Inside The Life of A New Wife. :o)

Love That Shot - Home Sweet Home Photo Entry

2011-06-24T21:01:00.001-07:00

Alright, my last photo entry for this week for this giveaway! :o) Today's photo challenge was "Home Sweet Home". I'm still in love with my most recent home project, my curtains to hide clutter in my bedroom, so I'm sharing one of those photos again.

And by the way, my bedroom has STAYED CLEAN since completing this project! It has getten a little messy here and there with dirty clothes or what-not, but nowhere near the atrocity that it was when I did the initial clean up. AND, I have also made my bed almost every single day as well. Yeah... I'm pretty proud of myself. 'Bout time I grew up in this area of my life, huh? ;o)

Yummm! Love That Shot Photo Challenge

2011-06-22T11:58:00.001-07:00

So I'm doing another entry for Love That Shot's Photo Challenge. Hey, I'm trying to win a cute camera bag, and a wrapped canvas print! ;o)

Anyways, today's challenge is "Yummm" and the picture that instantly came to mind was this one:

I made these amazing cupcakes (*ahem* If I do say so myself!) for my nurses after I had Logan last year. The nurses who took care of me in the days after my emergency c-section were amazing. I somehow got all of the really nice, sweet and caring nurses on that ward. And there was also the nurse who was with me during labor, and more importantly during the prep for the c-section itself. I don't know how I would have gotten through it without her arms around me as the anesthesiologist attempted to put my spinal in, and with her talking softly in my ear, helping me breathe through the most horrific contractions of the whole labor. I was in transition, and hysterical. If she hadn't been there, I think I would have completely lost it. They probably would have had to just put me under, and I would have missed those first precious moments of my son's life. So much was stripped from me when I entered that operating room, I can't imagine having had to lose even more.

So, needless to say, the gratitude I felt toward my nurses (especially Gail) was very strong, and I realized what an important job nurses truly have. And I wanted them to know how much I appreciated how well they took care of me. So I made one giant cupcake for each of my individual nurses, and I also made two dozen regular sized cupcakes for all of the rest of the nurses in the Women's Center. I had a lot of fun with it, and the cupcakes were SO yummy! Hehe, I kept a few at home for us to eat too. They were chocolate cupcakes, (I can't remember if the cupcakes themselves were from scratch or not) with a vanilla bean paste filling, in two different layers (from scratch) and a chocolate sour cream frosting on top (from scratch as well). I colored the filling blue, since I had a boy. ;o)

Well, this is making me hungry so I think I'm going to wrap it up. ;o) Head on over to Love That Shot to see their other photo entries from today! Be careful though, they might just make you drool a little. ;o)

Condo Living: How We Play In the Water!

2011-06-21T14:47:00.001-07:00

On Memorial Day it was so hot out, and I was busy for most of the day, preparing to leave for Texas a couple of days later. It finally got so hot in the house though, that I took Logan outside with a Rubbermaid container, and put some water in it for him and let him have a little summer fun, splishing and splashing away. He had a blast! He loved climbing in and out of his “swimmin’ pool” and playing with all his toys. It was a fun time for us, and we’ll probably be doing it again soon! :o)

This post will get me an extra entry in a drawing that I entered on a new blog I found. :o)

www.lovethatshot.com

I was supposed to put their button in my post, but I can’t figure out how to do it, so I linked directly to them instead. If you’re interested in photography, you should hop on over, their site is great!

Playing Outside

2011-04-29T22:46:00.001-07:00

I took Logan outside to play today for the first time this year, he had a lot of fun! I snapped some cute pictures and thought I would share. :o)

He was watching the kids in the yard before we went outside.

Playing peek-a-boo. Silly little boy. :o)

Inspecting the grass. :o)

Inspecting the grass again… not sure what to think…

He leaned WAY over to get to the walkway so he wouldn’t have to touch the grass at all.

He then proceeded to bear-walk down the length of the walkway, he was cracking me up. ;o)

Easter

2011-04-24T23:04:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful Easter today, my heart overflowing with love and gratitude for our amazing Savior. So thankful he rose from the grave. Without it, his death would be meaningless and we would yet be without hope!

We got a few family pictures while we were at church today, and then I got some of Logan at Nanny and Papa’s, opening his “Spring Basket”. I love the traditions for little kids that are typically associated with Easter, but I want my children growing up knowing the true meaning of this holiday, and to not be focusing on the fun, candy, gifts, etc. that often come along with it. So what we’ve decided to do, is to continue the traditional Easter celebrations, but instead of using them to celebrate Easter, we will use them to celebrate Spring. Anyone who lives in Alaska knows that Spring is certainly something to be celebrated. ;o) I can’t wait until next Spring when we can do an egg hunt with him and everything. I’m so glad that we have found a way (a lot of Christian families do this modified form of celebrating. Haha I don’t take credit for coming up with this on my own) to still incorporate these fun things into our children’s lives. I always loved doing egg hunts and such. :o)

Anyways, picture time!

Logan thought he was being SO funny and kept lifting up his shirt, showing off his belly during pictures. Haha, apparently he takes family pictures as seriously as his daddy. ;o)

Logan loved his “Spring Eggs” :o)

I Can Breathe Again!

2011-03-19T22:10:00.001-07:00

My house has been quite the sad, embarrassing disaster here lately. Downstairs has probably been the worst, since all of the junk that was in our under-the-stairs-closet is now scattered all over the dining room, due to our remodel project. It’s hard to keep that from looking like anything but a disaster. Tools, wires, parts, etc. are scattered everywhere, not helping matters at all.

Now, while downstairs has been the worst, upstairs really hasn’t been much better. And in that area… I have no excuse. And it’s been bad. See?

Yeah… that’s embarrassing. But you see those plastic stacks of drawers in the last two pictures? They are what initially led me on this quest to clean my room. Those things used to be in Logan’s room. But Mike kept getting frustrated when he needed something out of them, and couldn’t go in there because Logan was sleeping, so he moved them into our room. The one room that wasn’t tainted by the clutter of our small home (ya know, clutter besides my laundry laying everywhere *ahem*). And I so badly wanted to keep it that way. Every tiny little spot of storage space we have is taken up by something. We have no more room. (And I have gotten rid of a TON of stuff, trust me! It’s not so much that we have too much junk, we just have a really small house, with almost zero storage space) So when the clutter overflowed to my “no junk” zone, I began to feel even more overwhelmed by it all. And I knew there was no changing Mike’s mind about having those things in our room, so I had to find a way to hide them. I got the project done, and the room completely cleaned up a few days ago. And here’s what it looks like right now… because I have kept it clean so far, which may be more of a miracle than the initial cleaning itself. ;o)

I moved one of the drawer things over to my side of the bed, so I would finally have something to put my stuff on besides the floor. I think that covering this up will be my next project. ;o)

This is what I did to cover up the two tall, and the one shorter drawer things though. Isn’t it pretty? And not cluttered at all anymore. :o) They’re just two curtains hung on that lowest shelf by circles of sticky-backed Velcro. I love that they hide something ugly, while adding color and pretty decoration to the bedroom. :o)

I used my old Olympus camera for these next pictures, so you’ll have to excuse the horrid picture quality. Man I hate that camera. Maybe it’s just the lens that’s the problem, but regardless, I LOVE my Canon. :o) I only used my Olympus because the lens I bought for my Canon has a really narrow angle, and doesn’t zoom, so it crops things in pretty tight (which is why you only see tight shots of the messy room above, instead of the room as whole). The lens on my Olympus has a wider angle, so I used it so that you could have a better feel for the room as a whole. ;o) Crummy pictures like these will have to do until I have money saved up to buy another lens for my camera that better suits this type of photography. :o)

I tell you, it’s amazing. I can breathe again. Even in the dark, a clean room feels incredible. :o)

I spent most of today finishing up Logan’s room. I had it all clean a week or so ago, but then had the bright idea to drag out all of his clothes, so I could get out his 9 month clothes, and put away his 6 month stuff (yep, he’s still a tiny little peanut!). Well, in the middle of me doing this, he got tired and needed a nap, and it’s been a mess all over again ever since. Until today. Today I got his room completely clean, so now, my WHOLE upstairs is clean! Which is amazing. :o) Anyways, here are a few shots of Logan’s room. Again, with the Olympus and in much worse lighting than the pictures of my room. Don’t judge me by these terrible pictures. Haha. ;o) My husband says I’m too picky when it comes to my photography!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!!! :o)

Trying to win a pair of Agoo leg warmers :o)

2011-03-19T12:06:00.000-07:00

A blog called "Just Add Cloth" is doing a giveaway for a pair of baby leg warmers here.

I get an extra two entries for posting on my blog about it. ;o)

Baby leg warmers are SO cute (although I don't know that the Daddy would agree so much, haha) and are GREAT to use with cloth diapers, which is what I'm about to start using since we're getting a washer and dryer installed in our condo this week. We've been working on this project for about a month now, and I am SOOO excited to have my own washer and dryer! No more buying diapers, or withdrawing at least $50 a month in quarters to pay for laundry. Yes, our electric bill will go up a little, but even with that, we will still be saving money every month! This is very exciting since we've been working our tushies off to pay down some debt (we almost have a pretty good sized loan paid off, yay!!!) and so now we will be able to throw a little more each month towards that endeavor. AND I can do laundry any time I want, and not have to wait for someone else to come get their stuff out of the washer/dryer. It's gonna be SO great. :o)

Anyways, I guess I'll let you know if I win the leg warmers! :o) Check them out here, they've got some cute stuff! :o)

Twice the Blessings

2011-03-16T11:48:00.001-07:00

Most of the people who read here already know this but… we found out about 9 weeks ago that we are expecting Baby #2. :o)

(I’ll share more pictures from this photo shoot later!)

I will be 14 weeks this coming Saturday, and couldn’t be more excited. The nausea and fatigue of the first trimester (which is not easy to deal with when you have a needy one-year-old. But, I survived!) is slowly ebbing away. I still get tired easily, but the nausea isn’t as bad. I only get nauseas if I haven’t eaten, or if there’s not enough light in the house in the evenings. (weird!) Daylight savings has helped a TON with that! I can’t really tell if the nausea has been worse or not this go-round. It first hit around 6 weeks, and that first week was definitely the toughest. I could not function in the evenings (which is when I would start feeling sick, just like with Logan! Whoever came up with this “morning” sickness stuff is crazy!) and it would feel like the whole world was coming down around me. Everything felt like a MUCH bigger deal than it was, and I had a hard time coping with life at night. But then… I’d wake up feeling normal for the most part, and life was good again. Haha until that evening. ;o) But that only lasted for the first week, then it let up a little. I’m hoping within the next week or so, the nausea will be completely gone. But the good thing is, I haven’t thrown up at all this time! I have come REALLY close several times, but I managed to fight the gag reflex hard enough to win. ;o) By about 11 weeks with Logan, I had thrown up about 15 times. SO thankful that didn’t happen this time!

Anyways, we went to our first appointment about 3 weeks ago, and we got an ultrasound! They burned a copy of the ultrasound onto a DVD for us, so I have a little video to share with you! It’s about 5 minutes long (it was 7, I reduced it down!) and I put some words in there, to help clarify what’s going on for those who haven’t seen a ton of ultrasounds. ;o) It gets good towards the end, so watch the whole thing!

I’m so excited to have another baby. Some days, (haha, like when Logan is being especially needy, or won’t go down for a nap) I get kinda scared about having two. But then the good moments come back around, as they always do, and I know that things will be fine. That they will be good. That they will be GREAT. How could they not with twice the amount of cheeks to kiss, toes to tickle, and bellies to blow raspberries on? :o) I’m excited to become a mommy of 2. Twice the work, but more importantly… twice the blessings! It’s going to be a wild ride, and I can’t wait!

Moments To Cherish

2011-02-18T23:40:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was my baby boy’s first birthday. It’s tempting to take on the traditional attitude of mothers whose babies are growing up, and talk about how I needed a box of tissues to get me through the day. But in all honesty… I wasn’t sad. I knew this day was coming from the day he was born, obviously. And so, instead of desperately grasping at every passing second over the course of this last year, trying to hold time in my hands, I enjoyed every moment. I took the time to stop and cuddle my boy, to lay kisses on him so thick that it would take a bulldozer to find him again.

I cherished those moments.

And you know what? While on one hand it truly is hard to believe that a full year has gone by, it hasn’t felt that fast. It feels like it’s gone at just the speed that it should have. I didn’t try to rush through the hard phases that he’s gone through so far. I just took each day for what it was, knowing that at some point in time, I was going to miss whatever was going on at that particular moment. Now, that’s not to say that I’ve been the perfect mother, and have never gotten completely, out-of-my-mind-frustrated with my kiddo, because I certainly have! But really, he has been such a good baby. The super frustrating moments haven’t been all that often.

I haven’t spent this past year willing time to stand still. No, I’ve spent it enjoying being a mother to it’s fullest, knowing that time would indeed keep moving on. I was standing in the card aisle the other day, trying to pick out my baby’s first birthday card, lost in thought as to what I was going to write in it, and suddenly the tears were there, threatening to spill over. As I blinked them quickly away, I realized that they were not tears of sadness over my baby getting older, and moving into a phase where he’s really not much of a baby anymore. They were tears of joy. Joy over this extraordinary gift I have been given. Motherhood has been one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I love it more than almost anything in this world.

It’s not sunshine and roses every day. In fact there are more hard days than easy ones. Being a mother is difficult and challenging. But then again, most character-building things in this life are just that. They’re hard. And being a mother? Yeah, it’s a character-building experience for sure. But the rewards far outweigh the challenges. The good days make up for the ten bad ones you had before it.

And as for the Birthday Boy himself? Well, he spent most of yesterday doing what he does best…

He had grilled cheese dipped in tomato soup for the first time, and loved it!

That and resisting a nap for 3 hours, which made him extremely cranky. I told you it wasn’t always a walk in the park. ;o)

My Christmas Tree

2010-12-14T02:21:00.001-08:00

I ordered a new camera a couple of weeks ago, and I finally got the final pieces today (memory cards) to be able to use it. I’m so excited about my new camera. It’s a Canon Rebel T2i, and it’s AMAZING. I played with it a bit tonight, and took a few pictures of my Christmas tree. :o)

A few of my favorite ornaments:

From our first year of marriage.

now we have a “Baby’s First Christmas” ornament! :o) Time flies, things change in the blink of an eye. And God blesses when we don’t deserve it. The current state of my life is owed all to Him. He gets all the Glory.

Rising Early

2010-11-19T10:58:00.001-08:00

I set about to write this post at eight o’clock in the morning. A time when, about two months ago, I would have most certainly still been in bed. For another two hours, I’m afraid.

You see, I’m not a morning person. At all. I hate mornings with a passion. I am and always have been a night owl. I wish I could just stay up all night, and sleep half the day away. But God didn’t create the world like that. He created Night and Day, and our bodies naturally fall into a rhythm where we sleep when it’s dark, and we are awake when it’s light. Which is why, even when I used to stay up all night, and sleep half the day away and still get the same amount of sleep that I would have had I gone to bed earlier, I was dead tired. When we fight the natural order of things, and try to change our internal clocks, it doesn’t really work out so smoothly.

Not only was I dead tired, but I felt like I was getting nothing done in my home. By the time I woke up, I only had two hours until Mike would be home for lunch. Two hours isn’t very long. It was just long enough for me to really get going for the day, and when my husband would walk in the door on his lunch break, I had gotten absolutely nothing accomplished. I was starting to feel really guilty, and it was all starting to take a huge toll on me. I was getting really stressed out, and feeling very overwhelmed. I don’t have a lot of things that I have to do. In reality, my life isn’t that busy. But I felt like I was drowning. I could not keep up.

So, I started to try to wake up earlier. Yeah, it just didn’t work. I couldn’t make myself get out of bed. It was ridiculous, and I was getting more frustrated by the day. Frustrated with myself, my laziness, my procrastinator tendencies. Things that I hate about myself, but that are so deeply rooted within me (because I have let them become so) that it’s a slow and painful process to change.

I was at a loss as to what to do, how to make myself get up in the mornings when I came across this post. I had recently started reading this blog, Passionate Homemaking and was loving it. The ladies who write it truly have a heart to serve God and to be the best wives and mothers that they can possibly be. They truly are Passionate about what they do, and it’s inspiring.

So this post, it wasn’t anything spectacular in itself about getting up early. In fact it was about something entirely different. Except one little link, where the author referenced “re-committing to rising early”. I thought, “What is she talking about?". So I clicked over, and it lead me to this post. And this post is the one that began shaping my new attitude about getting up early in the mornings. It wasn’t any type of earth-shattering news that I had never heard before. It wasn’t some magic key that suddenly turned me into an Early Bird. No, it was simply the hand of the Lord, placing in my path a little bit of inspiration. Something that made sense, that convicted me, and gave me the motivation to start trying harder.

