Remember a couple weeks ago when I had the world’s most disgusting stomach bug? Well I may have misspoke. I have now officially had the worst stomach bug ever.

On Saturday morning Stephen woke up feeling a bit off. Our initial theory was allergies. The second theory was that he ate something the night before that had been fried with shrimp (he’s allergic to shellfish). Our third theory (and the one I’m sticking with) is a stomach bug. He was laying on the couch with a big bowl next to him, you know, just in case. GOOD THING.

Stephen’s mom got it on Sunday. She had the vomits and a fever.

I stayed home with Jansen on Monday since my MIL was still feeling yucky. I am so so glad I did. I felt fine all day and then 3:00 hit and OH MY GRACIOUS. I apologize for this next sentence. Having the intense vomits and the poops at the same time is definitely the only activity in hell. Definitely.

I was sick over and over and over for about 4 or 5 hours. I cannot even tell you how awful it was. Jansen was home with me. For the most part he was really good about leaving me alone to be sick, but whenever I was in his bathroom he would come stand on his stool at the sink and “spit like mommy.” Then he’d say, “No more spitting mommy. I no like it. It yucky. It too loud.”

Then the fever hit. Oh gosh. And the aches. It was just all so so bad. Everything hurt. You know that feeling where you want to collapse on your bed but the sheets hurt your skin? That. Tuesday was bad too. The sick part was over but I was dehydrated and still so sore and achy. I didn’t want to move or think.

I went back to work yesterday and felt ehh. The nausea has not let up. It may be pregnancy related at this point but it’s still awful. I think I could throw up at any minute if I sat in front of a toilet for 3 seconds. I have no appetite but I’m forcing myself to eat so I can keep this baby healthy. Two nasty stomach bugs and I’m just barely over 10 weeks. I’m so not on board with this.

1.
I am already very much showing. Like a lot. In fact, we had to tell a little earlier than we planned because it was getting impossible to hide the bump.

2.
At my initial 6 weeks ultrasound, they found a blood clot in my uterus. The baby measured on track and had a heartbeat, so they didn’t think there was much cause for concern. The thought was that I would bleed it out or my body would absorb it. I went back a week and a half later to check it again. It was still there but much smaller. I go back today to check it again. Hopefully it will be completely gone and the little baby will still be healthy.

3.
I’ve been nauseous in the afternoons and evenings. I haven’t thrown up yet (thankfully) but one morning I was hugging the toilet and heaving for quite some time. I try not to ever get too hungry or else I feel like poop.

4.
I haven’t really had any cravings. Just a lot of smelling or thinking about something and then REALLY wanting it. I could really go for a good, hot dish of homemade mac and cheese right now. Also, ice cream is good. And goat cheese. And a piping hot pizza would be okay too.

5.
I’m tired. Which is to be expected, I suppose. I wake up 1-4 times to pee each night. It’s just lovely.

6.
I’m hungry. ALL OF THE TIME. As of my appointment at 8 weeks, I had already gained 6 pounds. This is not looking good for me. I’m a bit scared that I’m going to hit the 50 pound mark this go round.

7.
Any questions? What did I miss?

Fun, huh?!

If you follow me on Instagram or if we’re friends on Facebook, you got the news on Saturday. We posted this photo.

I’m 9 weeks and due November 30. Though Jansen was 17 days early, so who knows when I’ll actually deliver! So that’s one reason I’ve been absent a lot lately. I’m just so so very tired. In fact, I think I’ll go to bed right now…

2.
My mom and I are taking a field trip to Trader Joe’s today. Any suggestions?

3.
I’m still working through The Goblet of Fire. I forgot how long it was! I just finished the first challenge, which means I’m past the part where Ron is mad at Harry. That’s good. I hate that part. I’m enjoying reading them a second time but I find that since I know what’s going to happen, I don’t feel the need to read read read all the time.

4.
This conversation happened last night as Rookie was barking.

Jansen: Who is it? Let’s go see!
Me: I think Daddy just pulled up. Let’s wait and see if he walks in the back door.
J: No, not Daddy. He’s at work.
Me: No, I think he’s driving home from work.
J: No, Daddy is at work at the train museum. He see trains drive around and around all day!

I think this is hilarious because it’s pretty much what you expect of a little boy. He thinks his daddy goes to work and does something super cool. And what is the coolest thing Jansen knows? The train museum. So cute.

5.
On Saturday evening, Jansen was attempting to hit his baseball around the room with his bat. (Foam ball, foam bat.) He was having fun with it and then yelled, “OH! I need my hat!” He ran into his room and then came back wearing his fedora.

6.
I don’t really have much planned this weekend. Stephen’s dad’s birthday is today so I think they may take Jansen to the train museum tomorrow. I’m being left behind. Maybe a pedicure? I haven’t had a pedicure in AT LEAST a year, maybe two. Seriously. It’s been a very very long time. But I think it might be nice. I am so very rarely alone that I really don’t know what to do when I am. Cleaning the house would be the smart thing to do but I’m not going to waste my ME time with that.

7.
Have a lovely weekend. Thanks for sticking around during my absent spells.

We spent a good amount of time on the trampoline yesterday.

I remember when we bought that trampoline for Jansen’s first birthday and people kept saying things like, “Hmm, that’s interesting.” THEY HAVE WALLS, PEOPLE! It’s so SO safe and it is a contained place for him to get energy out. I think it teaches a lot of coordination too. Anyways, we have gotten so much use out of that thing.

Every now and then I snap pictures because he is just so darn cute. Usually they are blurry since he is running and jumping around like a madman. I actually got some good ones yesterday. And they are extra cute because he was still in his church clothes.

My favorite is the top left one. He looks like he’s doing some sort of hip dance moves. I love that I was able to catch all these without them being blurry. I hope you can see how much joy he gets from his trampoline!

Dear Jack,

Yesterday when we got home from school, I pulled your daily report out of your backpack. I realized that I hadn’t read it since last week and that on Friday, you did something that you hadn’t done since you were a baby: you bit a friend. Now, you would have gotten in trouble for this on any day but yesterday especially, you were in the hot seat. I realize that a 3 year old’s attention span leaves a bit to be desired so perhaps it wasn’t my smartest move to make you sit with me for a good ten minutes, talking about love and hurt. I kept repeating the same things over and over, trying my hardest to ensure that you were truly listening and understanding what I was saying…why it is not ever okay to hurt someone else, no matter what you are feeling or what they did to you. By the end of the conversation, you were exasperated. You buried your head into my lap and wailed, “Mommmmyyyyy!!!! I won’t bite anymore! Mommmyyyyy!!!” I kissed your head and sent you back to help your daddy get ready for bath time. But I didn’t follow you. Instead, I just sat on that cold kitchen floor and thought about it all. I thought about how this world has changed so much from the place I thought it was when I was your age. I thought about how sad I am that you have to grow up here, in a world where hate has so much power to change things–to shake every day people from everything they thought they knew. And I thought about how helpless I felt over all of it.

Jack, I have had so many plans for things I wanted to teach you. I wanted to teach you to be hardworking and successful so that you would never have to worry about how you would pay your bills. I wanted to teach you to find someone who will make you happy the same way that your dad and I make each other happy. I wanted to teach you about all the things that will bring you a good life. And while all of those things are fine, yesterday I realized that if I can only teach you one thing, I will and I will teach it well. I will teach you love.

There is so much hate in this world. Virgina Tech, where people trying to make a better life for themselves were taken six years ago today. Aurora, where we lost our Jessi. Newtown, where parents lost their babies who hadn’t yet had the opportunity to grow up. Boston, where a day of triumph turned into a day of terror. And all of this, all of it because of hate. Jack, I will teach you that every single life is unique and precious. I will teach you that every single person is so very loved and has a network of friends and family who will find it hard to breathe without them. I will teach you that hurting other people and choosing hate over love does nothing at all to make you happier or feel more triumphant. I will teach you that the only thing that can truly combat and ease your fears is love. Child, all I can do is teach you love. And so I will.

Your mom is afraid. It’s hard to watch these kinds of things happen in our world and not be affected by them; not think about the possibility of it happening where we are. It’s hard to lose someone in something in this way and still think, “It could never happen to me.” or even, “It could never happen to me again.” I have spent so much of my life worrying. I worry about you and about your dad. I worry about my family and my friends. I worry about me. And the worrying has done nothing. It hasn’t stopped anything. And I realize now that I am absolutely, completely, devastatingly helpless over all of this. I cannot stop any of these terrible things from happening and that is just such a sickening feeling–to be sitting here, waiting for the next thing to happen, knowing that there is absolutely nothing that I can do.

But that’s not entirely correct, Jack. Because there is something I can do. Something that if every parent did, we wouldn’t be in this situation. So yesterday, I made a decision. Our family will choose love. We will not choose worry, it does nothing. We will not choose sadness, it does nothing. We will not choose fear, it too does nothing. Instead, we will choose to teach you how to love every single person you meet. Deep, sincere, respectful love. Maybe if someone had taught those other people about that kind of love, our world wouldn’t be where it is today. And maybe I can’t go back in time and teach them the things they should know but I can teach you, and you can teach your children and your children can teach their children. Because the one thing I know is that hate will not win. Love always, always wins. And it will win this time too.

Because all I can do is teach mine to love. And suddenly, I don’t feel so helpless anymore.

Love,
Mommy

Anyways. We went to the zoo and it was a blast. Here are a few pictures.

1. If I could, I would invite Mr. Weasley over to my house to look around. I think he’d enjoy it. I think he’d have a fun time playing with Jansen’s baby monitor and our washing machine and Jansen’s big bucket of rubber duckies. He’d think we were the coolest muggles he’d ever met.

