Tuesday, November 2, 2010

If You Want To Read About My Woes

In case you missed it, yesterday I announced my pregnancy and mentioned that I would be putting up a blog specifically related to being pregnant with hyperemesis. I've only written my history so far, my first four pregnancy experiences, but here is the link to that blog:


Hyperemesis......Again

Since the purpose of writing that blog is primarily so people can understand and be more aware of what hyperemesis actually is and how it effects (affects?) a woman's pregnancy, I'll tell you up front that there will likely be mention of things like bleeding, bowel movements, vomiting, and the like. So.....not quite G rated. If you're not interested in reading about any of the aforementioned things, I suggest you just stick to this blog. :) Or if you prefer to look at pretty pictures, my photography blog.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Homeschool, Day..........?

I'm too lazy to check the calendar right now, but we're treading along with homeschooling. I've long given up the idea of unit studies as I found them to be extremely time-consuming. We are focusing on reading, writing and identifying letters and numbers (up to 20) right now and we throw in some books about random things as well. It's far more enjoyable for me than when I was spending hours and hours just coming up with 20 books and an outline for one unit study!

The kids are doing really well with their reading and slowly becoming faster at identifying words and sounds. I am loving the book we're using and am so thankful for those who recommended it to me.

I also cannot go on without putting in a plug for the show Sid the Science Kid. I am not much for Barney, Elmo, Sesame Street, etc., but this show is seriously full of learning. My three older kids love it and I appreciate the fact that they are gleaning some science by watching it....especially since I'm not all that interested in science myself. I know there are better moms than me out there who refuse to turn on the TV for their children, but I have not found myself on their tier just yet.

In other news, we are very excited to be welcoming our fifth child into the world early next summer! Due to my only being a few months along and very sick, school has been a little bit slower the past few weeks. We're doing at least 2 days per week, but my goal is 3-4. I appreciate the flexibility of homeschooling and know that my kids are doing great despite the fact that we are taking a few more breaks than planned.

How sick does one have to be in order to alter their school calendar? Well.....when pregnant, I suffer from hyperemesis, a condition of severe morning sickness and excessive nausea and vomiting that effects about 1% of pregnant women. I literally never feel good. Like....ever. In fact, I rejoiced over a 2-minute period of normalcy this morning when I first arose from my bed.

Due to the fact that this condition is almost always misunderstood by others and doesn't really receive much exposure, I've decided to record my journey on another blog. When I get things up and running, I'll post a link to it for those of you who are interested in reading more about that. In the meantime, if you're interested in learning more about this condition, you can visit the HER Foundation website.