Not very far into this second post, there was a link to yet another post, on a different blog. It was for a free, short e-book called, Maximize Your Mornings. So of course I signed up to receive the book in my email, and began reading it as well. It was a good read that again, gave the the inspiration and motivation that I had been looking for to change the way I spent my mornings.

Now, of course all of this wonderful information had to come along just a few days before we left for Texas. But I had a ton of things that I needed to get done that week, so I decided to go ahead and start implementing the principles I had learned. I began waking up 10-15 minutes earlier each day. By the time we left, I was getting up at 8:00, which was a huge improvement from my recent 10:00 wake-up time (I know, I know. that was SO bad!!!). And you know what? They’re right. The mornings really are our most productive time of the day. I get SO much more accomplished in a day when I wake up early.

The early rising actually continued on when we got to Texas. We stayed with Chris and Lauren, and their kids automatically get up a little bit before 8:00 every day. So, even though it was only 5:00 am in my brain, Logan and I were usually up by 8:00 every morning. We were in Texas for 4 weeks, and my Commitment to Rising Early got pushed to the back of my mind.

We’ve been home for two weeks now, and… I’m working on it. I had a few days this week where I didn’t get up until 8:30, and I was annoyed and discouraged with myself. Yesterday I got up at 7:35 though, and today I was up by 7:40. Even though that wasn’t entirely my choice. I was dead tired from not being able to fall asleep at a decent hour last night, and I did not want to wake up this morning. But as I lay awake last night, trying to will my mind to be quiet so my body could drift off into sleep, I prayed. I asked the Lord to please help me continue to rise early. I asked him to help me wake up this morning and get my day going. Well, he answered my prayer in the form of a sweet little 9 month old baby boy who did not want to go back to sleep after I fed him at 7:15. I put him back in bed (where he made me think he was going back to sleep), shut the door, and crawled back under my covers, with the intention of sleeping later than I had planned. No sooner had I gotten all warm and snuggly did I hear his sweet little voice on the monitor. Just talking away. I dozed in and out for the next 25 minutes, but I knew he would grow tired of talking to himself and start fussing. So when he did, I grudgingly drug myself out of bed to go get him. You see, this was entirely the Lord answering my prayer from last night, because Logan does not normally wake up this early. If he does, I feed him and he goes back to sleep until 8:30. He’s been pretty consistent about that lately. I had to smile as I walked to his room though, as I knew my prayers were being answered. Haha, be careful what you pray for, right? It was good though. I needed it. And He knew that.

My goal for right now is to get to where I’m consistently waking up at 7:00. I’d like to be waking up early enough to make my husband breakfast every morning, instead of us eating cereal all the time. We need to start having healthier breakfasts.

Right now my mornings look like this:

Wake up
Go downstairs and exercise for at least 30 minutes on the Wii Fit (hehe, today I’m blogging instead of exercising!)
Eat Breakfast
Read one chapter in the New Testament, and spend time in prayer
Shower
Get started on Daily Chores

As I mentioned above, I would like to start adding a real breakfast to that list. And I’ve been thinking about renewing my gym membership lately. But that means that I’ll have to wake up even earlier, so I can go before Mike goes to work, and while Logan is still sleeping. I’m still contemplating that one.

I’m proud of myself for this slow, and gradual change I’m making in my life. But I can only attribute it to the Lord. He’s the One who is helping me do this. Making me into a better wife, a better mother, a better servant for him. And I’m thankful.

Making Nut Butter

2010-08-27T00:30:00.001-07:00

First, you have to choose what KIND of nut butter you’re going to make. I LOVE me some cashew butter.

Then, put some nuts in a food processor of some sort. Just make sure your food processor has enough juice to handle the job.

Then, start grinding them up!

When they start to look like this, add some oil.

I like to use coconut oil. Yum!

Then, keep blending (for a while, and stopping to scrape the sides a lot) until it looks like this! This part takes the longest, but I promise, you WILL eventually get there! :o)

Finally, stick it in a jar. Or just eat it right then and there. That’s what I tend to do. Cashew butter doesn’t last long around me. Yum yum! :o)

Love This Sweet Boy

2010-08-25T01:33:00.001-07:00

*sigh* He’s just the best thing ever. :o)

Logan and Rishon

2010-08-20T01:04:00.001-07:00

I’ve been meaning to post these for a while, but have been busy.

I took these when Logan and I went over to visit Joanna and Rishon while we were in Ninilchik several weeks ago. We had a good time talking and catching up and the boys liked each other. :o) It was funny because Rishon kept trying to steal Logan’s pacifier, even though he’s NEVER been interested in his own. Babies are so funny, and it’s so crazy to see how they want to be “like the other kid” at such a young age.

Theses two are about as different as night and day when it comes to size though. They’re only 2 1/2 months apart, and if they were both “average” sized, I don’t think the size difference would be incredibly noticeable. BUT, Rishon is at the top of the charts for his size, and little Logan is at the very bottom. And so this is what you get with that combination:

They had fun sitting together. :o)

Just had to share…

2010-08-04T01:19:00.001-07:00

One of my friends on my pregnancy forum shared this link to a blog with us, and it was just so cute I thought others might enjoy it as well. :o)

http://milasdaydreams.blogspot.com/

The Many Faces of Logan

2010-07-28T23:40:00.001-07:00

Created this little collage in Photobucket, so I thought I would share. ;o)

I took these pictures when we were in Ninilchik, weekend before last. I just love how I was able to capture a few of his many, many facial expressions. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a kid who is so expressive with his face! He’s constantly cracking me up with the faces he’s making at me. I can tell he’s going to be quite the character. I can’t wait to see who he turns into. :o)

We Have a Sitter!

2010-07-28T15:31:00.001-07:00

Logan started sitting up on his own this past week. It’s normally a 6 month milestone, so he has hit it a little early. I’m so proud of my little man! :o)

These were taken last Thursday. You can see that he’s still a little wobbly, since the pictures are a little blurry.

View Full Album

These were taken two days later. His balance improved a lot over two days!

View Full Album

Diddle Dots

2010-07-10T01:28:00.001-07:00

Ever since I quit my job at Spenard’s last May, I’ve really been wanting to open a shop on Etsy. Well, I think we all know what a procrastinator I am, and I am just now finally getting around to it.

So, that being said, I am so very excited to announce the opening of my Etsy shop, Diddle Dots!!!

Stop on by, and if you like what you see, spread the word! :o)

A Video

2010-07-02T14:50:00.001-07:00

So I took a video of Logan the other night. I finally got his cute little laugh on camera and I just had to share it.

Doesn’t he just make you wanna “nom nom” through the computer screen to eat him up? :o) Love this sweet little boy that the Lord has so greatly blessed us with. Hope this makes you smile today. :o)

Headaches

2010-05-30T01:49:00.001-07:00

So, I’ve been having these killer headaches lately. For nearly four weeks solid I was taking Tylenol at least once a day. I don’t particularly like taking medicine like that. Finally I had enough, and decided to go see someone for it. Frankly, I’m kind of tired of Western Medicine and decided I wanted to go see a Naturopathic Doctor. I have heard so many wonderful things about Dr. Luper, so I called up my insurance company to see what they covered for naturo. They don’t cover it very well. But it was enough that Mike and I decided I could go in for these headaches.

So, last Tuesday I went in. Now, back up a second here… Logan has been having problems with nursing lately. He will pull off in the middle of eating and squirm and cry, which are obvious signals that his belly is bothering him. When he was only a few weeks old I went off of dairy because he was having mucous and blood in his stools. Going off the dairy cleared that up almost right away and I have been off of it ever since. It didn’t clear up his fussiness though. So right before I went to my appointment with Dr. Luper I had an appointment with my Lactation Consultant. The week before, she had me go off of wheat, soy, eggs, peanuts, and corn to see if it helped him any. I hadn’t noticed any major change, and she’s kind of stumped as to what to do next. So I leave her office with the plan to continue off of the wheat – corn for another week, and if I still saw no improvement to slowly reintroduce those foods and see if he had any negative reactions.

So back to my appointment with Dr. Luper. I went in and sat and talked with him for an hour. We went over my headaches, and through a series of questions he came to the conclusion that my headaches are caused by tension in my shoulders. I have huge knots in them that I have have for a couple of years. I used to get them worked out once a month by a massage therapist at a chiropractor’s office, when I had my own insurance and they covered 80% of it. Then I switched over to Mike’s insurance when we got married and now they only cover 50%, so I can’t go in as often. Anyways, Dr. Luper recommended that I have acupuncture done, and massage to help with the tension, and get rid of my headaches. My first acupuncture appointment is next Saturday, then the following Monday I have a massage scheduled. I’m so excited!

Now, for the part about Logan. As we were going over some of my history, the fact that I have had five UTI’s in the last 18 months came up. Through some more questions he started to suspect that something is going on in my gut because of all the antibiotics I’ve been on in the last 18 months. I also told him about Logan’s nursing issues. Well, after a quick abdominal exam he was fairly certain that I’ve got a lot of bad bacteria floating around in my gut, causing problems, because the antibiotics have killed off all the good bacteria, and can no longer fight anything off. So, he’s having me do a few tests, then when the results come back from that, we will work on treating the issue. Until then I’m on probiotics. But the best part about the whole appointment was that he said that he thinks if we can get my gut fixed, then we might get Logan’s issues fixed as well! I am SO excited about this possibility. It hasn’t been TOO bad, but it gets frustrating at times, and I feel bad that the poor baby can’t just eat his meal in peace without having to cry. It will be such a blessing if we can get this cleared up.

And it would just be a bonus if I could have my dairy back. :o)

Snow

2010-05-05T15:26:00.001-07:00

Today is the 5th of May, and it’s snowing. I’m SO glad my hubby, baby and I are heading off to warm and sunny California this Friday. :o)

My Birth Story

2010-04-22T02:44:00.001-07:00

*Disclaimer: this is EXTREMELY long. I wrote this story mostly for myself, and I wanted to remember every detail that I could, so I wrote it ALL down. So, I don’t want to hear any complaining about how long it is, because well, I warned you. ;o)

I went in for a routine weekly Dr.’s appointment on Tuesday, February 16^th, 2010. At this point in time, my OB was out of town, so I was seeing the Nurse-Midwife in the practice, Mary-Beth. Mary-Beth was doing a work study with another Nurse-Midwife who was new to the practice though, and wasn’t in the office that week, so I saw the other Nurse-Midwife, Tanya. She checked my cervix to see if any progress had been made from the prior week. Turns out I hadn’t. I was still about 3 ½ centimeters dilated and 70% effaced. I had just turned 41 weeks that day, so she did a small membrane sweep to see if we could get labor going. I hadn’t had any real contractions by this point, just a lot of Braxton Hicks (or “practice”) contractions.

After she did the sweep, she hooked me up to the Non Stress Test machine, to monitor baby, and see how he was doing, and to see if I was having any contractions. They monitored him for a little while and he was sleeping, so they gave me a juice box to try to wake him up. A little while goes by and he’s still not moving around a whole lot, so they give me another juice box. This gets a kick or two out of him, and a couple of heart excels and decels. Tanya comes in to check on him, and she wants to see more activity out of him, so I get yet another juice box. He finally wakes up, but I guess he still wasn’t moving as much as they wanted. Tanya came back in and said that she was going to call Mary-Beth, who was covering at the Women’s Center in the hospital that week, and just kind of give her an update on me, and how the baby was doing. She came back in a couple minutes later, and said that Mary-Beth wanted me to come to the hospital for a little while to be put on the monitors there.

So I left the Dr.’s office, and went home for a little while, so I could eat lunch right quick. On the way home, I called Mike, and let him know what was going on, and said I would call him again if I ended up needing to stay at the hospital. Then I called my mom, and let her know what was going on as well. I then called my doula, Angela Davis, and let her know that I was going to the hospital to be monitored. She decided that she would go ahead and stop by the hospital after I got there, to see how things were going. I went home and cooked some eggs, with cheese on top, because I wanted protein in me, in case I ended up having to stay at the hospital, since they don’t let you eat once you’ve gone into labor. I also decided to take my 41 week belly picture before I went, just in case I didn’t get another opportunity to do so.

I finally headed to the hospital (Tanya had let Mary-Beth know that I wouldn’t be there for about 45 minutes to an hour) and checked in at the Emergency Room and got all admitted and everything. I headed upstairs to the Women’s Center, and they got me a room. I changed into a gown, and waited for my nurse to come in. She came in a few minutes later, and got the monitors all strapped to me, and took my information to finish putting me in the computer system. After a little while Angela showed up and sat with me. It was nice not to have to sit in there by myself. Mary-Beth showed up a little while later, and checked the strip from the monitors, to see what the baby was doing. Sure enough, in the time that I had went home and ate, he had woken up, and was now performing beautifully on the monitor. I was also having a couple of contractions here and there, but nothing painful, and nothing regular. Mary-Beth was concerned about the fact that I was heading into my 42^nd week, and really wanted to try to get labor going for me. She went ahead and checked me again, and said that I was about 3 ½ centimeters dilated and 80% effaced. She also did a more vigorous sweeping of my membranes, which hurt really bad. Angela was there to hold my hand though, which was nice.

Mary-Beth then started to talk to me about some options for getting labor going, as she really didn’t want me waiting much longer. She suggested that we insert a prostaglandin tablet up by my cervix, which she was pretty sure would be just enough to get labor going for me. I was reluctant to “induce” labor, but knew that this was the least invasive way to do so, and I trusted Mary-Beth’s opinion that we should get things moving. So I agreed to the prostaglandin tablet. I asked her if I could go home first and finish packing my hospital bag, and wait for Mike to get off work, since he was having a pretty chaotic day. She said that was fine, and suggested that I come and check back in at 6:30. After she left the room, it suddenly all hit me that it was actually time to have our baby. I got really nervous, and overwhelmed with the thought of it all, and nearly started crying. I asked Angela if she thought it was a good choice, and she agreed that it was. The nurse came in and had me sign a paper that basically said I was allowed to leave the hospital for a little while and then come back, without having to completely check out, and then go through the checking in process again when I came back.

So Angela and I left the hospital and went back to my house. I called Mike and my mom to let them know that it was baby time. Mike didn’t quite understand that we were going to have a baby one way or another in the next day or so. He thought that if the prostaglandin tablet didn’t work, that they would just send me home. I kept having to explain to him that if the first dose didn’t work, they would try a second dose, and if that didn’t work, they would move onto other things.

When we got back to my house, we just puttered around for a little while. We went upstairs and I finished packing all of my stuff that I needed for the hospital. Then we just came back downstairs and chatted on the couch, and I did some things online while we waited for Mike to come home. Somewhere in there, my Braxton Hicks contractions started turning into real, slightly painful contractions. Angela downloaded an app for her iPhone that would allow her to time the contractions. They were sporadic for most of the afternoon. By the time Mike got home, around 5:30, they were starting to get a little more intense, but still not too bad. I got up off the couch, and swayed my hips through them, which felt a lot better than just sitting. I heated up some leftovers for Mike, and I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner. 6:20 finally rolled around, and Mike finished a couple last minute things around the house, while I went upstairs and brushed my teeth. We loaded the car up with my small suitcase, and several pillows and we all headed back off to the hospital. As I was getting in the car it hit me that when I came home, I’d be coming home with a baby. It was a very surreal moment for me. We got in the car, and I looked at Mike and said, “Are you ready?” he jokingly said “no”. I think he was pretty nervous about the whole thing, but so was I. We were having a baby. No turning back now.

We got back to the hospital and back into my room around 6:45. I changed into the hospital gown that I had made for the occasion, and got hooked up to the monitors. While we waited for Mary-Beth to come in, we sat and chatted while the baby’s heart was beating away on the monitor in the background. I could tell that my contractions were becoming more regular by this point, and I was starting to have to stop talking and focus through them. Mary-Beth came in around 7:15 and checked the strip to see how baby was doing, and noticed that my contractions were coming about 3 minutes apart. She asked me how they were feeling, and if I was able to talk through them or not. I told her that I wasn’t able to. She was excited by the fact that I was contracting on my own, and said that we wouldn’t need to do the prostaglandin tablet. I was so excited about this! It made me so happy that I was able to go into labor on my own without the help of anything synthetic. She mentioned being hooked up to an IV, and I told her that I really wanted to try to avoid an IV, as I could see it really irritating me during contractions, and she agreed that I didn’t need one, which I was also super happy about, as this was something I had thought about a lot during my pregnancy as something I wanted to avoid. She said she would check on me again later, and that I could be unhooked from the monitors shortly, and left the room. A little while later, my nurse, Gail, came in and unhooked me from the monitors and said I could start walking the halls if I wanted to. I called my mom right quick to let her know that I was contracting on my own, and that we didn’t need the prostaglandin tablet. She was in town with Lucas at the time, and decided to go home for a few hours so she could eat something, and lay down for a little while, and that she would come back into town when Lucas went to go do his paper route at 12:30, but said to call her if I started progressing further.

