Birthday Weekend Down South

A couple of weeks ago we went down to visit John’s parents and celebrate his brother’s 25th birthday. It was such a fun trip because his entire family was there. We got to spend the weekend with everyone and relax, which is something that we haven’t done in a while.

My in-law’s came to pick the kids up Friday morning to take them down. They had Kylie and Josh and my nephew. My sister-in-law, her daughter and Ryan and I headed down a few hours later.

Once we were all down there the kids went right to their normal play things…Kylie and Carson (my nephew) had their office/school in the back room and Joshie was playing with the little people.

And of course there was the traditional tea party...

John and my brother-in-law came down later that night. It was a packed house but it was fun!

Saturday morning John and the kids and I headed into town to have family pictures done on campus with my family. We had a professional photographer take some pictures with the beautiful leaves as our backdrop. I still have to figure out which ones I want to order :)

That afternoon the kids played outside and I did some work. John's dad took the kids on a bike ride.

Ryan did a lot of this:

John’s other sister and husband came down and we all headed out for dinner for his brother’s birthday. After dinner everyone else left to go back home. John, the kids and I stayed another night so we got to really relax. I took Ryan over to my parents’ house for a little bit because both of my sisters were down and so was my sister’s ex-boyfriend who we are all still really good friends with (including her and I wish they would just stop the “friend” business and get back together!).

Sunday we headed out for breakfast and over to see my parents’. After a few hours there we came back to John’s parents’ house and enjoyed the beautiful fall weather. The kids were outside with my in-laws playing in the woods over the creek (which Joshie kept calling the “cricket”). We all headed up into the woods for a little walk and John showed us all the places he and his friends had played when they were little.

John, Ryan and I headed out later that evening and Kylie and Josh stayed with John’s parents one more night. John and I stopped to eat and it was so weird just having one kid again…we couldn’t remember going out to eat with just Kylie when she was the little!

I picked the kids up the next day and I couldn’t tell who was more worn out…the kids or grandma and grandpa :)

It was a great weekend and I really hope we get to do it again sometime!

Great Kids!

I want to take the time to brag about my kids. I know I say that I have the best kids a lot on here, and it was proven to me again twice within the last week.

Last Monday we had our big filing at work. I had to go into the office because I have to sit with our admin and go over the document. I got up early that day and got the kids up and dressed. We packed toys and snacks and headed out. I got to the office around 9:00 AM and planned to be out of there before lunch.

The kids took up two cubicles by our admin’s desk, which also happened to be two doors down from my boss. Luckily she has four kids and didn’t mind the kids being there at all. So between working on my filing I did potty breaks, changed diapers, got new toys out, started movies and got snacks. While at times I was annoyed with all of the requests, the kids were absolutely wonderful. People kept coming over and telling me that they didn’t even know we were still there because of how quiet they were. My boss kept coming out and telling me and them how good they were. Ryan really was the worst at needing to eat and changing a ton of diapers!

Unfortunately, lunch time came and went with no signs of being done. The kids were still doing great, especially since I didn’t have any lunch for them. Luckily I had packed some granola bars, cereal bars, and most importantly, Halloween candy! Our admin kept laughing at my as I kept allowing them to have some candy because it kept them happy and occupied!

Finally, around 5:00 we left my office. I promised the kids McDonald’s because of how good they were, so we picked up John and headed there for dinner. I really just couldn’t get over how good they were and I still brag about it to anyone that asks me how work was :)

The second instance of how good my kids was just a few days after that. I always go to the outlets to get my kids’ clothes. I save a ton of money and get it all done in one day. With work, I hadn’t been able to think about doing it until after I filed. Luckily for me, the week I filed was gorgeous and the weather was in the 70’s (the outlets are outside). Unfortunately for me my mom and Kylie are on different schedules. My mom teaches the days that Kylie is not in school. And I was determined to go during the week because I had heard from a few people that this particular set of outlets changes their prices on the weekends (not as good deals). So I had to brave the outlets with three kids by myself!

We loaded up and headed out around 9:15 AM. The outlets are about an hour away, so we got there shortly after they opened. It was nice being there that early because I got the first store all to myself! The kids could run around and they weren’t bothering anyone. They did so well with their toys and snacks!

I made sure to give them some time to run around outside in the grass between stores, and we ate lunch around 2:00. We hit more stores, getting great deal after great deal. Again, the kids listened, and helped – Kylie opened every door for me since I was pushing the huge double-stroller. They were absolutely fantastic! We ended up leaving at closing time (9:00 PM) and Kylie even stayed awake the whole way home.

