Royal Madness!

It should come as no surprise I've consumed myself in the royal wedding madness. Elliette and I were up at three a.m. watching the all the coverage. Now, granted the baby woke me up to eat, but I probably would have set an alarm if I had not had one in a crib a few feet from my bed. As I'm watching the wedding (for the third time, pathetic I know) a list of things have popped in my head. Some questions, some statements, but I thought - why not write them down. So for your reading pleasure, here is my internal commentary on the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge:

1. Prince William is nearly bald at 28. Poor guy. I wonder if he'll get hair plugs or something.He looks much more handsome with a hat for sure.

2. I now know that Kate was born in January, which makes her a few months older than William.

3. For the longest time the names I had picked out for my "kids" were Will and Kate. So glad I didn't go with that now. not that I still don't like the names. When we first got married, Jon loved the name Cullen for a boy if we ever had one, and I'm glad we didn't use that either because people would assume we used the names for famous figures instead of why we originally picked them.

4. At the end of the ceremony everyone in the church sings the British national anthem "God Save the Queen", two thoughts on this. a - the queen did not sing at all, I wonder why?
b - will their national anthem change to "God Save the King" when Charles takes the throne?

5. I absolutely LOVED LOVED LOVED Kate's wedding dress. Even if her arms didn't have to be covered I think the dress is still perfect, I loved the lace overlay. So classic and beautiful. Her sister - although just as beautiful, in no way stole the spotlight like some people suggest, Kate was gorgeous!

6. I think American women should wear more hats.

7. I loved the trees in Westminster Abbey. What a beautiful way to decorate such an ornate space.

8. I think I would rather hang out with Harry than William. He seems more down to earth.

9. Every time William salutes, Kate bows her head - I wonder why?

10. The two of them were absolutely beaming when they stepped out on the balcony!

Too fun! I'm glad they got married and gave me something to distract myself with. Thank You Wills and Kate!

I would like off this ride now, please!

I will begin by saying that God blessed our lives on April 15th, at 2:14 p.m. with the birth of our second daughter, Elliette Hope. My labor was so much better this time around than it was with Harper. I dilated much more quickly, the epidural worked, and her entry to the world was the most peaceful and heart wrenching moment I've had in my life in the last month. I couldn't be more thankful for that moment, I feel truly blessed.

In the days that have followed Elliette's birth I've been a busy, busy girl. Since I had so many complications prior to the birth with what they think might be gallbladder issues, I've been to the doctor many times. Harper was quite the fussy baby, my pediatrician convinced me that nursing was a better route to go this time around. With nursing comes a whole new range of emotions and trials. Thankfully on Monday, Elliette finally gained weight and we don't have to go back to the doctor every other day to weigh her. :) On Monday I also had a CAT scan done to check out all my abdominal organs. My general surgeon is wondering if my gallbladder is to blame in this on slot of never ending pain, she wanted to rule out several things at once. We go back in one week to learn the results. I've told Jon many times that I don't want there to be anything wrong, but I'm tired of living in a medical fog.

This morning, after a rough night with the baby, my mom came over to help Jon and I get some sleep. I woke up a few hours later with serious chills, I was in so much pain, everything hurt. I thought it was just exhaustion, Elle was literally up every 45 mins, shortly after lunch the chills had not gone away, so I decided to take my temp. Unfortunately, I had a really high fever. Jon called our doctor, who made us drive in to see her. After an unexpected afternoon in our OBGYN's office, the conclusion is that I have a uterine infection. My doctor said that since the uterus has so many blood vessels attached to it, infections spread quickly though the body. It's extremely painful. Thankfully I did NOT have to return to the hospital. I swear that place should give us a permanent room. She prescribed antibiotics, that should hopefully clear up my infection soon.

Although we've not made an official decision, all my doctors have told Jon and I that they highly recommend us not having any more children. My little body just can't handle another pregnancy. I know I am very blessed to have a healthy baby girl, I thank God daily for both of my girls. But this roller coaster ride has gone on long enough. I'm ready for it to stop and let me off. I feel like my body is falling apart and as much as I try I can't do anything to make it heal faster. I hope the fog will soon begin to clear and life will resume again as normally as possible.

Anticipation

Friday is the big day, Elliette is on the schedule to arrive on her Aunt Sierra's birthday. I am very thankful to have the pregnancy come to an end. I feel like her arrival has had a shadow cast against it because of all my pain issues. We are making final preparations and getting our little home ready for her big arrival.

I finally settled on a middle name - I think. :) The last time I was well enough to go to church we had a reading that stood out like a red alarm to me. I felt it was the confirmation I'd been looking for. Jon hasn't ruled it out, and thankfully he's been such a trooper with me on the couch zoned out most of the time. Here it is Romans 5:3-4 "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance character; and character hope"

Elliette Hope, your Daddy and I (and your big sister) are excited to meet you. For Mommy, it can't come soon enough!

