Our Little Man

Well we are finally evening out the hormones a little bit by adding another man in the house. We are extactic to finally have a little boy. The girls are super excited for a little brother which is great news. We spent a good hour or so looking at our little guy and checking him out. He is perfectly healthy with all his tiny fingers and toes, cute little nose and mouth, and everything running as it should. It was such a relief for our growing worry wart Brian who sees way too much at school and sends him into "what if" mode. It really helped to go through our little guys whole body and check to make sure everything has developed properly.

I will go back in four weeks to take another peak at him with the specialist and then we will have at least a monthly ultrasound with our doctor after that. It is amazing what they can see these days on the ultrasound and the doppler scan to check the blood flow was pretty neat. We have a good base line for what is normal for me and my little buddy so we will be checking to make sure our blood flow stays at the same rate from now until he arrives. If it slows or seems stressed it is an early sign of preeclampsia and I will head to bed to keep him cooking. Let's hope we don't but I am prepared and willing if it means we stay safe.

Here you can see his little face with a nicely rounded head,

 oh I can't wait to see that snuggly face!

At the top of the picture you can see his foot which he LOVES to kick me with.

It is cute those and give us moments just the two of us to bond! 

 And here is most of our little man!

I have fallen in love already and I have another 13- 20 weeks until he arrives!

I will hopefully post a belly photo soon but that really requires that I a) get dressed in real clothing other than sweats b) shower and look put together c) remember to charge the camera and get someone to take the picture. I forget these things on a daily basis hence no photo yet! But just picture me exactly the same but with a round belly that sticks out just past my ladies.... thank you growing gams and my total 3 pound weight gain!

It's official we are having a......

BABY!!!!

I haven't taken my picture yet so you all have to wait. However, I do want to say that baby is doing GREAT and was so cute today on our ultrasound!

Spinach salad

1 to 2 bags of fresh spinach

1 large mandarin orange

1 large cartoon of fresh strawberries

½ cup sliced almonds or ½ cup honey roasted sunflower seeds

Dressing:

4 Tbsp heaping sugar

¼ tsp paprika

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp worchtershire sauce

Combine

1/8 tsp dry mustard

½ cup salad oil

¼ cup cider vinegar

1 tsp grated onion

2 Tbsp dry roasted sesame seeds (heated)

What's for dinner?

Cafe Rio SWEET PORK SALAD

Every so often when I take the time to make a really good dinner that I have simply been craving it turns out to be PERFECT and I sit in ah of my great cooking skills. (or maybe just my ability to follow a recipe, but I like to give myself LOTS of credit!) Tonight was one of those nights. And best of all was when BOTH my children ate their whole dinner while umm, ahh, this is so gooding that put a giant smile on my face! It was a moment I cherish with full bellies and a happy family. And to end the night we just finished a full 6 sets of nails! It was a perfect sunday!

My little lemon

Well today was another fun day at the doctor's office. I love it when I am the first appointment of the day and we time to chat. He always asks how Brian is doing and what class he is in next. It is nice to know he remembers and cares, but that could be because he gets a little check in on his students for two years from now. Brian's school uses our doctor to do rotations with so I see students there a lot. 

This week we went over all the fun stuff I discussed with the specialist and planned out another test to check off the list. We tested this week for antiphospholipid syndrome. I naively assumed just one for test. No no that means five more blood draws. I am glad I did it today though because in the next visit or two I have another full blood work up which is about 5 to 10 samples. This wouldn't be a big deal for anyone else but for me and my tiny shy veins it poses quite a trial. Thankfully I had a nice patient nurse and after 10 minutes of arm massage and vein surveying she was able to find a descent one. And of course the tests they are running are pretty rare so one they couldn't find in the coding so I might have to make another run up to see the lab next week. Oh well all in the name of my little lemon. 

I am really excited to find out what little one is growing in four weeks! I see our doctor on Thursday to double check on any special measurements he wants done, the regular measurements, and of course I pee. Then Friday it is off to the specialist to check in on baby. 

