It's the last day of 2009!!!!!!!!!

Wow! 2009 has been an interesting year...we have had a lot of hurdles to get over with just about every aspect of our life, the good news is that each hurdle has taught us valuable lessons that we gain knowledge and strength from. Some things we dealt with were just annoying: employee (former employee), family, a certain customer, etc. Some things were very difficult that still cause pain and saddness: the loss of a friend. Some things we still deal with on a daily basis: Sam's "choking" fear still lingers, mealtime is a battle. But, no matter what the issue, we have used each other's strengths to make it through and have come out as a closer family.

Now for some of the fun 2009 things that we are currently experiencing:

The girls' room (I love how that sounds!) is pretty much done, I have the names to paint and put up along with some of the wall decor, but Adelyn has been sleeping in her big big bed since the 23rd and I cannot believe how well it is going. She and Becca do not even talk at all at night time, they go right to sleep...I wonder when we go to bed earlier with school if they will talk though. I better try it out as school starts Monday already!

Jason is working out in Kansas and is loving it. He has it all planned to move out there in about 3 years...we'll see. I truly wouldn't mind moving but always thought if I did move away from my family it would be somewhere that winter boots were not requried ever. Kansas has winters like us, but they are usually very short, sometimes a few days, then nothing for a month...still, to take me that far away from my family would make me feel "isolated" which is what Jason likes, he hates crowds, malls, shopping, people, etc. He would be so happy with a group of about 10 people to hang with and never think twice about it. I'm much more sociable, I like going to events to meet people. He tells me not to worry, I can still have Facebook out there! ha ha He is enjoying hunting out there and got 2 new guns for Christmas...I had gotten him one and he begged me for one not knowing he got one already...I'm glad he is getting into hunting again, maybe he will do more at home and have a hobby.


Sam is getting bored over vaction now and his friend called yesterday, it was good to have him reconnect with a buddy. I tried to keep them busy and I tried to have some friends over, but everyone was gone or celebrating with family...so a few more days and he will be back in school. I'm ready for that too so the house can stay cleaned for more than 1 hour! Ha!


I had the 38 week prenatal appointment yesterday (technically 38 weeks, 2 days to be exact) and there is no action happening yet, which is just what I was hoping for, Jason wants to stay out on the job in KS til the 9th, so no early births is part of the plan. I'm usually a day to a week late anyhow, and due to the size of the last one, I am not wanting to go over too much. The baby has "dropped" and is head down, but is not yet fully engaged in the pelvic area. I was not effaced at all and dialated only a pinch, so not even a 1. I have been having Braxton Hicks contractions and at my next appointment, Jan. 7th, I will have her strip my membranes. I will also discuss my concern about her constant mentioning of C-Section...this really frustrates me tremendously. I have never had one, but since Adelyns shoulder got stuck for just a few seconds, they are making it like I need to do a C-Section...I feel it was a fluke, she was a BIG baby, and they had to turn her inside so she was facing the right way which could have caused her to be in an akward position. I just got up to get Adelyn a drink and could barely walk due to another BH...it's weird to think that our baby could arrive really anyday, supposidly within 12 days, which means NO later than 19 days...wow!!!!! I'm excited and still feeling like I'm not totally ready yet either! Maybe it's just not having the room completely set up because we dont' know if we're having a girl or a boy. At first I thought girl, but assumed it was just because the last 5 years had been all girl stuff...then I was really set it was a boy...but now I'm really leaning towards girl again...who knows! It doesn't matter, but I like to have things in order, and not knowing is making me feel unprepared with the room, which is so silly because I have everything washed and put away and ready, so it will only take about 30 mins if its a girl to have it complete and about a day if it's a boy as we have to remove a border, paint a stripe, put up a border and switch things over...not a big deal at all!

Well, I better go now, I don't post enough so when I do it turns into a book! Have a great 2010 everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dream a Little Dream of Me

Thursday night at cub scouts I was talking to some ladies about our funny birth stories. So it only natural that I dream about talking to some ladies about birth!

