New Year, New Me

I know it's early for New Year Resolutions, but I'm not big on resolutions. I never keep them. I am doing this for me and my family. To be healthy for my husband and kids. So today I re-start Weight Watchers. I will check in on Fridays and keep track of how I'm doing. Given that my kids give me the opportunity to log on and weigh in. The first time I did Weight Watcher's was after my son was born, and I lost 20lbs and was very excited with the difference.

So my start weight is 242, and though I don't have my measurements I will get them soon. My plan is to try and walk with the kids, and play Wii Active. I'm also hoping for Wii Zumba and/or Zumba 2 for Christmas. When I was a member of 24 Hour Fitness I loved the Zumba classes. They are a super fun way of staying active and working out. They even offered an Aqua Zumba class which was the best. twice the workout because of being immersed in water.

Aside from my weight loss adventures starting, I am also going to try really hard to get some stuff up in my Etsy shop. I really want to get that going and the stuff I make is simple enough that once the baby is on a regular napping schedule I can probably get a lot done. Right now the plan is to start with nursing covers and carseat covers. I design my own fabric through Spoonflower and may use some of that for my product. It may cost more, but it will be unique. I've also seen these really cute crayon and paper portfolio's for kids. They are so adorable and convenient. They have pockets, and handles, great for kids for church or long car rides.

It'd be nice to see the store do well so we can use the extra cash for the kids college and pay off bills. Plus I enjoy crafting! Guess I'll have to wait and see how things go with both new endeavors!

Giveaways! Fingers crossed!

Entering some great giveaways at Mommy and Me Giveaways today. one of them is for Piggie Paint, this awesome non toxic nail polish for babies! Another two are light up Star Trek bib/spoon set and a working guitar shirt from Think Geek.com. I bet my bubba would love that! There's also a KidKraft 2-in-1 Activity Table for lego's on one side and cars on the other, Fuzzi Bunz diapers (I can ALWAYS use more cloth diapers) and some really cute Bug Jars from Learning Resources. I can't wait to see if I am lucky enough to win any of these great giveaways! If you have to opportunity to stop by enter a few for yourself. With the holidays coming up so quickly you can't go wrong!

And Baby Makes 4

After all the waiting, and contractions, and frustrations, she is finally here! Little miss Olivia arrived October 19th, at 6lbs 6oz and 19"long! She is so precious and so loved. Her big brother is absolutely smitten with her, and we love to watch him interact with her. He loves to give kisses, and sing to her, it's great! 

So far she an her big brother have a lot in common. Both were tiny, quiet unless there's a reason not to be, good sleepers, and collic-y. We are truly blessed to have two such amazing kids! I am truly blessed to be married to such an amazing man! My sweet husband took a whole month off to help me adjust to having 2 under 2, and was such a big help around the house. I love him dearly and I hope I show him often enough just how much he means to me. Things are a bit crazier around here, but I wouldn't change a thing. 

Knock, Knock! Who's There?

48 hours of active labor! 48 hours! And today? Nothing! A few contractions here an there, but not even as regular as my contractions have been when they've been weak. Seriously? I am feeling rested and relaxed, and calm, and it's freaking me out! I've gotten so used to feeling contractions, to timing them, keeping track of increase or decrease in pain. I'm used to going to Labor and Delivery because contractions are too close or too intense, for crying out loud I've been doing this for 2 months now. That's right! All this started at 28 weeks and we are 35 weeks today. We've almost made our 36 week goal, which is great, but the sudden screeching halt in contractions and fatigue have me a little on guard. Not in a bad way, just in a waiting for the other shoe to drop kind of way.

I was at my Non-Stress Test on Monday and 5 minutes in I start having really intense contractions, stronger than they've ever noticed before. Off come the monitors and I'm instructed to go to Labor and Delivery imediatly. So I go, no problem, this is routine by now. I get there sign in, they hook me up, contractions keep coming hard and fast, and I'm thinking, wow, this could be it, the baby might actually be coming today, wow! Nurse comes in to check and says, nope we're still high, tight, closed, and posterior. Bad news because that means they have to try and stop labor. 3 shots of Tributalene later (and boy do those shots SUCK) nothing has changed. No physical change, no change in contractions, nothing, but they can't give me any more medicine so they send me home feeling incredibly deflated, and sore.

Tuesday I wake up and contractions are still going, so I start the regular routine to try and stop them. Warm bath, laying on my left side, drinking tons of water, and going to the bathroom every hour or more. No change, contractions are still coming, so at 2pm we decide, okay it's officially 24 hours since we started contractions yesterday lets go back to L&D. So we go in. Nurse hooks me up, contractions are consistent and intense, and she says okay lets check and see where you are.  I let her know we probably aren't anywhere because as of 24 hours ago we were high, tight, closed, and very posterior (which until Tuesday EVERY nurse felt was necessary to point out), however she checks and SURPRISE! we're low, soft, 2 cm. dilated, and 70% effaced! Even the nurse was surprised at how much change there had been in 24 hours! Unfortunately with no further change in the 3 hours of observation they did they had to send me home again. They gave me the regular spiel about when to know to come back, blah, blah, blah...

