Mother's Day 2011

Happy 2011 To Me... Happy 2011 To Me...

That's right. 2011. March 23, 2011 to be exact. I swear I'm gonna get better about this whole blogging thing. Swears!

So, what have we been up to, you ask? Well, all but 1 of us is a whole year older. I turned 38 last Thursday and I gotta tell you I don't feel a day older than 37. I think once you past 35, it's just a waiting period until the big 4-0. Par Tay!

My b-day was a good one. I went to a casino for the first time in my life and actually came out $110 richer. I didn't understand the computerized slots worth a crap, but I gotta tell ya that any machine you just sit and hit buttons on has to be a brain stumper. And how I lost $5 in the penny slots in less than 1 minute is beyond me. I figured I'd have 500 plays that would keep me there with the other ladies in their Hoverounds for hours. Didn't happen but that's probably ok, when old ladies start stroking the screen and kissing stuffed animals for luck, that's when I gots to go.

My attire was somewhat disappointing. I forget I can't wear heels, but about a week before my birthday I decided I'd get more "dressed up" and I found these CUTE heels that matched my cute cute sweater (for the unexpected 70 degree day) and I just thought I was so cute and are you sick of that word yet? Anyway, those heels did me wrong! Can you say 3rd degree blister? If they don't have "degrees" they should because mine is more than just a little blister, it is a major BLISTER! But thankfully that's just the one on the side of my big toe. I have 1st and 2nd degree blisters on my middle and fourth toes. I am still wearing flip flops which has been ok for that last week but tomorrow it's suppose to snow and be in the 30's. Guess my luck at the 'Spin N Win' has worn off.

Moving on... Everyone is good. The boys are good. The parents are good. I am good. Most of all God is good! And although He doesn't have to prove that to me, He does. He has. The truth is, I had a very rough start to 2011 and it took a lot of strength to get through. Strength I didn't know I had. Strength that only the good Lord above could give. And even though I thought things were at their worst, He showed me that HE has the authority over everything. He can change situations that seem unchangeable. Praise God!

So... don't give up. You might end up a winner.

11 Months

Baby T is 11 months old today. Is that possible? Really? 11 months?! It's hard to believe in a month, I'll have a 1 year old. Where has this time gone?

Baby T is wonderful! He is crawling, walking around things, playing peek-a-boo, singing, clapping his hands, climbing the stairs, saying "Mama" and "Dada", learning how his toys work, grabbing books off the shelf for Mama to read to him, eating "Puffs", loving music, wishing he could get a hold of the doggies, and smiling... smiling... smiling. He is the happiest kid. I love his smile. He lights up the room! I told him that this morning.

He wakes up smiling. We co-sleep, so he's already right there beside me and our morning consists of him waking up, sitting up, moving over towards me, giving me a kiss and then it's on to the boobs. Yep, he's still a boobie baby... loves his boobies. For the last couple of weeks he's decided he's not interested in his baby food anymore and has gone back to nursing like a newborn. Oh well, I'm glad that we've made it this far and we don't plan on weaning anytime soon.

He was dedicated at church on Easter. A lot of his family on both sides was there and it was a really nice day. My mom made a great lunch for everyone and we ate at the church so there was more room.

His daddy, memaw, papaw, and the two little girls came and stayed in a hotel the night before his dedication. Daddy wanted to take him swimming for the first time and he loved the water. He has always loved water. I should have had a water birth! He's loved taking baths ever since we first put him in the tub. I have a feeling someone is going to be getting a little pool for his first birthday... :)

We're waiting for it to get a little warmer and less windy before we take him to the zoo but that is at the top of our "to do" list this month. I have a feeling we're going to be making many trips to the zoo this summer. He loves animals!

He's quite a baby! I'm blessed!