I am thankful my doctor went ahead and scheduled all my appointments up until the big 28 week mark. I should be going to see him three more times and I will we seeing the specialist for 2 to 3 ultrasounds before Christmas. 

I keep thinking I have all this time to prepare but really time is flying by. Before I know it I won't be able to see my feet and I will be packing my emergency bag for early delivery. CRAZY! But it was good to check in and hear my little one's heart beat. It tends to calm me down and help me relax for a bit longer. 

Oh and on a good note I have only gained 0.6 pounds since pre-pregnancy! That makes me feel SO GOOD! When I usually check into the hospital 100+ pounds more than my start weight it is nice to know that I am keeping that to a minimum as long as humanly possible. 

So since we only have four weeks until we find out lets take a little pole and see what everyone thinks! I have NO IDEA. My mind shifts about every 2 days between them. At the top right of the blog check in and let me know what you think!

Of course the one time.....

Of course the one time I decide that buying school pictures for two kids which may or may not come out is a waste of money we need to save, Layla takes a great picture! We bought a ton of photos last year because she was the only one in school but they were all one pose which bugs me about photos. So seeing that the cost to get the sizes we needed for grandparents was going to cost me $80.00 plus for the two kids. I thought that it just wasn't going to happen rather I would go to target and get a big bundle of what I want in the sizes I want and only spend $20-$30. Well I have done the best cropping and photoshopping skills (which are not that great!) and here is Layla's photo!

 Cute right, now lets just hope that she can pull it off again for the photos I am actually going to purchase.

Avoiding homework

Since school started a week ago and I dove back into the world of full time classes i realized why it has been since before I was married that i took a full load, I am too busy! I have been doing homework for 3 1/2 hours every morning and squeezing in more reading throughout the day and then ending the night with a quiz or two. Now last week I was a bit spoiled because it was intro week and it was a million syllabus quizzes. This week not so much. I have pages of essays, tests, and a billion other assignments that take way more time then I want. So this morning when I need to be reading a twenty page talk and writing up a 5 page paper over the topic, I am avoiding homework and making a post.

These are my two busy little school girls who have found a love for baseball. Of course we fight over the rules and are upset when we are struck out. But they insist on playing it I love to watch. I get to sit and read my homework while being referee to their outburst and then it all ends with a nature walk. These walks are the best and usually mean we wonder the neighborhoods and check out the hidden swings in our complex. I am loving the weather lately, not hot just right! And in the mornings I even put on a light sweater.... oh I love fall!

The girls are doing GREAT in school this year. They are really loving either classes and each of them have found friends they just have to hang out with. And Mom loves school because it gives us a lot of time to talk. They have so much to tell me when they come home and I love hearing about life through their eyes. They see and experience a whole world I have forgotten since becoming "old" as the girls are now referring to parenthood age! It is fun and I am enjoying it. Now if I could only figure out the trick to keep enough energy to do my "mom jobs" after they have exhausted all my energy and I have time to clean the house after they go to bed before I have to take more quizzes and skype into class, that would be great!

We are enjoying this wonderful adventure of everyone in school but don't judge our success by my laundry, it is fine that i have 4 loads left to wash and have 8 sitting ready to fold about every day right? Doesn't everyone?

Pregnancy Update

I am just a week away and I know I am going to cry happy tears when I get there!

This big update is for those who are waiting for my update and news from the many doctors visit and tests that I have had run the last few weeks, aka Kathy!!! 

Today I went to see the specialist that works with my Doctor and will be watching my care. He hopefully will just be in the background but if things go south then he will be the one to swoop in and take over. He was SO NICE and I am really going to enjoy working with him. It doesn't hurt that every doctor we go see right now is also an alumni for Brian's school. They always get a bit excited and are from then on a bit more detailed which is awesome. We simply mapped out a plan for this pregnancy and a rough guess as to what we will need to do to keep little peanut cooking. 

The Plan: 

Fruit is my new best friend. I am loading up on antioxidants and taking a few extra vitamins to really boost my body. One of the problems that women like me (preeclampsia patients) have is that their body is rejecting the placenta and they have low antioxidant levels. That is not to say that loading up on the healthy stuff is going to make a big difference but in my case if it could help and can't hurt we are doing it! Thankfully I LOVE LOVE LOVE my fruit and it makes me happy to know that it is a good deal to load up for all my snacks!

As I said before I am taking a few extra vitamins along with my basic prenatal. I am also doing aspirin therapy. That mean a baby aspirin everyday. It has such possible great benefits and virtually no side effects that it is really a good plan for me. I have been tested for dozen clotting disorders which all came back negative so I am thankfully not having to do a shot a day just a chewable pill and I am good. 

Next ultrasounds are going to be a common thing for me which I don't really mind. I kind of like the idea of getting to peak in and check up often. I have already had two ultra sounds to make sure that my placenta is attached and going strong. In case you don't know with Layla it completely detached without me having any signs of tearing so they really wanted to make sure it is in a good spot to stay put, which thankfully it is. I will go in for my next ultrasound in 6 weeks. Usually around here you head over to the hospital to have a technician do the scan and then your doctor will do over everything with you later. Some doctors do it in the office but that just depends on your doctor and insurance. That was the plan for me until today. My periantologist (ob specialist) really wanted to go in and look for himself because he wanted to make sure they checked a few really rare measurements. I will be having him measure the flow of blood through my placental arteries. He wants to make sure there is no slowing or clogs yet. They also will have a good base line on what is normal for me. They will also measure the blood flow in the umbilical cord. 

Next, yes there is SO MUCH MORE! I will be headed back to the specialist for a follow up and to really map out what our bed rest and emergency plan is going to be. That should be nice and scary but thankfully it is weeks before I will need to put it into action. I will then do another ultrasound to check up on baby and our umbilical blood flow at my next ob appointment. Starting at 26-28 weeks I will be having weekly doctor appointments. That means a pee test and a few random 24 hour tests to make sure I am getting accurate readings.... those stink if you haven't had one! I will also have fetal monitoring done at each of these weekly visits. If my blood pressure increases or if there is any sign of protein in my urine then it is off to bed for me. With Isa I started to slow down at about 28-29 weeks so that is what they are assuming for this time as well. 

Last our big goal is to make it once again to 32 weeks. Any time after that is a gift and we will be grateful but non of the doctors are getting our hopes up. They simply inform us that at 32 weeks we can deliver down the street and keep the baby at the hospital with us and they have the best chance of little complications. Isa is great proof that it is possible. She had it just that far plus a day or two and was nice and healthy. She spend 10 days in the NICU but really she was a trooper and learned quick to make it on her own. Plus she never needed oxygen which is SO IMPORTANT to be able to accomplish. 

So basically once Christmas is over we are all just watching, slowing down, and looking for help when the time arrives. Thankfully we are prepared and will have our hospital bag packed. We will check into the bus service for the girls to get to and Layla to get home from school. We will be filling the freezer with meals to pop into the crock pot. And most importantly we will be praying minute by minute that our peanut is going to be a fighter just like their older sisters and make it out as perfect and strong. 

Pregnancy emotion moment:

I have to say that when I am out and about and talking with friends and family I am brave and strong and more positive then I thought possible. But then I come home and I look at my fridge with my tiny tiny babies I get emotional and just a bit scared. I want a boy, that would be fun. But boys sometimes are not as strong as those girls when they come early. I think about all the things we didn't have to go through that other parents of preemies the same age dealt with and I just sob. I love my little ones so much and watching them struggle to do the most simple task like breath is the most painful thing I have had to endure. You are helpless and can only watch. The day Layla was born we were only allowed to put a finger on her foot. I remember that foot like it was just an hour ago. It was the size of a tiny grape. It was barely bigger then my first knuckle. 

Being high risk with the BIG possibility of going in for yet another c-section at 32 weeks is hard. I see so many women go about their pregnancies happy, (pain ridden, tired, aching, sick, and plain miserable) but on they go. And I dreamt of that for years. We waited so long and I was so tough. Now that it is just months away from that everyday "am I bigger, how is my blood pressure, oh no I am on bed rest now what" stuff is hard to prepare for. On the upside I have the most amazing husband who has always been there and is by far more perfect than I ever thought. Having him in medical school is lonely but it is strengthened our family. He comes home and takes over. He cooks, cleans, does the laundry, dishes, and plays with the girls until they are all exhausted. And he does it all because it makes him happy. He loves to be needed and to make my whole world light up with a simple load of laundry. I know having the stress of not being able to drive the girls anywhere and being stuck in bed trying NOT to stress is going to be hard. But I am thankful for a husband who understands more than anyone I know. He went through the same stress and doubly worried for my safety as it was so difficult on my body and spirit. He is my hero and I am thankful everyday for the wonderful man I get to call my husband. 

So there you have it, the whole maternity plan and a bit of tear filled worries from a hormonally driven mama. 

For now I am going to eat my fruit, find a water aerobics class in town, attempt to keep down my handful of pills, and pray everyday. Wish us luck and we will post more NEXT TRIMESTER!!!! (did I mention it is in a week because I am REALLY EXCITED, this one is the only one I really get to enjoy!)

Poor neglected blog

Can you tell that I have not been feeling well the last 3 months? Could that be the number one reason poor bloggy here has been neglected. Why yes, yes it is. I didn't want to spend post after post complaining about how crappy I feel and thus being down the usual chipperness I try to convey! Not to say I am always chipper but that is one of my goals.

But I did have A hurl free day which means that feeling better is just around the corner. Also I am really hoping that the old wise tale that if your pregnancy is the COMPLETE opposite of what you have had before you are having the opposite gender. That would mean I am cooking up one darn cute little boy. (hopefully one with blond  hair and blue eyes, just to mix it all up!)

Over the last few weeks since school has started the girls have really started to grow up. I used to get sad at the fact that they don't need me so much. However it is really a blessing right now. Isa is my super buddy half the day. She comes home from school and takes care of me. She lets me rest and gets lunch for herself. Usually it means 50% snacks, 40% fruit, and 10% food with actual substance. But she is learning to take care of herself which makes her feel so proud.

She also is the sunshine in my afternoon because I pick her up at a quarter till noon and for the next half hour she is one long non stop dialogue about her day. I LOVE IT! My little shy Isa has more to say then I ever thought possible!

Layla is thriving in First grade. I thought the switch to all day would be hard for her but she seems to love it. She has made an instant friend and that has made ALL the difference. She has two best friends at school. One from her class last year and one from this years class. They hang out and play everyday at recess and they are all such sweet girls. Layla has found that some girls are just to sassy to be nice and that I am proud of. She is in one word a DIVA here at our house but outside in the world she is the wonderful girl I have worked hard to raise. Kind, respectful, and above all a good example. But as this next photo shows, she has a flare for the dramatic which she saves special for me!

Brian is doing GREAT in med school however we are learning that it takes a lot of study time to earn that A but hopefully it will all pay off today when he finishing his first course (yep all done in four weeks!) and earns a great grade. I know he can do it, he isn't quite sure but that is why I love him, humble!!!

As for me I am hanging in there. Most days are spend on the couch with saltines and ginger ale. But I am making less trips to the bathroom and don't constantly need to chew gum to get rid of the nasty taste so that is an improvement. The timing is just perfect since next week I begin classes and won't be too busy for another week or so later. That HOPEFULLY means that when I am boggled down with school I also with have the energy and health to make it worth all the effort. I am excited to take classes again (that may change though in a couple weeks but that is to be expected, I am pregnant i can't make up my mind!)

Anyways here are a few more photos to hold you over until i am back to myself and can really post like i used to!

