desperately seeking camera cord...

I give up. it doesn't seem to be anywhere. My theory is, I took it home, and left it on someone's desk. If anyone has seen a grey cord, with a USB end on one end, and a mini USB looking thing on the other, and have no idea where it's from, it's probably my camera cord. I think i may just have to admit defeat and buy a new one, which is really annoying. They aren't universal, and it was tough finding the last one in the store. As I recall, the girl had to dig around in the back for the right model.

But anyway, thought I'd better pop in anyway. Things are a little hairy around here. John's about the start school, both kids have stopped sleeping, Joan has her first foot brace, and is at the hospital every week, it looks like our building just sold, and I'm about to give birth. Nothing we can't handle. Just a lot on the minds.

I'll get baby 3 stuff out of the way first - I had yet another ultrasound (I think I've had 5). I had one of those professional techs who won't say anything, which always starts me worrying. She said the fluid may be too plentiful, but she'll have to graph everything out and the doc will let me know the verdict. Unfortunately, I won't be able to know until I see the doc next Friday, which is when she'll tell me if I'm in for an induction in the next few days afterwards, or if all is well, and she'll let labour progress on its own. A week is a long time to wait for that kind of news. Mike's hoping I go early. I think he's getting sick of me groaning in pain every time I get up from a chair, and my constant complaining about how uncomfortable I am. I don't remember feeling this miserable or uncomfortable for the other two, but Mike vehemently insists I've gotten this way every time, and just forget.

On the Joan front, things have been frustrating, but are improving. She got her leg brace just over a week ago. She's taken to it pretty well. She balks a little when i bring it out each morning, but once it's on, she's fine to leave it on all day, which is what we're supposed to do. problem is, it's a bit clunky, so she's had to reteach herself how to do everything with it on. For the first couple days,she couldn't do anything. She couldn't pull up. She even had trouble scooting. It was torturous to watch, knowing how little she can do to begin with, then seeing all her progress erased. She would get frustrated, too, but she plugged on, and can manoeuvre pretty well in it now. She's back to climbing up stairs and couches, and is interested in walking again. It's made a big difference in her gait. They asked a physiotherapist to come observe her using it at one of her appointments, and she said it's giving her a nice heel-strike pattern to her walk, instead of dragging her bad foot around. It still sticks out to the side a little, but they said over time, that should vanish, as her brain figures out it doesn't need to do that anymore. They told me to get her to play soccer with John, so she gets used to jabbing her foot straight out in front, to reinforce those neural pathways. I was a little self-conscious taking her out and about in the brace at first, but now it's just normal. Unlike the hand brace, which can be limited to home use, the leg brace must be worn at all times, so it's out there for everyone to see. A few people have definitely noticed it, but don't seem to know what it is. They just look a little confused, then go about their business. But it's pretty discreet. Most of it is covered by pants, and I chose a soft violet with little butterflies, so it's not that bold. Some of the patterns were pretty wild. if John had been there to help pick, she probably would have wound up with the neon race car pattern, or the electric pink flowers, or something like that. The next big hurdle is finding the right shoes for it. She has to wear shoes over it, but they have to be a wide width, which is hard to find in kids' shoes. We found one pair, but the soles were so clunky, that combined with the AFO, she just couldn't get anywhere. So with her OT's blessing, we switched her back to Robeez, just for traction, until she's used to the brace itself, then will step it up to the shoes as well, so it's less frustrating for her. Her OT said that's totally fine, because she's been so used to soft shoes, the brace PLUS hard shoes was probably too much for her to handle, and seemed to lead to a lot of the frustrations in the first few days. But the shoes we got were too big anyway, so we have to go back on the hunt. Sigh. Other than that, she's fine. She's in a really clingy stage. She won't sleep unless she's in our bed. Even if I sneak her back to her own in the night, she wakes up within minutes, and howls to come back. It drives Mike nuts, because it's him she wants to cuddle with, not me. So he's waking up with this little body smushed against him, and no matter how far over he moves, she shimmies over to smush right back in. It's a phase - John went through it too, at this age. I think it's because she's weaned herself, so she needs that extra creature comfort that used to come from nursing. Unfortunately, John never likes to be left out, so he's been sneaking back into our bed at night, too. So all four of us, including my huge belly, are all squished into our bed. Should be extremely interesting, if they're still doing it once baby three arrives. Maybe I'll just leave the kids with Mike, and go sleep with the baby on the couch. Needless to say, we think our next bed will be a king.

