A Wonderful Christmas

I can't even begin to express how blessed we were this Christmas.
Christmas Eve was a day of missing ingredients and little problems cooking, it all turned out wonderful in the end though. Matt had to work longer than intended, so we missed church, but it ended up being a positive. Little Christian rolled over for the first time, which was my Christmas wish. A Christmas Eve of wonderful surprises ;)
Adelaide got many wonderful toys that she loves. My mom made both kids amazingly adorable quilts with their names. The kids got Matt a Chris Tomlin CD and we have been listening to it all weekend.
We spent Christmas Day with lots of wonderful family. Grandma, Grandpa, his sister, and Barringtons all came over for some good old eating. Adelaide loved having so much family to play with. Christian did too, he was up nearly all day with smiles. That all allowed him to sleep for 9 hours straight, which made me happy about my 7 hours of sleep (even though I did get up 4 times to check on him).
It was just a perfect Christmas!

Four Long Months

Oh how time flies. Christian turned four months old on Saturday. It is crazy to think it has been that long, but then angain it feels so much longer.

We went to his 4 month check up and ear infection follow up appointment today. His ear infection is better, but now he has one in his other ear. That kinda explained why he had been crying all morning and has been a little fussy lately.

He is now 15lbs 12oz and 25.25 inches long, which outs him at 60% for both. We still have to work on rolling over and soon crawling. We also have to work on sleeping through the night. I know they say not to compare, but it's so hard not to. Adelaide slept through the night and rolled over at 3 months, then crawled at 4 and a half. I know he will get there, they say boys develope slower.

He is still my sunshine and such a sweet, happy baby.

When you thought I wasn't looking.....

Matt sent this to me today. I have read it before, but that doesn't mean it touches my heart any less.

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T LOOKING

A message every adult should read because children
are watching you and doing as you do, not as you say.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you hang my
first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately
wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you feed a
stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind
to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make my
favorite cake for me, and I learned that the little
things can be the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn't looking I heard you say a
prayer, and I knew that there is a God I could always
talk to, and I learned to trust in Him.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make a
meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I
learned that we all have to help take care of each other.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you take care
of our house and everyone in it, and I learned we have
to take care of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw how you
handled your responsibilities, even when you didn't
feel good, and I learned that I would have to be
responsible when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw tears come
from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things
hurt, but it's all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw that you
cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking I learned most of
life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and
productive person when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking I looked at you and
wanted to say,'Thanks for all the things I saw when
you thought I wasn't looking'

Today I am thnakful for . . .

On November 10th, Stephanie had posted the followinig:
Let's see how many people can do this. Every day this month until Thanksgiving, think of one thing that you are thankful for and post it as your status. "Today I am thankful for..." The longer you do it, the harder it gets! Now, if you think you can do it, then repost this message as your status to invite others to take the challenge. Then, post what YOU are thankful for today.
I fell for the per pressure and starting posting what I was thankful for and here they are.

Today I am thankful for . . .

. . . Fenugrek.

. . . Matt's smoothie making skills and my friends back home.

. . . 1 am wake-up calls from friends. I will seek my revenge!

. . . my mommies and all our many playdates.

. . . innocences and kindness of children (aka my daughter).

. . . four meat pizza Sundays, it's our new lunch tradition after church.

. . . coffee after a long, sleepless night.

. . . Chipolte and the fun family time it gave us as lunch. Mmmm. . .

. . . spirtual encouragement from my husband and others.

. . . 3 things #1: My grandparents for their roasting oven and turkey talk. #2: Ziploc for making bags that would go over my hand so I didn't have to actually touch the inside of the turkey. #3: My wonderful friends who will tell me the turkey is delicious as they spit it into a napkin.

. . . Stephanie, who is watching my kids so I can shop. Her idea!

. . . scheduling mishaps, like the one that has let Matt be home this whole weekend

. . . for mommy time with Stephanie, mani and pedi time baby!

. . . that all the laundry is done, minus what were are wearing and Matt's scrubs.

. . . naptime and a clean house.

. . . is no longer thankful for Fenugreek, Christian is now a formula baby :( Instead I am thankful for at home teeth whitening kits.

. . . my husband, children, family, friends, and even my in-laws.

TAG! I'm it.

Katy tagged me! I feel so lucky, if you know Katy you would feel pretty lucky too. She is an amazing woman and mother. Where she finds the time and energy, I will never know.

Here's the deal with the TAG ~ share five things you are obsessed with and then pass the award on to five of the most fabulous blogs you know!

#1 My husband: If you know the story of Matt and I, you know this is true. He is amazing and the absolute perfect man for me. He still gives me butterflies and just thinking of him makes me smile. He is my inner peace.

#2 My kids: Have you seen my kids? They are adorable! How could I not be obsessed with them? I love to find things for us to do, research parenting ideas or advice, and just spend every moment I can seeing them laugh and hearing them smile.

#3 Crafting: Growing up I was always jealous of my brothers for their amazing talents in music and art. It took me til now to realize I was kinda good at something, being Martha Stewart (without the jail time).

#4 Facebook: My portal home. Some of my best friends are a thousand miles away and so is my family. Facebook has become my way of staying connected to the people I love. I am able to see my niece, nephew, and dear friends kids grow up and feel like I haven't missed anything.