Now, my dreams are very vivid, very real, and many times (more my daydreams) are previews of what's to come. For instance, when I found out I was pregnant, I dreamt I ran into someone whom I haven't talked to for awhile at a family event, and she herself was pregnant. Well, it turns out that had we gone to this event coming up, we would have run into her, and she is pregnant. When I used to dream I was pregnant, I knew within a month one of my friends or family members would make that big announcement. With that said, I also have "off the wall dreams"...like Part II of my dream Thursday was that I was hanging out with Taylor Swift and she was getting married because she was pregnant...it was not with her current bo either. She gave me her wedding ring to hold on to while she preformed and it was a pink "hat" ring, very big and costumish, but it did have glitter on it to make it sparkle! ha! My brain is so strange!

Okay, so back to my dream...
I was talking to some ladies about birth and such, and then the time came...it was the easiest and fastest delivery I had so far (hoping that part is true!) In the delivery room, there was no clues to say if we had a girl or a boy, but later on in the dream, we were at some outdoor party and I was talking to that same group of ladies and telling them how it was the easiest and fastest one...as I looked over, I saw Jason standing there holding a little girl, whom was sitting up with his help at this time. She was wearing a white outfit and a single pony tail on top like Becca used to have.

I've been thinking "boy" most the time, and now I'm not sure...hmmm...we will see in about 23 days! I'm SO excited. I just have a little more to do to get Adelyn moved downstairs, then I need to get what I can done in the baby room!!!

Big "big" girl bed

So I ordered Adelyn's headboard to match Beccas...not sure if I would be able to get it since it is a headboard his sister had when she was young, so from the 70's or 80's...I could not find the matching bedspread from 3 years ago and finally gave up on it. I did find one that is REALLY cute and goes with the colors of the room and also compliments Becca's bedspread. I then thought, "oh, I need to get the dust ruffle" and again, can't find that. However, I found the headboard to match exactly from so long ago...silly!
It was suppose to arrive between the 29th of Dec and the 11th of Jan (also my due date!)...and today as I was leaving for my appointment, Fed Ex showed up with it! I'm SOOOOO excited! Now I am going to get the rooms rearranged and combined so I can start working on that baby room, not too much I can do right now as we don't know if we're having a boy or girl, if it's a girl, it will stay the same, if it's a boy, I have the stuff already all purchased and will do a quick makeover.

The appointment went well, and fast. I guess that is good, it means that there are no concerns! My blood pressure is perfect, the measurement is right on schedule again (36.5 cm), two appointments ago I was measuring 1.5 cm bigger, but must have just been a growth spurt and it is now back on track. I have gained...ha ha ha, you think I'm going to tell you that?! I always gain between 39-41 pounds with each pregnancy...and let's put it this way, history repeats itself! The heartbeat was 142-144 today, so very close to the 140 it has been over the entire pregnancy. I'm suppose to go every week now, but will skip next week as my doctor is gone, they only check heartbeat and blood pressure, and as long as I feel baby moving and I feel good, I am not worried about it. When I go back on the 30th, my doctor will exam me to see where things are at, baby location/orientation, if I'm dialated at all, etc. I did not set up an appointment for the 13th as I am hoping to be delivered by then!!!! I just thought that the 10th or the 11th would be great days as it would be 1-10-10 or 1-11-10..both pretty cool dates!

I'm going to go get to work with the rooms now and I will attach photos later of my big belly and the room (less the bedskirt for now!)!!!!

The 1 Month Countdown and Funnies by Kids

Today is December 11th...I am due in 1 month!!!!!!! Isn't this suppose to be a 9 month process...it can't have been that long already...time just keeps slipping by faster and faster!

The other night Sam came to sleep with me (his dad has him trained to need someone to sleep with! It's tough cuz they are "cuddlers" and I'm more like "give me my space" when sleeping!) So my tummy was up against his back, and he thought I was "hitting" him, but then he realized it was the baby pounding on him! So funny.

Tonight I heard so much funny stuff from the kids so I wanted to share a few of them with you...

I was downstairs trying to find a headboard online to match Becca's for Adelyn's bed as they will be roommates soon (found one...on it's way). Sam and Becca were picking up (with a lot of my direction and reminders). Adelyn went upstairs, then came down and sat on the bottom step. I hear her talking so I look over and she is talking on her "cell phone". I hear her say, "Sam and Becca be naughty, yeah, they naughty." She sees me looking at her, so she shuts the phone. I didn't want her to feel embarrased so I said, "who were you talking to?" She says as serious as can be, "Santa." I 'bout peed my pants! She's so funny!

