My Less Than Stellar Morning

Have you ever had a day where it was just one thing after another... that if you didn't write it down, your kids would never believe it happened the way you said. This morning was like that for me.
So, Nathan has been sick since Sunday. He's been running a fever of 104, a nasty cough, is tired and doesn't eat much. I took him to the Dr. on Monday, and it's just a virus. This morning he started coughing so hard that he threw up all over my recliner, his blanket and himself, then again all over the floor. I cleaned it up as best I could (knowing that I'd need to get out the carpet/upholstery cleaner when I had more time). Poor kid, I feel so bad for him, though he's taking it like a trooper. Abby wasn't too happy about me laying her down on my bed to clean up the mess. I thought it would make her happy if I changed her diaper then fed her. What do you know, she peed all over my bed while I had her diaper off. I stripped her down and hauled her wet clothes to the laundry, only to find Matthew walking down the hallway with a cup of yogurt. The spoon flipped out, sending a huge glob of peach yogurt all over the floor, which Matt promptly stepped in and tracked around the house. This all happened within 2 minutes, and I thought I'd had enough. I called Rob to see if he was done with his job, and whew, he was on his way home. Nathan laid down on my bed, and I sat on the couch to feed Abby. Just as she was dosing off, Nathan came in the room saying that he had a bad bloody nose. Rob had made it home and was mowing the lawn, so I hollered out the door for him to come help Nathan with his nose. As Rob was walking in the door, Abby spit up all over me and herself. I got us cleaned up and went into the bathroom to check how the boys were doing. It looked like something from a horror movie. Blood was everywhere. Have you ever seen what happens when you mix a bad cough with a bad bloody nose?! It means blood splattered all over the wall, the mirror, the counter, Nathan's clothes, a trail of blood drips on the floor, and a sink full of blood. Oh, and blood on my bed, where he got the bloody nose. Oh well, I already needed to wash my comforter after it got peed on. They got the nose to stop bleeding, and Rob cleaned up the bathroom while I rinsed out the bloody clothes. As I was getting Abby to sleep, I was kind of laughing about the morning, and thinking that all I needed was some diarrhea and we'd have all the bodily fluids covered for the day. A short while after I laid her down, she woke up crying. Sure enough, she'd had a blow-out. Nathan ended up having 2 more bloody noses (he can't keep himself from picking at the crusty blood in his nose), and he's worrying me with as sick as he's been. His doctor wants me to bring him in tomorrow. (sigh)
As I sat on the couch feeding Abby again (it seems like that's about all I do) I shook my head at what a crazy day it had been- and it was barely noon! Abby stopped eating, looked up at me and gave me a big grin, dimples and all. She even cooed at me for the first time!!! Aw, the life of a Mother! I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!

'Appy Birday To Me

The other day Matthew said, "hey guys, 'appy birday to me." It made me feel guilty that guess what? I hadn't posted anything about his birthday (nor posted much of anything lately). So here it goes.Matthew turned 2 the day before Abby was born. He loved every minute of being the birthday boy. All day, and for several days following, he sang "appy birday to me" over and over. Rob said that he had never seen anyone enjoy it being their birthday as much as Matthew. We didn't even do anything special either. Evan and Toni helped us with painting our old house, then we all had dinner and cake and ice cream.

Here is Matthew singing the birthday song. He got practice singing to his Daddy for his birthday not too long before.

I don't think I've ever had such a plain cake for any of my kid's birthdays, but he didn't mind. He just wanted the ice cream anyway.

He loves his Disney Cars semi trucks.

We love our Matthew! He is such a character. He does funny voices, animal sounds, jumps and runs around like a spaz, and keeps us hopping. He loves cars, balls, being outside and food- especially if it's from someone else's plate. He's the biggest mooch ever. His dad and grandpas all know that if they have food, they should expect him to request a bite and then another... He makes us laugh and laugh every day. He can also throw the biggest tantrums this family has ever seen, leaving me ready to pull my hair out. He makes up for it though by giving the biggest and best hugs. It melts my heart when he gives me a huge hug and says, "love you Mom."

Matthew the Big Brother

He is thrilled to be a big brother. I was worried that he would have a rough time with a new baby in the family, but I have sensed no animosity in him. He loves that little "Avee," as he calls her. Whenever he hears her crying, he calls out, "Oh, Avee crying. Comin' Avee." Then he runs to wherever she is. He sings Twinkle, twinkle, little star to her when she is sad. Here he is giving her a kiss and reading Go Dog Go to her.

When he wants to hold her he says, "I hold it." He gets the biggest grin on his face every time he gets to hold her. These pictures of him with Tara & Steve's new puppy were just too cute to not post. He loves doggy kisses. Blech!

We love you Handsome!

