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I've finally made it back from the dark hole of constant nausea.  Being sick for months on end is one thing, but being sick for months on end with two small children is something different entirely.  We survived, but it is a time we'd all like to forget.  Scott was truly the glue that held everything together.  He cooked lunch and dinner, did the dishes, went grocery shopping with me (so as not to have a repeat of the Walmart incident of 2007), changed Benson's dirty diapers, picked up the house, and entertained children.  Every ounce of my strength and patience was used up trying to make it through another hour of nausea.  It was all especially hard on Madeline.   Now we're slowly making the transition back to normal life.

One of the saddest side effects of morning sickness for me is the loss of joy in regards to food.  I love to plan, cook, and feed my family delicious, healthy food.  It is truly one of my greatest joys in life.  Not being able to do so leaves me empty in a way.  This time around, I had great plans for how we would get our meals.  Although this pregnancy was not planned (but very, very welcomed), I knew immediately that I was. I took an early test to confirm it, and then we went to work.  My parents came up one Saturday, and we made 34 freezer meals.  However, I didn't plan on having a severe aversion to garlic and onions.  Every meal we made had one or the other or both, sometimes in large quantities.  The first meal we tried was a lasagna, and I promptly told Scott that we were never to have that in our house again.  In fact, I couldn't even stand the smell of any of the freezer meals being brought into the house from the garage while still frozen solid.  Backfire.

We find out tomorrow morning the sex of our new child.  We'll be happy with either one, and really don't feel a tendency one way or the other.  I find it interesting how our parenting develops, evolves, and is different in many ways for each of our children.  This time around, I felt like we needed to have this baby in the hospital.  This has already been a more difficulty pregnancy than my other two were, and we're hoping everything goes well.  Mostly, we are so, so exited to add another child to this crazy crew.