Then I was reminding and reminding kids to pick up. I said to hurry up with the few more things so we could play a game before bed. After I realized they were still just playing around I said, "forget it, I am not going to tell you again to get going. I guess we'll just go to bed after it gets cleaned." Of course that made them both whine and ask for another chance, etc. I said, "We'll see how well you do now without any reminders, if you can clean it up without whining or messing around we'll see what happens." So then they get to work, and I see Sam sit down by Becca and say really quiet, but very seriously, "ya know how we can get done faster?" Becca says, "How?" He says, "If you keep your mouth shut." So she says, "we'll be done really fast if we both keep our mouths shut." He says, "yeah, you're right." It was SO funny, cuz they weren't being sassy about it, it was like "what a great idea"! ha ha ha

Today I picked Adelyn up and was walking with her on my hip...she was all upset all of a sudden and I asked her what was wrong. She said, "I'm quishing (squishing, she omits most "s" sounds in front of words) yours baby! I thought that was so cute that she at 2 1/2 was all worried that me holding her was squishing the baby...she will be a little mommy, I can just see it!

Okay, one more. Today when Addy and I were shopping, she picked out some Trident gum. I put it in my purse after she got 2 pieces. Later on when the kids got home from school, they were playing in the kitchen while I was getting dishes put away and I hear her say in her most "check this out" voice...."hey guys, look what I got!" I look of course to see what she is tempting them with and she digs into her pocket and pulls out her gum...stinker, it was in my purse and I never took it out! The kids istantly gave her the attention she was searching for, so her plan worked. She shared very nicely, which I was proud to see. Part of me thought she would say, "No, mine, and run off!"

5 weeks left!

So, as I was organizing the kitchen the end of November, I decided to switch over the dry erase calendar...then I realized that I only had 1 1/2 months to go til Baby Surprise arrives...where has the time gone? Truly feels like I just found out, and I found out early too...wow!
I had an appointment on December 2, very fast quick appointment since I had no concerns and baby is moving tons, head is down, heartbeat is still 140's, obviously growing. I measured a little bigger, but last time I was 1 1/4 cm larger, this time it was 1 cm over the norm but still within the acceptable range. I worry a little that I may have another big baby, Adelyn was 9#-11 oz. I'm hoping for a 7 or 8 pounder...not too little, not too big. Well, as long as he/she is healthy, I'll take whatever, but you know what I mean.
So Thursday is going to be jam packed. My mom is taking Addy in the morning so I can go get the rest of my Christmas shopping done, not too much left to do, but it is really hard to get things with kids. Speaking of, I have been without Jason since November 29th and 24/7 kid duty gets really wearing with nobody else to "take over" even if it is a half hour at night. Good thing we have great kids, there has only been a few moments of insanity! ha! So...my friends Gail and Cheri and I are going to a nice Mexican restaurant for lunch after I Christmas shop...that is going to be awesome and a break that will refresh me for another few weeks! Then, Thursday night I am taking the kids and my mom to Chippewa for a sleigh ride. It's suppose to be cold, so I think Adelyn will stay with Aunt Tina and Caden while we adults take the bigger kids. We did this last year and it was really nice and so relaxing, and cold last year too...the warm cocoa and chili will taste especially good when we are done!
Then Friday while the kids are at school and Addy is sleeping, I will wrap all the gifts and the last thing to do is to make the Christmas goodies with the kids this weekend. They love to decorate the frosted cookies and we have to make lots of them since they are a favorite at our house. I'm also going to attempt molasses with sugar and white chocolate zig zags on them...I love baking, too much!
Okay, I think that is about it...I have another appointment next week, then I start going every week from there until we have our new little family member! We're so excited!

Lil Miss "I'll show you!"

I am so concerned about my sweet Adelyn. Now Becca was sassy, and is still a little sassy, but has really tamed down over the last 2-3 years. Adelyn, not sure how to handle her...she isn't "sassy" but just so...what's the word..."take that" attitude.

Example 1: being naughty and saying "no" when I tell her to go brush her teeth for bed...repeatedly. I say, "Adelyn, I'm not saying it again, do you want a spanking?" She says, "yes, spank my butt." WHAT? I don't want to spank you...I just wanted you to think I would so you would go brush your teeth you little shithead!