(*The picture above was taken on Easter*)

Happy Thanksgiving

Warning! These Pics Are Full Of Baby Cuteness

First Hospital Visit

Yesterday was the last bday of the month... my dad's. Mr. R left early to go to the gun show so I headed over to my parents and got there around 10:30. We went shopping for my dad and got his cake, came home, ate a late lunch and did his birthday stuff. Then we all played The Price Is Right on the Wii. That was fun. Then we had to make another trip back to the mall because the shoes my mom got for my dad didn't fit. When we got back it was almost 7:00 so I decided to leave and come back home. I really wanted to bring the boys back with me, but as it turns out, it was probably better that they stayed there.

Friday I had my glucose tolerance test then an OB appointment. I gained 5 pounds since my last appointment but they said everything looked good. I mentioned again the fact that I'm getting contractions a lot and they're pretty strong and I wasn't sure if those were real contractions or just the Braxton Hicks. They said again that they were just Braxton Hicks.

Mr. R and I had some running around to do that day so we headed out and went over to his side of town. I had noticed sometime in the afternoon that the baby hadn't been moving much. We chalked it up to us being busy and the glucose test.

At 5:30 yesterday morning I woke up and wondered why the baby hadn't woke me up moving around at 3:30 like he normally does. I kind of got a little worried, went downstairs, drank some coke and laid on my left side to see if he'd start moving. He didn't. Thank God we have a Doppler at home, so I got that out and his heart rate seemed fine so I went back to bed.

Then, to make a long story short, he didn't really move all day. Even T2 was pushing around on my stomach and talking to him and he wouldn't move. I know babies have their off days just like us, so I wasn't too worried about it yet.

After I got home and Mr. R got there, we talked about it and he started getting concerned. He can ALWAYS get the baby to move just by talking to him and it wasn't working. So, we got out the Doppler again and his heart rate was fine again.

Then my dad called at about 9:30 and asked if the baby had been moving yet. I told him no, he said I should call the doctor on call. Mr. R and I were headed out to Kohl's and he said I should listen to my dad and call. I hate calling on the weekends because I feel like I'm bothering them, but I broke down and called.

The doctor called back when we were in the car and told us when we got home for me to lay down in a quiet room on my left side for an hour and try to get 5 movements from him. We ended up turning around and forgetting the Kohl's trip and came back home.

Well, we didn't get 5 movements, we maybe got one. So, around 11:00 we called back and the doctor said to go ahead and go to the hospital.

On the way I was having more "Braxton Hicks" contractions and they were pretty hard. We got there and got settled in and hooked up to the machine and of COURSE he started moving! I knew that was going to happen and the nurse just laughed and said that it happens all the time.

I was still having more contractions so I asked her about them and she looked at the print out and said that there were a few that were actual contractions and didn't look like just the BHicks ones. Well, there ended up being quite a lot of those during the time I was there but they weren't consistent so the doctor didn't feel like anyone needed to check my cervix or anything.

They were really nice at the hospital and told us to never feel bad about coming in and that it's better to be safe than sorry. I know Mr. R was pretty nervous and so was my mom and dad. I started to get a little nervous the more contractions I started having but I didn't really think there was anything wrong with the baby because he wasn't moving. I just didn't want my kids to worry but when I called my mom at 1am she said they were both asleep. I told her if they woke up and needed to call me at anytime, they could.

We got home around 2am, I ate a banana and some wheat thins, took a shower and went to bed. There still hasn't been a lot of movement this morning and I've had some contractions off and on, so we'll see what happens today. I'm just glad that we found out that some of the contractions I'm having are real. I thought for a minute I was just being a wimp. LOL

I'm 29 weeks... 11 more to go! :)

Yet Another Birthday

Today is my little 2 year old daycare girl's birthday. She's a doll. She can't say my name so she calls me "honey". We don't know where she got that, because we're not around anyone who calls me "honey", but anyway, it's adorable!

I can't believe she's 2 already and it just reminds me how fast kids grow up and how fast my little baby will grow and how even though I really want this to be over, I should enjoy it because it's gonna go fast! I mean, I have a 15 YEAR OLD!! I should know this by now!

I had a wonderful birthday! I worked all day and then Mr. R came over and we met my parents and kids at one of my favorite restaurants. The food was good and they gave me a free piece of cake. :) Then we came back to my house, watched American Idol, had cake and ice cream and I opened my presents.

Saturday is my dad's birthday and then we should be done for awhile. People think they gain weight over the holidays... not us, we gain all our weight in March from all the cake and ice cream we have.

My kids are leaving again today. :( They were only home for 2 nights! When I tucked them in (yep, I still tuck them in every night - well, I hug and kiss them good night, I don't really "tuck them in") last night, I was sad because I knew I wouldn't be doing it again for a few more nights. It's hard when they're gone for more than half the week. Last time they were gone for 5 nights. That's just too long!

I have my glucose tolerance test tomorrow morning. I sure hope I pass it and don't have to take a second one. I'll also see one of the doctors and I'm going to ask him how big the baby is measuring and why I feel so out of breath all the time. It's not real comfortable when something (or someONE) is pressing up against your ribs. :)

Good news! I think we may have a name... and it's funny because I had dropped the whole topic for awhile because we just couldn't agree on anything, but then as we were driving home from the restaurant Tuesday night Mr. R started talking about it and mentioned some names that his mom had told him. One of them is a name I have had picked out for YEARS! I asked him about that name and he said he's liked that name for a long time too. I was shocked! So, we may just finally have a name! I'm not going to say what it is just yet because I don't want to jinx it. But for those of you who know me, it's the name I've always had picked out if I ever had another boy.

Well, I'm off to get laundry started and think about what we're going to have for lunch.

We're Gonna Party Like It's Your Birfday

So yesterday was Mr. R's bday. I won't tell you how old he is, I'll just say he's 5 years and 5 days older than me.

I took him out to eat, we came back here and he opened his presents and blew out his candles on his ice cream cake. He wasn't feeling good and I was stuffed from dinner so we didn't even have any of it. We checked ebay for some baby stuff, watched "Role Models" and called it a night. We're BIG party people!

Tomorrow is my mom's bday and I won't even get into how many years and days older than me she is. Cause I love her. And she's got my kids right now.

Anyhoo, I know the perfect gift for her, but they aren't in stock ANYWHERE!!! I rarely know what to get people and it figures that the year I know just what to get my mom, there are none to be got.

Tuesday is my bday. I will be 36. I was ok with 35... 36 is pushing it. I think I can make it a few more years, but then hitting the big 4-0 may be a rough one.

Next Saturday is my dad's bday. I have a few ideas for him. One I'm still looking into and I think he would really like, but I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to make it work.

PS- What's up with McDonald's and their Shamrock Shakes??!!?? Since when do you have to hunt for them? This is stupid! It's a yearly tradition (since my bday is on St. Patrick's Day) that I have one. Sorry Mickey D's, I'm not traveling all over the state to find your stupid shake! I mean it's bad enough you bring back the McRib every few months and then take it away... but this? This is just plain MEAN!

Here's some new belly shots from my last OB appointment. They are pictures of pictures because I don't have Mr. R's card.

T1's BDay - Baby Update - Etc.

Last Monday, February 23, was my first baby's 15th birthday. For his big day we went to Cincinnati with my parents, aunt Gail, uncle Mark and cousin Jer. It was a fun day!

We went to IKEA (where both boys got new beds), to the nation's 2nd largest mall (where we did a lot of walking), and then to TGIFridays for dinner (where we ate too much!).

I can't believe T1 is 15!!!! Next year this time it will be really hard to believe how old he's getting! I'm pretty sure I'm not ready to say I have a 16 year old. lol

I'm proud of T1! He's a great kid! Smart as a whip and FUNNY! He gets our family's sense of humor and enjoys it as much as gives it back. He's becoming quite the guy!

Luv ya toots!

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We had another OB appointment last week. The doctor we were suppose to see had to leave to deliver a baby so we got to see the one we've seen the most. He's real nice and told me I had "pretty" make-up on. Of course I was complaining because Mr. R was shooting pictures like crazy. (I really think it's sweet, but I can't let him know that!) At one point the doctor purposely stood in between me and Mr. R so he couldn't get any shots. It was funny!

The baby is doing good. I only gained 2.5 pounds since I'd been there a month ago. YAY!! I thought for sure I had gained at least 5-7, but I guess it's just ALL baby!

He (still no name yet) is kicking up a STORM! I was up a lot Saturday night because he was really kicking hard. I think he had me up from 2:30-3:30 and then again from about 6:30-8:00, just kicking and moving around. Needless to say we did not make it to church that morning. He was kicking so hard my sides were sore! Thankfully he's calmed down in the last couple of days.

My next OB appointment is in 3 weeks... I get to do the nasty glucose tolerance test. I hope I pass the first time because it's only an hour. The second one is about 4 hours, I think. I can't stand that stuff you have to drink. I still can't drink orange pop because of it.

After that appointment I'll start going every 2 weeks until the last month. I kind of hope it goes fast but I want to enjoy it too. This has been such an easy pregnancy! I thought for sure the older a woman got, the harder it would be... not yet. (knock on wood)

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Yesterday the boys were still at my parents so I spent the day running errands with Mr. R. We drove everywhere! We literally were in the car from about 12:30 to almost 10:00 last night. We had to go to his side of town and he had a ton of errands to run. He forgot he had an appointment with his lawyer so guess who got to go to that. :) After we were done there we went to Texas Roadhouse, did some more baby shopping, spent over $100 in MORE baby clothes at Babies R Us (this kid is going to be dressed good), and went to Dick's and both got new tennis shoes. Then we came back to my house, let the dogs out, checked some stuff ending on ebay and headed to my parents' (which is another 45 minutes away) to get the kids.

My parents bought a Wii and guess what the boys brought home. LOL My mom said her and my dad would be too busy to play it the rest of the week so we could borrow it until the weekend. LOL I've been playing bowling and baseball with the boys today and my little 4 yr old daycare boy has been playing it with us too. He is really good! They have one at home and you can tell he's played a lot.

We reserved 3 movies for tonight (Australia for Mr. R and I, Spongebob vs. The Big One for T2 and Max Payne for T1) I'm making sloppy joes for dinner. I'm not sure what we'll have with it, I'll probably run to the store after work and look for some stuff. I wish I had some of my mom's potato salad! Mmmm! I need to learn how to make that!

Tomorrow we're going to start cleaning out my room and making a place for all the baby stuff. I've got a pretty big master bedroom so it shouldn't be a problem. There's no reason for the baby to have his own room anyway because he'd never sleep in there. I keep my babies right by me for at least the first year.

Well, that's all that's going on with us! I can't wait for some spring weather!!

It's A Boy!

We had our ultra sound yesterday and it's pretty much 100% that it's a boy. His little hoohaa was sticking right up to show us what he was. This picture isn't very good, but you should be able to tell it's a boy. I'll have more pics once I get the card from Mr. R's camera.

One More Day

Hopefully by tomorrow afternoon we'll know what we're having. Neither one of us really care, but it will be fun to find out. Mr. R wants to go shopping this weekend and get EVERYTHING. That's nice, but what will we do for the next 5 months? I have a feeling that we're going to get really impatient towards the end.

We finally got snow yesterday. I wasn't really holding my breath but it happened. Not only did it snow, but the temps dropped too. It's -4 degrees right now. Brr!

Here's T2 doing what he does best... working outside. That child hates being trapped indoors and shoveling to him isn't work, it's fun. Why can't we adults think like that about more things in life?!

Goin To The Birds

I worked for the first time in three weeks yesterday. It was fun. I love the kids I have and it makes having to work a lot easier when you have good daycare kiddos. My 4 yr old daycare boy was so excited to tell me what he got for Christmas. It was so cute to hear him so excited about his new toys.

Last night me, Mr. R and the boys went to the movies. We saw "Yes Man". It was ok. Not hilarious, but not boring either. I really want to see "Mall Cop" when it comes out. I like Kevin James, he is so funny.