#5 Planning playdates: I LOVE throwing playdates. I love them more when there is a theme (baby shower, holiday, whatever). I wish I had more time to do them because I have tons of cute ideas, just not enough time to get them done.

Here is something to blog about:
Courtney
Rachel
Jackie
Angie
Ashley

The way God works

Matt and I went a harvest praise dinner tonight at the church we have been attending for a little over a month today. During the event there was a point that people were saying how God has worked in there life. I was holding a fussy baby and Matt was a little too nervous to say how God has worked in ours by helping us find that church.
The Wednesday after Matt's birthday we were at the zoo, just about to leave. I had just taken Adelaide to the bathroom and was making my way towards Matt, who was talking to some guy. That guy was named Thomas and he told us about the church he goes too, Fellowship Bible Church. We said our goodbyes as we made our way to our car and Matt and I were in aww. It just so happens that on the drive to the zoo we were discussing how we really needed to find a church for our family. I have been researching and visiting local churches for a good while now, but couldn't find one I really liked, until now. This church seems to be the perfect fit for our family and I could not be happier. We were finally able to tell Thomas today about the wonderful impact that little meeting made on our life and our family. Some may say it was just a coincidence, but I say it was God's little push. Matt and I have found that our life has been full of these little coincidences.
There is a joke/story about a man in New Orleans during Katrina. The hurricane is coming in and help comes for him 3 different times and his response is he will wait and that God will provide. Well, the man ends up passing away and meeting God. He asks God why he didn't save him. God responds that he did, 3 different times. It just makes you realize that when God offers you help, you need to take it.

Happy Halloweeeen

"Happy Halloweeeen" that's what Adelaide and I said all day long. First thing we did when she woke up is work on saying "Trick or Treat," she would say it and then mommy would put candy in her bag.
This year we decided to go to the Zoo Boo, since we had gone last year and it was so much fun. This may be the last year we go to the Zoo Boo.
Matt had to work til 3, but then he came home and we started to get ready. We were out the door with the most adorable pumpkins.

We hadn't ate, so we ran by Jason's Deli (my favorite) and decided we would eat in the car when we got there. Eating in the car was no problem, when we got to the zoo the line to get in was long, so we ate while we waited. After we had finally found some where to park, I got out of the car and that's when it hit me, the tickets were sitting on the end table at the house. So instead of waiting in another long line, we went home to get them, a 40 minute drive there and back. Of course half way home the fuel light comes on.
When we finally got to the Zoo Boo, our friends we were going to meet with were leaving.


This year Adelaide got only 5 pieces of candy, they didn't have many candy stations at all, and the people working there were not very into it. It was really disappointing since we had an amazing time there the year before. Stephanie agrees with me, so it is just my craziness :)

When we got home Adelaide was still up and so was our neighbor passing out candy. So Adelaide was able to knock on her first door and with no disappointment. She came away from there with her basket full of candy.

We of course made the best out of it all, how could we not it's Halloween!

Pumpkin Carving Fun

Matt and I have carved pumpkins every year we have been together, so this year was no different. Yesterday Matt and Adelaide scrapped them out while I made horrible tasting cookies. I have learned that Splenda is not a good sugar substitute. Tonight Matt and I carved the pumpkins. He carved a kitty in Adelaide's and a coffin thing in his. I carved a ghost in Christian's and "Trick or Treat" in mine. It was a lot of fun to see Adelaide's reaction since this year she is old enough to understand and enjoy it all.

Life is good!

Apparently it has been a while since I last blogged, it's just so hard to type one handed. These days the only reason I am on the computer is because I am feeding Christian.
All I can say is that life is good. Matt quit Providence and is working selected Saturdays in the Hillcrest ER. This has made it possible for us to go to church. To which we have found a great church nearby, Fellowship Bible Church. Adelaide loves it and cries when we leave. Christian is doing great and growing strong. My friend Katy just had a little boy, Owen. We visited them in the hospital and Christian looks like a giant compared to him. Adelaide is on her why to being completely potty trained, only diapers at night.
The best part is that tonight I will hopefully be a sleep before midnight, YAY. To that I say goodnight!

The Biggest Losers (of Debt)

The Biggest Losers (of Debt): How a Family Shed $106,000 in Debt
http://customsites.yahoo.com/financiallyfit/finance/article-107752-2691-0-how-one-family-shed-106000-in-debt?ywaad=ad0035

I seriously want to laugh at this yahoo headline story. Matt and I are in horrible debt, so when I read this headline I saw a glimmer of hope. I was thinking that maybe I could find some ideas and tips to help us get out of debt. All I ended up reading was the same things we do already.

Matt works 60+ hours a week and on-call 3 days a week.
I am the clearence queen.
I rarely ever buy name brand, if I do I have a coupon.

I just find it funny that they did an article on this, like this is all new information for the public. I have been living like this for years (before Matt and I were ever in debt).

Once again: HA! HA! HA!

Whitney's Visit

Yesterday we got to see our friend Whitney and her son Trace. Christian is 3 weeks old, which means it's time for Whitney to meet him. Some how we have meet each other's kids at that time mark, kinda cute.
Trace is a few months younger than Adelaide and such a sweetie. He was very shy yesterday when he first arrived, but by the time he left he was kissing on Adelaide.