Mike, Angela and I then walked a couple of laps around the halls. I would stop and hang onto the rails on the walls and sway my hips during contractions. I was really surprised that they weren’t all that painful at this point, just kind of intense (I finally understood what people meant when they said that. I never could until I was experiencing it myself). After a couple of laps, my hips were starting to get pretty sore, so I said I wanted to go back to the room. On our way back, Angela stopped at the nurses station and asked Gail if she could bring a birthing ball to our room. She brought it in, and I sat on that, which felt so good because it relieved the pressure off of my hips. They raised the bed up a bit so I could lean my arms against it, and I did that and rocked back and forth during the contractions.

Mary-Beth came in again at 8:00, asking how I was doing, and checking to see how things were going. She did an internal exam to check my progress and I was pleasantly surprised and excited when she said, “Oh wow, you’re about at a five!” Angela and I both let out a little cheer. I couldn’t believe I was already half way there, and things really weren’t so bad yet! Mary-Beth said she needed to leave the hospital for just a little while to go right down the road for a volley ball game that she was playing in, but that she wouldn’t be gone long. I told her to have fun, and that we would see her when she got back. After she left, I called my mom and let her know that I had progressed to a 5. We talked about whether or not she should come in early or not. At this point I still didn’t think things were going to move very fast. I told her that if it would make her feel better, that her and Lucas could go ahead and come into town, and they could go to our house, where she could lay down for a while. That way, they would only be about two minutes away from the hospital instead of about twenty. She said she would talk to Lucas and see if that was ok with him. After I got off the phone with her, I got back on the birthing ball, because it was the most comfortable position for me to labor in. This time I decided I wanted my laptop out, so we got that out of my suitcase, and got it all set up on the bed, and I got on Facebook, and updated everyone there. I also posted my 41 week belly picture on my blog, and wrote and said that I was in the hospital in labor. Obviously labor still wasn’t going too bad at this point. Mike and Angela were talking about web sites or something that was too technical for me to follow, so I just paid attention to what was going on in the Facebook world, and when a contraction would come, I would just close my eyes and kind of drift away to my own place while I focused on my breathing. If I did happen to be talking when a contraction hit, I would just kind of trail off, and stop talking for a minute and close my eyes. When it was over, I would open my eyes and say, “Okay” and continue where I left off. It was so weird to me that I just literally could not talk through the contractions. But once they were over I was just fine again. Everyone who came in the room to check the baby’s heart rate and everything couldn’t believe that I was still joking around in between contractions, and that I still seemed to be relatively comfortable. It was encouraging to know that I was handling things so well.

Mary-Beth came back to my room around 9:00. She saw that I was on Facebook, and said I was having too much fun. The whole atmosphere was just really light, and everyone was in such good spirits. I could feel the excitement in the air, although I was still a little apprehensive. She checked me again and said that I was now 6 centimeters dilated. While she was checking me, she went ahead and broke my water, which was one of the weirdest feelings I have ever experienced. I knew that the water was supposed to be coming out, but I remember wanting to make it stop, because it just felt so unnatural. Mary-Beth again noticed my laptop, and noticed the picture I had on my Facebook profile, which was a picture from our wedding. She was telling me how beautiful it was, and I was trying to thank her, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to focus, because the contractions were now coming a lot closer together, and the intensity of them was about double what it had been. She told me she would be back later to check on me, and that she wanted me to walk the halls again to keep things moving. I didn’t really want to walk the halls again, but I knew that she was right, and that I needed to keep active or I could run the chance of my labor stalling out or slowing down. So I got out of bed, and grabbed my phone, so I could call my mom again. I let her know that I was still progressing well, and that Mary-Beth had broken my water. It was hard for me to talk in full sentences, and she asked me if I was ok. I said, “Yeah, I’m alright, the contractions are just a lot closer together now, so it’s hard for me to talk.” She said that they were headed into town, and that she would just go ahead and have Lucas bring her to the hospital, instead of going to my house. I told her that sounded good, and that I would see her when she got there. After I hung up with her, we went out into the hallway to walk. I had to stop a lot more, since the contractions were so much closer together. Mike would hold my hand as I held onto the railing on the wall with the other. I would press the top of my head against the wall and roll my hips. We walked about three laps around the Women’s Center, and I decided I needed to go back to the room to sit down on the birthing ball again because my hips were getting too sore.

We got back to the room and I got back on the birthing ball. The relief to my hips was immediate, and it felt so much better, although it didn’t help with the intensity of the contractions. I hadn’t been back in the room very long when Mom and Lucas showed up. Mom came in first, and Lucas had to wait a minute because the nurse was in, and had my gown lifted up, so she could monitor the baby’s heart rate through a couple of contractions. After she was done Lucas came in and sat down with Mike. Mom started rubbing my shoulders through the contractions, which felt good. Angela was also by my side the whole time, and it was somewhere around here that she asked if I wanted to try to get in the shower to help with the pain. For some reason the thought of being in the shower was completely unappealing, and I told her that I didn’t feel like being wet. A few seconds later, Mary-Beth came in and asked if I wanted to get ready to move to the tub room, so that I could labor in the tub. I was having a contraction at that moment, so Angela told her that I didn’t feel like being wet. So, Mary-Beth asked if we could at least start filling it up so it would be ready when I did want it. I said that was fine. For some reason, the tub suddenly sounded good. I’m not sure why I didn’t want to be wet in the shower, but didn’t mind the thought of being wet in the tub, but it’s what I wanted in that moment, so there you have it.

A few minutes later, Mary-Beth was back, and was saying it was time to switch rooms. After a contraction passed, we began to make our way to the tub room. I had to stop once or twice along the way, because I just couldn’t walk through the contractions. We finally got there, and after another contraction or two I was able to get into the tub. I could not believe the amount of relief the water gave me! It felt so good to get in that warm water, it was simply amazing. The middle of the tub dipped down a little lower than the rest, so you could sit on your knees and be lower down in the water, so I did that. The contractions hurt way to much when I was in a sitting position leaning back in the tub. Mike stood on the outside of the tub, in front of me and held my hands. I had a wonderful support team around me, between Angela, my mom, and Mike. It was wonderful. They were all so helpful, and I was impressed with the way Mike stepped up to be a comfort to me. I couldn’t have gotten through the next parts of this experience without him. During the contractions, while Mike held my hands, my mom was next to him and would rub my hair, and Angela was behind me with a shower head that was attached to the tub, and would spray hot water on my back. This was so soothing, and really helped with the pain management. In between contractions it really started to hit me that I was actually in labor! (you would think that it would have hit me long before this point!) I remember thinking to myself, “wow, I’m in labor. This is so crazy.” And I got this goofy grin on my face, and I looked up at my husband and smiled at him. He said, “What are you doing?” I just kind of laughed and said, “I’m in labor!” I felt like I was high. Or crazy. Or both. Because it was almost like I was enjoying this! I think I actually enjoyed being in labor, which sounds so incredibly odd to be saying. Being in pain is not something normal people enjoy. But hey, who’s to say I’ve ever been normal?

A little while goes by, and Mary-Beth comes in to see how I’m doing. She was amazed that I was still smiling in between contractions, and was saying how good I was doing. She said that she wanted me to eat a Popsicle, because she wanted to get my energy levels up for when it was time to push. She asked me if there was any specific flavor I liked or didn’t like. I was trying to focus through a contraction at that point, and couldn’t for the life of me concentrate on Popsicle flavors. I remember “grape”, “orange”, and “not cherry” going through my mind, but I just said to Mary-Beth “I don’t care. Anything is fine.” Sure enough she brought me cherry. I remember grinning when she handed it to me, because it was the one flavor I didn’t want, and it was just kind of ironic, but I really didn’t care. And it ended up being the cherry flavor that wasn’t so bad, and not the one that tastes like cough syrup, so it wasn’t that bad anyways. And I only ended up eating about two bites of it. I started to take the first bite, and a contraction hit, so I handed it to Mike, while I focused through it. He handed it back to me afterwards, and I took another bite, then noticed that my mom was over sitting in the chair and she was taking a picture, so I posed for her with my Popsicle. I remember Mary-Beth making a comment about my good spirits, when another contraction hit. I could tell this one was different, and I handed the Popsicle back to Mike. That was the end of all joking around and smiling between contractions. They were more than serious now, and coming one right on top of the other. They checked the baby’s heart rate again, and he was still doing fine.

I started to break down during the contractions. It was becoming increasingly difficult to relax during them, and to breathe correctly. I started to cry a little during them, and was having to groan through them now. I knew that the fun and games were over and we were getting down to business. They kept asking me if I wanted a cold rag for my forehead, and for some reason I kept saying no. I’m not really sure why. Mary-Beth kept asking me if I felt the urge to push, and if I was feeling any pressure. I kept telling her no. I wasn’t feeling any of that yet. She was listening to the way I was groaning through the contractions, and I kept hearing her say how it sounded like I was getting close to being ready to push. She told me that if it helped to ease the pain of the contractions, that I could try bearing down through them, so even though I didn’t feel the need to push, I did anyways, because I had to do something to help the pain. And surprisingly, pushing did help. When she noticed that she said, “Yeah. I think you’re pretty close, we better check you.” So she did an internal while I was still in the tub and announced to the room that I was fully dilated. I couldn’t believe the time was here to actually get the baby out. It had gone by so fast.

They started to drain the tub, and I continued to push through the contractions, which were continuing to be one right on top of the other. In between contractions, they helped me get out of the tub, into some dry clothes, and back into my gown. They helped me get up on the bed, where we started the serious pushing. I remember saying that someone needed to be getting pictures. My mom asked what kind of pictures I wanted, and I told her I didn’t care. To take whatever she wanted and I would delete what I didn’t want later. Pushing was the most exhausting thing I’ve ever done. Mary-Beth had me doing four pushes per contraction, 10 seconds each push. I never knew something could be so exhausting. The pain from the contractions was mounting with each one that rolled over me, and I was starting to lose it. I kept saying, “I can’t do this!” Mike was holding my left hand and stroking my hair, Angela was holding my right hand, and my mom was also close by. Every time I said I couldn’t do it, they just kept telling me that I could. I didn’t want to though. The pain was becoming too much, and everything in me wanted it to be over. Looking back, I think I was actually transitioning at this point. I think I started pushing just a little bit too early, as I was displaying all of the emotional sign-posts of transition during this time.

It was at this point that things started to get a little bit crazy. I have a hard time remembering exactly what happened in the next moments. They were carefully monitoring the baby’s heart rate while I was pushing, and at some point it began to drop, although I was initially unaware. Mary-Beth had me move into a different position to push in, I think it was on my side. We tried this for a little while, and I don’t think it was getting us anywhere, so she had me get off the bed and squat on the floor. Angela squatted behind me and supported me while I pushed. I remember knowing that I got a couple of really good pushes in while I was in that position. Before I squatted, they had inserted an internal monitor and attached it to Logan’s head, so they could more closely monitor his heart rate. I remember feeling it, and being upset that it was in his head, but not saying anything. They got me back up on the bed, and had me pushing more. I think it was at this point that they gave me the oxygen mask, to get more oxygen to the baby. I was becoming delirious, and in between contractions I just kept saying, “So tired. So much pain. So much pain.” I didn’t want to push anymore, and when a contraction would come, I would say “No” and shake my head. I remember with one contraction I tried to hide the fact that it was hitting again because I didn’t want to push anymore. Obviously they could see my face wrinkle up in pain, and knew that I was having another one. Angela was still by my side and kept saying, “come on, we’re not going to waste this, you can do it.”

I think that Mary-Beth was thinking that the amount of pain I was in and the way I was handling it was what was affecting the baby’s heart rate, so she said that she wanted to do a pelvic block, where they inject Lidocaine into the pelvis to take the edge off of the contractions. I said, “ok”. The baby’s heart rate was continuing to drop, so they had me get into a different position, and a minute later she said, “Kassandra, we’re going to put an IV in, and give you Stadol for the pain.” Again, I said “ok”. I knew that the pain meds had to do with the baby’s heart rate dropping, so even though I was trying to go for a med-free birth, I knew this was probably the best choice. She went to check the position of the baby’s head again and said, “Oh, there’s still a little lip of cervix there, I need you to stop pushing!” I was more than happy to do so, it was exhausting. Then they had me get on my hands and knees, and a nurse was trying to get an IV in my right hand. Everything was moving so fast. Mary-Beth kept checking the baby and his heart rate was still very low, so she wanted me to move again. The vein that the nurse was trying to get the IV in blew out. I switched positions. His heart rate would come up for just a second, and I could feel the tension in the room break, but then it would drop back down again, and everyone would start scrambling again. Mary-Beth then told me that she was going to have the OB come in and get his opinion, and that they were going to have the Anesthesiologist come in and do an epidural. Again I said, “ok”. What else could I say?

Next thing I know, the OB (Dr. Wells) is rushing in, along with a ton of nurses. Everything is a blur at this point. I’m in so much pain I can hardly see what’s going on around me, much less focus on it. I hear Mary-Beth say, “Kassandra, we have to get him out NOW!” I hear and see them all rush in, and I hear “C-Section” flying out of someone’s mouth. I’m not sure who said it. I think it was Dr. Wells. In the back of my mind, I knew it was coming but I still thought, “Oh no, I can’t believe this is happening.” Next, a nurse is at my side with a clipboard saying, “Kassandra, this is the consent form for the C-Section. I need you to sign it.” I grabbed the pen and thought, “Are you serious?!? How on earth am I supposed to sign this thing right now? I’m in so much pain I can barely even see the line that I’m supposed to sign on!” Everything in me was fighting against the idea of the c-section. This was the one thing I wanted to avoid above all else. It just isn’t how babies are supposed to be born! I knew that my baby’s life was hanging in the balance though, and I knew that it wasn’t an option. We had to get him out, or he was going to die before he even had the chance to live. So I tried to focus so I could sign the paper. I hear Mary-Beth tell her, “We don’t have time for that, we have verbal consent, let’s go!”

All of the sudden the bed starts rolling as I hand the pen back to the nurse, and I am being wheeled out of the room. It’s at this point that I become hysterical. I start sobbing uncontrollably, although my body is too stressed to allow actual tears to flow. As they were wheeling me across the hall to the OR, I just kept saying, “Dear Lord, please help me!” I was so scared. The people wheeling my bed must have thought I was insane, and that I was being way more dramatic than necessary. I remember thinking that at the time, too. But I didn’t care. I remember seeing them open the door to the OR, and just still not believing that this was actually happening.

They wheeled me into the OR, and as the rolled me over to the operating table, I said to Mary-Beth, “Just put me out if you have to.” And she said, “We may just have to do that.” I replied, “That’s fine. Do what you have to do.” I just wanted the pain to go away. I knew it no longer had a purpose and I couldn’t tolerate it anymore. They told me to scoot over onto the operating table, which was extremely hard to do, as my contractions were still coming one on top of the other. They had given me turbutaline in my IV (which I have absolutely no recollection of being placed. Apparently my nurse, Gail had successfully placed an IV in my left hand some time after the right one blew, but I have no idea when this happened) to slow the contractions down, but it wasn’t working. They were still coming fast and furious. As I moved over to the operating table, I asked through my sobs where my husband was. I so desperately needed him. I knew that in some cases with emergency c-sections, the fathers often aren’t let into the OR, and I was terrified that I was going to have to do this alone. They told me that he was suiting up and he would be in soon. Knowing that he would be with me soon helped quite a bit.

I remember hearing Dr. Wells and Mary-Beth trying to figure out which kind of anesthesia was going to be best for me. Mary-Beth wanted to put me out because she thought it would be faster, because the baby’s heart rate was still low (by the time we got into the OR, it had stabilized at around 117, which is still low, but much better than it had been), but Dr. Wells wanted to do a spinal, because he thought it would be safer. During their conversation I just kept thinking, “Put me OUT and get it over with!” but as soon as Dr. Wells said “safer” I thought, “Oh no, what if I don’t wake up?” So then I was scared to be put out. Finally Dr. Wells said, “I think I can get a spinal in as fast as we could get her put out” and Mary-Beth agreed to do the spinal.

