again. She was fine with that. A few weeks later, she mentioned probably having me take the 1-hour test early (at 24 weeks) because I was almost sure to have it and they’d want me to watch my blood sugar for longer. Yippee. So at about 22 weeks, I decided to shift my eating without the test. I really only have to spread my carbs across the day (2 at meals, 1 at snacks), and when I do that, I can barely make my sugar spike above the limit. I added a bit more protein and veggies where I could, but I cut out almost nothing.
And then my 24-week appointment passed without the test. Yippee, I thought. But they handed me the sugar drink for my 28 week. So, for the last month, I kept eating like I’d been and praying. Dear Jesus, please let me not have it this time. I know it’s not likely, but really, I don’t have the energy for the finger-pricks (which have to be done exactly 2 hours after meals) with 3 kids running around. I know it’s not likely, but really, could you give me a break on this one? Please?
Now, before you think I’m some giant of faith…I’ll be real honest, I didn’t think He’d do it. I prayed that way when I was pregnant with Meg, too, but still had it. So I tried not to get my hopes up. And kept eating like I was. And tried not to worry about what I couldn’t change. And eventually, week 28 rolled around.
A friend graciously agreed to watch my 3 munchkins during my appointment. I figured they didn’t need to watch Mommy get her blood drawn. I drank the juice. I actually had trouble getting it all down (it never bothered me much before). And off I went. Bathroom sample – check. Blood draw – check. Flu shot – check. Then I waited for my doctor. She came in, we chatted, checked the heartbeat, measured, all that jazz. And she said, “You know, there wasn’t much glucose in your urine sample, so maybe this guy isn’t going to be diabetic.” Um…so much for not getting my hopes up.
Anyway, I tried not to stress about getting a phone call all day yesterday. But I was waiting for it. Still…lunch came and nothing. For Meg, the nurse had called just after lunch, though, so I kept waiting. By 3:00, nothing. I decided to take the kids to the playground, and if she called, she called. We played, we had fun. We got home, and I checked my email for a voicemail. There it was. They had called. I checked the message, but all it said was that my results were ready and I could view them on the patient website.
UM…what?
I clicked the link, logged in and opened the message: “Your blood work came back within normal levels. We will see you at your next appointment.”
Oh my word. I cannot even tell you how often I read that message. I cannot tell you how relieved I was. I cannot tell you how much I thanked Jesus for changing things despite my disbelief. I called my mom and sister; they were, of course, both thrilled that I am normal (there’s always been some question, you know 
). And then I almost didn’t know what to do next. Not diabetic? I don’t even know how to do the last 3 months of pregnancy without that hanging over me.
So, today, I’m still a bit in shock. I’m going to keep eating the spread-out meals/snacks that I’ve been doing. I probably won’t go wild with sweets (which I rarely do anyway)…though a milkshake sounds really good for a treat. But that kind of eating is normal for me, it isn’t hard and it ensures we get lots of the good stuff I need anyway. But it also means I can just enjoy candy corn, and Thanksgiving, and Christmas. It also means that I have one giant HALLELUJAH, PRAISE JESUS to tell people about. It also means that for the first time ever, I can just relax and maybe enjoy the last 12 weeks of my last pregnancy.
Thank you, Jesus.
