A Teased Cotton Ball

     If this is the first time you are reading my journey there are two things you should know, one, you may want to start from the beginning and two, I keep it very honest! The good, the bad and the ugly.  The good is, of course, the babies, the bad is all the pain, and the ugly is...well the ugly is my hair!   Yes I own a salon, one filled with amazing, talented and generous people, so generous in fact that since I haven't been able to go into work much, a few have been kind enough to come to my home and do my hair and/or bring me the product needed so that I could do it myself.
                                                                        ~side bar~
   Those who do their color by themselves at home, must be double jointed!  I have the hardest time reaching all areas of my head(and I have a small head). My arms start going numb and then I only end up coloring the areas that you can see; however, I have been told that in reality I am only putting color on areas that I can see, because the back of my head never looks like the front!  and trying to give yourself a scalp massage in the shower, is just NOT the same, and that is my favorite part!

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   Doing my hair myself, however, is not the reason it looks ugly.  So many factors go into healthy shiny hair, and all those factors are being sucked out of me by my babies!  I have NO moisture left in my hair or skin.  My hair looks like a teased cotton ball! To be fair, I have always had hard hair, it is baby fine, curly and has seen it's fair share of processes(going blonde, brunette, red, back blonde, straightened...etc). When I first got pregnant I was an awesome shade of copper(think Black Widow from the Avengers) then as my body started growing, I became antsy with not being able to control the changes that were occurring, so I figured I would go back blonde and feel lovely once again(that is one thing I have noticed in the salon is that when someone comes in for a major change, there is usually a major life change taking place as well)!   When asked what I do for a living and I answer, people instinctively look at my hair(consciously or not) every single time, without fail, and the past weeks the reaction has been "oh...yeah?"  Rightfully so, with my hair lacking everything needed to be healthy going back blonde has proven quite a challenge, my texture was that of a teased cotton ball and the color was that of a canary's crotch!!!  Er go I have decided to go a few shades darker and not further embarrass myself or my talented team of salon professionals.
    I have been following the quad journey of the Gardner's.  Their first ultra sound picture with their shocked faces went viral and she just recently delivered four healthy baby girls.  The pictures that are posted on their Facebook page are absolutely lovely! She looks amazing, pregnant with four babies, she had a beautifully round belly, and even on hospital bed rest she had her hair and make-up done. (I  truly cannot even dislike her in the littlest bit, because she is an amazing lady who loves the Lord and is using her 15minutes of fame to educate on the struggles of infertility and the love of Jesus Christ!) I am in awe at how some people, with high order multiples, only change in their belly!  I no longer recognize my physical self!  My belly is no where close to perfectly round, it has weird bulges and the right side appears to be larger than the left( I suppose that is where they are all hanging out at the moment). My feet swell at night, even if I haven't been on them.  My skin is tight and itchy in most places and in other areas, that used to be tight,  now, dare I say...sag!  My nails are peeling and my hair struggles have already been mentioned.  My nose is constantly stopped up and my acid reflux should have it's own Twitter page!
     I am changing, and depending on the day, it could be more physical or more emotional changes. I am not going to pretend it has been easy or beautiful.  When someone comments "beautiful" on a belly picture that I have posted, I can't help but get teary because the majesty of growing four human lives is absolutely beautiful, but what the body goes through to do so is anything but!  I say that with a smile because I will gladly take all this on and more to get these babies to 32 weeks.  No amount of beauty or physical comfort compares to the love I have for my babies and my desire to keep them baking as long as possible!

~A heartfelt thank you to all those who have been praying for our family.  Your texts, emails, and phone calls help keep the days from feeling so long.  Those who have provided us with meals, diapers, wipes, baby clothes(new and used), and other needed items have truly been a blessing to our family.  The saying "it takes a village" rings true and I praise God for my amazing village!