The anesthesiologist came in, and my nurse, Gail helped me sit up on the bed. She was wonderful. She took my arms and wrapped them around herself, and held onto me. The anesthesiologist began prepping my back with the sterilizer, which was so incredibly cold. It sent cold chills radiating throughout my entire body, and he wiped my back down 3 different times with that stuff! It felt like they stored that stuff in the refrigerator, it was so ridiculously cold. He asked me to poke my back out towards him, so he could get the catheter in. I had seen so many baby shows on TV, I knew what to do. It was SO hard though. My belly was so big, it made it really hard to bend over like he needed me to, and right at that moment, another contraction hit. He said, “Come on, I need you to poke your back out.” He was really nice about it, but at this point I had had enough. It was the only time during my entire labor and delivery that I got a little mean, and I said through gritted teeth, “I AM HAVING A CONTRACTION!” I could literally feel him step away from me, and he just said, “Ok, just let me know when you’re ready.” I had to do the “hee-hee-hoo” breathing through this contraction, and Gail was right there, breathing right along with me. She was so amazing. I don’t know that I could have gotten through those moments without her. When the contraction passed, I said “ok” and he went back to work getting my spinal placed. He poked me once, and then I could feel a lot of pressure in my spine and I could feel the catheter moving down the right side of my spine, and it hurt. I was saying “ow, ow, ow!” And he says, “Oh does that hurt?” I replied, “Yes!” So he pulled it out and started over. Later someone told me that he had to poke me twice, but it felt like he poked me three or four times.

The spinal was finally in place and they helped me lay down on the table again. It started working very quickly and I could feel my feet starting to prickle with numbness almost instantly, and I felt one more contraction before it fully kicked in. They pulled out these little arms on either side of the table for my arms to rest on, in a “t” shape, and as they placed my arms on them, I thought they were going to strap me down, and I just thought, “Oh no, please don’t strap me down!” Luckily, they didn’t. I think I would have lost it again if they had (although I was still crying at this point, just not as hysterical).

No longer being in unnecessary pain really helped me to calm down, and that’s when the real tears began to flow. I looked around and saw Mary-Beth standing to my left, and she locked eyes with me, and said, “Kassandra, you need to take deeper breaths your baby needs oxygen.” (I still had the oxygen mask on) So I said ok, and forced myself to continue to calm down and take deep, long breaths. Again, I asked where my husband was, but this time I had to ask a couple of times, because no one was really paying attention to me. I didn’t care that they weren’t paying attention, I just so badly wanted and needed my husband by my side. They told me he would be in, in just a minute. I look over to my right, in the direction of the door, just watching and waiting for him. He finally came in, and sat down by my head, and rubbed my hair while I cried. I said, “I didn’t want this to happen. I don’t want to do this anymore.” He said, “It’s ok, they’re doing it for you now. It’s going to be ok, babe.” I asked, “Was it because I wasn’t pushing hard enough? It was so hard.” He said, “No babe, it’s not your fault.” And he kissed my head through his surgical mask.

I expected to have a sense of what the Dr’s were doing, but I never felt a single thing. I was numb all the way up to the top of my sternum, and even my arms were a bit tingly, although they never got fully numb. They only thing I could feel was my body being moved from side to side. I didn’t even know that they had already cut me open, when they said, “Alright Dad, you want to stand up and look?” So Mike stood up and looked over the drape that was placed above my shoulders. The first thing he said was, “He’s got a head full of hair!” I was surprised and said, “You can see him?!?” And he replied, “Yeah I can see him! He’s definitely a boy!” and I laughed at him. The whole pregnancy he had been saying that whatever they said the baby’s gender was going to be, it was going to come out the opposite. So I was happy that he could finally see that our boy was indeed a boy. The Dr’s told me that I was going to feel some pressure when they pulled him out, but I never did. I never felt anything. The anesthesiologist was very good at his job. They didn’t show the baby to me right away like I expected them to. They just whisked him right by me, and to the little table, which was in the direction of my left shoulder. I watched them wiping him off, but all I could see were his tiny, adorable hands and feet sticking up in the air. I heard Mike start to say something, and I looked up at him to witness the most beautiful moment of my life, as my husband stood there with tears of joy running down his face, saying, “That’s our baby boy, babe.” And my tears started afresh. Only this time, they weren’t tears of fear or sadness. They were tears of utter joy and happiness. My baby was finally here. I watched as they finally got him to cry, and what a beautiful sound that was to my ears. They moved the blanket so I could see his face, and said, “Hi mom!” and “Mom, look at my long feet!” He did have long feet. The cutest feet I have ever seen. They swaddled him up and he calmed down, and they brought him over to me, and laid him on my chest, and Mike put his hand on him to hold him up there. I couldn’t bend my arms to touch him, but he was close enough to my face that I could kiss him. So I just cried and kissed him as much as I could. He opened one little brown eye and looked at me. It was heaven. I no longer cared how he got out of me, I just cared that he was there, and he was safe and healthy. That’s all that mattered.

After a few minutes the nurses said it was time for him to go to the nursery, so his daddy picked him up and held him for the first time, and carried him out. It was a beautiful sight to see. After that I was just deliriously happy. The anesthesiologist was standing on the left side of my head, watching them put me back together. He wasn’t really paying attention to me, but I was so happy, I wanted to talk to someone anyways. I looked up at him and said, “I have a baby!” in this voice that made me sound like I was high or something. He looked down at me like I was crazy for a second and then said, “You sure do! He’s a cutie.” And I replied, “He’s gorgeous.” He said, “You seem to be doing better now.” And I said, “Yeah, sorry.” Then he told me that they were just sewing me up, and I asked how much longer it would be, and he told me it would be about ten minutes. I said, “good” and started to drift off to sleep. I didn’t actually fall asleep though, and I saw Gail walking across the room, saying, “Let’s see if they weighed him yet!” So she picked up the phone and called the nursery. She asked if they had weighed him yet, and then hollered, “Eight pounds, seven ounces!” everyone in the room said something to the effect of, “Big boy!” and then Gail told us that he was twenty-one inches long.

I listened to the doctors as they finished sewing me up, and someone said, “Did we determine the cause for the c-section?” And someone else said, “Well, intolerance of Labor” and I thought, “No, that’s not good enough. Please give me a reason.” Then I think the first person said, “Well, and the cord seemed abnormally short.” There was my reason (Mary-Beth came back to the hospital on Friday and went over everything with me and confirmed this), his cord was just too short to let him descend into the birth canal, causing his heart rate to drop as I pushed him downward, because his cord was being pulled tight. Having a reason, something that no one could have prevented, made it easier to deal with. Having to have a c-section was really hard for me to deal with, emotionally. I had my heart set on a natural birth, and when I had to have the c-section I felt like something was stolen from me, even though I know no one could have prevented it. Giving birth is just such an emotional ordeal, and this just wasn’t the way it was supposed to happen.

The anesthesiologist started taking down the drape, signaling that we were finally almost done. There was a mirror up in the corner of the room, where the wall meets the ceiling, and it was just the weirdest thing, because I could see them wiping blood off of my abdomen and legs, but all I could feel was my body slightly shaking from side to side. At one point they pulled my left leg out, and bent it upward, but it felt like it was still laying flat on the table by my right leg. That was the weirdest thing ever. Then they moved my body back over to the rolling bed, which also felt extremely weird. They rolled me into the recovery room, where my mom came and sat with me for a little while, while Mike called his parents. I kept shivering uncontrollably, and my teeth were chattering like crazy, and everyone kept asking me if I was cold, but I was just shaking from the stress of it all, and I knew that this was common and normal from c-sections. Mike came in and traded places with my mom, and told me all about our little baby. They finally brought him in about 20 minutes later, and I finally got to actually hold my sweet boy. I tried to nurse him, and he latched on immediately. It was wonderful. After I fed him, we got my laptop, and Mom, Lucas, Mike, the baby and I all talked to my dad on Skype, in Iraq. It was great for him to still be able to see his new grandson.

When I could finally (after about an hour and a half) wiggle my toes, they took me to my room that I would stay in the rest of my time there (if you’re keeping track, that’s 5 different rooms I’ve been in now). I cuddled up with my sweet boy, who I was completely in love with, and tried to get some sleep. And well, the rest is history.

Logan James Ryan was born on February 17^th, 2010 at 1:13 am, weighing 8 pounds, 7 ounces, and 21” long, via Emergency C-Section. It wasn’t the way I planned for him to arrive, but it saved his life, and for that, I am forever thankful. He is the most wonderful blessing from the Lord. Thus begins my journey into Motherhood. What a wonderful thing it is indeed.

A Boy and His Duck

2010-04-14T10:38:00.001-07:00

The other day Mike was playing with Logan, and said that he needed a toy to grab onto, so I went upstairs and got one off of his shelf. It was a yellow duck, and it was SO cute, so I took like a million pictures. :o) So, here’s my sweet boy with his first toy. :o)

Mom, WHY is this duck on my head?!?!?

This one is my favorite. Is that not the sweetest thing you’ve ever seen??? Ahhh, so in love. :o)

Stream Of Consciousness…

2010-04-10T02:41:00.001-07:00

It’s 1:30 am… I should really be in bed. not sure what I’m thinking, being up so late with a baby that’s so young. I’ve been playing with my blog though, as you can see, and it’s been fun. :o)

spent forever creating the header… what do you think? I think that after spending so long on it, I might end up changing it. I like it, and I’m excited to have learned more fun stuff about Photoshop Elements, but I’m not sure it’s what I’m going for on my blog… we’ll see.

Need to finish editing the photos I took of Logan. They’re just sitting there in that folder, calling my name… but I don’t feel like doing them. I need to though. I’ll feel better when they’re done. I hate having unfinished things like that just gnawing at my mind. Ugh.

Logan was pretty fussy this afternoon. He didn’t take a good nap though, that’s why. He’s such a good baby. I love him so much. Not because he’s good… just because he’s mine. All mine. Can’t get over that one. He really is good though… he pretty much only cries when he’s hungry or tired. The rest of the time he’s just completely chill. And he only gets up about once or twice a night. Been like that since we brought him home. I really think I lucked out with this little guy. He’s so amazing and I’m enjoying every second with him.

I keep having dreams that I’m pregnant again already. It’s weird. And it’s not because I want to be pregnant again already. I’m definitely looking forward to having another baby… but ya know, in the future. :o) My body really needs time to heal from the last pregnancy and the c-section before I go putting it through growing a baby again. And I just wanna enjoy my little man. Cause he’s awesome and all. ;o) Speaking of the c-section, I really should finish my birth story… it’s almost done… and then I’ll post it.

But not tonight. Tonight, I’m going to bed. :o)

and more…

2010-04-10T00:18:00.001-07:00

more testing…

2010-04-10T00:17:00.001-07:00

Testin Out New Bloggin Software :o)

2010-04-10T00:14:00.001-07:00

Our first time wearing shoes! :o)

Easter

2010-04-09T00:56:00.001-07:00

Here's a couple pictures from Easter. We were all dressed up, so I wanted to get a family picture. :o) And the other one is of Logan's special Easter outfit. It was too big for him though, so it made him look like a fat little man. But in an adorable way, of course. :o)

Smiles :o)

2010-04-08T23:47:00.001-07:00

Logan started smiling the day before he turned 4 weeks old, on a Tuesday. These were taken that Friday. Love my little man's smiles. :o)

Today I was talking to him while he was in his swing, and I said, "Mama loves you!" and his whole face lit up in this huge grin. Talk about melting a mama's heart!!!

Photo Shoot

2010-03-18T19:55:00.000-07:00

While I've been waiting for the pictures that we got taken of Logan to get put up on the photographer's website, I decided to try to take some of my own, and here's what I got. :o) These are just a couple. I'm still in the process of editing the rest. :o) I couldn't decide if I like the black and white's or the ones in color better, so I just posted both...

Cheerio Lips. My favorite. :o)

Shortly after taking these pictures, he started peeing and pooping everywhere. :o) Haha, I was prepared though, so it wasn't a big deal. It just resulted in the following picture...

I got the water level right this time, and he was able to sit up on his own in it, which made the bathing portion much easier. :o) Haha, I just love this picture. It cracks me up. I'm thinking about framing it. ;o)

Hope you're all having a great day!

First Bath

2010-03-13T18:22:00.000-08:00

Here's pictures from Logan's first bath. :o) It doesn't look like he liked it, but he did. He was just already cranky before we put him in it. :o)

It was hard for me to figure out how to wash him in this thing, but once we got the water level right it was easier. And once he's able to sit up more on his own that will help too. Anyways, we had fun and here are the pictures. :o)

More Logan Pictures. :o)

2010-03-08T22:22:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd post a few more pictures of our baby boy. :o) And seriously, my birth story really is coming soon. :o) It's just EXTREMELY long, just to forewarn you. :o)

Anyways, I took these ones today. He's finally starting to have longer periods of time where he's more alert, and looking around. He's so cute. :o)

Took these about a week ago.

I love me a folded up little baby. So cute. :o)

Ok, that's all for now. We gave him his first bath on Saturday, so I'll post those pictures soon, and I'll post the thank-you goodies I made for my nurses who took care of me at the hospital. :o)

Announcing The Arrival Of...

2010-02-22T23:27:00.001-08:00

Logan James Ryan. :o)

Our sweet baby boy was born on Wednesday, February 17, 2010 at 1:13 am, by emergency C-Section. We are both doing great, recovery from the surgery isn't as bad as I would have expected, just have to stay on top of my pain meds and it's all good. :o) We came home from the hospital on Saturday, and Mike has the rest of this week off. Things are wonderful and we could not be more in love with our baby boy. :o)

Birth story coming soon. Here's some pictures of my handsome little man. :o)

He's the best daddy ever. He's so good with him. I've fallen in love with him all over again these past several days. I'm blessed beyond belief. :o)

41 Weeks Pregnant, and Labor :o)

2010-02-16T22:09:00.001-08:00

So I turned 41 Weeks today. :o) Here's my picture for this week. It's the last one of my weekly journey. :o)

Anyways, we're in the hospital right now, and I'm in labor. :o) Mary-Beth (the nurse-midwife at the clinic I've been going to) is doing my delivery since my Dr is out of town, and I'm SO happy about that. :o) She checked me just a little bit ago (at about 8 pm) and I'm dilated to a 5 already! :o) I was dilated to about a 3 this afternoon, so I'm making pretty good progress.

Labor isn't really horrific at this point. The contractions are coming about every 3 minutes, and are painful but definitely manageable. We'll see how things go as the night progresses.

Anyways, we should have a baby tomorrow sometime! :o)

Photoshop Elements

2010-02-12T22:42:00.001-08:00

So I have Photoshop, and Photoshop Elements, and have been wanting to play around with them for quite some time, but they are quite intimidating (kinda like my fancy camera that I had to have). Well, I was super bored tonight and decided to give it a whirl. One of my favorite bloggers has done several tutorials on photography, and a couple have included editing photos in Elements. So, I pulled up her blog, and just went at it. :o) It turned out to be quite easy, once I figured out how to do a couple things (the version she has of Photoshop Elements is a tad bit different than mine), and really wasn't so scary after all. ;o)

I took a few pictures of old farm buildings while we were in Nebraska back in August for this exact purpose. So, here's how it turned out. :o)

"Antiqued" Photographs. :o)

This is the original image, straight out of my camera.

Here's my first attempt. Not too bad... looks a little "sun faded" huh? :o)

And here's the second attempt. :o) I think I like this one a bit better. It's not so washed out. I used a different textured layer for this one than I did on the first one.

Anyways, it was fun doing these, and definitely not as hard as I thought it would be, so maybe you'll be seeing more edited photography from me in the future. ;o)

40 Weeks Pregnant

2010-02-09T13:12:00.001-08:00

Well folks, today, February 9th, 2010 is my due date. Craziness. I am offcially 40 weeks pregnant. What's it like, being 40 weeks pregnant? Well, here's what it looks like:

And what does it feel like? Well... it's uncomfortable, to say the least. ;o) Doing the most simple of things is completely exhausting, such as the dishes, or walking up a flight of stairs. Sleeping is just ridiculous. It hurts incredibly bad to turn over, which I have to do A LOT, or else my hips start hurting from puttin so much pressure on one side or the other.

But through all the aches and pains, I feel incredibly blessed to be pregnant. I have enjoyed the experience thouroughly. It has been a healthy and uneventful pregnancy, and for that I am continually thankful. :o)

The Lord has really blessed me in this, and I can't wait to meet this little person that he has been creating inside of me. What an awesome concept!

As much as I have enjoyed being pregnant, I am definitely looking forward to having my body "back", and enjoying my little man from the outside. :o) So, I sit and wait for labor to begin. I know it's going to be painful, and in no way fun, but I'm excited, and looking forward to it all. Hopefully very soon I will have pictures of my baby to show you. :o)

38 Week Belly

2010-02-07T20:42:00.000-08:00

So, as usual all the pictures I took looked dumb, but this one shows off the belly the best. ;o) This is my 38 week picture. I will be 40 weeks on Tuesday. If I make it that long. I'm praying I don't. ;o) Ready to meet my baby boy, but I'm sure he's got an agenda of his own. ;o)

Baby Swag, Part 1: Clothes

2010-02-05T18:07:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I have a MILLION pictures of all the baby stuff I have so far. Everything I got at my baby shower, and a few things I have accumulated myself. Anyways, since there are so many pictures I decided to do them in smaller segments. So here's the first part. All the clothes. :o) I got all of these from my shower. :o) I counted all the onesies, and I have 46! Wow, that's a lot of onesies. :o) Anyways, here ya go.