What's next?

I'm not quite sure what life lesson I'm supposed to be learning with this pregnancy. As I lie here in the hospital for the second night in a row I can't help but wonder "why me"? As I woke up Thursday morning with severe pain, throwing up I knew I was having another gall bladder attack. I took my medication, but an hour later I felt the same. I've spent the last two days in the hospital with pain, they are pretty sure my gall bladder is to blame, but options of treatment are limited.

At this point I'm exhausted, I'm still in pain, and I'm ready for an ordinary day in the life of the Binkley family.

I never thought I'd say this

But, we now own a cat. Yes, you read that correctly. I, Kali Binkley, agreed to get a cat. For those that don't know me, I will admit I hate (yes I used the word hate) cats. I don't like anything about them. Thanks to an evil cat named Truman I somewhat fear cats. You might be asking yourself, then why did you get one? I'll be honest, I'm starting to think the same thing!

It all started a few weeks ago when the weather got warmer. We live in a quiet neighborhood and our house backs up to some woods. Well, with land comes little critters. If there is anything on this earth I hate more than cats, it's mice and snakes. Why do they all have to be part of the same food chain? We started hearing signs that the little critters were finding their way to our house. Jon quickly suggested getting an outdoor cat to help. I was a bit reluctant, but after some time and serious discussion about my involvement with the thing, I agreed.

We took little Harper to our local animal shelter today to see what was out there. We started in the adult cat room. I should clarify by saying that Jon and Harper started in that room. I watched from the hallway. She was like a kid at Disney World! It kinda broke my heart, ha! She had so much fun petting them and chasing them. I tried to get her to go in the puppy room, and she screamed and cried. She is definitely her daddy's girl. Then all three of us moved to the kitten room. I had one hand on the doorknob at all times. Jon found a really quiet and gentle cat. He tried to provoke it or get it to bite or scratch him. She just sat there. We took her to the desk to ask a few questions. We quickly learned her name was Dora. It really was a sign.

Dora now belongs to the Binkley's. She is strictly an outdoor only cat, but I'm pretty pleased with her attitude towards Harper. Jon knows I won't be to involved with it much and I hope she starts trapping little critters soon!

Heartbroken

This week has been full of emotions. A very dear friend of mine suffered the kind of loss no mother should. While I lay here tonight my heart breaks for her. You wish you could come up with words to comfort, but you know that nothing will make her hurt go away. I will instead send this message into the world.

William and Abraham, your mom and dad loved you for every moment of your life. I know how proud they were of both of you. I will tell you there are many, many people today who are proud of them too. I hope they know how much they are loved.

eMINTS, Updates and Nesting!

Last week my 4th grade team was very fortunate to get to attend the eMINTS Winter Conference in Columbia. We were able to attend all three days -which is incredible considering there are 7 sections of 4th grade and we were all gone for three days in a row! Being gone does have it's downfalls though. Sub plans are just so much work!! When you literally have to write down everything (and I mean everything) you do for three days in a row, it takes some time and organization. How did I make it 8 weeks? The thought of doing plans for 4 weeks right now seems daunting and overwhelming! We had a great time and learned so much. I secretly love going to these conferences because as a teacher you rarely get to hear of all the things other people are doing in their classrooms. It's such a treat to get to network! Plus - you get more than 25 minutes to eat lunch! :)

Baby Elliette is still growing! We had an ultrasound on Monday (we get one every 4 weeks now!) and her growth is normal. I'm a little freaked out at the moment because according to the ultrasound she is weighing in at a whooping 4.5 pounds (that's the 85th percentile people)! I fully plan on letting my doctor know that I will NOT push out a 10 pound baby. I know ultrasounds can be pretty inaccurate too, so I'm praying that she's not too big! The gallbladder is still flaring up every now and then when I eat a little too much fat or something tomato based. Most of the time I'm just really nauseous so the not eating doesn't bother me too much. My insulin levels have stayed in the ranges they've told me to keep them in (minus a few random flukes that left me in a tizzy, but all seems to be back to normal). My doctor did agree to induce me at 39 weeks (April 25) if I don't have her before then. Mainly because I think she knows how miserable I am. ha!

I've definitely started nesting. Maybe a better term for it would be FREAKING OUT. I feel like there is still so much to do before the new baby is here and I just can't seem to find the time to do it! I'm still on the hunt for bedding, and we really need to go through Harper's clothes and weed them out. I keep telling myself "someday" but pretty soon I'm going to be in labor and Jon's going to be digging the baby mattress out of the attic!

I hope the next few weeks bring a little less crazy in our lives, hopefully we can get some rest before this train takes us on the newborn ride all over again! What were we thinking?