Whitney and I have known each other for 5 years, we worked together at 2 jobs, "lived" together, were pregnant together. You could say that we like to do a lot of things together. It's amazing how time changes people. We started out young (younger) and now have kids. Seriously, how crazy is that?

2 Week Recap

Christian is now just a little over 2 weeks old and doing great. I am of course sleep deprived, so is Matt. Adelaide is such a good big sister and in love with little man.

His birth was good. I now know that the epidural didn't work when I had Adelaide, cause this time I felt nearly nothing. I pushed for hardly no time (nowhere near the 3 hours I did with Addie). The doctor actually came in, checked me, said "Ok, it's time. I need you to push." I thought she was kidding. I started pushing, she left to deliver a baby down the hall (cause I was controllable and the other one wasn't), came back I pushed a few time, BAM!, and then she went straight to the room next door and deliver another baby.

Christian was born August 12th at 12:54pm, he was 7lbs 4oz and 20in. He had fluid in his lungs and were going to take him to the nursery for observation, I started to break down in tears (Adelaide went to the nursery for observation and ended up in NICU). Luckily, we kept putting it off and he was doing great so they let him stay with us. We were able to go home the next day.

The pediatrician wanted to check him again on Friday, just cause that's how they roll, so we made a trip there on Friday. They were worried about him having jaundice, so they stabbed his little foot for the blood test. His levels weren't horrible, but weren't great so we saw the docs again on Monday and Tuesday. Eventually they were comfortable with his levels and he is now doing good. He does have a blocked tear duct, that caused an eye infection, but we have that under control.
I am running on no sleep of course. Christian REALLY likes to be held. We are having issues with him sleeping at night not in my arms. Oh well, he is my little boy and I can have a lack of sleep for him. Matt is spending some nights on the air mattress so he can at least function a little at work. Which is fine with me, I have more space in the bed for all my night feedings and diaper changes.

My mom came down to visit from Illinois. I was so happy to see her and Adelaide fell in love with her instantly. I actually got told to go away several times. My mom was sweet enough to get the stroller and bouncer I wanted, YAY! She also brought and got the kiddos lots of cute goodies. We made a trip to the zoo to test out my awesome stroller and it was awesome :) Of course Smith luck followed my mom down here and the day before she was leaving I locked my keys in the car. Thankfully, I have the greatest friend in the world, Stephanie broke into my house for me and brought us our spare set. I hated seeing my mom go, especially since she kept Adelaide busy so I could heal up fast.

Christian had his 2 week appt on Wednesday, he is healthy and great. Big surprise!
We had a fun, small play date with Stephanie and the kids on Thursday. Adelaide really needed a little Joshua time. I think she misses all of her friends :(
That brings us to today..... Christian has been eating like crazy. Matt's co-worker told him today that Christian should go through a growth spurt soon and that may be what he is doing. It is driving me crazy. I wanted to clean today, but instead I played milk maid.
Anyways, I am done rambling.

Yep!

So I am headed to the hospital in less than 7 hours to have little man.
I am terrified! Of course because of the whole labor and delivery part. I am also terrified that there will be problems or something wrong with him. I know all parents have these fears, but I know the issues we had with Adelaide last time don't help me this time. I am just praying for a speedy l&d and a very healthy baby.
Anyways, the next time I blog I will be the proud mommy of 2 wonderful children. Thanks to all for being supportive and wondeful friends throughout this whole pregnancy adventure. Loves Ya!

Her Own Time

I am not saying we are there by any means, but we are making potty progress. For the past few weeks Adelaide has been going here and there, nothing big. This week she is a potty machine though. She decided on Monday that she wants to go pee just about all the time and only 1 accident. She still wants a diaper for going #2, but that's fine with me. At least she is recognizing the urge. I am just super proud of my little girl!
BTW, we have one week til baby Chris is here, YAY! I am very excited about meeting little man.

38 Weeks!!!

This was a fun appointment. Why you ask. Well because we set a date to be induced. YAY! He will be here Thursday, August 13th.
She did her usual "fun" check and I am 3cm dilated and 50% effaced. She said there is still a chance that he could come before the 13th. She just wanted to set it up, in case he doesn't come before. We were induced with Adelaide because of potential complications and we didn't want to take chances with this one either.
So, yeah! I have 9 days left of being a mother of one amazing child. Which also means 9 days to finish any cleaning and such. And of course 9 days left of eating whatever I feel like. Mmmm, cheese sticks!

37 Weeks

Time is flying, isn't it?
We went to see my favorite woman, Dr. Wang. The appointment went well, I was in and out in less then and hour. I am 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. A week ago I was just dilated 1 cm.
She told me "probably one more week." Of course at the time I was just like "ok, la-ti-da." But as soon as I left I called Matt and he wanted to know what she meant by that and I was stumped. I mean I didn't think anything about it when she said it. Was it an "one more week of pregnancy, sucks to be you. Blah blah blah?" Or was it an "one more week and you will probably be having little man?" Ahhh!!! She of course talked to me about calling if I have contractions and all that stuff, but she did that at the last appointment too.

36 Weeks

YAY! We made it to 36 weeks, now it's time for Christian to come. Well, actually he has to wait til after July 31st, cause I am co-hosting a baby shower for Katy that day.
We had a visit to the doctor's today. Shockingly we were in and out in an hour and a half. I had a Group B Strep test, you know I loved that.
Here's the stats:
Gained 12 pounds total
Dilated 1 cm
No effacement
My mucus plug said bye-bye today
Christian seems to be about 5 1/2 pounds
His heartbeat was 170, she had to chase him around to get it.
I was prescribed to eat 2 cheeseburgers for lunch today, I LOVE Dr. Wang!
I of course had to get a little irritated at something, which was the lab being closed for lunch. Like they really need to eat, please!
It was a good baby day, now it just needs to stay good. I am hoping to get Matt to take a couple of belly shots with Adelaide and I today, but we will see.

One more done

I made a ribbon thing to go around the bassinet, because I didn't like the baby blue one I had for it. So here it is :) The center is a baseball button. I do have one last sewing project I forgot about. Which is to finish the dress I started as my very first sewing project, but I need Stephanie for that so I have rest time while she is in Cancun.

Finished Projects

It feels so good to have things done. This week I finished projects for Adelaide's room. We painted her mirror, which was this green/yellow color with stars that said twinkle twinkle. It is not very good, but I kinda like that it looks messy. I do have to take a little yellow to it to cover some spots and paint the inside purple, but otherwise I declare it DONE!

One of my other projects was making pillow case covers out of Adelaide's baby clothes. Yep, got that done today (like 15 minutes ago). I had made one of them a while back, but had to rip it apart cause it was too big and not hanging right. Well, I did them both today and they look and fit pretty good. Adelaide is in love and carrying them around laying on them.

I am just glad to have her room done before Christian gets here. We still have more furniture to buy for her room, but that is on hold for a little while.
I have one more thing to make for Christian, which is a ribbon thingy to decorate around his bassinet, but that is easy. So off to make dinner, clean a little, and finish another sewing project.

August Babies

I am in a group through cafemom that is made up of moms giving birth in August. So far 7 moms have given birth. FREAKY! It really makes me realize that Christian's time is approaching. In addition to them, my cousin had her baby on the 4th and a friend of mine's wife had her's on the 5th.
I am just really surprised that it is that time already. I still feel like I just peed on the stick.
I still have a list of things to do before he gets here. I don't even have a bag packed. I am kinda going into panic mode.

On that note, I need to get to work...

Ramblings about my week (and it's only Wednesday)

Monday's 30% chance of rain of course made it 100% to my house. It was raining so bad that you couldn't see out our windows. The wind was horrible and backyard toys were pushed and thrown everywhere, some things made it from the backyard to across the street into the middle of the front field. It was even bad enough to knock a branch down from a tree that hit the cable and electricity wires and pulled a metal pipe holding those wires off the house (refer to exhibit A). We lost cable but somehow didn't lose our electricity.
Exhibit A:


Then the fun begins. . .
Call the cable company... they need to get approval and will call back in 15 minutes. They never called back!
Call TXU, they tell me I need to call an electrician and get my electricity on temporary disconnect, but I can do that when they before the elec guy comes out.

Then Tuesday morning fun begins. . .
Get a call from the landlord, who will have the elec guy out today :)
Call TXU to get temporary disconnect. The guy says it won't be done til Friday, WTF? Oops, call gets dropped while driving over the lake.
Call TXU back, talk to nice lady who starts scheduling it to happen at 9am that day (what happened to Friday, herk #1???). Oops, call gets dropped as we pull up to Hillcrest.
Go into Hillcrest, call TXU, and am asked "is this the 1st time you've called or the 3rd?" Yeah, it's the 3rd :)

Go to doctor appt and walk into a pretty little sign that says Dr. Wang had an emergency c-section and will not be back to 10. Talk to nice, old lady who tells me I won't be able to be seen til 11. BTW, my appt was for 9:30. And this is the appt I had to reschedule because Dr. Wang had an emergency delivery when I went for my last appt. I am not upset, cause I may be that emergency delivery one day. However it's frustrating.

While in the waiting room I get a call from Oncor (TXU) to tell me they won't get out there til 1 or 2, and that TXU never even told them they were suppose to be there at 9. THANKS TXU!!!
Call Bowen, they are so easy going, and the inconvenience doesn't bother them.
I waited 2 hours to have her measure my belly and check the heartbeat (took less than 5 minutes).
Get home, Bowen electric is here and fixing everything. YAY! Find out that Oncor never showed up, they went ahead and cut the elec off like the awesome Bowen Electric people they are. Adelaide was in love with one of the guys and followed him around, too cute.
Cable had come by earlier, but couldn't fix anything because of the elec wires. Well DUH, I could've told you that. Hmm, maybe next time they will call someone back. Anyways, the guys come out and fix my cable. They were sweethearts and not stupid!
I call TXU to cancel my disconnect and they tell me it was already cancelled ??? OK, whatever.
Everything is fixed, Happy Day!!!

Today, Oncor shows up to turn off my electricity. REALLY??? I told them it was cancelled and they go on their way.
My landlord shows up to check things out and says I need to call Oncor and get them to cut down the branch that is still a possible hazard. Well, I told him Matt and I already checked into it and it is his responsibility. Oh no, he of course doesn't believe me and wants me to call them. Ok, I called and had them send me something in writing that says it's his responsibility. The thing that sucks about this is that I will have to call TXU and schedule another temporary disconnect, AAHHHH!!!!!

Ohh and while I was outside, I got attacked my fire ants. So my toes are little sausages right now.

Father's Day Weekend

This weekend was great, mostly because Matt was off.
We went to Joshua's b-day party at the Jumping Party on Saturday, FUN! Matt was there so Adelaide had someone to chase her. Stephanie had rented the whole place so it was just the kids for his party there, which made it oh so much more enjoyable. We made our way to Walmart to replace our little pool and bought a bigger, better one. We spent a lot of time playing in that all weekend.
Sunday was of course Father's Day, so we showered Matt with all our love and attention. He got a card from each of us (even Christian). Even though I told him I wasn't going to get him anything, I bought him the new Rodney Carrington CD.
It was all together a wonderful weekend with Matt.

My Chubby Cheekster

We went today for Christian's 3D ultrasound. We decided to take Adelaide so she could see that there really was a baby in mommy's belly. She was very interested in baby Chris until she realized there was a plastic tree in the office she could play with. She was actually a very good girl, a pleasant surprise.
At first he had his foot right in front of his face, too cute. Then we got that moved and he had his umbilical cord in front of his lips. But overall we got some cute pics of my little chubster. He has big cheeks, Adelaide's nose, and what looks to be my lips. All together he is just a cute little chubby package of joy.
I am really excited about him getting here now.

My sleeping angel

For nearly a week now Adelaide will not nap in her room. I will do our normal routine, but she will not go to sleep. After an hour of trying to get her to sleep or after a second hour of attempting to get her to nap, I have been laying down with her in our bed. Today it was the last check of the hour and I found her sleeping in her bedroom, on her toy chest. I was so afraid she would fall off, but I didn't want to wake her either so I just let her stay there. She slept on there for an hour and a half.

Christian's Room

Some progress has been made and more to come when I get off the computer in a minute. I still have a slightly overwhelming list of stuff to finish before he gets here. It was a lot easier when I was pregnant with Adelaide, cause I could focus all my time and energy on being pregnant and getting ready. Now all my time and energy is still focused on her, but it's running after her. Right now I would love to take a nap with her, but this is my only free time.

Baby Shower

Yep! I had a great baby shower, thrown by 3 of the greatest friends, with some of the greatest friends as guests. I'm happy :D

The Love Of Two

I am terrified of having 2 children, not on the taking care of aspect but the love aspect. I am afraid I won't have enough for this new one or Adelaide will feel like I don't have time for her. It's been just Adelaide and I, but now we are going to add lil Christian. Anyways... Someone posted this in my pregnancy group and I thought it was interesting.

The Love Of Two~ author unknown

I walk along holding your 2-year-old hand, basking in the glow of our magical relationship. Suddenly I feel a kick from within, as if to remind me that our time alone is limited. And I wonder: how could I ever love another child as I love you?

Then he is born, and I watch you. I watch the pain you feel at having to share me as you've never shared me before.

I hear you telling me in your own way, "Please love only me." And I hear myself telling you in mine, "I can't," knowing, in fact, that I never can again.

You cry. I cry with you. I almost see our new baby as an intruder on the precious relationship we once shared. A relationship we can never quite have again.

But then, barely noticing, I find myself attached to that new being, and feeling almost guilty. I'm afraid to let you see me enjoying him -- as though I'm betraying you.

But then I notice your resentment change, first to curiosity, then to protectiveness, finally to genuine affection.

More days pass, and we are settling into a new routine. The memory of days with just the two of us is fading fast.

But something else is replacing those wonderful times we shared, just we two. There are new times -- only now, we are three. I watch the love between you grow, the way you look at each other, touch each other.

I watch how he adores you -- as I have for so long. I see how excited you are by each of his new accomplishments. And I realize that I haven't taken something from you, I've given something to you. I notice that I am no longer afraid to share my love openly with both of you.

I find that my love for each of you is as different as you are, but equally strong. And my question is finally answered, to my amazement. Yes, I can love another child as much as I love you -- only differently.

And although I realize that you may have to share my time, I now know you'll never share my love. There's enough of that for both of you -- you each have your own supply.

I love you -- both. And I thank you both for blessing my life.

Mattress In A Box

I am absolutely amazed by Adelaide's mattress in a box. We bought her a twin bed. We bought it on-line from Wal-Mart and had it shipped to the store. We pick it up Friday and they pull out 2 boxes and that was it.
I asked "where is the mattress?"
To which they said "it's in this box."
"???" was the only response I could come up with as I had an extremely dumbfounded look on my face.
We pulled it out of the box and oh my! The mattress had been rolled up and vacuum sealed. I was blown away when we opened it up and found an actual twin mattress in this little box. It is very comfy and Adelaide has been playing on it all day.
The box...

The mattress...

