What I Did Today

Today I Mailed Out Some Valentines.

2012-02-10T22:51:00.000-08:00

Spoiler Alert! If you are one of my sisters (which includes those of you who've married my brothers) - please don't read this post. I want to share these cute ideas before Valentine's Day, but I don't want family to see what going to be showing up in their mail boxes (even if it is for the kiddos).

If you're not a sister, feel free to behold the cuteness in this post.

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I bought up a pack of bath toys which happened to hold just enough sea creatures for each of my nephews and nieces to have one with two left over for my girls.

The girls painted and decorated the valentines. Ash especially enjoyed the painting part.

(britt, painting the card she painted.)

And if you are wondering about that pic of the girls I attached to each valentine, here it is:

Elle is NOT yelling, she's yawning. :)

Today I Laughed at a Blog Post.

2012-02-09T23:30:00.000-08:00

Not that I don't regularly chuckle at posts I read, but this one got a good belly laugh out of me. So, of course I HAVE to recommend that you click on over there and read it yourself. And that's all I'm gonna say. Well, I will say I may have been turning slightly green with envy.......

The post is at Modern Parents Messy Kids.

Elle is 2 weeks today!

(cuddling with daddy)

Today I Was Majorly in the Trenches.

2012-02-08T21:04:00.000-08:00

It's gonna be a short post. I'm exhausted and my day started with Britt screaming in her room (my alarm clock). I went in to find her standing in her bed, butt naked and nothing else in her crib - no blankets, toys, or sheet. **sigh** And yes, she had peed all over her bedding and mattress. On a side note, she is ending her day by screaming as well because I won't allow her to take her pajamas off. Her diaper has a ring of duct tape around the tabs, so hopefully tomorrow will begin differently. All three of my girls had grouchy, rough days which means yours truly did as well. But, I'll spare you the gory details. The day is over and as Annie said, "The sun'll come out tomorrow." I'm counting on it!

I'm also sharing a cute picture that has been circulating amongst my Facebook friends. Not really related to bad days, but cute nonetheless!

Today I Got Pictures in the Mail.

2012-02-07T21:17:00.000-08:00

Did I mention that when I was in the hospital, after having Elle, a photographer came by to take photos of my baby and me? It was a fun little, ten minute photo shoot and my only regret was that Tony had gone home to take a shower and spend a couple hours with Ash and Britt, so he isn't in the pics with us. A day after the photographer visited, she posted the pictures online so we could share them with family and friends and, of course, look at all the package options we could buy. I wanted the CD so I can have as many prints as possible. The CD came today so I thought I'd share some of the cuteness! It's so nice to have some really well done pics of Elle on her birth day!

For those of you who are local, the photography business is Bella Baby Photography and Amanda did the photos.

Today I Had to Remind Myself to Take It Easy.

2012-02-06T23:31:00.000-08:00

I have been feeling more energetic with each day. My body is slowly flushing out all the excess fluid. The baby is a really good sleeper (except for one night, which I will tell you about late in this post). Today I got all ambitious and started to attack my sorely neglected to-do list. Then I noticed an increase in aches and bleeding. Not a scary amount, but enough for my body to get the message across. "Wait! Hold on! We're still healing here and will be for many weeks to come. Stop doing and go take a nap." So I did.

As for Elle's one and only bad night so far - she was up with terrible gas from 1am to 4am (Saturday morning), just about screaming non-stop. And I know why. Dairy. I had been suspecting that might be an issue when she got a bad, bleeding diaper rash not long after coming home. I had chicken alfredo that night and thought, "If anything will show me whether she truly has a dairy intolerance, this will." Worst. Night. Ever.

I'm now completely off dairy for as long as I will be nursing Elle. It's not going to be easy, but totally worth it. I'll trade ice cream for sleep any day! Feel free to e-mail me your fave dairy-free recipes.

(elle looooves her woombie. it's the easiest swaddler we've ever had. it does look kinda hilarious though.)

Today I Was Happy about the Little Things.

2012-02-03T22:13:00.000-08:00

It has been so nice to have all the continued help from my mom and sisters. Ash and Britt spend a lot of time playing with their younger aunts and uncles these days.