Blogger roated this, and I don't know why. The middle sleeper has horses on the footsies. So cute! :o)

LOVE this one. :o) I'm planning on bringing him home in it. :o)

Little baby socks. SO cute. :o)

OK, hopefully I'll do another post soon. :o)

Christmas Cakes

2010-01-16T18:36:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to post pictures of the little cakes I made for the families at church for Christmas this year. They took forever, but I'm really pleased with how they turned out! :o) The cake itself is pound cake, brushed in simple syrup. They're cut into 3 layers, and filled and iced with a Mocha Buttercream Frosting. Then I made little sheets of chocolate and wrapped them around the cakes, and also put them on the top. Then added more buttercream frosting to cover up the chocolate seams and make everything all pretty. :o) They were really small, not quite as big as a cupcake. Anyways, here they are. :o)

My Birthday Party!

2010-01-12T18:47:00.000-08:00

Well, they're almost 3 months late, but I thought I'd post the pictures from my surprise birthday party that my hubby and Michelle threw for me. :o) They were so sweet and I was really surprised! I'm so blessed to have such an amazing husband, and great friends. I don't deserve them in any way, shape or form, and am extremely thankful for them every day. God has really blessed me, and I am in awe.

The super cute cake that my awesome mom made for me. :o)

My Michelle. :o) I don't know where I would be without her. She's been such a great friend to me lately, and I am beyond thankful for her. I love you girl!!! :o)

Emily and Joyka

Love of my life, my Prince Charming, my soul mate, my Everything. No one in this world I would rather have. Love him. :o)

Emily. Man I love this girl. Another person I don't know what I would do without. :o)

Let's eat cake! (it tasted even better than it looked!!!)

The card was singing. :o) And these are my 21 balloons that Elmer and Joyka brought. So fun! :o)

Everyone was playing the Wii, but this is the closest thing we got to a picture of that.

Thankful.

Showin off the belly. I think I was around 24 weeks here. :o)

Mara was also at the party, but she's the one who took all of these pictures, so we didn't get any of her. :o( Thanks Mara!!! :o)

34 Week Belly Shot

2010-01-12T18:30:00.001-08:00

Well, I turned 36 weeks today, so it's a good time to post my 34 week belly shot right? ;o) yeah, I really do need to get on it a little better. I didn't take my picture today. But that was cuz I was being a total bum since I kind of over-did it yesterday. :o) So, since I should look half way decent for my Dr.'s appointment tomorrow, I'll try to take one then. :o)

But for now, here's this horrid picture of me, 2 weeks ago. The lighting in the hallway where I've been taking them is terrible. NO natural light whatsoever. I really should figure out something different. Ya know, now that I'm almost done being pregnant. ;o) anyways, here it is. :o)

Belly Shots

2009-12-03T17:12:00.001-08:00

So, I've been pretty bad about taking my belly pictures on time (I try to do them every 2 weeks), and especially about posting them on here. Or posting on here at all, for that matter. ;o) So, since I am 30 weeks this week, I did take my belly picture today, and decided I would post it right away. Because if I procrastinate at all, it will never get done. ;o) So, here is my 30 week belly picture and my 28 week one, since I took that one as well, and never posted it. ;o)

Here I am at 28 weeks.

And here I am today, at 30 weeks.

Wow, only 10 weeks to go! It's going by SO fast! I won't miss the couple of aches and pains of pregnancy, but I will miss feeling this little guy wiggling around inside of me! I love it. :o) But at the same time, I can't wait to finally see his little face, and hold him in my arms, and snuggle and kiss his soft baby skin, and smell his sweet little head. :o)

Hope everyone is having a great day! :o)

My Pumpkins

2009-10-30T15:23:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I bought some white craft pumpkins on sale at Michael's, so I could paint them for fall decorations. I cut out stencils from pictures I had printed off from the internet, and painted away. And here is the result. :o) I love them!

Video #7

2009-10-29T17:26:00.000-07:00

Alright, last one. :o) This one he's got the tip of his thumb in his mouth again. :o) Thanks for looking at my videos, and letting me share this with you! 103 days til due date. In 4 days I'll be in double digits! Wow! Haha, hope you're all having a good day! :o)

Video #6

2009-10-29T17:22:00.000-07:00

He's making sucking motions with his mouth in this one. See his little chin and lips moving? Aww... I'm so glad I have these videos. Melt my heart! :o)

Video #5

2009-10-29T17:18:00.000-07:00

Just his little face. :o) And him being wiggly again. ;o) You can see his lips pretty good in this one! I love that! :o)

Video #4

2009-10-29T17:08:00.000-07:00

This one he's just being wiggly. ;o) The kid wouldn't sit still for anything. Which is fun to watch, but makes it hard to get pictures. Oh well! :o)

Video #3

2009-10-29T17:01:00.000-07:00

This one he's just hanging out. See his hand up by his face? He's sucking his thumb! :o) You can see right at the end his chin kinda jerk, that's a sucking motion. :o) SO cool. Oh, and you see the long thing up by the top? that's part of his LEG! He had his legs completely stretched out above his head! Haha, crazy little gymnastics kid. ;o)

Video #2

2009-10-29T16:57:00.000-07:00

This one shows his belly first, it's on the right. Then his face comes in, he's kinda looking at you. Then it goes into a profile of his face. :o)

(oh, and all these videos except the very last one are in 2D format).

3D Ultrasound

2009-10-29T16:26:00.000-07:00

SO, remember how in my last post I SAID that our 3D ultrasound was on the 1st of December? Well... a guy that Mike knows called him yesterday and said that there was a new place opening in town that was going to be doing them, but they weren't fully established yet, so they were doing them for free! So I called, and the lady said that they were doing them for free through the end of the week. So I made an appointment for today! It was so cool! I love getting ultrasounds done, and being able to see my little man! Oh yeah, haha this kid is definitely a boy! ;o) Anyways, here are the pictures and some videos. I've never posted videos on here before, so I'm hoping they turn out alright. But they take forever to load, so I'm going to see if putting each video in it's own post will help. So there might be several posts with short little videos, just bear with me and enjoy! I sure did! :o) He has my nose! Haha, I cannot wait to meet this kid... :-D

These first few are in 2D. This is his face, in case you couldn't tell. :o)

This one is 3D. He had his hands in his face the WHOLE time, so it was hard for her to get a clear shot of his face. He's got chubby little cheeks. ;o)

Another profile of his face. I don't like this one as much, cuz it makes his nose look weird. But it's computer technology, so it's not perfect! :o)

Here's one of his face without the hands in it. It's a little blurry, but cool none the less. :o)

Haha, this one BOTH of his hands are in his face, so it's even harder to see, but I think it's adorable. :o)

Awwwww... I like this one a lot. My little man... :o)

And with the arms again. ;o)

Ok, so here's the first video. Umm... basically you're lookin at his little bum and the bottom of his thighs. This video just shows that he's a boy. ;o)

Ok, gonna see if I can get the rest of these loaded. Hope you enjoy them!

He woke me up with hiccups this morning. ;o) And now he's got them again for the 3rd time today! Too funny. :o)

Catching Up...

2009-10-27T21:20:00.000-07:00

Hmm, I haven't posted in a while. So I figured I'd get on it. ;o)

You all already know, but I'll put it on here anyways... baby is looking like a boy. :o) I'm getting very excited about it, and cannot wait to meet my little man. I turned 25 weeks today, so roundabouts 15 more to go. Time is flying by. It's going to be here in no time at all. :o) I got pictures from the ultrasound last Wednesday, but none of them were very good, so I really don't feel they're worth sharing. I think my Dr. is going to take a little peek again at my next appointment just to make sure it's still a boy, so maybe I'll get some better ones then. ;o) But if not, my sweet hubby came up with the awesome idea to go get a 3D ultrasound done! I'm so excited to get another chance to see my little man, and maybe see what some of his features are. :o) So, we will get pictures and a DVD from that appointment, so I'll be sure to post those. :o) It's on December 1st, when I turn 30 weeks. Which is only 5 weeks away. And then I'll be in the single digit count-down! Yikes!!! :o)

So I think I'll post some pictures of when we went to Ninilchik before we went to Nebraska. We went down over a weekend to hang out with my parents, and had a really good time. I really enjoyed it. :o)

My amazing hubby. :o) This was on the way down, where you pull off to go up to the Princess Hotel. It was SO foggy out. But we had fun being dorks. ;o)

The fireweed. :o) This was the tallest fireweed I have ever seen! It was taller than me!

Crystal, Tim and Annette Chace were there over the weekend as well, and I watched Crystal's girls so that she could go out on the halibut boat with Dad and her parents to catch some fish without having to worry about little ones being out on the big water. We had fun, but they were a handful! ;o)

Sisters. :o)

Ellie was fascinated by the pig. She wanted to stay over there all day but it stunk. ;o)

Annabelle playing with a dandelion. She's so cute. :o)

Ellie and her dandelion. She had fun blowing all the little fuzzies off.

Mike and Dad's friend Fred's son, Trenton with their fish. They look happy huh? ;o)

Mike and my dad... being a dork. ;o)

There's a happy one! :o)

Down at Happy Valley. My favorite place in Ninilchik. I have to go every time I'm there.

Mom, in all the millions of times she's been to Ninilchik has never been to Happy Valley (i know, *gasp!*) so I forced her to come with me, instead of staying at the camper and working on chores, which is all she EVER does when she gets left behind because the fishing boat is too full. I told her she needed to take a break and do something fun! So, we went. It was rainy and yucky out, but we had a great time walking the beach, talking about all kinds of things and looking for cool rocks and shells. :o)

The beach, and the waterfall. Love it. :o)

Me and my mommy. :o) We were being dorks, and I was cracking her up. I think she really enjoyed the time we spent together. As did I. :o)

Pretty flowers...

I tried to get her to be a dork, but she wouldn't do it. She just had to stay all cute. ;o)

I REALLY wish I had a macro lense. This would have been even cooler if I was able to get closer on it. You should click on it to see it full size though. The drop of water is neat. :o)

We drove my poor little car down the tiny little super bumpy, tree-covered road. I think I only bottomed out once. ;o)

Later in the day, all the guys came back from fishing, and wanted to go to Happy Valley as well. Seeing as I love the place so much, I wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to go, and I missed my hubby while he was gone. :o) So back I went.

A little run down shack of some sort on the hike out to the falls.

Dad's high school best friend from Texas, Robert, and Lucas at the top of the waterfall.

So pretty, even amidst the fog and rain. :o)

Mike and Tyler decided that they needed to conquer the rock. ;o)

the tide was SO far out. It was crazy. I had never seen it like that before.

I totally forgot that I had taken these until I was going through my Ninilchik pictures just now trying to figure out which ones to post. I hadn't even seen them on my computer until now. Isn't it gorgeous?!? The fireweed was out in full force all along the highway on the way home. I couldn't get enough of it. The hillsides were just painted purple, and it was awesome. See how GREEN those mountains are??? Wow. It took my breath away. No better place to be stopped for construction if you ask me. :o)

Well there you go, I posted. ;o) And it wasn't JUST about pregnancy, or babies. ;o) Hope you all are having a fabulous week.

15 1/2 hours...

2009-10-13T21:12:00.000-07:00

In that amount of time, it will be time for my ultrasound tomorrow. :o)

I can't wait. I'm so incredibly excited. :o) Above all, I'm just hoping and praying to see a healthy little baby in there. And then, I'm hoping that our baby won't be a bit shy or bashful and that we will be able to tell what we're having. :o) I'm such a planner, and I just want to KNOW what this baby is!!! I've been going crazy. There are so many projects and things that I have wanted to start on, but haven't been able to, because I want them to be gender-specific. So, I've waited...and waited...and the time is finally here. :o) I'm so happy. :o)

Mom is coming with us to the ultrasound tomorrow, and she's beyond excited. I'm glad she's able to share in this with us, cuz I love my mommy. :o) And I'm also very excited, because Mike has two Personal Days that he has to take off before the end of the year or he loses them, so he's taking one of them tomorrow. :o) I'm so excited to just spend the whole day with my amazing hubby. After the ultrasound, I think we're going to go to lunch, and then maybe buy something small for our baby. :o) It should be a fun day, and I'm really looking forward to it.

So, I'll be sure to update you all as soon as I can on how the appointment went! It's at 11:45 tomorrow. :o)

Hope you all had a great day in the Lord. :o)

Kids

2009-10-07T21:17:00.000-07:00

Well, I have the Denton kids until this Friday night (they've been here since Saturday night). Things have been going pretty good. We will see how the week goes though, as they have a pretty hectic schedule, between the girls' ballet lessons, Alton's TaeKwon-Do, and Hannah's Piano.

Anyways, Sunday Hannah had a "dress parade" thing for ballet, because she is a cherub in the Nutcracker this year, so I had to do her hair and take her to that, so I thought I'd share the pictures I emailed to her mom last night. :o)

I love the expression on her face. :o)

I also curled Ava's all pretty before we went back to church.

Does she not look like she belongs in the Colonial days or something??? ;o)

Aww, sisters. :o)

Running them around has just been ridiculously crazy, and I'm exhausted by the time they go to bed every night. I've also been going to the gym every morning after dropping them off at school, so that's making me tired too. :o) Anyways, that's what's going on with me this week. Hope you all are having a good week so far.

It's Back...

2009-10-01T15:18:00.000-07:00

I turned anonymous comments back on. There are a couple of you who want to comment, but can't now because you don't have a google account. So it's back on. Even if anonymous people decide to leave hateful comments, it's OK. I can deal with it. I probably deserve it anyways.

So... there you go. Comment away. :o)

Baby Room

2009-10-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

Mom came over and helped me paint on Monday. She took the whole day off, and we had a really good time hanging out. :o) The painting turned out much better than either one of us were expecting, and we love it! I can't wait to get furniture in there. :o) But I have to be patient for that, since Mom and Dad are building it. :o)

Anyways, here's pictures. :o)

The corner of the room where all of our junk was consolidated and organized. ;o) Instead of putting the closet doors back on, I'm thinking of Just hanging a curtain that would tie in the colors of the rest of the room. Not sure yet though. :o) I know it looks all messy and everything still, but trust me, it's WAY better than what that room used to look like!

My new book shelf and drawers. :o)

The wall on the right is bare right now, and will be a "baby wall".

Pretty paint. ;o)

And the tree. :o) We LOVE how it turned out. I couldn't be happier with it. :o)

And back to the door. A full 360* view of the room. ;o)

Closer up of the tree.

The little birdies are probably my favorite. :o)

Anyways, there's our baby room. :o)

I'm slowly working on my wedding scrap book (finally!!!), so I'm hoping when I get it done, to post pictures of it. Hmm... maybe soon I'll post some pictures of the weekend trip we took to Ninilchik, and then some from Nebraska and stuff. ;o)

Alright, I'm off to finish my chore calendar now! I keep getting distracted!!! ;o)

A Three Year Old's Pregnancy

2009-09-15T14:00:00.000-07:00

I was approximately 3 years old when my mom became pregnant with that *angel* baby brother of mine. I was SO excited, and insisted that I too was pregnant. Mom dropped me off at daycare one day, and there was a new gal working there who wasn't really on the up-and-up with my pregnancy and all. When I got there that day, I stretched my belly out, rubbing it saying, "ooooh, my baby is growin!" and the silly daycare lady says, "Oh honey, you're not pregnant! Your mommy is!" I proceeded to burst into tears. I mean, how could she possibly say that? Of course I was pregnant! I had a baby in my belly and I was just like Mama. Apparently mom was still there when this happened, and told the lady, "We're playing her game. Let her baby grow!" so from then on, the new daycare lady, whoever she was, agreed with me that I was pregnant. :o)

I loved being pregnant. I would walk around, poking my little 3 year old belly out, rubbing it, talking about my baby that was growing in there. Mom was constantly amused by my antics. In fact, I was so convinced that I was pregnant that I got morning sickness one day. I'm dead serious. Naturally, I don't remember all of this, but mom does. :o)

I was at home eating oatmeal with mom one morning, and I said to her, "Mama I just can't eat!" And she says, "Of course you can! Now finish your oatmeal." And I replied with, "No, I can't! My baby is making me soooo sick!" And then I proceeded to puke everywhere. Apparently mom died laughing and called her mom to share. And apparently I was fine the rest of the day. ;o)

My pregnancy abruptly ended one day when I was "washing" the baby in Mama's tummy. Mom couldn't go anywhere or do anything without me tagging along, following her everywhere. So when she was nearing the very end of her pregnancy one day, and feeling very tired and sore, she decided to take a really hot bath. Whenever she would take baths, I would always be in there with her, sitting on the side of the tub, washing her belly. I loved taking care of "baby". And this day was no different. Since the bath water was so hot, Lucas was squinched up in a tight ball in the middle of mom's belly, trying to get away from the heat. Well, I picked up a small cup out of the tub, and poured the water right over her belly. Lucas did a full somersault on the spot. Mom's whole stomach lurched and rolled. My eyes got huge, and I looked at Mama, and told her, "I'm not pregnant anymore. I gave my baby to you." And walked out of the bathroom. No more baby in my belly! ;o)

Look How The Belly Grows

2009-09-08T19:32:00.000-07:00

Alright, a MILLION pictures later, and I have a belly shot that I'm half way satisfied with. It's ridiculous how hard it can be to take a silly picture of yourself. Goodness. Maybe I'm just picky. ;o) At any rate, I'm 18 weeks today, and my baby can now hear and recognize my voice, and sometimes might be stimulated by it. I talked to it for a minute earlier (and felt pretty silly, even though I was alone) and about 30 seconds later felt it moving! Haha, it was too cool. Oh yeah, that's another thing. I've been feeling movement since about the 17th of August. Really neat. :o) Alright, I've got some other things I need to be doing, so here you go. Sorry I haven't posted in so long. Life has been a little hectic. Soon to come: pictures of our trip and posting about our progress on converting our spare room from our "Catch All Junk Room" to "Baby Room". :o)

Hope you all had a great labor day weekend, and a great week so far! :o)

Stuff...