So again, contractions continue all night and into Wednesday morning, until suddenly around lunch they start to become worse. Much more intense, so again we pile into the car and head to L&D. Same nurse as the day before and we're all hopeful that there's been some change, something to let us know how things are going, but no, nothing. Maybe a little thinner, but not enough to tell for sure, and again we are send home. Contractions continue, but later last night they actually started to slow down.

And this morning? Nothing! No muscle pain, no hard active labor contractions, no sleepiness or fatigue and I feel great! I haven't felt this great in a long time! So now I know to be ready, because one of the things most pregnant women will tell you is that feeling great is a HUGE delivery red flag! I am still on rest, still keeping as inactive as possible, and still waiting to see our baby girl. I am pleased we've made it 35 weeks! Now I'm just curious to see when she decides to show up. Baby shower is this Saturday at 1.... will I be there? Guess I'll have to let you know in a few days!

And so our adventures continue....

Everyday longer is a good day....

We've been in and out of Labor and Delivery with this little one so much that sometimes I start to feel discouraged. Almost constant contraction cramping, that sometimes because severe contractions. It's an incredibly frustrating feeling, driving in 30 minutes, sitting in triage for 30-90 minutes or more, then the 3o minute drive back home. I know it's better to go in and get things checked out but it's irritating too.

I know it sounds horrible, but sometimes I wish she'd just come already so I wouldn't feel like such a fool going in and having them send me home because we aren't laboring. The one time we were they gave me two shots of Tributalene and got labor to stop and sent me home. I know it's important for her to stay put as long as possible, and I am so grateful we've made it as far as we have, but it's frustrating knowing there is nothing I can do to stop the contractions we're already having.

The rest is just as irritating sometimes as well. I miss rough housing around with my Bubba, and going on walks, and doing things around the house. It's even put a dent in my crafting so I am limited to what I can do to relax. I keep reminding myself that everyday longer is a good day, I know that it is, and if we can make it even 2-4 weeks longer she'll be healthier and stronger than she is now.

To keep my mind busy I've started doing a parenting devotional. It's really nice, and I'm finding a lot of the verses to study are things I need to hear and keep in mind right now. I am also so grateful to my husband who is doing a great job of reminding me that taking care of me and baby is more important than anything else right now. I can see how concerned he is about the situation, and how he's just as frustrated with things as I am, but he keeps me calm and reminds me that at the end of this we'll have a beautiful baby girl, who is more than worth all of the struggle.

Until then I continue to take it one day at a time, and I breathe, and I pray, because that's all I can do. And that's enough.

30 Weeks and Counting

We are officially at 30 weeks. 6-10 weeks left before our little one is here, depending on how patient she is. I am on "rest" which is no fun, but it's not total bed rest so I am very grateful for that. Things are progressing slowly around the house because of the rest, but they are getting done.

My biggest prayer of thanks through all of this is that God has blessed my husband and son with LOTS of patience with the situation. Micah has been so even tempered about mommy not being able to play the same way we used to. We make due with what we can do, and it's nice. There's a lot more quiet time cuddling moments, but that's okay, we both enjoy it. We've also been working on his flashcards and he can now recognize the entire alphabet, and the numbers 1-12. I am amazed at how quickly he learns. He just absorbs the information, and he really seems to enjoy it. I love that he loves to learn. He also started coloring on the chalk board recently while mommy makes lunch/dinner. He has a lot of fun with it, and i think he likes that it's different from coloring with crayons, which he also enjoys.

Kevin has been great about reminding me to take it easy, and helping with the baby. I don't know what I'd do without him. God has truly blessed me with an amazing and loving husband. He has really helped me stay calm and positive through all the rough stuff. I really do love that man!

Now I'm trying to start up my Etsy shop, I've had a lot of interest in my nursing covers and car seat covers, and it would be great to get some stockpiled before the baby gets here. I've had a lot of fun designing on Spoonflower and may start designing fabrics for my products, really get prints and patterns that are different from what you find in every other store. Especially stuff for little boys, since as a mom of a boy I know how difficult it can be to find cute boy prints.

Lots left to do before #2 gets here, but we'll get there in time, and we'll continue to enjoy the ride as we go. Thank God for all the blessings!

I need to organize my organizing....

I have been making pretty good change in the house in preparation for our LO. I know I have been getting things accomplished. Unfortunately the house is still at that point where you don't feel like anything you do is making any kind of difference. It really sucks. Especially since I know there is only so much I can do alone. I really don't want to call in reinforcements. It's stubborn, I know it is, but in my mind help comes with judgment and loss of control. It's happened before when I've accepted help and I just feel like asking now is going to ruin all the hard work I've put into things.

