Thoughts, Conversations and a lot of Drama: What Else...

What else can we report?

At this point, I'm about 2 weeks away from my due date. Not that I've ever managed to get to any of my due dates, but ya know. I'm expecting a baby within the next 2 weeks for sure. We've decided to go with the midwife/home birth route. We were really on the fence about it all (so much so that we tossed a coin, which told us to go to the hospital, and then when I started writing my midwife to tell her "No thanks", I realized it wasn't what I really wanted). Anyway, so at home it is, I guess. Luckily, so far everything seems perfect. Baby is in the right position, my pregnancy has been by the book in every aspect. No group b strep. No nothing. Everything should work out great, and I sure hope it does.

Now, of course, it turns out that Henry has a training to go to this Saturday in Medford (about 2.5 hours away), and Henry's mom has decided to bail that same weekend to go to Sacramento (about 3.5 hours way, though for Grandma more like 4.5 hours away). It makes me a bit nervous. The fact that suddenly both of the people I kind of rely on for this whole birthing business are going be hours away on the same day just makes me a bit edgy and thinking I'll be going into labor that day, all alone with no one to watch the kids or help me make it through labor.

Basically, I'm getting a bit panicky about the whole birthing thing. I know I've done it twice before. But suddenly I'm all self-conscious again, particularly since I'm trying to do this gracefully at home without meds. And then I remembered that there isn't anything graceful about giving birth. Urgh...

What else besides all that? More Church drama. It's really not easy being in a ward with, urm, very unique people. I've just never run into a bunch of people who are so set in their ways. We still have a lot of primary/nursery issues - and the fact that the primary president seriously runs the show like a drill sergeant and is someone who you honestly CANNOT talk to, doesn't help anything. I mean, Henry cannot get through to this lady. And I've never seen Henry not get along with people and being able to work with even the most difficult people. He's just the kind of person everyone gets along with, and he manages to get along with everyone else. Yet, he's kind of ready to just throw in the towel, because he's being so micromanaged on every level it's just not very fun anymore, and whatever he says just gets ignored.

It's tough. And then you'd think maybe you can talk to the bishop. Yeah, maybe. Except, then you also have this bishop who's also this total micro-manager/control-freak, who's wife on top of it all, happens to be the best friend of the primary president (and her counselor). So, you're dealing with this awkward clique thing going on, along with all of these people also being retirees and converts, making them these uber-eager members who're very "by the book" about everything. Arghhhhh....I just want to rip out my hair. It's been seriously tough on both Henry and I to deal with the craziness of it all. But I think we're getting to the point of learning to just ignore the circus and do our own thing - let the consequences follow. Still so frustrating when it doesn't have to be like that.

And what else? Sophia is still loving pre-school. Alba is talking a lot more. And both of them are just being cute and wonderful and fun and crazy and everything else. I should write more about them, but I'm done for tonight.

Here are a few pics. Maybe I'll try and do a more detailed up-date on the kids in the next few days, before baby comes and takes over all our time/sleep etc.

Sophia taking pictures - I thought this was a pretty good one...or, at least better than the one of Henry sitting on the toilet pooping.

Someone got into our dresser...

First egg from our new chickens - the kids were so excited, we had to take pictures. And then they had to touch it, over and over, ...until it broke. Of course.