Elle is back up to her birth weight! Yay! 24/7 feeding worked.

I don't have a UTI (I thought I did). I'm still dealing with all the lovely hurts and pains that come with giving birth. But, I am gradually getting better and for that I am grateful.

Tony took care of dinner today. I love it when he does that.

The prayer that Ash said at bedtime tonight made me laugh. I don't catch most of what she says when she prays but I definitely heard something about "watching movies" and "candy." Haha!

And just for fun, pics of my babies - all sleeping, all taken within the first month of their lives.

(ash)

(britt)

(elle)

What little things made you happy today?

Today I Was Re-thinking Blogging.

2012-02-02T21:13:00.000-08:00

This is not a post about why I'm not going to be blogging anymore.

This is a post about balance. My life-long quest for balance. This is something I've been thinking about for quite a long time, actually, and shoving out of my head as fast as the thought would enter.

Well, I'm not fighting the thought anymore. Though my computer time is done, for the most part, during my free time, I still feel a lack of balance. I love blogging. Unless I can't think of anything to talk about. Then it feels more like a chore. But there are a lot of other activities I love too.

The problem is, I am usually on the computer for ALL of my free time. Not so cool. I have been crafting more, lately. And loving it. I need to do more things like that and less of the sitting in front of my lap top during my free time. And the same goes for my husband. We both need to unplug and do a couple more mutual activities.

So, here is what all this means for my blog. I will be setting myself a daily computer time limit. When this limit is up, it's gone. No more computer for the day. If that means I haven't finished writing my daily post, oh well! So - though my goal is still one post every weekday, I may not be able to finish a post in time, which would mean finishing up the next day. So, I may only get a few posts up in a week. And I'm ok with that. Hope you are too. We'll see how it goes.

Today I Have a Fat Foot and a Semi-Skinny Foot.

2012-02-01T23:14:00.000-08:00

Weird title, I know.

At the hospital where Elle was born, they pump you full of fluids when you have an epidural. I think they give more than the other hospital at which Ash and Britt were born. I have had majorly swollen legs, ankles and feet for a week!
This afternoon I noticed that the swelling has started to go down, but only on the left side of my body.

{insert confused face here}

So.................. what is going on?

(please ignore my poor toenails. they haven't seen the inside of a nail salon since summer and it's not like I could bend over the watermelon and paint them myself!)

I hope this doesn't mean my right kidney is having issues. Mom said it could be that I stand, or even sit, on my right leg more. Which is probably true, but would that cause a delay in my deflating on one side of my body?

I just hope it all gets sorted out soon. It is a very annoying feeling to be this full of water.

Today I Gave My Baby a Book.

2012-01-31T22:06:00.000-08:00

My kids love books. I've posted about this before. They get it from me. I love books too. I never did anything without a book in my hand growing up. I would do my chores while reading (my mom loved that).

Today, while Elle was hanging out on my bed, looking around and taking it all in, I thought I'd grab one of those black and white board books we have and let her look at it. And she did! She was actually really into it. And then she wanted to eat. Again. For the fifty-billionth time today. And now you know what I really did today! :)

Today I Took Elle to the Doctor.

2012-01-30T21:36:00.000-08:00

It was the first time Elle and her doctor met. Pretty uneventful visit, for the most part. Elle is down to 8 lbs 6 oz and has a touch of jaundice. So, I've gotta be a meanie and make her stay awake to eat more now. This baby is seriously a little blob and looooooves to snooze. She is in the 50th percentile for weight and 75th for height. I was supplementing with formula until my milk came in. This kid is a force to be reckoned with when she's hungry! I used the supplemental nursing system and it was awesome. I didn't want to use bottles because of the chance of nipple confusion. I'm happy to say that practice DOES make perfect and she's now completely off formula and nursing quite well at this point. Yay!

(ash can't get enough of her baby sister. britt is not as excited as i thought she'd be. we'll get there.)

Today I Had a Baby.

2012-01-26T20:03:00.000-08:00

**squee!**

I have another little girl! And I'm completely and totally in loooooooove.

Here's her birth story:

I was admitted to the childbirth center at 4pm on the 25th. They put me on pictocin at 6pm. I walked around and blogged and talked to Tony and my mom (when she showed up around 8 or 9). The nurses had a beast of a time keeping the baby's heart beat on the monitor. She has always been active and this night was no different. She kept moving and hiding and then they'd have to stop me and adjust the belt and monitor. Bit of a drag, but important in case there was a problem.

(baby's first picture)

I think it was around 10 or 11pm when my midwife said I could have an epidural anytime I wanted. I felt a bit like a cheater because though my contractions were painful, they didn't have me curled into a ball or crying. But, I went ahead and ordered the epidural because last time (with Britt) I waited too long and then I couldn't hold still for the anesthesiologist because of the hard, killer contractions. That was a terrible experience and he was a rude, angry doctor who did a bad job and poked me many times before he got it right. So, needless to say, I was a bit nervous about getting the epidural this time around. It was a wasted worry. This anesthesiologist was sweet and kind and she did a great job. It wasn't pain-free, but is it ever? And it wasn't long before I couldn't feel anything from the waist down.

(profile shot)

Then we all took naps while I labored pain-free. I think it was around 1am when I called the nurses to help me turn over to my other side. They obliged and discovered that my bag of waters had broke. They went to go get the midwife and when she came back everything went so very, very wrong.

(chubby chin and cheeks and everything else)

First, the midwife couldn't feel the baby when she examined me anymore. Instead of being down where the midwife could touch and feel her, she had somehow bumped back up into me, out of reach. And then her heart rate plummeted. And I must have been hyperventilating because they gave me oxygen. Though, I'm sure that was to help the baby too. It was very tense. They moved me back over to the side I'd been on, attempted to get a scalp monitor on to the baby, and then all of a sudden started prepping me for a c-section. At that point I was so scared, and fighting back the tears and all I wanted was for my baby to be okay and for God to just help all my nurses and doctors to do their very best. I didn't care if they cut me open from head to toe.

On a lighter note, Tony (my husband) looks super hot in scrubs! Who would have known?

After everyone was totally ready to go, I realized that they'd managed to get the scalp monitor on the baby and that her heart rate was back to normal. Everyone started calming down and breathing and they said that we were going to wait 5 minutes. After those 5 minutes, they said that the baby must have compressed her cord for a while and that since she appeared to be doing better, they'd just leave me on my right side and continue to monitor her. Later, the nurse moved me into an upright, sitting position and the baby liked that even better.

(sweet girl)

Meanwhile, I was still laboring (and had asked the anesthesiologist to come back and turn my epidural down a tad so I could at least feel the urge to push) and sitting there, letting my body do its thing. I was also fighting the urge to throw up. They had given me an anti-acid medicine to drink when they thought they were taking me downstairs to have a c-section. But instead of working like it was supposed to, it made me nauseous. I eventually couldn't hold it in any longer and did vomit. Not fun. The baby really didn't like it either and her heart rate got iffy again. The midwife and nurses rushed in and rolled me over into a super uncomfortable position, but it did the trick and baby calmed down.

(peeky-boo!)

Then my midwife examined me, discovered that I was completely ready to push and that the baby was down in position. Hallelujah! So, I pushed for 25 minutes and out slithered Elle. As soon as I saw her, I cried. I was just so relieved to see her all safe and sound. She weighs 9 lbs 1 oz and is 21.5 inches long. She's totally adorable and looks like her sisters and like her own little self. She has a very strong suck and loves nursing, her pacifier, sleeping, and her mommy and daddy. Can't wait to introduce her to Ash and Britt! She's doing very well. I'm healing nicely so we'll probably get to go home tomorrow afternoon!

Today I Am Being Induced.

2012-01-25T20:25:00.000-08:00

I had an appointment with my midwife today. When I got there they said that because I am 41 weeks that they'd like to do a stress test and an ultrasound. I, of course, had no issues with that. Nor did I have a problem when she asked to check my cervix. I'll never forget how surprised she sounded when she said, "You're 75% effaced and 4 cm dilated!" Naturally, I then decided that since I rely on a ferry to get to the hospital that an induction makes a lot of sense. So, here I sit, contractions slowly getting more intense, on a clear liquid diet (dumb), waiting until I'm in enough of a rhythm to get my epidural. Hopefully I'll be posting baby pictures tomorrow!!!!!

(i look like i'm wearing a tent)

Today I Babied My Baby.

2012-01-24T20:53:00.000-08:00

Britt isn't going to be my baby much longer and she's getting some new molars so I babied her a lot today. Those mean teeth are hurting her a lot and have caused a yucky cold too. She keeps crying and saying, "my nose!" over and over.

I was pretty amazed when I went into the girls' room this morning to discover Ash on the floor, surrounded by a million dolls and Britt ASLEEP! This is the kid who wakes up at least a full hour before me, yells for her sister to get up and give her toys and then plays in her bed until I go in and get her.

She had been awake and played and taken off her pajamas, but obviously doesn't feel well. Hence, her crashing again. She also took an extra long nap this afternoon. AND she's gone straight to sleep tonight. I'm sorry she doesn't feel well, but I'm enjoying all this extra quiet time! :) Britt just doesn't, generally, need the amount of sleep that her sister did/does. Ash totally spoiled me in the sleeping department. She's always been a dream in that area.

(this is the best pic i could get. didn't want the flash to wake her. this pic also shows how she likes sleeping with her blanket best. over her shoulders like a cape. tony thinks she dreams of being a super hero.)

It's going to be very interesting to see how my current baby (Britt) reacts to being moved to middle child status. To be honest, I think getting used to a new baby will be easier for her than for Ash (who is going through a rough phase right now anyway). But, we'll see! Ash had a hard week after Britt first came home and then quickly adjusted with no issues. But every kid is different.

Today I Felt Much Better Than I Did Yesterday.

2012-01-23T20:31:00.000-08:00

I'm not sugar-coating this post.

I haven't been sleeping well. My brain won't shut off. It's impossible to be comfortable with the size of this belly I'm carting about. I have restless leg syndrome baaaaaad. I got 4.5 hours on Sunday. I need 9 hours to be at my best.

I got out of bed yesterday and was immediately taken over by sadness and gloom. I had been so sure that I'd either be in the hospital by the 22nd, or home with a new baby. I sobbed twice throughout the day and moped about feeling very depressed. Is my body even capable of going into labor by itself?

Tony is the sweetest ever and was patient and upbeat and eventually managed to help me think more positively. I also sat down and made a list of things that would be really nice to accomplish before the baby arrives.

I worked on that list today and have been feeling more positive and patient. I'm going to be talking to my midwife about induction when I go see her on Wednesday.

Today I Am Due!

2012-01-20T21:38:00.000-08:00

But nothing is happening. It sure has felt like the 20th was a long time in coming and yet, it appears that it will have come and gone and be totally uneventful.

Tony was saying that 20 is his lucky number. Baby doesn't care. :)

Any bets on when the baby will actually make her debut?

I just can't wait to see if she looks like this:

(newborn ash)

Or this:

(newborn britt)

Or completely different all together!

Today I Stayed Home. Again.

2012-01-19T20:33:00.000-08:00

We got majorly snowed in yesterday and I canceled my trip to the midwife. I re-scheduled for today because it was supposed to be back to our normal winter temps. I woke up to ice. It was seriously raining ice! I canceled again. I didn't want to drive in it! Based on what I'm seeing in the news, it has been a royal mess with a lot of accidents and power outages. We've been blessed/lucky. Lots of flickering with one 15 second loss of power and that's all. I stayed indoors and let Tony take care of the girls while I worked on a present for my newest nephew.

(a small part of my project)

(my adorable month-old nephew)

(my brother, sam, thought he might shoot some hoops, but everything outside is frozen solid!)

Today I Thought About Blessings.

2012-01-17T20:48:00.000-08:00

I have decided that something is out to get my poor little Britt’s left eye. AND that she is most seriously being watched over and protected. God must have something great in store for her vision because that eye has been preserved over and over again. This is her most recent scrape up.

(seriously, so lucky! look how close it is to her eye and yet nothing on her eyelid.)

She tripped over an extension cord at the neighbors’ yesterday and landed on the sharp edge of their outlet box. And the week before that she slipped on a game at Mom’s house and caught the edge of the china cupboard with that same eye. She had a red, vertical welt for days. The week before that she stumbled in our bedroom and bruised her left eyebrow on our laundry hamper. And I’m sure most of you remember her concussion at the Space Needle almost a year ago. Same eye. The doctor was actually more concerned about fractures in her eye socket that could cause long term eye damage (the cat scan showed us that she was ok).

(here's that pic I took after she got out the hospital for her concussion)

So, needless to say, I am counting my blessings right now. The little pill bug, of whom I am referring to, is currently yelling "Mom" and "Yay!" at the top of her lungs (and yes, I'm ignoring her) even though she's in bed and was supposed to have been asleep 40 minutes ago. But instead of feeling picked on because she doesn't go straight to sleep like she used to, I'm just grateful that she is healthy and whole (with a few minor scratches).

Today I Played In the Snow with My Family.

2012-01-16T20:07:00.000-08:00

It started snowing after noon yesterday and we were able to go out and play in it. Tony and Ash did all the snowman building. I held an umbrella and took pictures. Britt just walked around and observed everything. After the snowman was finished, my siblings and Tony and Ash got into a huge snowball fight. So, Britt and I decided it was naptime. :) It snowed quite a bit and the roads were not ok for driving on this morning so Tony stayed home. After breakfast we went over to the neighbor's house and went sledding since they have a good sized hill on their property. Ok, I didn't sled, but the girls and Tony did. It was fun and I love that the kids are really enjoying themselves in all this snow. Supposedly we'll get a bunch more tonight and tomorrow night and then it'll all melt away. Perfect amount of time, if you ask me. :) The pics are from yesterday.

(ash was just about to throw a snowball at her aunt. this pic is my new fave. i can't look at it without smiling.)

(the girls with frosty the snowman.)

Today I Had Normal Blood Pressure.

2012-01-13T20:39:00.000-08:00

And the baby passed the stress test with flying colors. Yay!

The good and bad news is that means no induction for me this weekend. That also means no baby, unless I miraculously go into labor spontaneously.

We're supposed to get snow this weekend. I don't know how much, so I'm debating whether I should go on a nice long walk tomorrow morning or not.

I would like to play in the snow with Ash and Britt. They are so into snowmen this year. Maybe I could put myself into labor by building a snowman with them? Hehehe. That would be an interesting way to self-induce.

Hope everyone has a great 3 day weekend!

Today I Vacuumed a Lump Off of My Bump.

2012-01-12T23:55:00.000-08:00

I was sitting on the floor, cleaning and vacuuming in my bedroom (nesting? maybe, not sure). I had made great progress and the girls were being really good, entertaining themselves with books on my bed. I was clearing out my husband's side of the bed and the foot of our bed. Kind of a no-man's land that I really like to avoid. Most of it was clothes so now the hamper is stuffed. In the middle of this clean, I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked down and crawling across my baby bump was something that looked a lot like this (only darker):

(source. and based on what i've read about them, they can give quite the nasty bite!)

Needless to say, I let out a loud whoop and promptly sucked it up with the vacuum hose I was holding (thank heavens for that!). Ash then asked "What happened?" I totally lied and said, "I hurt myself." She said, "Oh" and went back to reading her book. And if you remember reading my last spider posts (and here), then you know why I fibbed about it.

I promptly resumed my cleaning on my feet (which totally hurts my back) but didn't see anymore bugs. Such a random happening.

Today I Ate Fish Tacos.

2012-01-11T22:19:00.000-08:00

We went out to eat with friends tonight. It was fun to just eat, talk, laugh and relax. Too bad Ash wouldn't go to sleep and finally my sister (the baby-sitter) had to text us and let us know that she wouldn't stop crying and being scared. So - our outing was cut short. When I got home, she was fine and even smiling. Stinker. I told her to go to sleep and 10 minutes later, she was. Total stinker. I think she was completely playing my sister.

I had an appointment with one of my midwives today and my blood pressure was slightly up. Lame. Now I have to go in again on Friday for another bp check and a stress test. **sigh** I guess it's better to be safe than sorry. Can't this baby just come out already!?!?! At least she is still head down and has dropped. Yay!

I'm tired. If I can just keep myself off of Pinterest tonight, maybe I can get into bed early.

(via Facebook - this picture is a very accurate depiction of how i feel right now.)

Today I Figured Out What I'm Making for Valentine's Day.

2012-01-10T10:20:00.000-08:00

Every year I wrack my brains for a cute idea that I can do over and over for my millions of siblings. Ok, I'm exaggerating the number of siblings a bit. but I just like what I make to at least be a cool valentine since it's not exactly tailored to each individual sibling. We're talking mass production here. Obviously, this isn't something I can mail to nieces and nephews (will come up with something different for them). But this fab idea from Tonia of The Gunny Sack is my new favorite.

What I Did Today

Today I Mailed Out Some Valentines.

Today I Laughed at a Blog Post.

Today I Was Majorly in the Trenches.

Today I Got Pictures in the Mail.

Today I Had to Remind Myself to Take It Easy.

Today I Was Happy about the Little Things.

Today I Was Re-thinking Blogging.

Today I Have a Fat Foot and a Semi-Skinny Foot.

Today I Gave My Baby a Book.

Today I Took Elle to the Doctor.

Today I Had a Baby.

Today I Am Being Induced.

Today I Babied My Baby.

Today I Felt Much Better Than I Did Yesterday.

Today I Am Due!

Today I Stayed Home. Again.

Today I Thought About Blessings.

Today I Played In the Snow with My Family.

Today I Had Normal Blood Pressure.

Today I Vacuumed a Lump Off of My Bump.

Today I Ate Fish Tacos.

Today I Figured Out What I'm Making for Valentine's Day.

Today I Completed My Latest Sewing Project.

Today I Laughed at the Muppets.

Today I Was Poked and Prodded. A Lot.

Today I Threw Away a Shoe.

Today I Went Thrifting.

Today I Just Had Fun.

Today I'm Saying Good-bye to 2011.

Today I Finished Three Monster Pillows.

Today I Encouraged My Kids to Help Themselves.

Today I Went to Snoqualmie Falls.

Today I Hope Your Weekend Will Be Merry and Bright.

Today I Caroled with a VERY Grouchy Baby.

Today I Piped a Lot of Frosting on a Cookie House.

Today I Finished My Angel.

Today I Need to Do a Follow-Up Post.

Today I Made a Little Christmas Bucket List.

Today I Was Nearly Embarrassed.

Today I Started Reading a Book.

Today I Ate Too Many Suger Cookies.

Today I Went to a Ladies Night Out Party.

Today I'm Showing Off My Handiwork.

Today I Started Our Book Advent.

Today I was in the Kitchen a Lot.

Today I Want to Share Something Cool, Thought-Provoking, and Meaningful

Today I Did Some Immediate Gratification Baking.

Today I Sat in Semi-Darkness While I Ate My Breakfast.

Today Was Late for My Appointment.

Today I Shopped 'Til I Dropped.

Today I Ate Turkey.

Today I Made Pie.

Today I Ironed a LOT.

Today I Wanted to Take a Nap, but I Didn't.

Today I Was a Day Late and a Dollar Short.

Today I Took Some Recipes for a Test Drive.

Today I Started Working on a Bunting.

Today I Didn't Play in the Rain.

Today I Put a Sock on Britt's Hand.

Today I Put Together Birthday Invites.

Today I'm Sipping Lemon Tea with Honey.

Today I Had a Weight Lifted Off of My Shoulders.

Today I Grinned at Myself in the Mirror.

Today I'm Watching Fast Five.

Today I Went to a Meeting.

Today I Went to a Beautiful Wedding.

Today I Took My Kids Out to Beg for Candy.

Today I Got a Great Deal.

Today I Made (and ate) Apple Cider Caramel.

Today I Started Working on My Advent Calendar Again.

Today I Just Want to Share Our Pumpkin Patch Pictures.

Today I Was in a Bad Mood.

Today I Discussed Frankenstein.

Today I (Again) Wondered What "Gutchen" Means.

Today I Cuddled My Poor Baby While She Sucked Her Fingers.

Today I Said, "Let Them Eat Cake...Let EVERYONE Eat Cake!"

Ingredients

Preparation

Today I Went Shopping.