OCD

I have always been told by people that I am OCD. Matt really likes to tease me about it. I am really not, I just like certain things a certain way. I like my sheets nicely made before I go to bed, I like toilet paper going over (and I tend to make sure every bathroom I walk in has it that way). Working at a grocery store I always made sure everything stacked up perfectly and my co-workers hated that. Of course I was the boss so they had no choice. This morning I did an application on FB that was was about OCD, I was "way OCD."
So last night Adelaide woke up and went to her bedroom gate saying "Mommy help" in a soft sweet tone. I walk into her room, she takes my finger and walks me to her bed. She points at her bed with the sheets and comforter all messy and says again "mommy help." I fix her bed, she crawls right back in, and is asleep in a flash.
She is definitly my child.

The Last Lecture

If something inspirational happens in my life it is because of Donna, Matt's co-worker (Katy's aunt). She gave Matt the book "The Last Lecture" to read. I have been wanting to read it and Matt is always busy so I read it.
Oh my, how I love this book. The author is Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Mellon who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and only had months to live. He was asked to give the annual "last lecture" at Carnegie Mellon. The lecture was a u-tube favorite and was shown on many talk shows. If you haven't seen it, you MUST (www.thelastlecture.com).
Anyways, the book builds off and around the last lecture. It is an amazingly, inspirational book about living from a man who was dying.

29 Weeks

From Baby Center:
Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel.
Really?
I feel like I just found out I was pregnant. I can't believe that I have roughly 11 weeks left until I have little man, until I have 2 children. I just find it amazing how fast time is flying by. Not to mention how amazingly uncomfortable the last trimester is. How did I forget? I know I have just started and that is what makes it worse, cause it will get worse. I have finally started to realize I can't do everything. But I have also realized that I only have 11 weeks left and everything to do, AHHH!

Potty Progress

Thursday through Sunday we tried pull-ups. We had no success with the potty. Yesterday we decided to put her in big girl panties. She had a lot of accidents, they weren't as messy as I thought they would be. She began to understand when she peed and would rush to the potty. She actually went pee-pee in the potty twice. I am so proud of her.

The other day she decided to put her panties on all by herself.

Potty Training Day

Kind of a busy day.
Today was our first attempt at potty training. I am going to try for a little while and if she seems to not be ready then we will stop and try again later. Our doctor suggested we start because Adelaide appears ready and it would be great to have it done before the new baby gets here. She has no problem sitting on the potty, it's just getting her to "go" in it that is the problem. She has gone in the pull-ups all day though, in between potty breaks.
Matt came home early from work because he was sick. At one point he had a temp of 102.8, so we took him to the doctor. Turns out he has a bacterial infection and needs to stay home til at least Monday. I feel so bad, he hasn't been this sick since January 2007. Not to mention that he is a very cute and needy baby. I swear I have 2 kids. Since he came home it has been either him or Adelaide hollering for me.
On our way to the doctor today we discovered that a/c in the car wants to make noises, YAY! Needless to say tomorrow morning I am on my way to the dealership to get it fixed. I have stranger issues so I may stay the whole time there, because the idea of getting on the "shuttle" service with some strange man scares the *@#% out of me.
Anyways, it has been a fun day and tomorrow looks like it will be another fun one.

Adelaide's Birthday

P-A-R-T-Y!
My little baby is a big 2 year old now. We had a luau/water party at the house to celebrate. Matt and his brother decorated the outside and set things up, his sister-in-law decorated the cupcakes, and I just bossed people around. A bunch of Adelaide's friends came to celebrate. We set up the kiddie pool, sprinklers, pinata, and of course the swing was out. Adelaide wouldn't stay out of the pool. She would play, get out eat a grape or lick frosting off a cupcake and then jump back in. All together it was great. It was definitly better than last year, just because I can actually remember this party. We spent the evening relaxing with Matt's family and jsut enjoying such a wonderful day.

In-law Visit

After spending nearly a month cleaning and redecorating the house, the in-laws made there way to Texas this weekend. Adelaide had a blast with her cousins, Evan(5) and Aidan(2). We made a trip to the Mayborn, which was loads of fun. We had a lot of fun playing outside and just hanging out with each other. I know Matt had a great time with his big brother and just being off of work.

At the museum.

Trying to get a pic of grandkids with Matt's mom.

Swinging!

We bought Rachel Shipp's swing set and set it up yesterday. Adelaide is in love!
While we were putting it up she was playing with her water toy and not paying any attention to us, which was nice cause we could get things done. Then we got two of the swinging toys up and it was on. She noticed what we were building and came to play. Seeing the joy on her face just reminded me why I love being a parent and why I want to give her the world.
This morning she woke up and went straight to the bench window to look at her swing set. I can't wait to see her play on it today :)

Mommy's Day

I had a great Mother's Day. We took Matt into work, made eggs and sausage for breakfast, goofed around, and spent the day at my Grandma's house goofing around even more.
There were 5 other adults and a dog that helped wear my child out (really she wore them all out). I didn't do anything but change diapers. The day was extra nice because my Great Aunt and Uncle are visiting from Florida, I haven't seen them in nearly 7 years. My uncle looks like Jack Lemmon and is a huge sweetheart. Of course my aunt is a big sweetie too and so much fun.
Then to top off my day Joan Rivers beat Annie Duke in Celebrity Apprentice, YAY! Not to happy with the winner of The Amazing Race, but I am not heartbroken over it either.
I hope everyone else had a great Mother's Day.

My favorite picture from yesterday is of her dancing with Great Grandpa, she calls him Bopa. Where did kids come up with these names?

What is a mother's work really worth?

I found this on my yahoo page and had to share the most important part of the article.
This year, a stay-at-home mom performing the 10 most popular "mom-job functions" does the work equivalent of a $122,732 salary, up 5 percent over last year's calculations. A mom who works outside the home 40 hours a week does work that equates to an annual cash compensation of $76,184, an 11 percent increase.
You can read it all at:
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/life/what-is-a-mothers-work-really-worth-456608/

Room Progress

One of the many projects I have going on right now is putting together Christian's room.
I finished the quilt.

I finished painting the letters for his name. I still have one more wall hanging thing around his name to finish. There is something I don't quit like about this.

I still have to buy and put up small sports decorations.


I finished the bed skirt. I was going to do a bumper, but I think we have decided not to do one. I just need to start on the diaper hanger and basket linings.

Dumpster Diving

Matt had to come home from work a short bit ago to change his clothes after he did some dumpster diving. He had thought he lost his wedding ring in a pair of gloves, so he and a co-worker went dumpster diving to find it. They didn't find anything, which left Matt upset.
Adelaide was pretending to go to sleep in our bed, while Matt changed his scrubs and cleaned himself up. I was lifting the covers to put them over her when BAM! His ring was on the floor under the covers. I don't know how it came off in the middle of the night, but it did.
I am just in aww over what that man will do for his wedding ring and how much it mattered to him. Seriously, out of all the dumpsters to dive in, a hospital dumpster is REALLY nasty.
I LOVE my husband!

Don't stick your finger in other people's noses

Matt just called me because there was a doctor from Hillcrest on the radio talking about the swine flu. At the same time I just happened to be reading Katy's blog that mentioned the swine flu. I have realized everyone has blogged somewhat about it, so I figure I am going to throw my two cents in.
I think it is HORRIBLE that it is out there and so many are ill from it and some dying. But there are lots of factors and details people aren't aware of. I get scared of this in the sense that Matt is in the health care profession, he could bring it home, and if it becomes an epidemic I won't see my husband for a long time. But I am always scared that Matt could bring home a disease or something. But we take the necessary precautions and that is what you have to do for the swine flu. Of course I am not going near Mexico and I am washing my hands a little extra.
I think the only thing you can do is wash your hands and don't stick your finger in other people's noses.

Baby Boy Blanchard

Ahh! I love that we are having a boy. Kinda relieves some pressure of making sure we are able to pass on the Blanchard name, cause WE ARE!
He is a mover. Everytime she moved the thingy he would kick it, like he was playing with it. We all kept laughing because he wouldn't stop shaking his hands, moving his legs, and doing little dances during the ultrasound. I have decided that my doctor needs to have posters on her ceiling for when she is doing the measurement portion of the ultrasound.
We have decided on Christian Lenard for his name. My mom's name is Christina and Matt's brother's name is Christopher and Matt's grandfather's name is Lenard, so BAM!!! Christian Lenard.
I went shopping today for onsies because we obviously have no clothes or anything. Well Target happens to have a bunch of sports bedroom stuff in the dollar section so I got one of everything. I went to Hobby Lobby and found some cute sports flannel fabric for burp cloths and receiving blankets.
I am just rambling. Can you tell I am excited?
Our scanner won't work with our computer so I took pics of the pics of the baby.

You can see it's a boy (over in the left corner)!

Migraines

Can I just say I HATE migraines? Cause I do.
I have always had migraines with aura and it sux. I think I get more frustrated with my eyes then the actual head pain. During pregnancy they are worse and a little more often. With Adelaide I took no pills, no Tylenol, nothing. It was horrible, but Matt had energy so he waited on me until the pain went away. With this one I have even more migraines and have taken Tylenol, but I don't want to take anything more because I am still a little paranoid.
Anyways, yesterday I had my first REALLY bad one with this pregnancy. I had 6 hours of extreme pain and of course the before and after effects. I feel so bad for Adelaide because mommy went on her own little vacation and just checked out from mommyland. She was an angel though. She napped long, ate popcorn and watched 2 movies along with playing quietly, we made a game out of whispering. I am just blessed to have such a sweet daughter who understands and is compassionate to mommy's bo-bo.
So anyways, I am ready for this baby and these migraines to be done.

It's A Boy???

I took the at home gender test this morning and it said BOY! Of course I am not 100% convinced, I won't be until Monday when we go in for our ultrasound.
Matt had a dream about it though... He dreamt that I took the test and it was a fizzy dark green color and that I came out all excited telling him it was a boy. Here's the thing, he was right and there was no way for him to know any of that. Hmm???

Tricycle

Adelaide was such a good girl about giving up the binky we decided she deserved a reward, a tricycle. We bought her a cute, gender neutral one yesterday and Matt put it together when he got home. We also got her some cute Sesame Street knee and elbow pads along with a helmet. I tried all day to get her to wear the helmet and she wouldn't go near it, as soon as I told her she had to wear it to get on her bike she put it on without a fuss. The tricycle is slightly to tall but she can still reach the pedals, all together she is managing to play with it just fine. I know she will go throw a growth spurt soon, so I am not worried. Now we just have to teach her to use the pedals.