At the same time I feel like I'm not being realistic about how I'm getting things done. In the worst case scenario we have 2 months until our baby girl arrives to join our family, at best 3, and that isn't as much time as I'd like it to be. I think I've gotten myself stuck in a place where I need to just take a breath and figure out what is healthiest for me (and baby) and just let the rest go. It doesn't seem to matter who asks me if I need help I am determined to be stubborn and do it myself. A lot of that stems from the reactions I get from people who want to help, some are genuinely wanting to help out, and others make derogatory comments about how they will come help because they know I can't do it, or because they know I've never been very successful with organizing. And that kills me. All it does is make me feel more determined to do things myself.

I'm getting there. I know I am, I just need to take it one day at a time, one room at a time, one moment at a time. And I need to remember that I am doing the best I can, and that I can accomplish this.

One room at a time, and maintain the work done, don't slip, keep it up!

Here we go, off to work while Bubba sleeps. Wish me luck all. Once things start to come together I'll be posting pictures of changes and progress.

Until next time!

Baby #2 is a....

GIRL!!! We are very excited and looking forward to planning for her arrival! Micah is going to have a little sister this fall. We've been reading him a cute book called The New Baby, he seems to really like it, though he doesn't quite understand yet.

Starting to put together ideas for the new nursery as well. So far we have a color scheme: Lavender, Purple, and White and a theme: Disneyland Teacups. I know the theme is a little different, but I think it will work out well.

Trying out a different registry this time too... MyRegistry.com allows me to register in one place with items from all over. It's pretty cool, and it saves space on invitations. Instead of listing a bunch of different places I can list one and they'll find everything there, with links provided to each item for purchasing. I heard about it on Pandora Radio and it's actually been very helpful in planning for our next little one. Now it's just a matter of figuring out what all we need. Quite a few of Micah's things are going to work for the new baby, but I know there are things we'll need for our little girl. We should start thinking of names too. We have some ideas started, but we've still got more time to think things over.

Now to head off to catch up on things around the house that got out of hand because of vacation and sheer laziness on my part. I have to try and get out of my lazy funk and get things caught up around the house or we won't have room to put the new baby anywhere!

More Later!

Cloth Diapering Double!

Well now that we know we are having 2 under 2 we need to start stashing more diapers... I didn't anticipate cloth diapering 2 at once! Mothering Magazine is doing a great giveaway right now where you can win a whole pack of Charlie Banana one size fits all diapers! I'm so excited and if you cloth diaper you should check them out because they are really neat diapers. Fun colors too!

Check em out at www.charliebanana.com and be sure to check out Mothering Magazine at www.mothering.com too!

New Adventures

Haven't posted in a while, which is mostly due to the fact that we received a surprise in March in the form of the news of our second pregnancy. We weren't planning on another little bundle quite this soon, but we have been blessed with one and are well under way.

November 3rd is our due date and it will make a nice age difference between our first little one and our next. 18 months, closer than I had planned, but far enough apart that they should be good playmates. We don't find out til June if it's a boy or a girl, however I'm really excited to find out.

For now my time is filled playing with Micah and planning his first birthday which is in a week. I can't believe how the time has flown! He's getting so big! He's still a very happy little boy too, plays well with others and loves the outdoors! He's going to be a great big brother!

While I'm excited for the new little one I'm also nervous. I've started looking into some different things that may help with keeping finances down. I started looking into couponing, and I tell you TLC makes it look like you have to be a complete nut job to coupon. These people stockpile things they don't need or already have just because it's a good deal! I couldn't believe it. I thought to myself, if that is what happens to you to save a few bucks then I'm out.

Then I found this! Living Well Spending Less a fantastic website that shows you how to coupon reasonably. She's currently doing a giveaway that would be a great opportunity for me to get started on being more organized before the new little one shows up. She reviewed a book called 30 Meals in One Day. All about once a month cooking. It comes with recipes, labels, and everything you need to prepare meals in advance for your family. I'm entering in hopes of winning! Let's keep our fingers crossed!

More later!

Taking Flight into Victorious Living

2 Samuel 6:14 "Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might"

2 Chronicles 6:13 "Now he had made a bronze platform, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high, and had placed it in the center of the outer court. He stood on the platform and then knelt down befoer the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven."

Psalm 95:6 "Come let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker"

What does authentic worship look like? It is more than going through the motions. It is more than saying words because they are there to say. True worship take the whole, the spirit, every tiny bit of your being. Unless you commit wholeheartedly to worshiping the Lord you miss out on what is a truly filling experience. It is difficult, because of sin, to keep out human pride out of the way. To say I will worship as the Spirit leads me is something out of the ordinary for many people. What will the person next to me think? What if I shout aloud for joy during a song, everyone will think I'm strange. I struggle with this, as everyone does, I worry about what everyone thinks, except the one whose opinion matters most, God. He doesn't care about anything other than my worship. He knows my heart better than anyone ever could and He knows when I am being genuine in my worship and when I'm holding back. I can only pray that as I strive for a better relationship with him, that he will open my heart and remove any inhibitions I have toward worshiping fully and completely for Him. I pray that I might praise him unhindered.