Smilin' baby T!

I took this picture of my sweetie this afternoon on the couch.  He was so happy, I couldn't resist grabbing the camera.  Hope you all are having a great November! 

We are possibly moving back into the house on Thanksgiving weekend, provided my BIL can get the boiler running and the plumbing all hooked back up this weekend.  We plan to move into the upstairs while they finish up the entryway and downstairs, and then move downstairs so they can put the in-floor heating in upstairs.  Also, the windows are ordered and are supposed to be here in the middle of December.

I organized a big workparty for my husband for his birthday last weekend, and the people in the church, three of my brothers, and a BIL all got the whole basement, entryway, and shed insulated, put blocking up in the entryway, moved the front door into the new doorway, moved the final beam out of the basement and got steps on the front and down into the basement!

Several girls from the chuch, my mom, and my MIL all helped me clean up the upstairs, standing up bookcases and the school cabinet, putting books back on shelves, and generally making it mostly livable again.  There was only so much we could do without water and septic!   Oh, and we fed everyone chili burgers, chips, and cookies.  It was a long day, but VERY productive!

Well, a friend of mine had her baby this morning, we are back into the swing of swimming lessons again after a two week break, I was verbally assaulted in the laundry room here at the hotel in front of three of my children, and we are having a major wind storm right now.  Other than that, it is pretty much life as usual here.

We have been keeping ourselves busy while in town by spending every afternoon at the local swimming pool.  The four older children have been taking swimming lessons for the last month.  B, A, and N all have had their last classes, and I's last class is today.  B, A, and N all graduated from their classes, and will be moving on to the next level in November!  They have never had any swimming instruction apart from my husband and I, and I put B and A into a Level 3 class to start.  They passed with flying colors, and are moving onto Level 4 next month!  They both would like to join the swim team, which practices 2-3 times a week for an hour as well as participates in some competitions.

B, my oldest, also wants to learn how to become a lifeguard, and break all of the speed swimming records!  This is the first kind of physical activity that he has really shown an interest in, so it is pretty exciting.  Although I guess he did get excited about riding his bike a few years ago when his dad was following the Tour de France.  He had it in his head that he was going to be the next Lance Armstrong.  The boy sure dreams big!  There's nothing wrong with that, right?  Gee, I wonder where he gets that, dear?

Wanted to let those of you who are still checking up on us that we are still alive!  Between being a teacher to 4 grade levels, a mom, and a general contractor, I have been sitting at the local swimming pool every afternoon as the four older children have been taking swimming lessons, and of course their lessons couldn't possibly be on the same days!  I have three kids in lessons on M, T, and Th, and then one child in lessons on W and F, so we arre there 5 days a week!  They are all enjoying the lessons though, and learning a lot.

The house project is going pretty well.  We are still waiting for the final financing to go through though.  We are plenty qualified, it just seems like there is always “one more thing” that needs to be done.  The entry way is all built and the interior walls are framed in.  My sweet hubbie is meeting with the plumber and the siding man today, and I am having a final meeting (hopefully) with the kitchen designer this afternoon after swimming lessons.

Baby T is doing really well.  He is really begining to fill out.  He is so cute!  He is starting to smile every once in a while, when he feels like it.  Unlike many babies, he is so used to noise, that he sleeps better when the kids are around   which is a good thing in this little apartment.

My little girl is going to turn 5 in just over a week!  I can't believe it.  I guess I better get some presents ordered!  She is such a great big sister to T and loves to burp and hold him.

Some days I think I am going to go insane though.  The smallness of the apartment isn't the problem though.  It is the fact that the kids can't just go outside to play.  There is no where for them to play, besides the parking lot and the gravel area where people take their animals…yuck!  The pool helps, but evenings are pretty much taken up either by running out to the property (which means 40 minutes in the car that is now too small for us) or hanging out in the apartment.  There is nothing decent on the TV in the evenings, so trying to keep the kids busy without driving hubbie and I nuts is challenging.  We will be so glad this project is over in so many ways!

Better go…gotta get the kids to lessons….

Here is a newer picture of my little darling.  We are trying a name out on him, to see if it fits him.   I'll let you know how it goes!

He is such a good baby.  He sleeps A LOT!  I feel like I have to wake him up to nurse.  My milk came in right away, so it doesn't take much to fill him up.  He nurses well once he gets latched on, but it takes some work to accomplish that, probably because I am so full!

Dh is loving having the week off!  We are getting so much accomplished each day!  He is such a great husband.  He is constantly telling me to go sit back down, that I've been up too much.  It is so hard to sit idly by and watch everyone else work though!