So, I still don't like Providence but we are going to make things work for the next few months at least. Matt is just going to sign up for on-call in 4 hour shifts, 3 days a month, M-F. So he will just work after he gets off of Hillcrest. Ahhh!!! One day he will have a normal schedule.

I'm Sorry

Yesterday I was tagged and I wrote that one of the things I wish I could do was say I'm sorry.
For a few years now I have wanted to say I am sorry to my ex Jeramy. We met my senior year of high school and dated for 4 years. We had our ups and downs as any couple does and we were young so we both did some immature and stupid things. He eventually moved away for college and we ended up drifting apart. There was nothing wrong with either of us, we were great just not "perfect."
Last I heard about him he had went from valedictorian of his class, quarterback, pitcher of the baseball team to college drop out. He was also not making the best decisions, but he was having A LOT of fun.
I ran into his step-mom at HEB. We of course chit chatted and I found out that Jeramy has changed back to being the good guy I loved (and will always). I was so relieved to hear this.
I ended up asking her to tell him the one thing I thought I would never be able to, that "I'm sorry." I know she will.
So I guess now I can take saying "I'm sorry" off my list.

I was tagged fo shizzle my nizzle

Rachel tagged me, so. . .

8 Things I Am Looking Forward To:

1. Finding out what we are having
2. Having the baby
3. All the visitors we are having in the next 6 months
5. Getting the house and yard all prettied
6. Matt grilling steaks, chicken, and pork chops for dinner this week
7. Matt having this weekend off
8. PLaying outside this afternoon

8 Things I Did Yesterday:

1. Fought with Adelaide over nap time
2. Nearly got stabbed in the eye with a pen by Adelaide
3. Laughed ridiculously with Matt and Addie
5. Figured out money, well not really
6. Laundry
7. Dishes
8. Got addicted to a myspace/facebook application

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:

1. Run a marathon
2. Get a "mommy make-over"
3. Make money grow from trees
5. Mow the lawn
6. Stop forgetting something
7. Say "I'm Sorry"
8. Lose weight

8 Shows I am Currently Watching:

1. Heroes
2. Chuck
3. NCIS
5. The Mentalist
6. Lost
7. CSI
8. The Amazing Race

So I tag:
1. Ashley
2. Megan B.
3. Jackie

Providence SUCKS!

Matt works at Providence for his second job on the weekends and came home last night with upsetting news. They are requiring nearly all of there ICU nurses to sign up for an "on-call" day, because they are short on staff. That means that Matt will only have one day off a month, because it is extremely unlikely that he will not be called in.
So what do we do?
He works 64+ hours a week (excluding his one weekend off). He also has another job that he is actually on-call for 11 days a month. He is already having health issues from working so much. Adelaide has started having Daddy issues. She will wake up screaming for him during naps and at night. Not to mention we are about to have baby #2 in a few months.
I wish I could get a job, but I wouldn't even make 1/3 of what he makes an hour (which is why he works so much).
Ahhh!!!

Progress

It is not finished yet, but...

I have one more curtain to sew, cause I ran out of thread.
The quilt is just about done. I am doing these little tie things to hold it together and have already broke 3 needles.
I have to order some pics to put in these really cute frames I bought.
And of course we have to decide on bedroom furniture. We do know we want white though.

Bye-bye Binky

We have decided it is time to take away the binky, no more excuses. We are afraid it will hurt her teeth and she talks so much more and better without it in her mouth.
At 8:55, she hurt herself and wanted her binky to comfort her, she survived without it though.
We had a nice little tantrum for it at 9:30, but she quickly finished and went on with playing.
At 12 she asked for it, was told no and she didn't fight about it or anything.
Nap time was HORRIBLE!!! She was screaming bloody murder for it. The only reason she fell asleep was because she exhausted herself crying. She actually woke up still crying for her binky.
She went through 3 more times of asking for it without a tantrum.
Bedtime was better than nap time, but still not fun. She eventually went to sleep though. She woke up this morning hugging, kissing, and talking up a storm.
I was so scared of this day and really it was so much better than I ever thought it was going to be (except nap time).
Anyways, we survived Day 1.

Easter Weekend

Friday was the Easter Egg Hunt play date. We had a lot of fun and of course loved seeing the mommies. Adelaide seemed to have more fun this year, because she was not crawling around on the ground trying to grab them. Stephanie got some really cute pics of Addie and Joshua lovin on each other.

Saturday night, Matt got off on time so we decided to decorate eggs. It was Adelaide's first time and she loved it. I can't wait to do it again next year.
On Easter Sunday, we woke Adelaide up and she got to see her basket while Daddy was here. She was a very good girl and shared her candy and actually ate candy for breakfast.We went to Moody to see my grandparents and get our eat on. They did an egg hunt for the kiddos, she got lots more candy, and made out with $1.50 from finding some money eggs (college fund). My highlight of Easter Sunday was that the Burger King in McGregor was open. Oh how I love the Whopper!!! When we got home it was beautiful outside, so we cleaned the inside of the car, which was much needed.

It really was a nice Easter weekend for the Blanchards.