I cannot believe that I did not post for about a month!!! Well that is how things get around April 15th every year; yes that is U.S.A. tax time. UGH! My husband is self-employed and I hate to do anything with the taxes but since I'm the number person in the family, I do it. And then every year I promise myself that I will stay on top of things this year but overwhelm myself and do not want anything to do with anything that remotely resembles taxes at all! So then I usually get behind again and it mushrooms. But true to form, I am once again saying, Not this year!
As you can tell from the ticker on the sidebar, my niece is due to arrive any time now. I really, really wish she'd come today, because the UHSE starts tomorrow!!! You see, we all go and camp out at the hospital the whole time she is in labor and for a while after the little one is born. My sister is the baby of the family, ten years younger than me, and is a very sentimental woman. She values traditions, family, and friends. She was an aunt at 15 and is really good at it. She brought the children valentines, Easter baskets, birthday gifts, and Christmas presents from the beginning. Since she is married, has children of her own, and her nephews and one niece are getting so old now, things are a LITTLE different but not much . . . her gifts changed as the children grew but she still gives them something for all those occasions, even though my oldest is almost 17 now. She is really considerate! to a fault. So we return the favor and make a really big deal out of her new arrivals. This is only her second, and she says it is her last, so it isn't like it is an inconvenience at all. We love her so much! Even my husband (we've been married for 21 years this year) takes off work, since he is self-employed, and camps out at the hospital with us. She says he is like a brother to her. So we are all waiting, with packed bags, for her to go into real labor.
She fooled all of us, including herself, last Thursday. She was having contractions every 8 minutes and just knew it was the real thing; it hurt bad enough. But she wanted her 2½yodd to get a good night sleep and since she had an early Dr. appointment, she did not call and go to the hospital. Well, her doc politely told her she was exactly the same as last week! HUH!?! She was fuming mad and took all of her restraint NOT to jump up and smack him senseless. LOL So she walked the mall for 3 hours, trying to keep things going, but NO CONSISTENCY!!! Oh well there was SOME consistency, 8 minutes apart three times and then nothing for 30 minutes! UGH! She even went to another mall and walked, the next day, for two hours and nothing, not even inconsistent contractions. So now, she has had two nights of good sleep, when she'd really rather be in labor and delivering this child, as her feet and legs are swollen. We all have our bags packed, got to have enough entertainment with us for a full day of hanging out in the waiting room, and are patiently waiting.
So, I'm guessing the baby is waiting to come on her due date. LOL My brother-in-law works on dental equipment and has some to install early next week, so of course, it would be an inconvenience to be at the hospital instead. LOL Then there is my conference all week! LOL Praise God, I will still be able to hear it all even if I end up missing some part of it live.
Another reason we all want this baby to be born in April, is because my birthday is in the very beginning of May and begins our MAY MADNESS which stretches until Independence Day. Let me give you the low down: Week 1 May—my birthday closely followed by Mother's Day, Week 3 May—my dad's birthday, Week 4—my dd's birthday and Memorial day, which we usually spend together as one big happy family. Week 1 June—my mom's birthday and then we get a week break, then Week 3 June—Father's Day, Week 4 June—my wedding anniversary, Week 1 July—my oldest son's birthday, closely followed by Independence Day! Whew!!! We then skip a week or two and then Week 3 July—my parents' anniversary. Then we breathe again as we begin thinking about Christmas (lots of stocking stuffers are obtained at yard sales) more in earnest. So you see, this new niece of mine, needs to be born the last week of April or she will upset the careful balance we have established. LOL
One a different note, my daughter just started her own blog. She came up with the idea herself, so she is really excited about it. We'll see how it goes. She wants to put the information that she learns, on it. I think it is a great idea and know that if I had suggested it, it wouldn't have been met with near as much enthusiasm. Visit her at http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/softheart/ and I'll try to put a link to her blog on my sidebar . . . as you can see, I've not done a whole lot with that part yet.
Busy lady!! I so remember the April 15th mess while being self employed, I do not envy you, at all! I am so glad to not be self employed anymore, but am always ready, just in case we do it again. Anyway, your May Madness sounds like our April birthday craziness, every boy in the house has his birthday in April. So we are just coming to the end of our birthday bashes. Thanks for sharing. Hugs!
(Me and my dd, Tiffany on an easy to climb tree limb on vacation in VA in 2007.) These are my ramblings on homeschooling and whatever else comes to mind.
Counting Down
The Holidays are over and I'm not quite ready to start a new count down yet. Maybe I should start a counting up the number of days I've stayed on my "diet".
She was fuming mad and took all of her restraint NOT to jump up and smack him senseless. LOL So she walked the mall for 3 hours, trying to keep things going, but NO CONSISTENCY!!! Oh well there was SOME consistency, 8 minutes apart three times and then nothing for 30 minutes! UGH! She even went to another mall and walked, the next day, for two hours and nothing, not even inconsistent contractions. So now, she has had two nights of good sleep, when she'd really rather be in labor and delivering this child, as her feet and legs are swollen. We all have our bags packed, got to have enough entertainment with us for a full day of hanging out in the waiting room, and are patiently 
waiting.
Visit her at 
☺ Apr. 27, 2008 - Wow