These two might make me go gray this year with the amount of yelling they do but they also make my life wonderful because they are BEST FRIENDS and they fight because they never want to leave each others side. And really I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Small world in cyber land

You know the blogging world is crazy small when you cook a lovely birthday dinner and then the next day your Mother (who is lucky to know how to turn on the computer) gives you a cook book which she heard some Mormon blogging moms wrote that she thought you might like. (hmm yes I got my birthday recipe from them that I cooked last night!)

Why yes mother seeing that all those recipes I keep telling you are saving my family from starvation while I am pregnant and don't want to cook come from those very women, yes that is the PERFECT gift. 

Thank you Brev for showing my mom this lovely and explaining that if I blog I know the authors. I in fact do and am LOVING browsing the book for potential meals when i actually can stand the scent of more then 2 ingredients cooking at the same time. 

 If you don't already follow their blog OurBestBites.com you need to. They are super easy and Healthy and of course taste WONDERFUL!

Busy busy busy

Sunday I was pulled into the bishops office for a chat, about callings. I was extended a call to work on the RS board under the enrichment type committee. I happily excepted and then asked when I would be released from my current primary calling. SHOCK..... I am not getting released I am doing two callings. This made me laugh because about six months ago we had a lesson in enrichment. We went on life journey and answered questions like we would if we were crossed with the decision in our own life journey. One was this exact circumstance.

Question:  You are extended an additional calling to serve before you are able to tell the bishop that you are currently facing a lot of challenges in your life and feel like you may not be able to do all that is required of you. 

Answer:

 A) turn how the call you just can't handle any more

B) Except the call but let the bishop know your concerns but are willing to do what the Lord asks and will keep them updated on how you are handling the stress

C) except the call with no hesitation, the Lord calls you go!

I wish I could say that I am the letter C and am all good to go but No I am a B and let them know my concerns. This semester the girls start school, Brian is gone, I have two callings, and I am not just going to school part time anymore I am going to school full-time! And oh did I mention I am expecting and by the time Christmas rolls around I may be headed into a last trimester on bed rest to keep the little kid in there cooking! 

I am a bit overwhelmed but there are a few words of comfort that are keeping my head attached to my shoulders....

"God’s holy angels are ever on call to help us. The Lord so declared: “I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.” What a promise! When we are faithful, He and His angels will help us." 

-Russel M Nelson

Life isn't always easy and sometimes our burden seems to large to bare. Some days that is how it feels. Getting the girls up and out the door, keeping the house from becoming a disaster when they are home, and shoving chicken in the crock pot is a HUGE accomplishment. While others I manage to cook, clean, teach, babysit, and play all while Brian is gone my whole waking hours. But we manage simply because on days when the tears start to fall and I feel my whole to daunting, angels seems to step in and keep my children smiling or calm my nauseous tummy just long enough for me to accomplish what MUST be done. 

It is like this months VT message says, (I will paraphrase) If we fulfill our RS purpose- putting family first and striving to strengthen them, increase our faith, and look for opportunities to serve- we will have the angels round about us. And really who couldn't use some help from angels?!? 

So we are off on our adventure and we know that we will face tough days, weeks, and even months. But we work as a team in this house non of that every man for himself stuff. So as a team we will make it and hopefully grow tons from our journey! 

First day continued

This little girl definitely has my heart, she is my baby girl who cuddles with me every night when she has a bad dream. She is the one who kisses me sweetly and tells me how much she loves me and seriously makes me melt at least once every day. She has a personality that just makes the world brighter! Oh miss Isa I miss you every morning but I am so excited for you to finally be grown up and taking on the world for yourself!

Outside the class room and then in her new chair in class! She was so excited that out of the 7 students that are continuing from her class last year she is one of four that are in her class this year! She was happy she had friends she already knew, and so was Mom!

The sister hug goodbye! I wish when I was their age I had a sister this close. But to see sisters so absolutely there for each other is more than I could have asked for my children. And the best part is that they do this everyday when they say goodbye in the hall. They leave me outside and walk in hand in hand and they part with one last hug! Thank you girls for loving each other as much as your mama loves you two!

