So it's been exactly one month since I last wrote a blog post. It's been a LONG month. Pregnancy is hard. It's very much not my favorite. Actually, it's the worst. But baby is apparently doing well and growing and I am slowly getting a little better. I've been going to acupuncture which I think helps a little. And thanks to the TONS of help from our family and Eric, I have been able to take things slow (as in, I lie down a lot and take naps during the day, don't do any chores, laundry or meal prep and often end up in bed for the evening well before the kids go to bed) and I've been able to back my Zofran off a little from 12 mg to 8 mg a day. So that's good. I definitely still have hard days and hard moments when I feel so sad about things I am missing or can't do. Levi's birthday was hard- he wanted to go to the zoo but there was no way I would be able to handle that so I had to stay home while Eric took the kids. That was depressing. I know it's not forever but neither is Levi and Emery's childhood and I hate missing things with them and not being able to play actively with them as they wish I could. All told though Levi has been incredibly patient and understanding. He is very gentle when he hugs me and says "careful of the baby" and he prays for me at night that I will "make it through" and that I "won't wake up in the night feeling sick." He knows that I'm tired and feel sick because I'm growing a baby and it's hard work and he knows it's not forever. That has been helpful for sure.
Anyway, despite the misery of pregnancy, this month hasn't been all bad. Like I said, Levi had a birthday so I know have a big kid 5 year old who is just so smart and creative. We ate yummy cake and Papi and Nona and John came over the next day and brought dinner which was so nice to see them and spend time with them.
Then my Mom came to visit. I felt bad that the Murphy bed had to be abandoned for now so she had to sleep on the air mattress again but there was no way around that. It's always nice to have her here and especially nice this time as she was able to help out with some much-needed kitchen cleaning and play with the kids who LOVE having her around. Then not long after she left, Katie and Kendall came to visit! It has been so fun having them here! They are sooo good with Levi and Emery and the kids adore them. We went for a walk (the farthest I have walked in literally months) and scouted for blue bonnets but only saw a couple of them. And then last night we got a babysitter (the kid's favorite: Annelise) and Katie and Kendall and Eric and I went out to a Brazilian steakhouse for dinner. It was, as always, sooo delicious! I'm glad I am doing well enough that (with the help of Zofran) I was able to enjoy it! It has been so good to have Katie and Kendall here. I wish they lived closer. I miss having my weekly dose of Katie in my life.
So yeah, I'm feeling cautiously optimistic that I will continue to slowly improve and be able to get back to more activity soon. And we've got some things coming up to look forward to including the first Martino family gathering in over a year this Friday! We are doing an outdoor Easter Egg hunt for the kids and I am just so excited to get to see everyone again. And then this weekend is General Conference with Matthew and Valerie again and then Easter Sunday! I wish we could have Easter dinner with others to celebrate but since Eric isn't vaccinated yet we are holding off on eating inside with others (except for Papi and Nona and my direct family). So I guess we will have to wait a little longer for that. Eric is eligible to get vaccinated starting tomorrow though! I hope he can get in soon and the wait list isn't too too long. We'll see.
Anyway, that's life of late. I realized that Mom's visit passed without me taking any pictures of her with the kids which is a shame. We will have to be better about that. But here are some other random snippets of life:
