Monthly Update!

Okay, so I was thinking about updating the other day and never got to it...so here I go....

I wrote a post back in January that I never followed up on! I was scared because Alaina would stop breathing and just seemed so sick...well I took her to the doctor the next day and she was admitted to the hospital for RSV. She stayed one night and they did breathing treatments every 4 hours and chest percussions as well. Sophie and Alaina pretty much stayed on breathing treatments for the rest of the winter it seemed like. They were really hit hard with RSV (Yes, Sophie had it too, but since she's older she wasn't hospitalized and we just did the breathing treatments at home and she got cough syrup to take at night as well).

So fast forward to present-day!

Sophie is WONDERFUL!! She is so much fun fun fun! She's talking in sentences now (short ones) and her vocabulary is great. She's still a little bit behind for her age it seems like, but just a little bit. And I'm okay with that. She will catch up.

Sophie is obsessed, and I mean OBSESSED with Blue's Clues and Dora the Explorer. Its one of the first things she asks about when she wakes up in the morning. After the family "roll call" though. She says "MOMMY!!" and I say "GOOD MORNING SOPHIE!!!" and then she points across the room to Alaina's crib and says "Yay-na?" And I say "Yes, she is awake in her crib" and then she says "Where's Daddy?" and I usually tell her "at work". She says "At work? Oh otay" and nods her sweet little head. Then she says "Yah-yee" (Charmin, our dog) and I tell her that she's in the living room. The she says "Up", so I get her up and as I am changing her diaper, she asks "Um...where's Mom-mom?" (work) "Eh(and) Poppy?" (work) "Eh Dosh (Josh)?" (work) "Eh Dadid(David)?" (school) "Eh Mamoo?" (Downstairs at work) "Eh Papoo?" (downstairs at work) "Eh, Yell(Michelle)?" (at school) "Ohhhh. Mommy! Blue's Clues!!!" So I tell her wait a minute while I get Alaina up and changed and then we will watch Blue's Clues.

And before you judge, non-parents....YES, I let my children watch TV. I LOVE THE TV. I used to be one of those people that thought that I would never let my kids watch TV because it would ruin their mind. But I totally let my kids watch TV. However, I don't let them JUST watch TV. While they watch TV, they are playing with their toys. Sophie runs around with Charmin. Alaina pulls herself up on things and tries to grab whatever she can reach. They don't just sit their fixated. So no judging. Not here. Go to someone else's blog for that :). Rant over.

Yes, I said that Alaina is pulling up and standing up! So let me tell you how that went...She started crawling over a month ago. The day after she started crawling (at 7 1/2 months), she started pulling herself up. Yes, I am one proud momma! She is now standing on her own for a few seconds, before she freaks out and sits herself down gently. She's such a joy. A happier baby I have never seen before.

We went to the lake on Saturday with my in-laws. Such a great time was had by all! Even Sophie (who FREAKED out in the swimming pool) LOVED the lake. Donna and Mike rented a pontoon (I have no idea about spelling that one) and we went out for almost 6 hours. The girls did not cry one time. They both got in the water with us too and LOVED it. At first, they weren't too sure about it, but by the end of the day, Sophie was wanting to jump in on her own and swim away from us (which had Donna and I a bit nervous, I gotta say. We couldn't let her do that just yet!!). Did you know that Watauga Lake is the 3rd cleanest lake in the country? That is the ONLY reason I got in there. You won't see me caught dead in any other lake (unless its #1 or #2 on that list). Actually, you MIGHT see me caught dead in a lake with all the other dead bodies that are dumped in lakes by murderers. SHUDDER. But thats the only time you might see me in another lake (but you might not recognize me if my body parts have been disassembled). Anyway, the point of this paragraph was that we had an amazing time and I look forward to doing it again.

I start school tomorrow. I am so excited!!! Only 8 semesters left until I have my MASTERS DEGREE!!! (If all goes as planned, and gosh- I pray it does!!). Yes, thats right. I have changed my major and my whole plan. I was thinking that if I get into the nursing program at Northeast next year, then I will still have 3 yrs of school left...why not go one year longer for a masters degree and make alot more money at something that I had originally wanted to do with my life (before kids)? So...heres the plan, readers: This is my last semester at NE State. In the Spring of 2011, I will be transferring to and attending ETSU to get my bachelor's of science degree. I will be majoring in Human Health with a minor in Health Science. Then in the fall of 2012, I will be attending the graduate program at Milligan College for my Masters in Occupational Therapy. YAYYYYY!!!! So thats the plan, Dan....

Well, its getting late and I must get my beauty sleep (Lord knows I need it!!)

Oh! Wait! Gotta throw in something here! My best friend, Molly Duncan, has recently started doing photography. She is phenomenal! You find her on facebook by searching for "Hoot Photography" and see her fabulous pictures. She has done pictures for the girls and pictures of Michael and me. I'll post a couple just to show you how talented she is!!

We're still here!

Happy 4th of July Everyone!!!





Yeah, its been awhile since I've updated. Sorry about that. Life has gotten in the way of my blogging.

In the past 3 months:

~I finished Spring Semester with one B (in A&P2) and the rest are As. I was pretty pumped about it.





~I applied to the Nursing Program for Fall 2010.





~I received a letter of denial into the Nursing Program for Fall 2010 because I need microbiology(which isn't even a prereq). Can you believe that ONE class made that much of a difference in my overall score?? If I had taken Micro already, my score would have been over 1,000 points higher. So...I will be trying again next year! I'm trying to keep my chin up, although rejection is hard to take. I don't think I have ever been rejected for anything academic...I usually excel in things, so this was a jab to my pride. But pride goes before fall, so I'm just getting over it and I'm not giving up.





~Sophie celebrated her 2nd birthday on June 6th.





~Sophie has started talking and mimicking like crazy...and her favorite word is "NO". But she's very polite and says "please" and "thank you" without prompting now (most of the time)!





~Our little redhead Alaina has hit a few milestones. She's rolling and sitting up and ALMOST crawling. She's "scooting". She is quite chatty too and says "Mama" quite a bit and just babbles. Michael calls her our little monster. She is honestly one of the happiest babies I have ever been around. She is now 7 months old and almost 16 lbs and 27 in long (I am guessing bc at her 6 mon check up she was 15lbs 5 oz and 26 1/2 inches long).





~Alaina is eating solids now. Well....baby food. I'm still not quite willing to put pureed peas and carrots into the "solid foods" category.





~We have been working hard and saving hard to go on vacation, which we are leaving for next Saturday, the 10th. We will be gone for a full week and are SO excited!





~I have started being crafty! Yes, thats right- ME- Crafty?!?! Who'd a thunk it? I am making and selling Baby wipes cases, Tutus for little babies and toddlers, Boutique Korker Bows, and Pillowcase dresses. To view my stuff, you can go to: http://www.thriftymommacrafts.blogspot.com/
Email me if you'd like to order something!





~I have become even MORE addicted to facebook than I previously was and have a wonderful obsession with Ebay.





~I have started cleaning a house once a week for some extra money. Cleaning isn't my favorite thing to do, but hardcore cleaning someone else's house for 4-5 hours is quite a work out!!





~We recently got a new Charcoal Grill, and Michael is enjoying learning how to grill and is doing quite a good job. Our meals have been quite tasty lately.





So I think I hit all the highlights....There's not much going on around here, but we find ourselves quite busy with our 2 little girlies. I am so very thankful for 2 healthy and happy little girls.

Updates

So...Alaina went to the Doctor last Friday and she weighed 12 lbs 6 oz with all her clothes on, so she's probably around 12lb 4oz without her clothes. I can't believe how big she's getting! It seems like yesterday was Nov 25th and we were meeting her for the first time! By the way... Not sure how long she is...I'll find out at her 4 month appt at the end of this month.

Sophie went to the ear, nose, and throat doctor last Friday and she is getting tubes put in her ears next Wednesday. I'm so relieved! Hopefully she'll catch up with her talking soon after the procedure!

Anyway...just wanted to post those quick updates. Will post more later....waiting on a friend to go see the movie Alice and Wonderland...so I don't have alot of time to write.

Take Care!

My, my...how the time flies!

Its been awhile since my last post. Life has been busy and crazy.

30 Day Shred? Heck, it was more like a 7 day barely-a-shred for me. I guess I stopped doing it when Alaina was put in the hospital for RSV and Sophie got sick with RSV too. Shew, that was a nightmare. Breathing treatments every 4 hours and lots of spitting up mucous. My poor babies. They are better now though. Thank goodness. It took awhile to get them better, though. Especially Sophie. She also keeps getting ear infections! We've taken her back and forth to the doctor these past couple of months and its always the same thing- ear infection! Also, we are concerned with her language developement. She just isn't talking like she should be. She says words when we prompt her to (most of the time) but she doesn't just say words on her own (Other than "Dad" "Momma" "Please (Deez)" and "No"). She just likes to be lazy and grunt and moan and point. She has an evaluation with a speech therapist soon so maybe we can find out how to get some words out of her. She also has an appointment with an Ear Nose and Throat Doctor next Friday to get her hearing tested. Her timpanic membrane (ear drum) isn't vibrating like it should. And when your ear drum doesn't vibrate against your auditory ossicles to the oval window and up into the Cochlea and out the round window(this is my geek A&P knowledge coming out)....there is no hearing going on. So Sophie can hear very little right now. Probably because of fluid build-up in her auditory tubes.
Alaina is growing like a weed. She's 3 months old today. Probably weighs about 12 1/2 lbs already! However, she doesn't look chunky. Still really little. Long and skinny sums it up pretty well. She is SUCH a thumb sucker. Its the cutest thing. She won't take a pacifier at all. She'd rather suck her thumb or use me as her pacifier (I breastfeed her). Which makes me feel like a cow at times. :) Speaking of pacifiers....Sophie has been off of hers for 9 days now. I'm so proud of her! We just went cold turkey and she's done great. Although she freaks out if she sees one of her pacis laying around and she can't put it in her mouth. We have hidden or thrown out all the pacifiers now, I think. I hope.
Michael and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary on February 23. Okay, we didn't actually celebrate it on Feb 23 because I had school. We celebrated on February 22. But you get the idea. I proud that we've made it this far. We've had to overcome ALOT of things the past two years. More than what most people have to go through in 10 years of marriage. Its almost been the death of us a few times, but we've hung in there and are so happy for it.
So for the last year I have been struggling with the loss of a friend. Not any friend- my very best friend. She didn't die or anything...but something happened to cause us to not be friends anymore. And it was probably one of the worst ways to end a friendship. Lots of hard feelings and sadness associated with it. Well I talked to her last night very briefly after over a year of silence. It was very emotional for me. Probably for her too. I have been grieving her for a long long time and have never been able to get over it. There is something very intimate about a close female friendship. Probably because women talk about their feelings alot and delve deeply into their emotions. We had been best friends since we were 8 (13 years!). I feel like part of my soul died when our friendship ended. I know that seems dramatic, but its true. No one else could take her place. My other friends were good distractions and they've been good friends, but it wasn't the same. Anyway...our talk was a good one last night and, though it was brief, it lifted a very large load off of my chest. I feel like I can breathe again. It was healing. But I still feel confused about it and its still a very emotional subject. So for those of you who have been there, pray that things get 100% resolved.
I guess thats it.
Oh- school is going good. Had my first exam in A&P2 on Tuesday. Will find out my grade tomorrow. Cross your fingers for an A!!

I'm scared.

For the past week, Alaina will randomly start choking and gagging. And sometimes she coughs so hard that she spits up ALOT. She did that 3 times today already. Also, when she is asleep she will randomly stop breathing and then violently start gasping for air. Needless to say, I am scared. I'm not one of these Moms who freaks out over everything. In fact, I am probably TOO laid back when it comes to my kids getting sick. But this is different. Its not normal and theres no one in the world who could convince me otherwise. Its progressively gotten worse and the past couple nights I have lain awake in bed, listening and making sure that my sweet baby is still breathing in her bassinett.
Today has been the worst so far. I cannot tell you how many times she has had her "gasping spells" while she's slept today. I'm afraid to sleep tonight.
For those who know my Mom, she is a WONDERFUL pediatric nurse. She works at First Choice Peds, where we take the girls. I talked to her tonight and usually she makes me feel better, but she had no words of wisdom tonight or any "well, it could be...." explanations. I'm taking Alaina to the Doctor tomorrow. Hopefully we will find out whats going on, and that there is something that we can do to stop it.

So, for those of you who read my blog.....pray. please.

The Girls

So I realize its been awhile since I've posted about the family and what we are up to. And this is because its been a boring 2 weeks for us. We've been slumming it at home because of this snow and I really haven't wanted to get Alaina out in this weather. She hasn't gotten sick yet, and I am hoping to keep it that way.

In the past couple of weeks, Alaina has gotten bigger. She's filling out her 0-3 mos clothes very well now. They are still roomy, but she is able to wear them. She's sleeping through the night consistently now. She's always been a good sleeper, but occasionally after she was born, she would wake up around 3am to eat. But now she sleeps from around 11pm to 6am. Its wonderful. Of course, Sophie did this too, and then decided when she was about 5 mos old that she would wake up twice during the night. That lasted until she was 7 or 8 mos old. So I am fairly certain that Alaina won't always sleep through the night from now on, but I am definately enjoying it for now, while it lasts. Alaina is also smiling now. Not the "oh I'm about to fart or poop" kinda smile. But the "oh, you look foolish talking baby talk to me and I find you amusing" kinda smile. Its VERY cute. I might post a picture at the end of this post for all of you faithful readers.

So now onto Sophie. I think she's giving us a taste of what the "terrible twos" are going to be like. She used to lay down at night and go right to sleep. We'd hug and kiss her goodnight and she was perfectly content to go to bed. But now, she fights it tooth and nail. Also, she gets into everything. Now I know she's a 19 month old and they just naturally are curious and will get into things. But she's getting into things that she knows are off-limits and then when we count to 3, she still doesn't put it down. We can spank her and it doesn't phase her. Putting her in the corner works for about 5 minutes, but then she's back into everything. Don't get me wrong- I'm not at my wits end or anything. She's still a happy, good little girl about 1/2 the day. Its the other half that is hard to get through. But we deal with it, with lots of discipline, frustration, and love. Boy, that sounded corny. Sorry folks. Anyway, Sophie also has a new obsession with the TV. She is ALWAYS wanting to watch it. I can see this being a problem. My little brother, David, had a TV obsession when he was little, so my mom ended up taking the TV all week and on Friday nights, she would bring it out to the living room (we had a rolling TV stand, so it was easy to move it) and we could watch a movie. And then the TV went away til the next Friday. I can see Michael and I having to take the TV away. Although, I can't see Michael giving up the TV either. He has an obsession with videogames.

I start school on Thursday, Jan 12th. I have classes on Tues, Wed, and Thurs this semester, with only 2 night classes on Tuesday nights and Wednesday nights. I am looking forward to going back, but I have alot to do this semester to prepare myself to get into the nursing program. Gotta take the NET, and study for it before I take it. I've also got to complete the nursing program application and mail it in before the deadline hits in June (which gives me plenty of time, I think). Also, the FAFSA has to be filled out by March so that I still qualify for grants and certain scholarships. So I'm going to do that and I have to work REALLY hard this semester to make all A's. I want to bring my GPA back up. It went down to a 3.54 after last semester.

Theres really nothing new with Michael. Still working at JCMC. Still playing videogames on his days off (and helping with the girls, of course).

So thats whats going on right now. The end.

Day 6

Day 6- Yay!

My muscles aren't as sore anymore. And while I'm working out, I can tell a difference already when I'm doing cardio. I'm building up my endurance. That's good. I have to tell you, it is HARD to make yourself workout everyday. Which is why I am thankful for Richelle. We used to work at the same place and recently have started getting together and working out. If it weren't for her coming over everyday, then to be honest- I probably would have skipped yesterday. Yesterday was a VERY lazy day for me, not sure why. But she and Rob (her fiance) came over and while she and I worked out, Michael and Rob kept each other company in the dining room (they aren't allowed to watch us workout. haha).

So I have consistently worked out everyday, and its going great. Also, the portion control and 1 soda per day thing is going really well too. I'm not going to allow "real" sodas in the house anymore. Only diet drinks. And yesterday I bought a ton of bottled water, so it should last me for a couple of weeks.

So I am raising my water bottle to toast to Day 6. May it bring happiness, healthy choices and a good, hard, fat-burning workout.

Day 3

Day 3 of the 30 Day Shred.
Am I feeling it? Heck yes.

My legs have been screaming at me since yesterday. But that's good, right? my arms aren't too sore, but that's because I haven't gone to walmart to get weights yet, which is on my "to-do" list today. The past 2 days I haven't been using weights because I haven't had any. But filled water bottles will do in a pinch, right? haha. I tried, anyway. So I'm going to start with 3 lb weights.

So the video is really great. Hopefully I will see results at the end of the 30 days. Although, like I said in my last post...I'm not stopping after 30 days. After the 30 days are up, I'm going to start Level 2 and do that for another 30 days. I highly recommend the video.

I am also only allowing myself one soda per day. I am choosing to drink only diet sodas for those that I do drink. Other than that 1 soda, and half a glass of orange juice in the morning, its water for me- all day, every day. Sodas are my downfall, my weakness.

I'm cracking down on myself. KUDOS, Becky Edens, KUDOS.

P.S. The girls are great. They are both taking naps right now. Alaina is growing like a weed and I swear- Sophie says a new word everyday. They are my sweet little cupcakes. Sophie tries to work out with me at home. Its really cute. I'd get a picture, but that means I would have to stop working out to do so- which I can't let myself do. So...just imagine a 19 month old little girl doing squats and attempting pushups. Its pretty darn funny.

30-Day Shred

So for anyone that knows me very well, you know that I have a hard time doing things and sticking with it constantly...so I decided to start doing a work-out routine everyday. I have heard good things about Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred workout DvD (she's one of the trainers on The Biggest Loser). So I decided to give it a shot. I started it yesterday, and I am very sore today from doing it. Its not "hard". They aren't hard workouts, but its very intense. Its only a 20-25 minute workout (theres a warm-up and cool-down included), but its constant moving. She does great though. There are 2 levels- level 1 for the beginner and level 2 for the more advanced exerciser. I'm going level 1. I'm planning on doing level 2 when I finish the 30 days of level 1.

So I am going to be posting my progress regularly on this blog. Its my way of being "accountable", so that I'll stick with it and not quit. This year it is my goal to lose 40-50lbs. I need to get healthier. Not just for me, but for the girls. I don't want to be a Mom who can't do certain things with my kids because of my weight and physical condition. I want to do things with them and not be gasping for air. I also want to be a good example. I have the tendency to be overweight, as does Michael, so its going to be easier for the girls to put on weight as well. So i want them to grow up with exercise and establishing good eating habits.

So from now on, this isn't just our family blog. It is also my weight loss/getting back to a healthy lifestyle blog. If anyone wants to join me in doing this, I'll be working out every night for 30 minutes. Even if you just get the DvD and start it, I am more than happy to be anyone "accountability" partner and make sure that we do it daily and don't slack on it. This is for ANYONE, not just us overweight people. Its also for people who are interested in being more healthy and toning up their body.

have a happy evening! wish me luck!

Gentle Reminders

...we all need reminders of how blessed we are sometimes. Its easy to forget when it seems like there is so much that overwhelms me and so much that I can complain and worry about. However, when it all comes down to it- God has blessed me with 2 healthy little girls, a faithful and helpful husband who is a wonderful father and I am healthy and happy. Life isn't smiles and sunshine all the time- but whose is? Most of my days are full of smiles and my house is filled with the sound of a toddler's laughter and a healthy baby's cries. Some people don't have that. I am definately beyond blessed and have alot to thank God for.

We had a great Christmas. Sophie got a ton of gifts (the girls are blessed with Grandparents that buy them TOO much! haha), so I went through all the old toys and we got rid of more than half of them that Sophie never plays with, but I did keep a few small toys for when Alaina reaches about 4 or 5 mos. I'm not going to be one of those Moms who lets the kids toys take over the house.
On Tuesday (Dec 22nd), we went to our friends house and had a non-traditional Christmas dinner with Anthony, Audrey, Skylar, Haley, J, Melane, Jada, and Jacob. We ate a ton of food (Audrey made twice baked potatoes, fried chicken, rolls, deviled eggs, and a couple other things that I can't remember right now. Melane made Asian food, and I made a vegetable appetizer pizza, fudge, and haystacks). The food was delicious. I probably gained 5 lbs that night alone. After we ate, we opened gifts and did karaoke. We had so much fun. It was a wonderful fun filled night. We got home around 11:45pm.
On Christmas Eve, we went to my Gramma's house and had dinner- Roast beef with Au Jus, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli, ColeSlaw, Jello Mold, and iced tea. Very very good. Gramma outdid herself once again. The we went to my parents house and made cookies and chocolate dipped pretzel logs with sprinkles. mmm mmm mmmm....good stuff. Mom and Dad kept Sophie that night (We opened gifts with Sophie earlier that day because Michael had to work on Christmas Day). Michael, Alaina, and I got home around 11pm.
On Christmas Day, I woke up and got Alaina and I ready to go and we went to visit Michael at work and take a basket filled with cookies, fudge, and chocolatedipped pretzels to him and his coworkers. So we did that and then went to Erwin. Sophie, Alaina, and I all took about a 2 1/2 hour nap from 11:00am-1:30pm. It was so nice! We went to my Grammas for Christmas dinner at around 3 and ate around 4. We then cleaned up and played games. At 7pm, I left Erwin and went to my Mother-in-laws house for another Christmas dinner. Michael met us there about 8pm. We ate and then exchanged gifts and played dirty Santa. We got home around 10:30pm and put the girls to bed and then got in bed ourselves.
So we had a busy holiday, but it was so much fun.
This week is going to be busy as well. Michael is working Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. And while he is working tomorrow, I've gotta take the girls to the store and buy some groceries to make the stuff for our New Years Eve party with Anthony, Audrey, Melane, J, Richelle, Rob, TJ, Amber, and all the kids. Its going to be so much fun. I'm excited about it. Then on Tuesday I'm going to put away all the Christmas decor. On Wednesday, I'm going to clean the apartment really well and then cook a little on Thursday. Everyone is supposed to be over around 8pm, so Michael will have a few minutes after he gets home from work to take a shower before people start getting here.

So I've written quite a bit already and really haven't written too much about the girls and how they are doing- Sophie is wonderful. She just started saying all of her uncles' names- Josh, David, and Adam. She says "Mom-Mom" and "love" and "Happy" also. She still points and grunts alot though. She recently had her 18 month check-up. She weighed 27lbs 60z and was 33 1/2 inches tall. And although her head circumference was only in the 50th percentile, she still looks like her head is about 2 sizes too large for her body :).
And now Alaina- she's great. Growing and finally starting to fill out a little. She's a month old now and still in newborn clothes, but I have a feeling that she'll outgrow them within another week. She sleeps through the night most nights already. That's definately nice. But she goes to bed pretty late and gets up early...but I'm used to it now.

So we are all pretty well adjusted to Alaina's presence in the family and we are enjoying life.

Time to feed Alaina before she goes down for the night...Goodnight faithful blog readers. Sorry I haven't been so faithful in updating!

My baby story (and more).

Its 5:15 am. And I'm not very tired anymore. I'm getting used to being up early already. I guess thats good that I'm adjusting quickly to the baby.

Okay, so I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on November 25th (which makes her almost 2 1/2 weeks old now, by the way). Let me give you a run-down of my labor and delivery experience:

I arrived at the hospital on 11/25 at 6am. They checked me into my room and got my chart together and I had to sign a ton of papers and all that good stuff. About 7am, they started an IV in my hand (yay for the nurse who got it on the first try!), and hooked me up to the fetal monitor. At 7:45am, they started the Petocin. Everything was fine and dandy until about 10am. Mom and Dad arrived with Scrabble at 9am and we all sat around talking. About 10am, my contractions started to hurt. By 10:30am, they were horrible and I wanted the drugs. Actually, let me be more specific- I wanted the EPIDURAL- STAT. So I asked for it (I was 4cms dialated at this point). After about 45 minutes of waiting and some crying and anger, I was finally given the epidural (SWEET RELIEF). When the nurse checked my cervix at 11:15am, I was 6 cms dialated. So after the epidural took effect, my parents and michael and I played Scrabble until about 12:15pm. At that time, I was getting tired and so was Michael. We figured we had at LEAST 4 hours left to rest, so we did. Michael fell asleep and I just sat and talked to my parents as they continued to play Scrabble. Now this is when things got a little exciting.
About 12:45pm, the baby's heartrate went from the 150's all the way down to the 70's. It continued to do this for 15 minutes and Mom & I were getting worried. The nurse came in at 1pm to see what was going on. She checked my cervix and looked up at me and said "You're going to have a baby". Um...DUH. I KNOW I'm going to have a baby. I have a belly that sticks out a mile and I'm in the hospital being induced. I think I know that I'm going to have a baby. Little did I know that she meant RIGHT then. She told me that she could see the baby's head and all I would have to do is give one good push and she'd be out. I could hardly believe it. In less than 2 hours, I dialated 4 cms?? I was a little skeptical. Well she called my doctor and he arrived at about 1:10pm. As he was getting his gloves on and the nurses were coming in, he looks down (my legs had just been placed in the stir-ups) and his eyes got huge and he says "Uh uh uh uh uh uh....CONNIE! The head!" So I'm thinking "whats going on" and Michael looks down and his eyes got huge and I asked him what was wrong. He told me the baby was halfway out. Dr. Hinton looks at me and says "don't push". Well...I hadnt pushed...she just kinda continued to slip out. It was the EASIEST delivery ever. Piece of cake.
So Alaina Julianne Edens arrived at 1:17pm, weighing 7lbs 2 oz and was 20 inches long. So tiny compared to Sophie (8lbs 6 oz).
We went home on Black Friday, Nov 27th.

So, 2 1/2 weeks later....Alaina is doing great. Still itty bitty in my opinion. She weighed 7lbs 10 oz on Wednesday at her 2 week check-up. She's a great little baby though. Already sleeps through the night most nights (although sometimes she gets up once, around 3am). I'm exclusively breastfeeding (well...when I'm in school, Michael gives her a bottle, but its still breastmilk) and I love it. It didn't go well with Sophie, so I'm just SO glad and thankful that its going well and that Alaina and I are both enjoying it.

And Sophie? She's adjusting very well to her sister being here. She likes to give Alaina hugs and "love" on her. Its really cute. We just have to watch her really closely...she's used to playing with older kids and she can be a little too rough. She does well being "gentle" though. I'm so proud of her. The only thing that she's having a hard time with is sleep. I have no idea how many times she wakes up during the night total, but I hear her rustling around in her crib often. She went from having 1 nap a day, to now having 2 or 3 naps because she's so tired. Thank goodness, this week she seems to be doing better. Its just taking her a little while to adjust and get back on schedule.

Wish me luck and say a prayer or two for me this next week! I have finals on Monday, Tues, and Thursday next week. I'm excited to get this semester over with!

Well, I will post pictures soon, but I really don't feel like it now. I'm going to go lay back down with Alaina and enjoy the quiet before Sophie wakes up.

The Countdown Begins

15 days to go until induction day!

Everything is going great and I am so looking forward to having baby girl in my arms soon. It'll be nice not being pregnant again. Although the postpartum emotions and soreness aren't a wonderful thought right now. We have decided against the name Hannah. Too common right now. So we have FINALLY decided on another name but we aren't telling people just yet....not until she's born. But I will tell you this-- its a great name!

We finally have a plan as far as where Sophie is going to be and all that jazz. Michael's parents are going to keep her on Wednesday, and on Wednesday evening when they come to the hospital, my parents are going to get her and keep her overnight. They'll have her until we get home from the hospital. Then we aren't sure if Sophie is going to come home right away for the first night home with the baby or if she will stay with her Grandparents again...that's still up for discussion. I want her to be home. She's part of the experience. But with having a new baby and the crazy hours that we'll be up during the night, I don't know if she'll sleep well or how that first night is going to go. And I know that Michael and I will be exhausted...so we just aren't sure whats going to happen yet. Life with 2 kids will definately take some adjusting to.

Got the nursery completely finished. Will post pictures soon....hopefully. But don't be suprised if I don't post until the end of the month after Baby girl has arrived.

It seems like I always go a month between posts. I really will try to do better.

Last Tuesday I had the night off from school, so I decided that it was a good day to paint Hannah's room (or at least get started). I invited my cousin Ashli over, and my friend Audrey. I never imagined we'd get the whole room painted! I was so thrilled. Then on Wednesday, my Mom came over on her day off to help me do "touch-ups" and paint the trim. We also cleaned out the big walk-in closet and made room for Hannah's diapers and everything. I got so much done last week and I am so excited about it! On Thursday, Anthony (Michael's best friend) and Michael put the painted shelves up on the walls. It looks like a completely different room. I'm thrilled with how it turned out. I can't thank everyone enough that helped paint/prepare Hannah's room!
On Friday, I had an OB appointment. FINALLY, I gained 4 lbs! yay! For those of you thinking, "Why would she be so excited about gaining 4 lbs??" Well, my last appt was 2 weeks ago and I had lost another 3 lbs...making my total weight loss 26lbs. Not so good when you are pregnant. Everything is fine with Hannah according to the Doctors, but I'm so glad that I gained this time around, even if it just gave me peace of mind. Anyway, so my due date is Nov 29th. But I had discussed being induced on Nov 27th because that's a Friday, and I if I have Hannah during the weekend, I'll be able to return to school sooner. Well, I talked to Dr. Pickler about it again yesterday and she told me that Nov 27th wasn't the best day because it is Black Friday, and that Nov 25th (day before Thanksgiving) would be better, because then I'll have an extra-long weekend to get home and rested before going back to school. So we discussed it for a few minutes and it was decided that Nov 25th is induction day (providing that Hannah doesn't make an early appearance), which also happens to be Michael's sister's birthday. I was thinking "OH NO!" when I found out. Because lets be honest- who wants to share a birthday? But when I told Michelle, she was okay with it. Seemed pretty happy, actually. So if she doesn't mind, then I don't mind at all.
So next topic- school. Going great. Making A's in all my classes so far. I've had 5 major exams so far this semester. I'm still waiting to get my grade for 2 of them. But for the other 3, I made A's. I'm really enjoying school and I enjoy learning (especially Anatomy and Physiology). Our Fall Break is Mon and Tuesday of next week. So I only have classes on Wed and Thurs next week. Thats exciting!
So I guess the only thing left to update you on is Michael. He's doing really good. Looking forward to Hannah joining the family very soon. He's thinking about getting a job at the VA next year in Jan or Feb (if they are hiring at that point). Now he has a couple years of experience, and they have great benefits and better pay. So if thats what he wants to do- then I'm all for it! But I know that if he does decide to go to the VA, he will dearly miss his co-workers. He really likes the nurses that he works with, and I think that it will take awhile for him to adjust to new nurses. Michael doesn't really like change. It takes him awhile to "warm up" to new ideas and people.
Anyway. I will try to post pictures of Hannah's room soon. I want to wait until we have her crib and bedding set up.

Will it ever get done?

Well, thats a good question. Hannah's room sure won't paint itself! I feel like I have a ton of things to do before Hannah gets here. In reality, I don't have that much to do. I just feel rushed. But that's the hormones talking. I think this Saturday I'm not going to paint the whole room, but I'm going to buckle down and finally get that bookcase out of the room and finish painting the shelves that line the walls. That needs to get done before the rest of the room is painted. My mother in law offered to help paint whenever the time comes. I think I will ask her to help me with the walls in the room. But since its just the shelves that I have to do, I only need like 1 other person to help me, and its been ages since I've really spent quality time with my mother. Of course, now that I've made up my mind to ask my mom to help me, she is probably scheduled to work and can't do it. That, or she's going to be busy trying to move more things into the new house. Bummer. I could actually do the shelves by myself, but its much more fun to have someone there to talk to. Its helps pass the time.

Anyway, despite not having Hannah's room done, I have gotten quite a bit done lately. I've kept up with my homework and studying, so I don't feel like I'm behind in any of my classes. And I know we've only had 3 weeks of classes, but alot happens in 3 weeks and its really easy to fall behind. I've kept myself busy today doing housework. Cleaning the bathroom, kitchen, dining room, living room, Sophie's room, laundry (only about 1/2 the laundry though. We ran out of detergent and I didn't feel like going out to buy any-so I went to the kitchen to wash dishes instead), and I made our bed and took the dirty clothes to the laundry room. I've also played ball with Sophie in her bedroom. She's learning that its okay to play in her room. Don't get me wrong, I don't want her to hole herself up in her bedroom and play in there by herself for hours, but I want her to feel like her room is HER room and she can play in there if she would like to.
Yesterday while Michael had his friend Anthony over and they hung out, I put together Hannah's new floor lamp while Sophie napped. I love it. Its the same kind of lamp that we have in Sophie's bedroom and its really great. Its a 5 bulb lamp and it has 3 different settings, so it can be really bright, not so bright, or kind of dull. Its perfect for a baby's room. I also went to WalMart and got some more lightbulbs (the energy saving kind. where 11 watts=60 watts) to change out some of the burnt-out bulbs at home. *sigh* It makes me feel so good to get some housework done, especially on a day that I have classes. I tend to get lazy inbetween classes, but if I push myself to do a little housework, then usually I get a burst of energy and have to clean clean clean everything! I love it!

I have Prob & Stats class tonight. I hope I get my quiz results back from Monday. Pray that I did well! I studied really hard for it and I feel good about it, but I'm going to feel a little worried about it until I see the results!

Monday Morning Catch-up

I thought I'd do a quick blog this morning before Sophie wakes up.
We had a great weekend! It feels so great to not work all weekend and be able to spend some quality time with Sophie and Michael. Plus, we usually do alot of family things on the weekends as well (with the extended family).
Last Thursday, Sept 10th, was Michael's 25 birthday! Halfway to 50. What a mile marker! I had school all day, so in between classes, we went to Erwin. My parents gave Michael his gift and then I gave him his gift and we hurried and went home so I could leave for my night class. All in all, it was a good day, but I would have liked to have done a little more for Michael on his special day.
Anyway, on Friday I got some housework done (YAY) and completely exhausted myself. haha. How quickly I run out of steam. As I am typing this, I'm looking around and it makes me sick how cluttered the living room has gotten since I cleaned up. Ugh. Cleaning is a never-ending process. I was telling Michael yesterday that he could be a little more romantic and liven up the romance in our relationship. He asked me what I meant. I told him that its the little things that I appreciate. I gave him this example: Clean the bathroom one day. Heck, just clean the toilet. When you finish, put the lid down and lay a rose/flower of your choice on top of the CLEAN lid, so that I know its been cleaned and that you were doing it as a kind gesture. I mean, you can't get much more romantic than that, right? That's MY idea of romance. Leave the wining and dining to other couples with larger wallets.
On Saturday, we went over to Michael's parent's house and had a family birthday party for Michael, Andy, and Jessa (other members of Michaels family). Had a great time. Kelly (cousin) was there and brought her baby, Abbi. She's the sweetest little thing! Anyway, Kelly and I also studied Epithelial tissues for an hour (we have the same teacher for A&P1, and we have a tissues quiz next week). Glad to have gotten those down and memorized! We didn't get home til 10:30pm. By that time, Sophie was asleep and out of it. We had a great time, but I felt a little guilty for having Sophie out that late, since she usually goes to bed around 9pm.
Finally, Sunday. We got up and got ready to go to church (which was very good, by the way). Great sermon on prayer. After church, we went to my parents and ate lunch. Sophie took a nap and while she was napping, Michael and my little brother David went to Johnson City and got their hair cut. By the time they got back, it was time for dinner. So we went to Primos in Elizabethton for pizza. Good stuff! We got home about 8pm, played with Sophie for a few minutes, and then she went to bed. So that was our weekend. Very eventful, but I guess it doesn't sound too exciting when you write it all down.
Well, perfect timing. Sophie just woke up.