He made fajitas on Friday night.  Saturday night, we had an awesome celebretory prime rib (it was still in the freezer from when we bought a half a beef last fall) dinner with special mashed potatoes (mixed with sour cream, cream cheese, and spices), and even some sparkling cider leftover from the Resurrection Day potluck!  Talk about clearing out the freezer and pantry!  Sunday night we just had freezer food, quick stuff I keep on hand for those last minute dinners…more cleaning-out of the freezer!

Monday night, my MIL made us a Mexican feast: hamburger nachos, taco pizza, and chicken enchiladas.  Boy was that good!

Tonight we are having a snack dinner.  The kids are eating pbj's and fruit, and we will probably have popcorn later when we watch either Anne of Avonlea that I picked up from the library last week or continue on with Have Gun Will Travel, an old western series that my dad loaned to us.

It has been such a good week.  We have gotten a lot done, getting ready for the move, and getting things cleaned up around here.  We only have one more day at home though, and then we have to go to town for baby's checkup and circumcision.  Then on Friday we will take the kids to the State Fair, and then move into our apartment!  We can't move in until 3pm (they run it like the hotel rooms), so then we will be living in town!  I can't believe it is here already.  It will be a totally different lifestyle for us.

Well, more on that later.  I better post this, or I never will get it done!

Thank you all for your comments on the birth of our son!  I have had so much fun receiving comments from you all, then checking out your blogs!

God bless!

After I went to bed, I was awakened at 12:30am with contractions.  My 20mo son wasn't sleeping very soundly, so I was also getting up and giving his pacifier back to him.  (He is cutting four teeth.)

I dozed in and out with the contractions until a little after 2am, when I had a really strong one.  Uh-oh, I thought.  Go figure…dh is 2 hours away, and I will have to arrange childcare for the kids AND find someone to drive me in.  I figured I would wait it out for a while, and see how things went.  20 minutes later, after a couple of light contractions, I had another very strong one.  Then they started coming every 6-8 minutes.  I waited until about 3:30am, and was laying there praying about it, having more contractions, asking God to let me know what to do.  As soon as I requested His guidance, I had back-to-back hard contractions.  OK!  I'm listening!

I called my midwife (Judy), and she agreed it would be a good thing for me to come in.  I knew my MIL would be happy to come over to stay with the kids, but she had to go to work at 7:30am, so I had to arrange for someone come take over for her.  I called the person I had lined up as a backup, but she had forgotten to take the phone upstairs with her, so after calling her number 4x's, I called another friend.  Of course while I was on the phone with the second person, the first one called me.  I really hate making decisions during labor!  I finally decided to have one gal come over to babysit in the morning, and the other one drive me in.  Spread out the work, right?

Anyway, to make a long story a little shorter, we made it to the birthing center, and the contractions were still about 6-8 minutes apart.  Dh had beaten me there, as I suspected he would, since he was actually closer than I was.  Judy checked me and I was dialated to 3.5-4cm, but the problem was that he had his hand on the top of his head!  She suspected that he was stimulating things and causing the contractions!  She got his hand to move (UGH!), but only after he tried to grab her fingers and she finally had to pinch his fingers to get him to pull them back!  Silly baby!

She decided I should try to get some rest, as things weren't really close yet, so dh and I laid down and tried to sleep.  We woke up at 9:30am!  I was “dead-in-the-water!”  No contractions….

Judy was really busy with appointments at the clinic, so we scheduled an appointment for 11:30am, and went out to breakfast.  I had two contractions during breakfast, then we headed back to the clinic.  Judy checked me and I was a little more dialated, and more effaced, but not much progress.  She stretched me a little, and we decided to go run some errands for the house project.

After several hours of running around, with hardly any contractions, we decided to head home.  My mom had heard we had come in, so she had made us dinner.  We went by her house, picked up dinner, and headed to the center to pick up our things.  Judy checked me again, and I had effaced more, had lost some of my mucos plug, and was having more contractions, but I still just wanted to head home.  I was SO tired.

I continued to have contractions, but they started stretching out, and by last night, they had stopped.  I am still losing more mucos plug (how much do you lose, anyway?  I don't remember losing mine prior to labor before.), and I know I am dialated somewhere between 4-5cm, but other than that, no labor.  I was able to sleep pretty well last night, but still feel pretty tired.

Dh is begging me to have this baby so he can take vacation time.    I'm trying to accomodate, but this little man just isn't cooperating.  Maybe we will go on another walk tonight.  Any other ideas?

Well, baby is working his way down!  I am 2.5cm dialated, 50% effaced, and his head is in an excellent position.  It could be any time!

I did something to my sacrum yesterday or last night, and it is really sore right now.  I can't seem to get it to go back into place, so that is of some concern for me, as I can't imagine that would make labor too relaxing, so you could pray about that if you think of it.

I accomplished almost everything on my list for town yesterday!  I didn't get my checks cashed, but I got everything else done!  Yea!