Our Sweet Little Abby

Our cute little Abby is already 2 weeks old, and I haven't posted anything about her yet! Shame on me. She is so sweet and so tiny! She really is an absolute angel. We all just adore her. Nathan loves to hold her, Sarah hugs and kisses her, and Matthew rubs her soft hair and says "cute" and "sweet."

She looks so much like Sarah did as a baby, that it took me a while to not call her Sarah. Check out the dimples in her cheeks.

She is such a good baby. She hardly fusses, sleeps great, and is so sweet. Lately, she's only been waking up once in the night. I don't sleep that great because I wake up constantly to check on her and make sure she's ok. I told the Dr. that I didn't know whether to cheer that she sleeps so well, or to worry. He said that since she's gaining weight well, and is alert and active when she's awake, that I should be happy, and let her sleep. Yeah!!! When we were bringing her home from the hospital, I warned her that she was coming home to a really loud house, and that she'd have to sleep through it. She listened. She sleeps through loud kids, and loud tools. Rob's been cutting tile, hammering etc. and it doesn't faze her. I am so lucky- and grateful!!!

After we chose the name Abigail, we found that it means "Father's joy" or "Father rejoices." Seems fitting.

Since this is sort-of my journal, I'll go into more details about her birth etc. Don't feel that you need to read it all. I'm too tired to try to be funny or clever, but at least I'm getting it recorded before I forget.

We had a pretty rough go of things the first week-and-a-half we had her home, but not from any doing on her part. We came home from the hospital to a sick Sarah and Matthew. They had terrible coughs, sore throats, fevers, and noses that ran like a faucet. Life was no fun at all for a while. Matthew wanted to be held all the time, which was hard to do while feeding a newborn and trying to keep him away from her. I was changing my t-shirt constantly, because he would slime me with snot. The sickies woke up many times in the night, especially when they got ear infections. Once we got them on antibiotics, things improved pretty quickly. We are so thankful that nobody else got sick, especially Abby.
So... between having a newborn, sick kids, trying to unpack my house, get projects done around the house (like getting the laundry room and master bath done), and getting Nathan to and from school 20 minutes away everyday, life has been pretty hectic. I hope that's a good enough excuse for not posting anything about Abby for so long. Life has settled down a lot, and we are doing great.

A HUGE THANK YOU to my sister TERRI, who came and stayed with our kids, and took care of all of us for several days. We wouldn't have survived without her! I don't think I've ever had to have anyone do my laundry for me before, yet she did load after load, after load. Abby was fussy her first night home, so Terri kept her for several hours so I could sleep. She took kids to school... Thank you, thank you, thank you!

The Labor

I didn't think there was any way that I would go into labor on my own before I was to be induced on the 28th. So boy was I surprised on Saturday the 25th when I started feeling a constant trickle. I had Rob hurry and sort through boxes of books yet to be unpacked, to find my "What to Expect when you're Expecting" book. I hadn't even looked at it the entire pregnancy. Sure enough, it said that some women get just a trickle when their water breaks. Going into labor on my own was completely foreign to me, so I didn't know quite what to expect. I ran around trying to clean and pack my bag (something I hadn't done yet, even though it was my due date). I wasn't having hard contractions yet, and we didn't want to have to wait at the hospital too long, so we took our time getting ready to go. I had already made an appointment to show our old house to prospective renters, so we did that then headed to Jim's to drop off the kids until Terri could get here. We hung out there for a while until the contractions got me thinking we'd better be on our way. Rob really didn't want to deliver the baby in the Tahoe, so he hurried right there.

We got settled in at the hospital around 1:30 p.m. I was at a 4 and 100% when I got to the hospital, but the contractions weren't very consistent. The nurse gave me a little pitocin, and that made the contractions come on really fast and really hard. My labor was really pretty easy, at least after the epidural! By about 3:30 I was ready to go, but we had to wait for the Dr. who got there at 4. All it took was one push, and Abby was here. Terri got to the hospital to exchange cars with us just in time. I had her stay for the delivery. She said that I made it look easy, but really- it was! Abby was crying at the top of her lungs as soon as her head was out.

In the evening, when Terri brought the kids up to see the baby, she was still in the nursery getting warmed up. The nurses let the kids into the nursery to get a good look at her ( I guess Abby was the only baby in the nursery at the time). The nurse put more ink on Abby's foot, and stamped it on Sarah's hand. She was so thrilled, and didn't want to wash her hand for days.

Now Sarah tells everyone, "I got just what I wanted, a baby sister!" And she tells them about getting her baby's foot stamped on her hand. After bathing Abby, the nurses had Sarah come back to the nursery to choose a bow to put in her hair. That left Sarah beaming as well.