Rain, Rain, Go away!

Its been raining all day it seems. The power went out for about 45 minutes. That was fun, especially considering it went out while I was changing a dirty dirty dirty dirty diaper!

Sophie let me sleep in this morning til 9:22 am! I was shocked. When I woke up, I hurried and went into her room to make sure she was alright. She was just laying there, smelling her blanket and quietly talking to herself. She's such a sweet girl. At 11am, I had my glucose tolerance test. Thats always a joy.

School started last week and its going great! It feels SO great to be back in school. I'm very excited about getting it all done with and being able to help support Michael while he goes back to school. He's doing a great job being a loving, supportive husband. I'm not usually one to go on and on about my undying love for anyone (besides my daughter of course!), but Michael really is a wonderful husband and I love him to infinity and beyond. He's not perfect, and we get on each others nerves all the time...but he really is a keeper. And I'll just leave it at that and not make anyone sick with all this talk of love and mushy stuff.

Hospitals, dehydration, doctors, and strep.

Oh its been awhile and I have LOTS of updating to do for the month of August.

I start school on the 31st of this month. I am excited, but at the same time...anxious. It seems like a lifetime since I've been to school, but I will be successful and I will do well! I AM WOMAN, HEAR ME ROAR!!

Anyway, last week, the week of Aug 10th- Sophie was sick. Again. with a virus. Poor thing was miserable and nothing made her happy. It was frustrating and sad. There's nothing like a sick, unhappy baby that can us Moms feel inadequate and vulnerable.

So this week, guess what?! Mommy comes down with what Sophie had (so we think). I actually started feeling sick Friday, Aug 14th. I worked all weekend, though, and continued to gradually feel worse. On Monday, my glands on my upper neck were very sore and my lips were getting unusually chapped- cracked and sores all over them. Monday evening at 6pm, I went to the walk-in clinic at SOFHA. I had a low-grade fever and my pulse was quite elevated. They did a 7 minute strep screen which came back negative. So they sent of a culture to the lab at JCMC, just to be safe, and told me to take it easy and drink lots of fluids (I was dehydrated) and no working for at least two days. Well, I come home and drink 1 cup of water and decide to go to bed early (around 8pm). Woke up quite a few time during the night feeling horrible. Got up at 5:30am and just couldn't make myself get up and face the day and I knew that something was wrong. Woke up Michael and we took Sophie to my in-laws. We then went to JCMC and went to the ER. The ER transferred me to The Women's Center (since I am almost 26 weeks pregnant). They hook me up to the fetal monitors and take my B/P. BP is 90/48. But Hannah is fine and kicking. As it turns out, I was extremely dehydrated. They stuck me with an IV 4 times and finally found a vein. The gave me 2 1/2 liters of fluids before they let me go home. I went home around 4pm with instructions to take my phenergan as needed, tylenol for headache, and tums.
When I got home, I wondered why I wasn't feeling any better. Worse, actually. And to beat it all, I started having constant heartburn, which is unusual for me. Ate tums after tums and no relief! Dealt with it until Wednesday, and then called the Doctor on-call. Dr. Hinton told me to try Zantac and if that didn't work, go back to the hospital. The last thing I wanted to do was go back to the hospital, so Michael went to walmart and got the Zantac. Took it, helped a tiny bit, but still had the constant heartburn. I still refused to go back to the hospital. So I stuck it out. Anyway...all the days are kind of running together, so I'll skip to today and how its going....
As it turns out, my culture came back from the hospital and I have strep-for the first time in my life...and I'm not exactley thrilled, but I am SO glad that I have meds to get better. I found that out last night about the strep. Well the past week, I've gotten sores in my mouth. On the roof of my mouth, around my gums, on my tongue, inside my lips, and my chapped lips? Nope- Severe Cold Sores...which I have never had the "pleasure" of experiencing before. Bring on the Carmex!! And because of these sores in my mouth, I haven't been able to eat anything. So today, the Doctor prescribled something for me called "magic mouthwash" that supposedly helps with pain and healing from the sores. So that's where I am right now. Just waiting and biding my time, and praying that I feel better soon because I feel frazzled. Luckily, I am a very blessed person with lots of willing babysitters! So although I miss Sophie, she has been in the care of her grandparents for most of the week. So I'm not too worried about her catching what I have because she's not been around me enough to catch it.

Too early!