2. Recently Jansen has been really wanting help when he does things. Well, that’s not entirely true. Sometimes is it “MY TURN! I DO IT!” but other times (mainly when he needs to clean something up), he wants help. It’s so cute because he says, “We do it both together.”

3. I’m trying another Pinterest recipe for dinner tonight. It is some Million Dollar Spaghetti. Wish me luck. Stephen doesn’t like spaghetti so I never make it. But this looks really good and it is made almost like a casserole, so I’m hoping it’s pass his test. If not, I’ll cut his portion up into tiny bits so it no longer resembles spaghetti noodles.

4. How much do you think I would need to pay Jansen to stay in bed until 10:00 Saturday morning? I’d really love a good, long sleep-in.

5. I think I’m getting dangerously close to needing a new phone. I’m going to beg Stephen to back up my photos and update my software this weekend. I have no idea how that works. I haven’t updated my OS since I got my phone about 2 years ago. Apps are crashing, things are slow, and it says I am about out of space. So yeah, we’ll try that and see if that fixes things. If not, feel free to send cash and money orders to the Buy Chelsea a New iPhone fund.

6. If you need a good laugh, go here and watch this video.

This weekend was a bit of a mixture. For some reason Jansen is a lovely bundle of joy with all of his grandparents, but as soon as we do the trade off, the happy mask comes off. I’m not really sure what that says about us as parents. But everything he says is in a whiny tone, he is constantly “Up, mommy! I want up!!!!,” and he hates Rookie. It is exhausting.

We started Saturday morning by cleaning his playroom. Jansen is allergic to cleaning his playroom. He thinks that if he puts his toys away then he cannot play with them. I tried to explain that it is the opposite. If he cleans his playroom, he can actually FIND the toys he wants to play with. It was a long process and I just kept saying, “Would you rather throw that away? We can put it where it belongs or throw it away.” That did the trick.

That evening we went to our friends’ house to celebrate his 30th birthday. I love when we go to houses that also have toddlers so that they don’t think our kid is on some sort of drugs.

Anyways, it was a good time. But really all I need to tell you is that I made these delicious goodies called Saltine Surprises. I know I have talked about these before but it was about 3 years ago and I have pretty much lost all of those blog readers by now. A friend of mine from childhood used to make these and I loved her for it. Just make them, I promise you will not be sorry.

Saltine Surprises

Saltines
1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 bag of chocolate chips

Line a jelly roll pan with foil. Lay the saltines out in one layer, salt side up. In a small saucepan, bring the butter and sugar to a boil. Keep it at a rolling boil and stir for about 2-3 minutes, then pour it over the crackers. Bake in a 350 oven for 8-9 minutes. When it is down, take it out of the oven and pour the entire bag of chocolate chips over the crackers. Let it sit for about 30 seconds and then spread it our with a spatula like frosting. Put the pan in the fridge until it is set, about one hour. Take it out and break it into cookie-sized pieces.

Then come back here and tell me how delicious they are.

2.
I made those oven tacos from Pinterest again last night. Honestly, I will never make regular tacos ever again. If you’ve never seen the recipe, you basically just brown two pounds of meat with a chopped onion. Drain the fat and then add a pack of taco seasoning, a can of refried beans, and a small can of tomato sauce. Let it heat up and thicken. Then spoon it into taco shells that are lined up in a casserole dish. Top with cheese and then pop them in the oven until it’s all melty and delicious. I actually push cheese in the shell first, then meat, then cheese again. Do it.

3.
I haven’t watched a single second of baseball this week. It’s like I don’t know myself anymore.

4.
How do you feel about the maxi skirt trend? I recently bought one at Kohls. I haven’t worn it yet since It really hasn’t been the right weather, but I will. They look so comfy. Are they cute? What top do you wear with them? Just tshirts? I don’t know. I’m so confused.

5.
I got through the first 3 Harry Potter books pretty quickly and now I’m having a hard time with 4. It’s scary and I don’t like reading scary. I’ll press on. I am finding that I am enjoying them the second go-round. I’m discovering little bits of things I didn’t notice the first time.

6.
I am loving this news of Jimmy Fallon taking Leno’s spot. In all honesty, I don’t get the fuss over the name of the show. I know it’s a big deal to be the host of The Tonight Show, but I just don’t really get it. I really couldn’t care less if Jimmy hosts The Tonight Show or Late Night, as long as his time slot is earlier. But whatever. If it’s an honor, I’m happy for him. I like him far better than Leno and Letterman. He’s funny and he is an entertainer, not just an interviewer. I love that he does impressions and sketches. He doesn’t just do a monologue and then interview people.

7.
For Lent I gave up any unnecessary spending. I did pretty good with the exception of The 20/20 Experience. I bought it. I justified it by telling myself that it was at the intro price of $7 and if I waited until after Easter, I’d have to spend more money. I know that’s cheating and I’m totally missing the point of Lent. Anyways. I’m

getting Raising Cane’s for lunch today. I took my lunch to work all of Lent without messing up at all. I am so excited for lunch. So excited.

8.
Later gators. Have a great weekend!