After the movies we stopped at Walmart and then ate at Arby's since everything else was closed or getting ready to close. We didn't get home until after 11:30 and I was ready for bed.

We got a little scare this morning. Mr. R had left around 12:30 and after he left I listened to the messages I had gotten on my home phone. One was from my OB's office and it said they had some results from my blood tests and needed me to call them back. Well, we all know that they don't call if everything is ok, they just tell you it's ok at your next appointment. Well, since I had just had my Quad Test on Friday, I started to get a little nervous. So I called Mr. R and he turned around and came back. I couldn't call them back until 1:00 because they close for lunch and let me tell you, that 30 minutes felt like 30 hours. Of course we were preparing ourselves for the worst (or I was - Mr. R is always positive) and we were just saying that whatever it was, we would be ok with it and we'd deal with it.

When I did call, I got put on hold a bunch of times but finally the nurse answered and told me they got some of my first tests back and it was showing that I am borderline anemic. Then she gave me the name of some iron pills that I needed to get (Slow Fe) and to take them for 60 days. We were SO relieved that that was all it was!! I can handle having to take some iron pills. Thank you Lord!

Of course Mr. R ran up to CVS right away and got them. I took one earlier and so far, so good. I've taken iron before and it's always upset my stomach so I'm hoping this kind of "slow release" iron will work better. (Although I can deal with an upset stomach for 60 days. It's better than having something major wrong!)

I'm a little surprised that I'm anemic because I do not have any of the signs. As a matter of fact, I've had more energy since I've been pregnant than I normally do. I haven't felt dizzy or had any of the other symptoms of anemia. Oh well, a little extra iron isn't going to hurt anything anyway.

Now I need to go try to find something to make with hamburger. I have a pound in my fridge that needs fixed before it goes bad. I'm really hungry for pasta with alfredo sauce... hmmm, wonder how hamburger would taste in alfredo? Maybe I'll make spaghetti instead and use it for that.

The picture below was taken by T1 (who by the way is an AWESOME photographer! The boy really has talent!) This is what we woke up to this morning in our backyard. Wonder where they all came from?!

Fun Weekend

Friday we had another OB appointment. I was a little nervous because it was with a doctor I'd never seen before and he had ordered the colposcopy. I didn't think it needed to be done, we discussed it and as long as he isn't doing biopsies, I guess I'll do it in a few weeks. He was really nice though and spent a good amount of time with us, answering some questions that we had and making sure that I understood everything. A big concern of mine is trying another VBAC. I guess we'll just see how big the baby is towards the end and go from there.

I only gained two pounds. Yippee! I'm surprised that's all I've gained considering I've been eating everything in sight.

We have another ultra sound set for Friday, Jan. 16. This one will tell us if it's a boy or girl. (Hopefully!) Everyone I've talked to thinks it's a girl. The doctor said if old wives tales are true, the fast heartbeat says it's a girl. I'm a little freaked out about that... I've got boys and that's all I know. We'll be happy with either though.

After the doctor's appt I had some last minute shopping to do. Then after that I went to my parents' house for dinner. My kids were already there and my uncle, aunt and two cousins came in from West Virginia. We had a yummy dinner, then me, the boys and my cousins all went to my house for the night.

Saturday morning we got up bright and early (6am) to go to Michigan to have Christmas with my mom's side of the family. We stopped at McDonald's for breakfast and got up there around 11:45. We had a great time with our family and getting another Christmas was pretty fun.

Later in the afternoon I went to Biggby Coffee with one of my aunts . I got a Mocha Mocha (Big Chill, I think?). It was pretty good. No Starbucks, but it wasn't horrible.

We got back to my grandma's and decided to go visit my grandpa's grave. It's hard to believe he's been gone for over a month.

We left around 5:30. My parents and uncle and aunt drove in their car and me, my kids and cousins drove in mine. My cousin Jer drove for me. That made me happy because I didn't want to drive. He also filled up my tank on the way up and back. Awww, what a great guy. (And single.... email me, ladies!) We stopped at Cracker Barrel on the way home. We were all so exhausted we pretty much went straight to bed when we got back to my house.