Will post more later…

Things I accomplished yesterday:

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  Monitored boys doing math


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  Washed the picture window in the livingroom


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  Wiped down the front of the fridge


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  Scoured the cooktop


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  Bleached the tub


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  Folded 4 loads of laundry


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  Washed and changed the sheets on the Master Bed


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  Got the infant carseat out of storage and reassembled it (it was already washed!)


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  Folded extra blankets and towels in the Mstr. Bed.


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  Worked out homeowners insurance for new house with Julia from Country Insurance via phone


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  Worked on layout of kitchen with Terri at Lowes via phone


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  Left message for Tammy at MVFCU about insurance & to check on appraisal


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  Called Grandview: confirmed reservations and asked about phone situation


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  Made an entry on my blog and checked/responded to emails

Today while in town, I need to go to the following places:

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  Learning Essentials – see if they have multiplication wrap-ups


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  WF – cash checks


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  Eye Guys – pick up glasses


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  MEA – sign work order and pay w/ check


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  Lowes – p/u kitchen and countertop bids


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  Midwives – appt. 2pm, take baby's Vital Stats paperwork & carseat


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  MVFCU – drop off paperwork


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  Sears – get B's glasses fixed and adjusted


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  Dittbrenders – drop off copy of kitchen bid


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  Fred Meyer – groceries and personal supplies

And why does it seem like I am forgetting something?!?  Dh saw me cleaning up a storm yesterday and commented on my physiological condition…I think he was trying to say he thought I must be nesting!  LOL!

Well, I am off to drop off my daughter to play with friends, and head to town with the four boys.  I am taking all of my “baby stuff” with me just in case.  Dh is in town for three days, so if anything comes of my appt. today, he will have to come meet us.  I am feeling pretty good right now though.  I woke up yesterday with such a positive attitude, and I think with all that I have to accomplish today, it will continue.  Dh was hoping I would make it to today without having the little one so we could get all of this busy work behind us….now if we can just get it all done, then we can sit back and wait for this little one to show up.

Oh, we had such a lovely time!  We dropped the kids off at my folks house around 5pm, and drove the last hour into town by ourselves.  We had a wonderful talk about some spiritual things.  We got to town right at 6pm, and our reservations were at 6:30, so we parked and walked down to the little park near the Fine Arts Center.  Dh mentioned that I might want to take some crackers, as we weren't actually going to eat until 7:30p.  I wondered where he was taking me at 6:30….

The park was lovely with all kinds of beautiful flowers and a water fountain in it, so we sat down and talked some more, and then headed back toward the restaurant at 6:20p.  As we were almost to the restaurant, here came two horse drawn carriages!  “I believe one of these is for us.”  he said.  “REALLY!?!  Oh, wow!”  We got a half hour carriage ride along the Cook Inlet with a beautiful view of Sleeping Lady and through the Park Strip.  The horse's name was Barney (my grandpa's name) and the driver's name was Craig (my dh's name)!

The carriage dropped us off at our favorite restaurant, Glacier Brewhouse, where we were immediately seated.  We knew what we wanted to order as we had already looked at their online menu, so after ordering New York Strip, garlic mashed potatoes, and salad, I gave dh his gift.

What I had done was hire a friend of mine to scrapbook a wedding album for us!  We had never done anything with our wedding pictures as we were dirt poor when we first got married, and they have been sitting in a box for the last 12 years.  My friend did a fabulous job, and dh was very suprised!  While we waited for our food to arrive, we looked through the album, and “re-lived” the day, commenting on how young everyone looked!  We ate, laughed, talked, made future plans, and snuggled our way through dinner.  It was SO lovely.

Even though it wasn't very late, we were too relaxed and sleepy to go do anything else, so we headed back to my parents house, an hour away.  We got back there about 10pm and most of the kids were still awake, so we told them about our evening, looked through the album again, and then everyone promptly fell asleep.

What a lovely day it was….

I won a blog re-design!  I am so excited!  Kris at Journey Back In Time had a blog design contest, and everyone won, so be ready to see a phenomenal new look sometime soon!  Thank you Kris, and your kids!  I am looking forward to working with you on this!

It is hard to believe that we have been married for 12 years.  Sometimes it seems like we have been married longer, but that is probably because we were engaged for four years prior to getting married.

I did something pretty special for dh, but I don't want to tell just in case he actually does read this!  I am not sure who will be more excited about it though, as it is as much for me as it is for him.

Saturday night we are dropping the kids off at my parents while we go into the “city” to our favorite restaurant.  We looked at the menu online last night, and already know what we want to eat, even for dessert!  I asked dh to make the reservations early enough so we can go do something else after we eat.

We will spend the night at my folks (not real romantic since I sleep on the couch and he sleeps on the floor!) but then we won't have to drive back for church the next day.

I'll post what I am giving him after Saturday….