Outside the class room all smiles going into class!

Then we needed our name tag.

Hang up out backpack, just a hook away from where her sister hung her backpack last year!

Isa picked her seat for the day with a few girls she met at the Ice cream social. I asked her if I could stay for a minute and she said, “no Mom I am going to be just fine. You can go.” So with a hug I kissed her goodbye, turned back to take one last photo of my big girl and then left.

 I have to say that I did really good fighting back tears though my chin might or might not have quivered a bit as I hugged each girl. But then I got about 2 feet from my car and saw the empty car seats I completely and utterly lost it. I sat in my car and sobbed for about 5 minutes until I could see enough to drive home. And then when I came home to my empty house I cried a bit more. And the only thing that kept me from being a mess all day is knowing that this will not be the last kindergarten drop off in my life. If I didn’t have that to hold on to the thought of leaving my baby at school and moving on to the new phase of life would have been too much to bear!

So incase you missed that last part, we are expecting! Which may have played a part in my emotional break down in the school parking lot. Pregnant mothers should not be allowed to drop off all their kids at school by herself and then be left to drive herself home. It didn’t go as smooth as last year when Brian was there to hold my hand as the tears fell as I walked to the car. Plus last year I still had Isa!

Anyways we are on day three of school and have found a rhythm. And thankfully my little Isa and I still have the afternoon together everyday for one more year. I thought having Layla gone all day would be so much harder but it is actually perfect. I really feel like she is loving it and it makes her feel so grown up. And she is much older then I give her credit for. And nothing is better than when I pick them up and get a recap of the day and they both talk a million words a minute!

To insure chattiness the first day I made a plate of cookies and had them waiting for the girls when they each got home.

When Isa got home she gave me a play by play of her whole morning and showed me everything she brought home. And then she ate 3 cookies for lunch!

And she asks everyday when she is going to get homework, she is so excited!

So our first day was a HUGE SUCCESS I sure hope that everyone else's was just as wonderful!

First Day of school!

Oh Wednesday was a really big day for our little family. For the first time mama sent off both kids for school and came home to an empty house! It was weird but today, day three, it is a nice break and I am loving it! I know that Grandma is anxiously awaiting the first day of school photos so here they are with a bit of detail because I am too lazy to write a long post!

When I got up at 7 in the morning (big deal for me since I am usually up at 9) I found this little smiley girl already up and dressed! I love her and she was TRILLED to be going to 1st grade. Isa got up about 5 minutes after me and thus began our big day!

BTW these were taken before leaving, not even my beautiful girls wake up looking this GOOD!!!!

My big girl kindergartner!

The girls were SO CUTE getting ready for school together. It was like a glimpse into the future, they talked as they brushed their hair and teeth. They chatted while about their outfits and helped each other pick out the perfect socks and jewelry to match. Isa's cute moment was when she HAD to find her princess backpack because it is pink and would match best! So fun to have girls!

Layla packed her lunch for the first time and loves using her hello kitty sandwich box along with the Hannah Montana Lunch bag, girls they are comical!

I was impressed that the girls were up and out the door in time to humor their mother with the pictures I just HAD to get! But they are what will make me smile for years to come so it was worth their sometimes, really another photo mom, looks!

I absolutely LOVE these two, their smiles brighten my world!

We then headed off to school, parked, and walked across the street to join the other 400 kids in line to go inside!

Going in was kind of a mad dash but after getting through the doors the girls led the way to their classrooms. Thankfully since Isa is doing half day kindergarten her class is at the end of the hall just three doors down from her big sister. It makes it kind of nice to know that they can walk to class together everyday. And Isa is in the same room her sister was in last year so that makes her much more comfortable!

sneak peek

All our visitors just left this morning and we have about a half hour until babysitting begins but i wanted to post a quick photo from our big night! It was absolutely wonderful and just the beginning of a wonderful new adventure! SOON I will post all about it and let you know were in the video you can find Brian!