2009-08-03T13:17:00.000-07:00

Thank-you to those who prayed for little Stellan. He ended up not being air-flighted to Boston, and they were finally able to get him on a combination of oral medication to slow down his SVT (extremely high heart rate). He was FIANLLY discharged from the hospital today. Hopefully he won't end up there again for quite some time, although his heart journey is far from over

Not a lot has been going on with me. I have my second Dr.'s appointment tomorrow. I'm sure it will be quick and boring. She'll probably ask me some questions, and I have some questions for her. She'll take my weight, and blood pressure, I'm sure. And I'm not really sure what else. Maybe an external exam, just to feel the size of the uterus and what-not. We'll see. The receptionist told me when I made the appointment that she wouldn't use a doppler to try to find a heartbeat until like 21 weeks or so. So, that's a bit of a bummer. And kind of weird, but whatever. I'm not worried.

It's been a hard time for me lately. And so hard to distinguish what's hormones and what isn't. I feel like I'm drifting away from all my friends, for some reason, and that's hard for me, being such a social person. I don't feel like I have anyone super close anymore that I can really talk to. And whenever I talk to someone about this, I feel like I'm whining, which I HATE, so I generally don't talk about stuff. I hate that I can't always blog about how I really feel about things sometimes. That drives me nuts. Sometimes I just want to get on here and let it ALL out, but I don't think it would go over so well with some people. ;o) *sigh* I guess it's times like these that we need our savior the most.

And, on another random note, here's a couple more pictures from Texas. :o)

Oddly enough, these are all the pictures I managed to get of Kaylee. How did that happen? I miss her so much.

On the playground at Taylor's birthday party. :o)

We were walking to what we thought was an abandoned house to find a stray kitten, but there was a light on... so we came back. :o)

When we were in Oklahoma visiting my grandparents, my grandpa took us out on lake Eufala.

We had fun playin in the sand. :o)

At the Texas state line.

She loves her state. :o)

At Bek's house, with Susannah. :o)

Well, there you go. A very random post. :o) hope you enjoyed.

Week 12

2009-07-30T14:18:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Second Trimester!!! :o) There is a lot of debate that argues about when the second trimester actually begins. Some say 12 weeks, some say 12 weeks - 1 day (as that is when you are technically in the 13th weeks) some say 13 weeks, some even say 14, since the 40 weeks of pregnancy divided by 3 trimesters equals 13.3 weeks. But, I'm going to stick with the 12 week theory. ;o) I'm starting to feel SO much better, and it's great. I'm not feeling nearly as sick (although some smells/sights still make me gag, haha.), but I'm still pretty tired some days. But things are definitely starting to look up again. Which is SO nice, since there were days when I didn't even remember what it felt like to feel good, and I didn't think I was ever going to feel good again. :o)

So, anyways, here's a look into week 12, and the start of the second trimester! Yay! ;o)

Look! It's got little ARMS and LEGS, and not just little buds anymore! So cool! 8 weeks and counting until we can find out the gender. I can't wait!!! :o)

Uterus: The top of your uterus (fundus) is starting to rise above your pelvic bones now; you may have noticed that your waist is thickening.

Ear: Your baby's ears are closer to their final positions on the sides of it's head.

Eyelid: Your baby's eyes are less transparent now, and it's eyes have moved closer together.

Umbilical Cord: Your baby's intestines, which have grown so rapidly that they protrude into the umbilical cord will start to move back into the abdominal cavity now.

Prayer...

2009-07-27T12:45:00.000-07:00

The little baby in my sidebar, Stellan is in desperate need of prayers again. His poor little heart is not doing well...actually is doing very BAD. He is being emergency air-flighted to Boston right now, as his heart is giving out. If more details are wanted, just click on his picture in my sidebar and it will take you right to his mama's blog. Thanks.

Also, prayer for our church would be appreciated. All I can ask is that you please pray that God's will would prevail, no matter what that might be.

Again, thank-you. I'm so glad I have people that I can go to, to ask for prayer. It gives you so much more hope and reassurance.

Week 11

2009-07-24T00:18:00.001-07:00

Skin: Your baby's skin is still transparent, allowing many blood vessels to show through.

Hand: Your baby may soon be able to open and close it's fists.

Bone: Your baby's bones are beginning to harden and tiny tooth buds are starting to appear under it's gums.

Texas

2009-07-14T16:25:00.001-07:00

Thought I would post a few pictures from my trip right quick. They're getting a little over-due. ;o) I forgot how many I took of the kids, so for now, I'll introduce you to my new nephew, Jacob. :o)

P.S. Lauren just sent me a text saying that he weighs 11 lbs, 13.5 oz, and is 13 1/2 inches long now. :o) Growing boy!

Anyways, there will be more of these to come, but I figured you would appreciate a break from the baby updates. ;o)

10 weeks...aka 1/4 way there! ;o)

2009-07-14T16:15:00.000-07:00

Wow, look at what a difference there is in between this week and last week! Even though it's still got a little alien head, it's looking a lot more like a BABY! Yay! Oh, and look at how big it's starting to get, in proportion to the mother's body. It's not a little dot anymore! Haha. ;o)

Uterus: Your uterus has doubled by now, from the size of a pear before you got pregnant to the size of a grapefruit.

Brain: Your baby's forehead bulges with its developing brain and sits high on its head (hence the alien look). ;o)

Yolk Sac: Your baby's liver is now making blood cells; the yolk sac is no longer needed and begins to disappear.

Meet My Baby. :o)

2009-07-07T20:16:00.000-07:00

We had our first appointment today, and everything was GREAT! Baby is measuring perfectly, at exactly 9 weeks (I'm going to start posting my updates on Tuesdays now, because that's when I go into a new week). She did an ultrasound, and we got to see our amazing little baby. Mike held my hand as the picture popped up onto the screen, and I nearly started crying. I couldn't believe it. What I was seeing on the screen, a tiny little baby, was actually inside of me. I was...amazed...to say the least. The baby was wiggling around in there. You could see it waving it's tiny little arms. So amazing. And so crazy that the baby is moving so much, but I can't feel it! Haha, it's still too tiny, but I can't wait. :o)

I could have stared at that screen for hours and hours, watching my baby move around, but it ended all too soon. I swear, it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

Anyways, without further adieu, I would like you to meet my baby. :o)

I can't stop looking at this. THAT'S MY BABY. :o)

Week 9

2009-07-05T14:50:00.000-07:00

And another week has flown by. It didn't feel like it at the time, but here I am a day past my posting day. :o) Craziness, I say.

I have been meaning to post about other things during the week, but just haven't gotten around to it. I'll work on that, because eventually, if you haven't already, you will get bored of me posting these weekly updates. So, I'll try to keep my blog alive with things other than baby progress updates. ;o)

Anyways, here's week 9 for you.

Earlobe: Your baby now has earlobes.

Eyelid: Your baby's eyelids are now fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks.

Chorionic Villi: If you have chorionic villus sampling (CVS) in the next few weeks, the doctor will draw cells from the tiny projections in the placenta called chorionic villi.

Fingers: The tips of your baby's fingers are slightly enlarged where the "touch pads" are developing.

Shoulders: Your baby can now move it's limbs; all the major joints are working, including the shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees and ankles.

So that's what's going on this week! :o) Hope you all had a fabulous 4th of July. We had a pretty good one, spent on the Chena River with friends. If I can get the pictures from people, then I'll post some soon. :o)

8 weeks Today

2009-06-27T18:50:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe it's already been a week since I posted my first update. Maybe this will go by faster than I think. ;o) I'm not tired of being pregnant. Just tired of feeling so sick all the time. I'm hoping that all that goes away in the second trimester like it's "supposed to". :o) But for now, I am on week 8, therefore still stuck in the first trimester. :o)

Here's our little alien this week. Starting to look more like a little person, but it's got an alien head. So cute. ;o)

Eyelid: Translucent eyelids practically cover your baby's eyes now.

Brain: The nerve cells in your baby's brain are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways.

Hand: Your baby's hands are flexed at the wrists and meet over the heart. The fingers are still slightly webbed but growing longer.

Knee Joint: Your baby now has knees and it's feet may be long enough to meet in front of its body.

I haven't really "felt" anything different yet. I do know that I am growing to some degree though, because as of the other night, I officially need to unbutton my jeans while sitting down. Standing up I'm just fine, but sitting down is a whole different story! :o) I think it's just "the bloat" right now, but it's kinda fun. I can't wait until I really start showing, but even more than that, I can't wait to feel my baby move! That is going to be so surreal!

Well, I hope you all have had a good week!

A Baby Update :o)

2009-06-19T13:34:00.000-07:00

Well, based on a generalized calculation of things, tomorrow I should be right at about 7 weeks. So, I figured I'd start my "baby updates". I don't know that I'm going to get to them every week... we'll see. :o) Anyways, here we go. :o)

This is what my baby looks like this week. Little tadpole. :o)

Eyelid: Eyelid folds now partially cover your baby's eyes.

Umbilical Cord: A loop of your baby's growing intestines is bulging into the umbilical cord.

Tailbone: What looks like a tail is actually an extension of your baby's tailbone. It will disappear in the next few weeks.

Well, there you have it, that's what's going on this week. ;o) I do know that the baby already has a heartbeat at this point, and that by the end of this week, the baby will already be moving the little buds that will grow to start forming the arms and legs. I of course, won't be able to feel it quite yet, but can't wait! :o)

It All Started With a Box...

2009-06-11T10:19:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess it actually started with what was inside of the box. ;o)

I am completely thrilled to announce that Mike and I are expecting our first baby in the early part of February 2010! :o)

I am currently a little over 5 weeks pregnant, and we would greatly appreciate your prayers for this pregnancy and baby, especially in this first trimester. Our first appointment is on the 7th of July, at which time I will be a little over 9 weeks, and at that time we will get to hear our baby's heartbeat. I can't even express how excited and anxious I am for that day to get here! :o)

Well, prepare yourselves for me updating regularly about how my little bean is progressing! Love to you all. :o)

P.S. "The Box" is how I told Mike about our baby. :o)

One Week...

2009-05-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

One week from yesterday will be my last day at work. Odd. Actually, after today I will have 4 days of work left. Crazy. I'm still feeling pretty good about it, although I do get a little sad every now and then. :o) I've got a lot of ideas floating around up in my head right now as to what I'm going to be "doing" after I get back from Texas, and I'm excited about the possibilities. :o)

One week from today I leave for Texas. Exciting. :o) For those of you who don't know, my sister-in-law, Lauren gave birth to my first nephew on Wednesday, May 6th. As far as I know, everyone is doing fine, and happy and healthy. Well, not all are HAPPY. ;o) Apparently Taylor is very jealous of her new baby brother (who's name is Jacob Ryan Pinkston, by the way). Her mama says that she is very mean to Jacob and anyone who holds him. I feel bad for her, but I know it will pass. Funny little kids. :o) Hopefully she's not mean to me though when I'm down there, because I can't wait to see her, and plan on taking her off of her mama's hands for a little one-on-one time. :o)

Well, Mike leaves for Anchorage on Sunday night, for more training for work. He's going to be gone all next week, and then gets home the night I'm leaving for Texas, so we're barely going to miss each other. Bummer. We weren't exactly planning on being apart for three weeks, but that's just how his training worked out. We will survive I suppose, but being apart for a week when he went to California was rough. They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder though, so maybe sometimes people need that. :o) Someone should check in on him though, and make sure he's eating more than frozen burritos, subway and taco bell. ;o)

I'll try to post along the way while I'm in Texas, but we'll see how that goes. I'll probably have quite a bit of down time since Kaylee is going to be working a lot. But, I've also got a pretty full list of things I want to do while I'm down there, and I'm just hoping we can get everything in. :o) Trying not to stress though. It IS supposed to be a vacation, after all. :o)

Alright, well I haven't updated in a while, so I just thought I'd say hi, and let you all know what's going on around here. Hope you're all having a great day! :o)

My Friend

2009-05-05T20:08:00.001-07:00

The day before the Clark Family left to go back to Hawaii, Tori and I got together to do a photo-shoot. We had a lot of fun, and look forward to many more practice sessions this summer, so I can get better at photography. :o)

Tori is, hands down one of my very best friends. I love her more than I could possibly say, and I really don't know what I would do without her. She is always such a Godly encouragement to me. And she just has this way of so sweetly, softly, yet firmly, telling me when I'm wrong. Seriously, I can't take a "what you're doing is wrong" talk better from anyone else than I can her. She's always there to help me have a better attitude, and think on the positive side of things, when I'm complaining about something. Especially here lately. She's been there for me when I've gone through, and am going through tough situations that I simply don't know what to do in. She's such an encouragement to me, and I'm so thankful that the Lord brought her into my life all those years ago at the Coffee Cabin. :o)

We never know where God's path of life is going to take us, but I'm so glad I have met her along the road. I really believe that God is going to do great things in her life, and am so excited to see what He has in store for her.

I love you, Tori. :o)

The Goins-on around Here

2009-04-25T22:11:00.000-07:00

Well, I obviously haven't posted for a while. :o)

There hasn't been TOO much going on around here. Mike got back on Monday from a trip to California. He went down there for training for work. It was great to have him home. I missed him terribly. :o) And he was so nice as to get me presents while he was down there! :o) Such a nice husband. :o) I think he might have missed me too. Just a lil'. ;o)

Anyways, the girl taking over my position at work starts on Monday. Turns out that I will be working at Spenard's until the 21st of May. As that day draws closer, I get more and more excited about it. I'm really looking forward to just staying home, and being able to get things done. I really think it's going to be a good time for me.

Ok, well I think I'm gonna go to bed for the night. I'm tired dude. :o) Hope you all have a fabulous night, and a wonderful Sunday. :o)

Please Pray

2009-04-20T17:58:00.000-07:00

The baby I asked for prayer for a couple weeks ago still needs our prayers. Since I last posted about him, he has been moved to a hospital in Boston.

He is scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning, on his heart. A procedure called and Ablation, which is very, very risky in babies his size. But at this point, the doctors have no choice, and they are moving ahead with extreme caution. While the surgery is scheduled for tomorrow, it could be bumped up as early as tonight. Please pray for the doctor's to have wisdom, and the Lord to have his hand on sweet Stellan.

Thanks.

Some Thoughts

2009-04-14T10:29:00.000-07:00

Well, I "formally" resigned from my position at Spenard's yesterday, by turning in my letter of resignation. My last day is going to depend on how quickly someone gets hired and trained. I'm back and forth on this issue. One minute I'm hoping I get to stay until the day before I leave for my trip to Texas, which would be the 21st of May (I leave on the 22nd). Then the next minute I'm just wanting it to be over, and moving on, and then back again. So, thankfully, the Lord already knows what's going to happen, and I do not have to worry about it. He's got it all mapped out, and he has a plan. And for that, I am thankful. :o)

I hope my post the other day didn't come across wrong. I don't want any of you to think that I am a career woman, who simply has to have a job, because that's not me. Quite frankly, I spent the first several months of marriage unhappy with my work situation because I wanted to quit so badly. But my husband thought it best that I kept working, so I did. But I wasn't happy about it. Bad attitude. Anyways, over time I came to enjoy my job, even though it was hard to work a full time job and take care of my home and husband the way I need to be. I no longer wanted to quit my job, and things were running smoothly. Haha, then the bump came. This bump. And suddenly, things were switched around: I'm quitting my job, and I don't want to, and my husband is the one sitting there saying that I should just quit, and that it doesn't matter what I do as far as a job situation when I get back from Texas. Funny how things work sometimes. :o) But I want you all to know that I am not opposed to staying home full time. I do not need a job to make me feel "complete" or "needed" or any other kind of non-sense like that. I am perfectly fine with staying home, if that's what I end up doing. As of this moment, I simply don't know. There are a lot of factors that will go into that decision. For now, I'm just taking things a day at a time, and trying to be quiet and still, and figure out what it is that the Lord would have me to do. Because that's all that matters anyways.