Example 2: she did NOT want to take a nap today, usually she lays down great and likes her naptime, but every once in awhile she will pull this for a couple days and give excuses, "potty, thirsty, different baby or animal to sleep with, etc." So today she went through the list and I was firm in saying we aren't doing that and need to go to sleep so we can be rested to play again when we wake up. She continues with excuses and calling me and getting out of bed, etc. Finally she wants her door opened...I say, "I will keep your door opened, but you need to stop talking and calling me and just close your eyes and go to bed" As soon as I get into the kitchen, she starts crying...and crying...I yell, "Adelyn, Stop Crying or I'm going to shut your door!" So I hear her get out of bed and slam her door shut, then crawls back in bed and continues crying! Where did she get this from? Even sassy Becca would stop as soon as my voice got firm or a consequence was laid out!

This should be interesting! I have to say that 95% of the time she is really a GREAT girl and such a fun, loving, humorous child...but that other 5% is definately going to give me a run for my money! It will be interesting to see if she relaxes more or gets more attitude when the baby is here.

Speaking of the baby, I had an appointment yesterday. Baby is growing...of course you can tell that by looking at me and I can tell that by the "kicks" being more "rolly nudges" at this point, things are getting squished in there! I measured 34 cm, and I am 32.5 weeks along, so just a hair over but the doctor said that it is well within the allowed measurements. The heartbeat was 140...I know that lower heartbeats are traditionally "boy" and I felt for a long time it is a boy...but lately I've been thinking pink...so basically I have no idea. All three other kids ranged from 140 to 160 with the heartbeats. When I think of this one being consistently in the lower 140's, I tend to lean towards boy...only 8 weeks left and we will find out! The baby has his/her head down and is laying on the right side, which I figured cuz that side is a little "bumped up" from the other side, and when he/she "shifts" their body, it looks like I have an alien about to poke through my belly! I LOVE this feeling of the movements, I love that you can almost tell if it was an entire hiney moving or if a hand or elbow is poking you or if a foot is pushing against your tummy/ribs/side while the baby tries to stretch those legs out! Weight wise, I am exactly where I was at 32 weeks with Sam, just checked his book tonight...yes, I gain 40lbs. each pregnancy and usually lose all but 5 with each, which puts me 20 lbs overweight! ha ha ha I will be doing the workout I did before where I saw some great results in pretty quick time.

Sam is doing better with eating, and his reading is going GREAT! He was struggling but all of a sudden he is like "I got this"...he LOVES the Dr. Suess books and reads them very well. Tonight I was making supper while he did his math homework and he did not stumble on any of the story problem or directions...I almost cried...when your child struggles with anything, you feel their pain and struggles...when they conquer it, it is the BEST feeling EVER! His confidence has boosted SO much this last week or two!

Becca, my super confident, "I can do anything" girl, is really good at whatever she tries (except Golf...ha ha) Her big news this week was that she lost her FIRST TOOTH! She pulled it out at school and everyone cheered and was so excited for her...just the attention she would expect! She was SO excited to come and show me. The toothfairy left her $5.00, a note, and the tooth for a keepsake. She like the "fancy" writing the toothfairy wrote her name in and has since then been bringing home pictures with that same "fancy" writing on them. Her birthday party is Sunday and I thought I would just buy her cake from the store...she let me know she wants me to make it, and put make-up stuff on it, and hearts, and sparkles...real girly. It made me feel good to know that they really like my cake making, and if that is one thing I can do to make them feel special and loved...then that is what I will do.

I love my children SOOOOOOOOO much....they are all so unique and fun and different, and yet so similar. I found a poem/story thing I wrote when Becca was just a baby and it brought tears to my eyes to read it...this time goes by SO quickly. I should post it on here...I will in the next few days.

Medical System...what happened to you?

I am really losing faith in the medical system. Not only the "scare tactics" about everything...especially the swine flue, but the unneccessary hoops one must go through to get no results in which we still pay for. Now, I am a person who ALWAYS tries to see things from each point of view on all issues...but after time and time of the same crap, I am really leaning away from medical and leaning more towards the natural remedies.