I hope Sophie doesn't make getting up at 6:50am a habit. For a couple months, she was getting up at 6am and I was used to that, so it wasn't that big of a deal. But for the past few months, she's been sleeping until between 8:30 &9am. So I am not used to getting up too early these days.
Since she woke up so early, though, I got her ready and we were planning on going grocery shopping early in the morning to beat the walmart crowd. However, the Heavens opened up and the sky poured rain for about an hour and a half. I wasn't going to leave the house with it raining that hard. For anyone who knows me really well, you know that when its raining, I seem to fall down my stairs outside easily. So we waited until around 8:30am to leave our apartment. Got all the grocery shopping done before 10am. Yay! When we got home, Sophie was ready for a nap. While she slept, I put the groceries up and made the pasta salad for tonight. While I made the pasta and cut up the veggies, I talked to my brother Josh on the phone for awhile. He and my brother Adam are coming over for dinner tonight as well as Michael's cousin Jake and his wife, Ashli.
Sophie woke up at 11:20am and I fed her an early lunch since she had such an early breakfast. She ate a PB&J Sandwhich. For those of you parents who cut off the crusts of your child's sandwhich: WHY? Why waste bread and let your child grow accustomed to being so picky over a sandwich? I understand if the crust is really tough and crunchy, but most regular bread is soft and is just fine for a toddler to eat. Sophie isn't picky at all. Anyway, sorry, I just feel strongly about that for some reason. At 12:15pm, we left to go to the hospital to see Michael during his lunch break at work. Got home at 1:45ish. Sophie was ready for another nap. She is still sleeping. So while she's napping, I thought I'd catch up on some cleaning and update my blog.
I have been on a cleaning kick for over a week now. I feel like I'm nesting already. I never nested with Sophie. Seriously. I've never been a clean freak. Never had the urge to clean the house like a madwoman- until now. I cleaned the bathroom, living room, and kitchen YET AGAIN today. The other day, I cleaned the tub twice and the toilet 3 times. Why? I have no idea. I just get an overwhelming urge for things to look nice. Michael hasn't been complaining about the house being unusually clean. He is enjoying it. I told him to enjoy it while he can. Once Hannah comes, he can clean for awhile while I love on my two girls *smile*.

Ultrasound

Its been awhile since I've updated, so be prepared for a long post.

First of all: School. My classes start August 31st. I am excited to finally go back and make something of myself. Seems like all I do lately is pop out babies.

Secondly: Sophie. She's doing great! Still into everything and giving kisses all the time! She's such a joy. I love her dearly. Today I was folding her laundry and she decided that I wasn't paying enough attention to her, so she walked up to me and layed her head in my lap and gave my knee a kiss. (I'm smiling as I type this)....I will take that kind of diversion any day! She's such a sweetheart.

And now to Michael. I'm so proud of him. He went to the gym today after over a year of not going. Also, he is now a PCP! Yay! That means a $1 raise, and he's starting to pick up iChoice shifts again (extra shifts means overtime which means more money!). So I don't feel as worried now about going down to Part time at work once school starts. And that's one less thing to stress about.

Moving on to me and my pregnancy....I had a doctor's appt July 8th. Finally gained 2 lbs!!! After months of losing (-17 lbs total), I have finally started gaining a little. And I'm also not dehydrated anymore. That's a MAJOR accomplishment. Also, I only throw up once or twice a week now instead of 2-3 times a day. That makes me pretty happy. Finally feeling Peanut kicking around now. Oh....!! Speaking of Peanut.....
.......I had my ultrasound on July 9th. Took forever to get any good pictures. This child kept its legs closed for the first 25 minutes. and finally....after lots of jostling, frustration and turning on my sides...Hannah opened her legs! Yep...another girl =). I'm thrilled. Her name will be Hannah Julianne (after my mother, Julie, and my grandmother, Ann). I go for another ultrasound on Aug 20th because they couldn't get a clear picture of her heart. The doctor came in and talked to me and showed me on a couple of the pictures that they were able to get, there was a white spot on her heart. He said that it could be nothing and although I shouldn't worry too much, there is a possibility that it could be sign of a genetic defect. So I am going back at the end of August so they can hopefully get better pictures after Hannah has developed a little more. I am not letting myself worry, because what would that accomplish? Genetic defect or not, we will love Hannah the same, regardless. And it is probably nothing anyway, but I will keep everyone posted on the details when I find out more.
After my ultrasound, the doctor was also kind enough (I am rolling my eyes) to tell me that Hannah is measuring small, so my due date has yet again changed BACK to December 5th. BLAH. Which is a slight concern, because that's only 7 days before finals. So hopefully I can talk to my doctors and discuss a birthing plan. I am hoping they will agree to induce me on my due date if I haven't had her by then, so that I won't miss final exams. We will see what they say...

So I guess that's it. I will try to do a better job updating in the future!

School

Well I registered for classes last week and talked to financial aid and all that good stuff. Yay! I will be a full-time student starting Aug 31st. I am taking: Probability & Statistics; Anatomy & Physiology 1; Speech Communication; Concepts of Computer Applications. Thats a total of 13 hours. And I found out after looking at my transcript that my GPA is 3.8, which is certainly better than a 3.6!
So getting to the good stuff...Sophie! She's doing great eating like a big girl. She eats 3 meals a day and drinks from a sippy cup. She's been in a really great mood this week. Its so fun to play with her. She loves to dance and listen to music. Its wonderful. I think she's finally learning that she's not the center of the universe anymore. haha. Now that she's getting older, she's gotta learn that its not "all about her" anymore. Otherwise, we're gonna have BIG problems when Peanut is born.
Speaking of Peanut, I am 17 1/2 weeks pregnant and I wanna know the gender of this child!!!!! They haven't even scheduled the ultrasound yet, though. That's disappointing. However, I am confident that it will be scheduled at my next doctor's appointment.
We are taking Sophie to her first Drive-In movie this Friday! We are going to see "Up". I am very excited. It will be my first Drive-In as well, so its going to be fun. I've arranged for someone to come into work for me at 7:30p, so I can get home and we can get Sophie loaded up and get over there to park in a good spot.
This weekend is my last weekend at work before the 4th of July weekend! I have that whole weekend off to enjoy time with my family. On Friday, Michael is working, so Sophie and I will probably go downstairs to visit with Donna and Mike (my in-laws) for awhile and then go to Erwin to see the family for awhile. On Saturday (the 4th), we will be spending the day with Michael's family. I think we are going to Uncle Andy's house to play baseball (I'm not sure if I'll end up playing, but you never know) and cookout. Last year we went to see the fireworks at Freedom Hall, but the year before that we set them off at Donna and Mikes. So we will see. Personally, I love watching the fireworks at Freedom Hall. They are gorgeous. Setting them off is fun, but I always get nervous because Michael never seems to be cautious enough, in my opinion. Regardless of what we do, I know we'll have a great time. On Sunday, we are having a picnic/cookout at Grammas house with my family. That will be fun, too.
Anyhow, I have gotta get stuff done today, and its not gonna get done if I don't get off the computer. So ta-ta for now!