Thanks to my lievert Rob, who was so good during and after the delivery. I almost broke his fingers, squeezing them so hard during contractions, and while getting my epidural. I don't know what I would do without him. Thanks Terri, for everything. And thanks Jim and Lynette, for watching the kids, with no notice. I sure miss my parents being here for this! When I called them in Guam to tell them we had a baby girl, I was almost crying too hard to get the words out. What a special event for our family. We love that little girl, and are so grateful that she made it here safe and sound!

The New Addition!

Jill asked me (Terri) to post to her blog today. I bet you can guess why she is unable to do it herself. You're right, she's at the hospital with the newest addition to their family. Jill can share all the details with you when she gets a chance, but I will share some pictures.

Here is Nathan with his new baby SISTER!

Sarah was so excited it was a girl weighing in at 7lbs 1.5 oz and 20 inches long.

Jill delivered with just ONE push at 4:04 pm, Saturday, April 25 (her due date)! And though surprised to have gone into labor on her own is doing great!

Here is the whole family. Matthew wasn't interested in holding the baby, but demonstrated his excitement by jumping. He didn't want to leave the nursery window and when asked what he thought of his baby sister said, "FUN!"

We are anxious to find out what they will name this beautiful baby girl!

No Baby Yet! Any Guesses?

Here I am, two days from my due date, and no baby yet. It's not a surprise really. I don't think my body knows how to go into labor on its own- I've been induced on all three so far. I'm not really ready for a baby to come yet anyway, so we're good. I really ought to pack a hospital bag just in case. Today my Dr. said that I'm at a 3 and 70%, so we're making progress. I'm scheduled to be induced on April 28th. I'm glad that my Dr. will let me go a little past my due date, just so I can get more done... but there is just something magical about the due date you've been looking forward to for 9 months. To see that date come and go with no baby kind of stinks. I'm mostly feeling pretty well, or as well as can be expected at this point.

So now the question- BOY or GIRL? What do you think?! The Dr. and nurses in the delivery room get so excited when someone comes in not knowing what they are having. Everyone is on their toes to find out. I sure am!!! With the other kids we've pretty much had a feeling either way, but this baby is a mystery. Some days I'm thinking boy, and other days I think it's a girl. We soon shall see.

How about size? I've had a 9 lbs 1 oz, a 7 lbs 11 oz, and a 8 lbs 4 oz baby.

Names? That's right, we haven't even come up with names yet. Any suggestions?!

As you can see, I'm feeling rather ill prepared for the arrival of our little one. It will all be ok though; we're flexible. We're getting a little better settled in each day. I'm so glad that Terri is willing to come and stay with the kids when this baby comes. She is a life saver! I'll keep you posted if anything happens.

Moving Stinks!

Moving is not all it's cracked up to be... especially while 9 months pregnant! Our new home really wasn't ready for us to move into, but we just couldn't wait any longer, or we'd have a newborn baby in the mix. Rob's been working his tail off, but of course, there's always delays and complications. We'll get into that later. Anyway... we've been living in our new home for a week now. We think we will love it here (we really hope so). We just haven't really spent much time here yet. I take Nathan to his old school in the morning, work on packing odds and ends, or cleaning our old house. I bring the kids here for naps (and hope I get a nap too), then have to get Nathan in the afternoon and work on the old house some more. I'm almost done there, so hopefully we'll get on a more normal schedule soon. The kids seem to be adjusting well. Nathan is anxious to make new friends here. Sarah seems to just want to see her old friends. Matthew is doing well in his own room, and in a big-boy bed! Yeah! The kids love playing outside, and riding scooters in the unfinished portion of the basement.

We've still got a lot of boxes to unpack, but we are making progress. Rob will finish the tile in our laundry room tomorrow, so we'll be able to move our washer and dryer over soon (HOORAY!). We have been so blessed to have so much help from family and friends. Terri has been here many times helping with painting, cleaning, packing, unpacking... you name it! My sis-in-law Toni has been here a lot too, helping with everything (Evan too). Laura brought her crew up yesterday to help me. Jeannie has watched my kids many times, helped pack, and teased me about my pack-rat tendencies (I was hoping someone would laugh at me for all the things I've been storing away- maybe it will help me get rid of some of it). What can I say?! I inherited it from my parents. Rob's a pack-rat too- also inherited from his parents. There's just too many people to name... Amy had us over for a yummy dinner, Rob's sisters and nieces and nephews painted. Jim painted and watched kids. Our home teacher and Dave helped haul the heavy stuff. I feel like I'm getting an Emmy or something and worried I'll forget to thank someone. Anyway... we are so grateful for all the help!!! We have the best family and friends. I feel like I can still do a lot, but my energy goes really fast. I was feeling really overwhelmed last week, thinking I would never be able to get a working kitchen... then Terri and Toni scrubbed my floor on their hands and knees, unpacked my pantry, and took away my anxiety. Thank you everyone!!!