Example: The air is changing, the house is dry, we were waking up with dry itchy throats and phlemge (sp?) which irritated our throats. Sam's started first 2 weeks ago and I noticed a white spot in his throat and thought, "strep"...so I took him in. I tried to just get a culture done without an actual visit as our private self employed insurance is about as good as a hole in a canoe going down the river. Of course I can't, I have to see a doctor so I can pay $150.00 for them to say, "let's do a culture". Comes back negative. So I do the humidifiers and vapor liquid and give Sam some Claritin for his allergies which caused the swelling and throat irritation. Fine. Me however, I keep getting his "soar throat" every night. I try the humidifier, I try the vapor, I try the propped up pillows...a little better, but not really. So I try Chloreseptic, works for like 15 minutes. I try Tylenol, not much help. Finally, I do the salt water gargle...pain gone. As much as I HATE gargling, and end up usually throwing up from it, it works.

Okay...back to today. So the kids are better but still have some plemge in the morning to "hack up" I show them how and tell them everyone gets it, blah blah blah. But today Sam's had blood in his, and not just a pinkish streak, I mean, more blood than mucus. Along with the other things we're dealing with Sam, I was worried enough to take him in to get it checked out. I first called the nurse, but wasn't getting a return call. Finally once in the waiting room, she calls me and basically it can be nothing or something major and anything in between. So I was glad to be there.

I tell the nurse and doctor the story of what has been going on. About a month ago, maybe 3 weeks ago we had a pot roast for dinner. Sam choked, and I mean really choked. It was quite possibly the scariest thing I have experienced so far as a parent. Once we got the meat out of him, and he was okay, Jason and I both cried. Just thinking of the incident brings tears to my eyes and I hope to never experience that again! So after that incident, Sam began not eating, and we as caring parents understood the drama he went through and were sensitive to his fear so we allowed it to a point, but it got ridiculous...really bad. Sam used to eat 1 1/2 waffles and a sausage patty as a breakfast, he now barely eats 1/2 of the waffle. It is like this EVERY meal, no matter if he chooses the meal or not. We have gotten firm and this last weekend it really got to us and we yelled, punished, took things away, etc. Nothing phased him, he just "isn't hungry" EVER! He hasn't been sick, but hasn't quite been himself and gets worn down easily, we assumed it was happening from lack of food and how busy it's been with Halloween, pumpkin parties, cub scouts, etc. We are a very busy family and sometimes we forget how that can wear a kid down.

The doctor asks, "does your throat hurt?" Sam says, "no".
"how about when you eat? does it hurt when you swallow?" "No"

"Does he have a cough?" "No, just in the morning when trying to hack up the phlemge"
"Does he have any fevers?" "No, the other night he felt warm but I couldn't get the thermometer to work and the one time it came on it said 99.6, but he is warm bodied. I gave him some Motrin but he was completely fine in the morning and all the next days"

So...the doctor says his tonsils are swollen and he wants to do a strep culture....I protest saying that we just had one done 2 weeks ago and there are no white spots and he says his throat doesn't hurt. "some children show no signs of it and due to the swollen tonsils I want to make sure." $$$$$$$$$$$$$$

He also wants to do an Xray of Sam's chest which I think is a good idea since the bloody mucus and all. That comes back clean, no pnuemonia and no signs of anything else. "I want to write a prescription for an antibiotic for bronchitus" I question why would we give him an anitboiotic for bronchitus if it the Xray was clean. "due to the blood in the phelmge" I ask if there were any signs of bronchitus and he says, "no, but this is a clinical diagnosis" $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

And Sam has lost 3 lbs in 2 weeks from when I took him in to test for strep, that concerns him, and me, but I need to take that up with his regular doctor, so set up an appointment so she can do more testing.$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

So I wonder why we run tests that the questions and symptoms don't support? Why did we not do any more of the "testing" when the first 2 things come back normal? Why do I have to come home and research things to diagnose my own child when I probably just spent $450.00 in Urgent Care? When did our doctors become nothing but "salespeople" to run tests and spend our money with no care over my child?

I am really frustrated, really really frustrated! And if anyone wants to give suggestions, I am open to them, but if anyone wants to rant about why we need Obama's "free" health care, please just exit now, or I will have to write another 5 pages on how that "free" plan will automatically cost Jason and I $9,000.00 that we don't pay now. Thank you.