So, I feel like this is all coming across more dramatic than it should be, than I'm meaning it. :o) I'm feeling better every day about this decision. I guess it was just the initial shock of getting rid of something that has been my life day in and day out for the past 2 1/2 years that upset me so. I know that the Lord is good, and that his plans are good, and I rejoice in that. I'm excited to see where His path takes me, and what new opportunities this could open in my life.

I love you all and appreciate all the supporting comments. :o) You don't know what that means to me. It's nice to be reminded that there are still some who care. Hugs. :o)

It's Been A Crazy Week

2009-04-12T17:48:00.000-07:00

Well, sorry I haven't posted in a while. It's been a crazy week. On Tuesday I went home from work a little early because I had a terrible sinus headache all day, and I was miserable. I ended up coming down with this cold that has been going around. Fun. I stayed home on Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday I was able to get a lot done around the house, even though I was miserable all day. Couldn't hardly breathe through my nose, and everything else. Thursday I didn't get anything done because I woke up with a killer headache that didn't go away all day. Anyways, I was feeling better on Friday, so I went into work.

Friday was another story... to get right to it: I ended up putting in my resignation at work. I had a meeting with my boss, Debbie right before I went to lunch. We talked about a lot of stuff, that I just don't really feel like going into, because it's just a long story. But, basically, my life goals aren't really matching up with the goals that Spenard's has for me, and I guess it's just time for me to move on. I'm sad, because while I was planning on quitting hopefully in the next several months, I wasn't quite ready yet. I have enjoyed my job. It's been a fairly good place to work, and I've been comfortable there. But, when things were just laid out before me, I could see that I didn't really have a choice. I had to chose between the things that were highly important to me, and the things that were important to SBS. Me resigning from my job is what's best for me, and what's fair to Spenard's. I'm going to miss the great people that I work with, but plan on popping in from time to time to say hello. I will be there up until the 21st of May, which is the day before I leave for my trip to Texas. But my last day could be earlier, if they hire someone else, and get them trained before then. But I'm hoping to be able to stay up until my trip. We'll see what happens though. Please pray for the Lord's guidance in this area of my life, as I don't know what I'm going to do when I get back from Texas. Mike says he doesn't have a problem with me not working, but since I don't exactly have any little babies to take care of I think I would get real bored real fast just staying at home all the time. :o) So, I'm thinking I'll try to find something that's part time, although the thought of starting a new job is intimidating to me. So, anyways, please pray for me. I would really appreciate it. :o)

Hmm, well I was gonna post about something else, but I can't seem to remember what it was. :o) I hope you all have had a wonderful Easter, and are celebrating our Lord rising from His grave. What an amazing, forgiving savior we have. :o) I love you all.

Well, yeah...

2009-04-03T15:18:00.000-07:00

I think I'm just gonna say that I took this week off as far as my chore calendar goes. :o) I hurt my back on Tuesday night working out, so I didn't do my chores that night. And Mike and I were doing some things around town last night, so I didn't do them last night either. And of course, being the party animals that we are, I won't be doing them tonight, as we're getting together with a group of friends. :o) And tomorrow, a bunch of us girlies are getting together, so...maybe I'll do my chores after they all leave. Or maybe I'll just start everything back up like normal on Monday. :o) We'll see. :o)

I started reading Persuasion for Jenn's book club. It's my first Jane Austin. I'm liking it so far, although it did take me a couple chapters to get into the swing of how she writes. But I'm enjoying it so far. :o) Hopefully I'll get it done soon, because I've got a stack of books that I need to read. :o)

I bought my plane tickets today to go to Texas in May. I'm SO excited. :o) I leave on the 22nd, and get back on the 7th of June. In one month and 18 days I will be seeing this little girl:

I simply cannot wait to hug her again, and smother her in kisses. :o)

Oh! and I will more than likely have a brand new nephew by then, whom I will ALSO cover in kisses. I can't wait! :o)

And of course, I can't wait to see my sister in law, and my brother, and my cousins, Aunts, Uncles, grandparents. :o) It's going to be a great trip, and I'm so excited. :o)

Alright, well that's all that's going on with me for now. Hope you all are having a wonderful Friday, and hope you have a fabulous weekend! :o)

UGH

2009-03-31T11:46:00.000-07:00

I've been slacking off in the chore department. Bleh. Makes me irritated.

Mike and I went to Gambardella's for dinner last night. I had shrimp ravioli, and he had Fettuccine Alfredo. It was yummy, and we had a nice date. :o) Before we went, I went home, and curled my hair, and put on a new springy dress I recently got at Old Navy. :o) We went to dinner, and then to Petco, and Wal-mart, then home. Well, when we got home, we watched a movie, and seriously... I completely forgot about my Monday chores! I didn't remember until I got to work this morning. Thus, the UGH.

So... tonight I have double duty. Well, that's what I get for forgetting. Go me. I suppose I'll let you know how my night goes tonight, tomorrow. Hopefully I do actually get my Monday and my Tuesday chores done. Bleh.

Anyways, hope you all are having a fabulous day. ;o)

The Weekend

2009-03-30T16:04:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend. :o)

Friday night, Heidi came over, and we ran to the store right quick to get some stuff, then we headed back to the house and started the baking process. :o) We baked two cheese cakes, and while they were cooking, cleaned the house. My house was a wreck, but it's all pretty now. Yay. :o) Well...except for the spare room, but we're SO not going there. :o)

Saturday morning, we got up, and I finished cleaning my house like a mad woman. :o) Then we went to the airport to pick up Tori and Lanae`! YAY! SO good to have them home. :o) So, we ran back to our house, and Emily piled in the truck with us, and we all headed up to Moose Mt. It was a PERFECT day for snowboarding, in my opinion. :o) We had just gotten some fresh powder, and it was really soft, and smooth. The temps out were great. Not too warm, not freezin your bum off! :o) We got up there at about noon, and boarded until 5:00. I was proud of myself, I was actually hitting jumps all day! Haha, granted I didn't get very much air at all, but hey, baby steps. :o) I'm just trying to get comfortable going off jumps to start with. But, it was probably our last time for the year to go. We'll see though. Anyways, we all had a great time snowboarding. It was Mason and Shannon's first time, and they both did really well. :o)

After we were done boarding, we all headed to Taco Azteca for dinner, which was where Tori picked to go. Heidi and I headed back to my house ahead of everyone, to get the last minute things ready for Tori's birthday party. We made 3 different kinds of berry sauce for the cheesecakes, and made sherbert and ginger ale punch. Everyone showed up, and we had a blast. The Degerlunds were there, Tori, Lanae`, Mason, Tyler, Brian, Jenni, Emily, Heidi, and Mike and I. Haha, I think that's all, but there were a lot of us. :o) We tried popping a few kernels of corn with cell phone signals, but I think we decided that was a hoax. :o) Then we all sang Tori (and Elmer!) Happy Birthday, and dug into cheesecake, which was a big hit. It was so tasty. :o) And we all just sat around watching a snowboarding video. It was so much fun having people at my house. I loved playing hostess, it was a blast!

Anyways, it was a great weekend. How did your weekend go? Do anything fun? Maybe just get some stuff done? Well, whatever it was, I hope you had a good one! :o)

*oh, and there WERE pictures taken up on the hill and at my house, so hopefully I can get them emailed to me (off of everyone else's cameras) and I'll get them up soon! :o)

There's A Baby Boy Who Needs Our Prayers...

2009-03-24T14:44:00.000-07:00

I guess I was lying on Twitter when I said I was done posting for the day...

So, I have been reading a lady's blog for the past several months. She lives down in the states, and apart from her blog, I do not actually know her. But she is a sweet woman, who is absolutely enamoured with her MSC (Many Small Children). Last summer, when she was pregnant with her fourth baby, problems started developing early on in her pregnancy. Then those problems went away. But new ones, totally unrelated cropped up. The baby in her womb, a boy, named Stellan, had a severe heart condition, called Supra Ventricular Tachycardia (SVT). He then went into heart block, which the doctors told her was irreversible, and that IF he survived, he would have lifelong problems because of it. Then they were told that their baby would die. Jennifer (famously known as MckMama (if you want to know about this, you'll have to just go read her blog) on her blog) was in the hospital for several weeks. That day that they told her that he would die, they didn't expect him to make it through the night. All through this, she kept her blog updated. It was an outlet. Her blog readers set up a prayer vigil on Stellan's behalf, and people around the country were literally praying 'round the clock. There was not a single hour over the course of two days when someone was not praying for little Stellan. Then a miracle happened. The first of Several. Stellan's completely irreversible heart block was reversed. While he still had SVT, the fact that his heart block was reversed gave him a chance to live.

Fast forward a bit. They released her from the hospital when Stellan's condition continued to improve. Since he still had SVT, she would be monitored several times a week. She made it to their goal of 37 weeks, and had a scheduled c-section. Before Stellan was born, the doctors had several plans for what would need to be done, given that Stellan survived the birthing process. If he survived it, then depending on how his condition was outside the womb, there were several things that might have had to be done. One option was a pace-maker for him, and another was medication for the rest of his life. They had the NICU team standing by, waiting to wisk him off. They estimated that he would have to be in there a minimum of a week, but more than likely much longer than that. But when Stellan was born, came the biggest miracle of all: he was born a completely healthy baby. His SVT was gone, with no signs that he had ever had it in the first place. They took him to the NICU just to be sure but almost immediately brought him back up. He was completely fine. Talk about the power of prayer! They told the parents to be careful because it could come back at any point, but that the first two months were the most likely. But time went by, and Stellan was a completely healed baby. And the SVT never came back.

Until now. The SVT didn't come back on it's own though. MckMama took him into the ER because he was sick, and having a very hard time breathing. They ordered a nebulizer treatment for him, which helped a lot. But, as they were getting ready to be discharged, he had a huge coughing fit, and couldn't clear the phlegm out of his throat and chest, and was struggling for breath once again. So, they ordered another one, which ended up causing him to go into SVT. If you want to know the rest of the details, then you can read them here. And you can stay updated with what is going on if you wish.

Stellan's heart rate was up in the 300's, but has come down a bit to the 220's area. His poor little body can't take this much more. Please pray for this baby. If you go on MckMama's blog, there are pictures of him in recent posts she has done. He's the cutest sweetest baby, and is dearly loved by his 4 year old brother, his 3 year old brother, and his 1 1/2 year old sister, and his mommy and daddy. AND all of her blog readers, which are many. He is fighting for life right now, please beseech the Lord to give the doctors wisdom on how to flip his heart out of the high rate, back down to normal levels. Please pray for his parents, who are leaning wholly on God, and have a peace about whatever the outcome may be, but who naturally don't want to lose their miracle baby boy.

I'm sorry this has been so long, and if you've made it this far, thank you. :o)

Thanksgiving Day Food

2009-03-24T12:09:00.000-07:00

Alright, Random Picture Post time. :o) I took these pictures when I was making food for Thanksgiving. I made 2 pumpkin logs, mini cheesecakes, and a loaf of bread.

All my ingredients. :o)

Powdered Sugar on a towel for my logs.

The batter is so yummy....

Finished logs! :o)

That is chocolate play-dough. :o)

They're starting to look like pumpkins!

This is me baking bread, haha. :o)

Mini pumpkin cheesecakes! This pan is too cool. The bottom of each little cup pushes out, for easy removal of the cheesecakes. :o)

The finished product

Isn't my little snowman platter ADORABLE??? :o)

Well, there ya go. Certainly overdue, but whatev. :o)

I Hate Thinking Of Post Names...

2009-03-24T10:51:00.000-07:00

Well, my Monday went pretty good. I ran to Joann's last night to get some elastic for a project I'm working on, then went home. Tori called me, so I talked to her for a bit. Then Lanae` called me back, so I talked to her for a bit as I got dinner started. I made spaghetti with chicken pieces on top, and garlic bread for dinner. It was pretty yummy, even though I don't really like spaghetti. :o)

After I got dinner done, I did my Monday chores! This is the THIRD week in a row that I have gotten my Monday chores done, and I gotta say I'm proud of myself. :o) Because, my Monday chores are to sweep and mop downstairs. And I hate doing it. But, I'm discovering that the more often I do it, the easier it is, and the less amount of time it takes, because the floors don't get that dirty from week-to-week, like they do if they go for a long time without being mopped. Gee, what a concept. :o)

Anyways, as I was waiting for the floor to dry, Mike wanted me to lay down on the couch with him, so we cuddled for a while (my favorite thing ever. :o) That's my love language right there. And hey! His is when I take care of things around the house, so we were both getting our love tanks filled) and we ended up falling asleep. We woke up and I told him that I was tired and ready to go to bed. So, we went upstairs and went to sleep at 9:30. Haha, I felt like such an old person, but I have been SO tired in the last couple of weeks, so getting almost 10 hours of sleep was AWESOME! :o) I feel really good today, and it's SO nice. :o) The only thing I'm bummed about with getting to bed so early was that I didn't work out like I was planning to. I'm determined to do it tonight though. I might actually do it on my lunch though, because Mike has a dentist appointment today, so he won't be home for lunch. So, instead of sitting on my bum doing nothing, I could work out. On the other hand though, I haven't finished the book for Jenn's book club meeting on Thursday, and really, I need to get that done. Hmmm...well I guess we'll see. :o)

I'm going to try to do another random picture post today, but we'll see. This is already my second post of the day (I posted on my fitness blog) but we'll see if I can muster up another one. Haha. :o) Ok, gonna go now. Hope you all are having a wonderful day! :o)

Back At It

2009-03-23T14:04:00.001-07:00

Well, I have to say that after posting so much recently, I missed the blogging world over the weekend! There was some time on Friday morning while Mike was working, when I could have posted and stuff, but naturally, we got the worst room in the hotel as far as problems with connecting to the Internet goes. :o) So, I really was cut off from the outside world, especially after my phone died. Oi with the Poodles already! ;o) Haha, I hope at least SOME of you got that. :o)

Anyways, moving on. Our weekend was GREAT. We really enjoyed the conference, and learning how to communicate better, and more about each other. Not everything was perfect about the presentation (such as the segment on salvation, and "Pray this prayer, and you will be saved". The salvation message was actually pretty good, up to that point though.) but we walked away with some good information, which was the point of going. So, overall, I was happy with the conference. The people were sure nice, and really great speakers. Very motivating, and great examples of parenting. Got a lot of parenting advice that I look forward to putting into practice one of these days. :o) Other than that, it was just good for Mike and I to get away together. We definitely needed it. What a blessing and a refreshment!

So, the girls put together a "Biggest Loser" blog, which I think is great, and am really excited for all of them to come together, and motivate each other, in a friendly competition. :o) I was thinking about joining their blog. Not because I'm trying to lose a bunch of weight, or really any, but because I'm not in shape. And I have fitness goals that I never really follow through with, so I thought it might be fun to have people that are doing some of the same things I am, to stay motivated and stuff. But, I decided that since I'm not actually trying to lose weight, and be The Biggest Loser, that I would just do it on my own. :o)

But, I feel a little weird, posting all my fitness stuff on this blog, and I don't want the fitness stuff to completely take over this blog, which would result in me not posting about any "every day" stuff. So, all this to simply say: I have started a fitness blog! I'm excited about it. :o) It's set to private (I'm not embarrassed about my weight or anything, I just don't want the whole world reading about it is all) so if you wanna read, then just leave me a comment with your email address, and I would be more than happy to add you to it. :o) So, just be sure to leave me your email addresses! :o)

Hope you all are having a marvelous day. :o)

My Weekend Starts In an Hour...

2009-03-19T17:04:00.000-07:00

Well, I have tomorrow off, and am SO excited about that. :o)

Tonight, Mike and I are taking off, heading to Anchorage for a weekend away together. :o) We're going to attend a marriage conference called A Weekend To Remember, hosted by a Christian organization called Family Life. I have heard lots of good things about this conference. David and Eleanor (the people I babysit for) have been to two of them, one in Anchorage and one in Fairbanks, and they loved both of them, so they decided to send us to the one in Anchorage this year, and are paying for our registration. Isn't that sweet of them??? :o)

I'm really looking forward to getting away from everything here (work, day to day responsibilities, DOGS) and doing something that focuses on us and on our marriage, and learning how to improve things. I really think it's going to be great for us, and I'm looking forward to coming out of it with a better understanding of my husband and my marriage, and striving to be a better, more Godly wife. Pray that the Lord blesses us in this!

I'll get back to posting on Monday, but this is it for the weekend. Hope you all have a great one!

Oh How I love a White Chocolate Mocha...

2009-03-17T14:54:00.000-07:00

I got a white chocolate mocha at Starbucks on lunch. Yummy. :o)

Well, it's Tuesday. And it is dragging on FOREVER. Goodness.

