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Typing with one hand is going to greatly increase the amount of time it takes me to type this and the number of typos.

At some point in the last week or so, Charlie became a very needy baby. What happened?? I used to be able to put him in his swing or in the Boppy when he was sleeping and have an hour or two to do what I wanted. Lately, as soon as I put him down, he wakes up and demands to be held. He will usually fall right back to sleep once I pick him up. I can't wait for mom to get here and become the designated baby holder. I can't get anything done! I am bouncing him on my exercise ball (we bought one when I was pregnant to help relieve pelvic discomfort in the last few days... I don't think we ever really used it for that...) because he really likes it. It is how Chad and I spend a lot of our time these days, so I'm hoping it will result in me looking like the girl on the box. Ask me about my six-pack abs!

In other news, my medical tests came back normal (of course) - so they are sending me for a couple more, and then they might take my gall bladder out. They said they have to do all of these tests first for the insurance to pay for the gall bladder-ectomy. (I'm pretty sure that's the medical term.)

Also, I went back to work this last week because my kids have a concert this upcoming week and I wanted to make sure they are ready. (They will be fine.) I also taught the children's choirs and directed the pep band at 2 basketball games. It was exhausting. All I can say is, I am counting down the days to summer vacation!

Random Observation

I have to update about Christmas sometime before I go back to work (or it'll never get done) but - the last few weeks have afforded me lots of evenings watching Wheel of Fortune. Like tonight. Chad is at work, Charlie is sleeping in his swing and Lady and I are just hanging out.

But - it's really awkward when someone thinks they know the answer to the puzzle, they excitedly exclaim that "I want to solve the puzzle!" and then they yell out something with a huge smile on their face, only to have Pat say "No - I'm sorry, that's incorrect." and you have to watch the smile slowly fade as the next person solves the puzzle instead. It makes me feel so bad for them! Here they are thinking they're going to win thousands of dollars or an awesome trip or something by solving the puzzle, only to find out that they aren't because they didn't actually know the answer to the puzzle. What a disappointment to have to awkwardly accept on national television!
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In other news - in case you missed out on the recent excitement, I ended up in Urgent Care on Thursday night for some severe abdominal pain on my right side. I was afraid it might be my appendix - as I have never felt anything like that before. My stomach had been dully aching basically since I came home from the hospital, and I hadn't been eating anything. It lasted about a half hour, so Chad convinced me to go to the doctor. One urine test, one blood draw, one CT scan, one XRay and 5 hours later, we were back home with no definitive answer as to what was wrong with me. We went to a specialist in Blackfoot the next day, who was sure the problem was with my gall bladder (common in post-partum women) so he ordered an ultrasound and a HIDA Scan. The earliest these could be done were today. Randomly, for the past few days, I have felt better than I've felt since leaving the hospital with Charlie. We are now waiting to hear back. It would be my luck that there will be absolutely nothing wrong with me. Not that that's a bad thing. It's just that I hardly ever go to the doctor for exactly this reason - things usually pass and then you're fine again. All these tests and carting Charlie around for them to find nothing wrong. That's part of why we waited so long to go to the hospital when I was in labor - I didn't want it to be false labor, or slow down, or stop, and get to the hospital only for them to tell me I wasn't really in labor, and to go home. So we'll see what happens. I am grateful for all of these doctors/specialists/technicians who are trying to help figure out what's wrong with me (if anything) but I will be glad to not be poked and prodded for a while.

Also - because I wasn't feeling well for the last 2 weeks, I hadn't really been eating anything. Therefore, Charlie wasn't really eating anything. So he hadn't gained back the weight he lost in the hospital. So he's being watched for weight gain. He was checked on Friday, put on a half formula diet, and then weighed again today. He gained 1 oz in those 4 days (not as much as they wanted). They're going to check him again on Friday.

*Sigh* For someone who has been relatively healthy their entire life, these last few days of tests and doctor visits have been exhausting.