On the John front, it's all about school, school, school! I went to the orientation last week, to get the rule book, and meet his teacher. I think he's going to like her, but I think the first day is going to be rough. He still remembers Becky and Sue, his teachers from Best Start, and misses them terribly. He still seems to think they're going to be there at this school, no matter how many times I explain it to him. The first class is a parented one - I have to be there to introduce him to the system and help him settle in. At first i thought it was a silly thing, but now that it's getting close and Becky and Sue talk has been increasing, I'm thinking it might be good to have me there to talk him through it, and explain the situation to the new teacher if he finds it upsetting. I know he'll be fine overall - the absence of Becky and Sue is the only thing I'm worried about. If he has a meltdown at all, it will be over that.

His first class is on Wednesday (Sept 3). He's already getting prepared, with a unique outfit he's selected, and has been wearing around the house, just in case school suddenly starts without warning, I guess. It consists of a camo bike helmet, which is styled like an army helmet, a pair of neon green sunglasses, snow boots, shorts, his backpack, an umbrella, and the T-shirt his school sent home for him, for field trip days. He's prepared for everything...and nothing. It's quite a sight. When he first put on this crazy ensemble, he walked up to us, his face completely deadpan, and stated "My name... is Four." We couldn't stop laughing. We're still laughing, to be honest. Mike's trying to add to the image by teaching him various communist and fascist solutes and chants. I think this is honestly the look John has in mind for the first day of school. And you know, OK. It's not hurting anything. He says he wants his teacher to laugh, and there's no way she won't, so if he emerges from his room next Wednesday as Four, all the power to him.

In random news, Mike is murmuring about a road trip to Dryden in the very late fall/early winter. I guess he got some not-so-great-news about people's state of health, and is feeling a strong tug to come home. But we'll see what the fall brings, in terms of work and school and babies and whatnot. It won't be a plane trip with me and three kids - he wants to come for this one too, so it will be a big family thing.

We thought briefly about buying a minivan. They're awfully cheap these days. But we're going to hold off a little. We decided it would be better to spend our extra cash closing out credit card accounts, rather than upgrading now. A minivan is definitely in our future, but not for a little while yet. We'll see how horrible it is with three car seats in the back of the Nissan first. I think it was the right decision. I see people with three kids in little sedans all the time. And it allowed us to pay off two more credit cards, which was a good feeling. Just one more to go! Woohoo! Oh, and a few pesky student loans. Amazing how much debt we got ourselves into. I don't know how we survived it without going bankrupt. But the end is in sight, and the savings are growing, which is nice.

I keep looking for my old house on MLS, but it looks like the guy who bought it is actually living in it, which would be awesome, if true. Jeremy said he saw it now and then, as he rode past on the bus. All the trim has been redone, and this spring, they were replacing the front porch. I imagine he did the roof right away. If the trim looked new, maybe he replaced the windows too. Jer wouldn't be able to tell that, though, especially from a bus. If we're ever back in southern Ontario, we're going to go check it out. Not sure if we're going to be creepy and ask for a look inside, but I'd love to know how much has been changed.

Speaking of houses, ours has an offer on it. There's a home inspection on Tuesday. The agent says he doesn't know what the buyer's plans are for the place. It may even fall through with the inspection - it's in rough shape, this old place, and the buyer didn't take a very good look around himself. I have a feeling we'll be moving Nov 30. They re-rented the other side last month, so now WE'RE the ones with an expiring lease. So, our side will probably be renovated first, if that's the plan. I can't see it being a good investment otherwise. If he's doing an inspection, he's probably not going to doze it, which means he's likely going to renovate it into one of those swanky apartments, and re-rent for a small fortune. It could be a blessing in disguise. I think with another kid, this place is going to feel a little cramped. We figured we could go another year here, but it might be better to get something slightly larger. But we'll see how it unfolds. I'm so not interested in moving again so soon. Not sure yet if we get one or two months notice that our lease isn't being renewed - I'll have to dig up our lease to find out. I think it's two, but I could be wrong.