I took Evie to Petco today to get groomed. I'll be picking her up after work. Maybe this time I'll get a picture of her before she rips the bow out of her hair. :o) then I have to run to Joann's to grab a couple things, so I'm gonna take her in there with me, because she needs more socialization. She gets scared when she's around people she doesn't know, and we need to fix that if we're gonna breed her.

Anyways. I thought I would update you guys on how I've been doing with my chore calendar. :o) I'm actually quite impressed with myself. Last week, I got my Monday chores done, and I also got my Tuesday ones done too. I didn't do my Wednesday chore, because it honestly didn't need to be done. On Wednesday I'm supposed to vacuum the rug in the living room (I pick something easy for Wednesday nights because of church) and it just wasn't dirty at all. I'll do it this week though. Anyways, I got my Thursday chores done as well. Fridays I left free for myself, then Saturday I did laundry. And yesterday I got my Monday chores done again! I kinda did more last night though. I got ALL the clutter cleaned up downstairs last night. You can actually see our breakfast bar now. It's crazy. And our table. :o) It feels SO good to have a decluttered home. Tonight will be the decluttering (AKA picking up all my laundry all over our room...oops.) of the upstairs, and vacuuming upstairs (Mondays are mopping downstairs). I'm really enjoying the structure of this schedule, and as much as I hate chores, I'm actually finding joy in doing them. It's amazing the way God blesses you when you're doing things to improve your marriage, and honoring Him through it all. Imagine that. :o)

I had a good weekend. I got Mike sent off to play on the snow hill all day with Jordan, and started on a few things around the house. I threw my laundry in, and Heidi came over and picked me up and we went and changed her laundry out, and then ran a couple errands for her, then went and picked her laundry up, and then went back to my house to change my laundry over again. We were standing out in the hallway, in the common area of our condo, doing the laundry, and Heidi walked out of the house, and closed the door. Which was locked. We had no keys. No phones. Just Evie and a bag of quarters. Hmm, probably not gonna get us very far. So, I knocked on my neighbors door, who luckily was home (that's all we'll say about that). I used his phone and called Mike, who then made a couple other calls, and Larson's ended up coming out and picking the lock for us. Haha, we had a good time just hangin out on the washing machines. :o) Evie tried to kill herself by jumping off of my lap onto the linoleum floor. Anyways, after that we went to ACS and then Carl's Jr then Famous Footwear, then Old Navy. Then we went home and watched a movie till Mike got home.

Well, that was the excitement of my weekend. :o) Did everyone have a good weekend? Hope you're all doing well. Talk to you later! :o)

This Post Didn't Turn Out Anything Like I had Planned...

2009-03-16T11:37:00.000-07:00

Wow. It's Monday again. Time is a funny thing, don't you think? Over the weekend, Mike and I passed our 9 month anniversary. Wow. 9 months. That's crazy. I know it might seem like nothing to some of you, but it seems like a lot to me. :o) And at the same time, it feels like it was just yesterday. In 3 more months, it will be a year. So much can happen in a year. So much can (and it has) change. It's just crazy to see the growth, and difference (not good, not bad, just different) in yourself, and others, over the course of a year. Maybe some would argue that I haven't grown in the past year. But I think I have. I'm trying anyways. You may not see it, but I am. I want to be what the Lord wants me to be, and I've been striving to do what I know is right in my life, and to honor Him in what I do. That's not always an easy road to travel. In fact, I think it never is. And sometimes it hurts. A lot. But, somehow you just know that by going through this little bit of hurt (even though at the time it feels like a lot) now, as He is molding you, you know that it will ultimately save you a lot of hurt later. And that when that "later" comes, you will be the beautiful vessel that He has always meant for you to be. Wouldn't you rather be that, than a pile of broken clay? I would. And so that is what I have been, and will continue to strive for.

Hoping the Lord is blessing you in some way on this beautiful day that He has made. :o)

It's Friday :o)

2009-03-13T16:14:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't say how glad I am to have the weekend here. Today is dragging on like molasses at -50* though.

I have a massage tonight that's part of the gift certificate that Mike got me for Christmas for Parfait Dix. I'm so excited. :o) And next Thursday night I'm going to do the other half of it, which is get a manicure and pedicure done. My hubby is so sweet to me, don't you think? :o)

Looks like Mike is gonna go snowboarding with Jordan again tomorrow. I'm opting out this time. I'm not gonna go again till I have some girls to go with. :o) Nope, I'm gonna stay home tomorrow, and get some stuff done. Then Heidi is gonna come over and we're gonna hang out until Mike gets done snowboarding. I'm looking forward to a pretty chill weekend. Just relaxing, and getting a few things accomplished. Sounds good to me. :o)

What are your weekend plans? Hope you all have a great one! :o)

Hunter Lee Pelham

2009-03-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone. Just a quick note to ask for prayer for my cousin Hunter. He is a RANGER in the Army, and he is stationed in Ft. Benning, Georgia. He was scheduled to go on another tour to Iraq in May, but they have decided that him and three other guys are going to do something else. And that "something else" more than likely means "something more dangerous". Since he's a RANGER, everything that he does is confidential, secret mission stuff. The family knows nothing at this point. Not where he's going, when he's going, or when he's coming back. They haven't even told him what he's doing yet. The only thing the family knows is that he is now in Virginia, with no warning. He just had to leave one day. They probably won't know anything until a couple days after he ships out, in which case, they will get a letter in the mail.

Anyways, if you think of him, please pray that God would keep him safe, and bring him home soon.

Curtains!

2009-03-10T09:21:00.000-07:00

Alright, here are pictures of my new curtains! Ugh, just ignore the plastic in the pictures. As soon as it gets warmer, that will be coming off! :o) And hopefully this summer we'll be able to get our door/windows replaced, so things will look a bit cleaner and nicer. :o) I love my new curtains though, and love the way they make my home look so much cozier. Decorating is awesome. :o) I got the material for these curtains in the clearance section at Joann's. I got the lighter material for $7/yard and I got the darker stuff for $2/yard! Yay! :o) The cast iron hangers that I used are actually garden hooks, to hang plants outside with. I got those on sale for $7 each. The picture frame I also got at Joann's, but I've had it for a while. I got it on sale, but I can't remember how much it was. And the flower set on the coffee table I got at Bed, Bath and Beyond several months ago with my wedding gift cards. :o)

They look even better in person, so if you wanna come over some time and check them out, feel free! :o)

Bag Holder

2009-03-09T12:27:00.000-07:00

So, I'm starting to dive into the many pictures that have been on my camera for months. Various pictures that I've been meaning to post, but never got around to. They won't be in order, just whatever I feel like posting at the time. :o)

So, here is one of my recent projects. I had seen on another lady's blog a simple pattern for a plastic bag holder, so I decided to give it a try. It was SO easy to make, and I loved it. It only took me maybe a half an hour or 45 minutes.

I started by sewing two pieces of material together (the green and the black/white). I can't remember what the measurements were. There weren't really any "rules". You just kinda did what you want.

Then I took a piece of black and white eyelet lace, and folded it in half and sewed it along the original seam. then you add the elastic at the bottom, and sew it into a tube and Presto!:

you have a bag holder. :o) I do have complete instructions that I could make copies for anyone who wants to make one of their own. Just let me know. :o)

The Weekend

2009-03-09T11:44:00.000-07:00

Well, it was a pretty good weekend, all in all. We went snowboarding on Saturday. It was fun, but hard. Really, really hard. We got a lot of wet, heavy snow, and then there was a ferocious wind storm on Friday, which made the snow really bumpy. They didn't groom the hill at all, so we had to battle the snow all day. This is only the second time I have been this year, and I didn't get to go at all last year, so my body just isn't used to it anymore. We had a good time (Mike and I went, and Jordan came with us, and Sam and Elmer caught up with us later in the day), but it wore me out. I actually ended up sleeping in the lodge on a bench for about an hour. :o) Then after that, I went up twice more with the boys, and called it quits at about 4:45 or so. They did the last run without me. My legs were on fire, and hurting so bad I literally could not hold myself up any longer. I felt like I was having muscle failure. I was really annoyed with my body, and mad that I couldn't go up any more. :o) I have pretty much decided that I don't want to go again unless I have a girl to board with. I can usually keep up with the boys ok, but Saturday was hard. And they weren't too incredibly interested in waiting for me, which I get, but it made it kind of a bummer day. Anyways, I am glad that I went, I just need a girlfriend next time. :o) I think in between now and then though, I'm going to do some SQUATS and get my legs in shape! Sheesh. ;o)

Anyways, we went home, and Mike headed out to Jordan's to play the Wii with all the boys, and Heidi came over and hung out at my place for a while. :o) We had a good time. We got my curtains hung up, but I don't have pictures...yet. I will though, I promise. :o) They're gorgeous, and I LOVE the way they pull things together, and are making my house look more like a home now. :o) After we finally got the curtains hung up, and a couple other decorating touches, we watched a movie, then she headed home. Mike got home, and we went straight to bed, since it was 12:30 because we had to set the clocks forward. :o)

Then Sunday was church, and lazing around the house. Mike filed our taxes, and we're getting money back! Yay! :o) Hopefully we will be able to have his truck paid off this month or next. What a blessing that will be!

Anyways, that's all for now. Hope you all are having a great day! :o)

Cleaning House

2009-03-06T16:31:00.000-08:00

So, I have made myself a calendar that has a different chore for each day. I did this a couple months ago, but it didn't exactly stick...actually, I did this back in October. And that calendar is still up on my fridge. Hmmm. Should probably take that down. Anyways, here's my new one:

Hopefully this time I can stick with it better than last time. I guess we'll see. :o)

Well, while we're on a cleaning/organizing note, I guess I'll post some pictures from a while back of a cleaning/organizing project of mine. :o)

One night when Ang was over, working on her quilt, I decided to clean out my spare room closet. Unfortunately, I'm embarrassed to admit, this is what it looked like when I started:

But, with some time, and organizational skills, this is what it looked like when I was finished. Ahh. Doesn't just looking at that make you feel better? It does me! :o)

Alright, well there's my little update. Hopefully I can stick to my cleaning schedule. Wait, no, I will be sticking to my cleaning schedule, from here on out. There. That's better. :o) Hope you all have a great evening, and a great weekend! :o)

Interesting Night

2009-03-06T10:09:00.000-08:00

Well, I did get most of my kitchen cleaned. not all of the dishes would fit into the dishwasher, and I was going to hand wash the left-over ones, but then Heidi showed up, so I decided to put it off. Imagine that. :o)

So, we spent a little while looking around for the screw gun, and then for some screws to hang up the brackets for my curtains with. We found the screws, but Mike had the screw gun with him in his back pack. When I went out to the garage to look for the screws, Mike had the garage door opened, and was holding a shoe box. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "Nothing." kinda like a little boy who gets caught doing something that he's a little bit embarrassed about. :o) I stood there and watched him for a couple minutes, and realized that he had gotten his truck stuck in the freshly plowed snow bank across the street from our house. You see, we share a parking spot with our neighbor, and it's first come, first serve. So, when they're parked there, he has to park across the street. Which normally isn't an issue, but with the recent massive amounts of snow, the snow bank is bigger, and farther out into the road than normal. So, when he tried to park over there, the snow sucked him in, and got him stuck GOOD. Or bad. Whichever way you want to look at it. Anyways, a couple trips to the store, and roughly 2 1/2 hours later, we got it out. Goodness. :o)

anyways, Heidi and I didn't get the curtains hung up, because I had to help Mike with the truck, so she just went home. Hopefully we'll get to that another night soon. And when we do, I'll have pictures. :o)

Tonight, I plan on getting some Laundry done! Ugh, it needs it real bad. And, I'm going to get the rest of my kitchen cleaned as well. :o) as for the rest of the house... I need to start brainstorming for organization solutions. the house desperately needs to be de-cluttered. I just get overwhelmed with all the stuff laying around. It drives me crazy, and I don't know what to do with it all, so it just keeps piling up until I want to explode and just THROW IT ALL AWAY!!!! *ahem* I'm done now. :o) Any suggestions for cutting back on clutter, and staying organized? what do you guys do? I love feedback, so come on, spill!

Alright, I better get going for now. I've got a bunch of pictures from the past couple months that I want to get posted, so hopefully I can get started on that today. See ya! :o)

The Goins-on Around Here

2009-03-05T16:47:00.001-08:00

Well, I just thought I would do a "word" post now, since I've done so many "picture" posts lately. :o)

Things with me are going good. Just been working, and loving my husband lately. :o) Haha, that sounded bad. Not that I haven't been loving him in the past. Oh, never mind. :o) Anyways, I'm just sayin, things are good right now. And it's nice. :o)

I do have some problem areas though. Like MY HOUSE!!!! Oh my. It's such a mess. BUT I'm going home tonight to clean it. I already took care of the living room, and the kitchen table on lunch. So, tonight I need to tackle my kitchen. HOW ON EARTH does it get SO messy? Goodness. I don't even know how it happens. I turn around and BAM! it's a disaster. Sheesh. Well, tonight it shall be taken care of. Mike has a side job out in North Pole for a little while tonight. So, while he's gone I'm going to clean, and then Heidi is going to come over and help me turn the material that I got at Joann's on Monday night (on SALE!) into curtains for our poor living room window/door. Yay. :o) I'm really excited to get some curtains up, since I've been in our house for almost 9 months (9 month anniversary coming up next Saturday!) and have done practically NO decorating. So, I'm looking forward to a productive night, and am feeling quite motivated at the moment. Pray that I STAY motivated. :o) That's always my problem. I'm always PLENTY motivated at work to get stuff done at home, then I do get home and all I want to do is chill. Hopefully that won't be the case tonight. Ok, no. It will not be the case tonight. I have to determine to get it done, and I am. There. :o)

On another note, it is snowing like CRAZY here. We woke up to around 4 - 6 inches on the ground this morning. When I got to work, they were plowing the parking lot, and when I went to lunch at noon, there was almost as much snow on the ground as there had been before they plowed this morning. It's been snowing moderately all day, but now it's REALLY coming down. It's expected to continue snowing tonight through tomorrow. Crazy. Everyone is complaining, but I like it. :o) We're going snowboarding on Saturday, and I'm SO excited. This will be the second time of the year going, and with all this snow, it's going to be AWESOME. So far it's only Mike and I going, so anyone else in the area wanting to come, PLEASE DO!!!! It'll be fun!!! Come on.... you know you want to. ;o)

Alright, well I think that's enough out of me for one day. :o) Hopefully I'll have pictures to post soon of my new curtains! :o) Hope you all have a good night. :o)

Hawaii Pictures, Part 4

2009-03-04T10:54:00.000-08:00

Alright, well I've gotta say that I'm pretty proud of myself for getting these pictures posted so quick. :o) Maybe I'm getting better at this. Or maybe it's a fluke. :o) anyways, on with the show.

Beautiful hibiscus flowers at one of the stops on the Hana Highway.

So, we stopped at an arboretum along the way, and there was a steep drop off and this was what was at the bottom. Just looking at it freaked me out, because right before you get to this stop there's a sharp curve, so it's definitely not hard to imagine how this happened. *shiver*

The trees were amazing.

These trees were my favorite. they're called Paint Trees (or something like that anyhow) and their color intensifies when they're wet. Lucky for us, it had just poured. :o)

Ugh, these pictures don't do them justice. They were so cool.

Look! People!

The end of the trail.

These orange flowers were so cool. they grow in the tops of the trees though, so unfortunately I couldn't get a close up view.

More Paint Trees. :o)

Aren't these roots cool??? Alaska trees are SO boring.

Lanae`'s potty. Haha, ok not really. It was a joke we had going though. You just had to be there. :o)

I just love this picture. I completely used manual focus on my camera and I love the way it turned out.

Lava rocks

On our way back to the first waterfall, a second time.

Mike swimmin in the water. :o)

On our way to the airport.

Hehe, love my Tori. :o)

Do you see how disgustingly tan mike is?!?!? I mean, I came back pretty tan too, but nothing near what he is - obviously, since I'm standing right next to him in the picture.

Anyways, there you have it. They're all done. :o)

Hawaii Pictures, Part 3

2009-03-03T14:26:00.001-08:00

On Monday morning (very early, ugh) we flew to Maui, and stayed there until Tuesday night.

Funny statue outside of the airport. :o)

THE MOST granola town I have EVER been in. Wow.

Driving. In a silver Mustang. Just like on our Honey Moon. Funny. :o)

Would ya look at that, it's me!

We drove the Hana highway (google it, if you wanna know more about it. it's crazy) and stopped here to hike back to a waterfall.

on the trail to the waterfall.

look at the pineapples! I didn't know they grow in the ground. I thought they grew on trees. cool. :o)

I'm not sure what this is or was, but we had to walk over it to get to the waterfall.

Alright, there ya go! :o)