Now for a word on delays... first of all, there have been many projects here that have turned into bigger projects and taken extra time. It's just the nature of fixing up a house, and to be expected. Then the night before our big move, I had helped Rob move a bunch of stuff over to our new home. He parked his pickup and trailer on the curb while he unloaded the Tahoe. I took the kids home to bed while he stayed and worked on things for a while. He heard a loud collision outside, and ran out to find a 19 year-old kid had run his car into the back of our pickup- somehow missing the trailer. He had smashed his face on the windshield and his nose was bleeding all over, so Rob called 911. An ambulance, three cops, and the huge ladder fire truck all responded to the accident, thus prompting Rob to meet some of our new neighbors (including the 19 year-old, who only lives 3 doors down). What a mess! Now Rob has had to take time to have his truck looked at... insurance...estimates... The bumper is about 6" too high now, so the tailgate won't come down. Not good for while moving.

And the driver says he was only going 10 mph. What do you think?! The cops didn't believe his story either. He also claims he was wearing his seat belt. I don't know how you'd hit your face on the windshield, just under the rear view mirror while wearing a seat belt, but...Matthew walked down the street with me to check out the crunched car.We had a huge rainstorm this week. Rob got a call from one of our tenants saying that the window well was completely filled up with water. Rob hurried over there and pumped out the water out that he could, but the mud from under the driveway caved into the window well again (despite the plywood he put in). It's a long story... let's just say this was the 4th time he's had to dig the window well out. He was covered from head to toe in mud, and spent an entire day working on the getting to the french drain, and trying to unclog it etc. Then he spent most of the next day pulling out pad, drying out carpet and relaying it. It was a nightmare! Hopefully it's resolved now. Here are some old pictures of the fun.

He's hauled this much (and more) out of that window well. Now he'll have to cut a hole in the driveway and replace the fill that had caved in.

Hopefully this week will go better, and we'll feel more settled in. I'm due on Saturday, and can't believe it. I'm probably the only woman my OB has that begs him to not let their baby come early. I've got way too much to do first. The baby is a lot easier to take care of in my tummy. I'll post when we have our new arrival.

Egg Rolling

When my friend Jeannie was growing up, they always went egg rolling the day before Easter. It sounded like fun, so last year we started doing it together. It sounds crazy, but is a lot of fun. First we colored our boiled eggs.It was the day before our big move, so we had to be quick about it (and my patience level was very low). My poor kids probably think they have the orneriest mom in the world. But hey, we did it! For egg rolling, we go to the local high school and throw our eggs down a really steep hill on the backside of the stadium. I guess the real intent is to race your eggs down the hill, but my kids don't care about that. They just love hucking them down the hill to see if they explode. They had a ball! Here's Sarah and Tyler.





Here's the egg rolling aftermath. Anyone need eggs for potato salad? My dad came last year to our first annual egg rolling event. He couldn't stand the thought of perfectly good food going to waste, so when he found larger, salvageable pieces, he ate them:) Jeannie and I look at it as cheap entertainment. I'm not super fond of boiled eggs anyway, and you can't have Easter without dying eggs.The next day was Saturday, and the kids had been looking forward to the big Easter Egg Hunt at the city park. It was also moving day for us, so I was up early getting stuff ready before people came to help us move our big stuff. Needless to say, we were a little late getting to the park. The siren sounded while we were running through the parking lot. I yelled for the kids to run, and just find eggs wherever they could. I took Sarah and Matthew to the closest group of egg hunters, the 0-2 year-olds. There were still plenty of eggs for them to find. Nathan apparently hadn't heard the part about finding eggs wherever, and tried in vain to find the 7 year-old area- he didn't get a single egg! When I found him he had huge alligator tears running down his face. I felt so terrible. He had been looking forward to this all year. Sarah agreed to share her eggs with him, so that helped a little. Here they are looking thrilled about the hunt- Nathan mad about not getting any eggs, and Sarah mad that we were taking all the candy out of the eggs and putting it into Nathan's basket so we could return the eggs to the cityThis sad tale has a happy ending though. Inside one of the eggs was a coupon for a blue-nosed bear to be picked up at the bowery. Sarah let Nathan have it, and he returned from the bowery clutching a bear, with a huge grin on his face. He loves nothing more than a new stuffed animal!

I hope you had a great Easter. For the past several years we've used a great book called something like, Celebrating a Christ Centered Easter. It has activities, stories, recipes etc. to do for each day, the week leading up to Easter. You learn about what Christ did each of his last days before His Crucifixion. It's awesome, and helps keep the focus on Christ, and not eggs and bunnies. Unfortunately, this year our book was packed somewhere (and we were a bit busy), so our Easter celebration wasn't so great. I'm so grateful for my Savior, and his Atonement! I'm thankful for his love for me, and I hope to be successful in helping my children develop a great love for Him. Happy Easter!