Sunday morning we got up early again, drove through Burger King for breakfast and headed to Muncie to go to church. After church we went to Damon's for lunch. Mmmmm, if you've never been to Damon's and there's one near you, GO! They have yummy yummy ribs and it's just a fun place to eat. They have huge screens up and you can play trivia games against other tables. We were actually in first place at one point. We took our two last names and put them together. (ClaMar)

After lunch the parents went home and me, the boys and my cousins went shopping. We went to Kohl's and I got 2 pairs of maternity pants and 4 maternity shirts. I am really starting to pop out, so I really needed them. My grandma gave me a Kohl's gift card for Christmas and Mr. R had given me money for clothes, so I was all set. I also had $20 in Kolh's Cash but they had expired on the 3rd. However, as I was leaving the lady behind me tried using hers and the cashier let her. So, I asked if she would let me use mine and she did. How nice!

After that we went to the mall and walked around. My cousin Steph road the "roller coaster", T2 took a bunch of stuff to Game Stop and my cousin Jer and the boys got pretzels from Auntie Anne's. I was stuffed from lunch but took a little piece off T2's pretzel.

After we were tired from shopping, we went back to my parents' house, played games, my aunt cut my hair, got Pizza Hut for dinner, played more games, got ice cream and then the boys and I headed home around 9pm. My uncle and aunt needed to leave early this morning so my cousins stayed there.

The boys came home and pretty much went straight to bed. They both fell asleep watching tv on their beds, so I just turned their lights out and set the timer on their tvs. I headed to bed pretty early too and tried to get some extra sleep to make up for what I lost getting up so early on Saturday and Sunday.

Today I did laundry, cleaned my bathroom, cleaned up the downstairs and went grocery shopping. I have to work tomorrow (first time in 3 weeks) so I'll probably try and get to bed early tonight too.

Hope your weekend was just as fun and enjoyable as mine! :)

Someone Is 12 ?!?!?!

Wow! I can't believe T2 is 12 today! 12? Really? When did THAT happen?

The poor thing had a rough night last night with a sore throat and stomachache and didn't get to bed until after 3am, so I decided to let him sleep a little this morning and not try to make it to church so early.

We did go to Muncie later. T2 wanted to have his birthday lunch at Cheeseburger In Paradise, so we met my parents there at noon. Afterwards, they took T2 back to their house and T1 and I went to pick up the cake and headed to Old Navy. T2 requested clothes from me, so I loaded up on sweats, long sleeved tees and socks. (He loves comfy clothes.) Of course I also put $12 in his card. Tradition.

We went back to my parents' and let him open his gifts. We had cake and sat around and talked for awhile. On our way home he wanted to stop by Best Buy. He got a WWE wrestling game and T1 got a dvd.

We came home and the house was freezing... it was almost 70 yesterday and today it's back down in the 30's. Crazy! No wonder I've had a headache most of the day.

Well, I need to get my laundry out and clean the kitchen up. Mr. R is coming over tonight and we're getting pizza and will watch a couple of movies.

First Ultrasound

Today was our ultrasound. This was scheduled early because they thought I was further along or there was more than one baby. Well, I'm not further along (darn!) and there's only one baby. This, after I spent all weekend convincing myself that twins would really be ok and it might just even be fun. I'm thinking just one will be good though!

So I'm 14 weeks and 3 days, my due date is still June 6 (although I'm sure that will change in the months to come - it always does) and so far everything looks good - I think. The technician said my placenta was on the bottom (instead of on top where it normally should be) and I asked if that was a problem. She said only if it's covering the cervix. And that was all she said. Great... give me something more to worry about.

More pics - compliments of Mr. R:

In the last pic he or she was trying really hard to get his or her thumb in its mouth. Awww! Too cute! When we first started the US he/she was on its belly but flipped around to his/her back about 10 minutes into it. We saw a very active baby today. My next US will be in about 6 weeks. We should know if its a boy or a girl then. Yay!