I know there are lots of parents out there that could never do what I did with their kids. I’m very, very thankful to have such great kids!

Halloween 2008

What a day!

I started Halloween day out working in the morning, so that was very stressful. Luckily I finished just in time to take Kylie to school. So I got her dressed up in her costume and off we went! Our trip was sidetracked to the nurse’s office when we noticed that Kylie’s ankle was bleeding because her new purple sparkly shoes were hurting her ankles (even though she assured me 100 times at the store that they DID NOT HURT).

When Josh and Ryan and I got back, I got ready for Kylie’s Halloween party while Josh took a nap. After his nap we headed over to Kylie’s class and watched as the kids made pumpkins. Josh got to make one too which I thought was really nice. John and my dad ended up coming over at that time, so Kylie had a lot of family there! After she was done with her craft they got to eat some cool Halloween food and then play a game. After that we got to take Kylie home early.

Once we got home I got right to work making Chicken and Noodles for our court party. Every year the neighbors on the court have a potluck where we all bring food out and hang out together with our candy in front of us. I really look forward to it every year. I got a little down when our one neighbor called and said the kids had strep throat…but thankfully they were still allowed to trick-or-treat, they just had to keep their distance from the other kids (that didn’t happen, but thankfully my kids did not get sick!).

We got the kids back into their costumes and headed out. We ate some food and then got ready to go trick-or-treating. The sad thing about this year was that our good friends were not there since they have moved. Luckily we got to see them the weekend before, but it still wasn’t the same without them.

We all headed out trick-or-treating together as a court while my mom stayed back with Ryan (who was not dressed up because I couldn’t find Josh’s first Halloween costume and it didn’t matter anyway…he slept through the whole night!).

We were out for about an hour and a half and the kids had a blast! There were 6 of them in total that were going out together. When we got back the adults sat around the fire while the kids played. Then we rounded them up for baths and they went over with my dad to his house to go to bed. The rest of us hung out around the fire for a while until it was too cold for my mom and Ryan and I. We went inside and snuggled on the couch.

It was a great Halloween night!

Then Saturday night John and I went to a 80’s Halloween party at his sister’s house. Can you guess who we were dressed as???

Ryan Update...

I'm sorry it's been so long since I posted...I am actually doing work right now - so for the next week and a half I am taking care of three kids while working full-time from home. To say I'm stressed and at the end of my rope would be an understatement :)

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Yesterday was Ryan's one month check-up (yep, he's one month now and it's KILLING me!). Here are the stats:

Weight: 10 lbs. 7 oz. (75%) (he gained 2 lbs. since his last visit!!!)
Height: 21 1/2 inches long (50%)

He's doing fantastic! He's so adorable and sleeps really well (except for last night when he had me up for two hours)...he usually eats every four or five hours, so I get nice chunks of sleep which is very appreciated.

He smiled at us for real for the first time yesterday!! Kylie and I were playing with him and he was smiling at us, and then John didn't believe us so he tried and Ryan smiled at him too! Isn't it amazing how kids can get even cuter just by smiling?

Kylie and Josh are doing well...getting a little better with the noise level and just getting used to Ryan being here.

When I have a free second I will write about the fantastic weekend we had down at John's parents house. John's whole family was down there for his brother's 25th birthday.

A Fun Wedding Weekend!

I’m doing much, much better…thank you to all of you and your kind words.

This past weekend we headed to Rochester, NY for the 8th of my 9 cousins’ weddings. What was supposed to be a six hour trip took us 7 ½ hours to get there and about 10 to come home :) But we “enjoyed the journey,” which is all that matters!

The kids had a blast staying in the hotel and I really enjoyed seeing all of my family. The wedding was Saturday afternoon, and then we all headed over to my aunt’s house for a few hours until the reception started. She had wonderful snacks, football, and great family…it was the perfect afternoon!

For the reception, my aunt had gotten us a babysitter for Kylie and Josh (we took Ryan to the reception with us). We had a great time…it was very relaxed and we got to spend a lot of time with my aunts, uncles and cousins.

Afterwards we went to pick up Kylie and Josh. My aunt had already gone back home and the babysitter was getting ready to leave. I paid her and she went on her way. My aunt came up to me and asked if I had paid her and when I told her I had she was horrified because she had paid her too! This girl, who had done nothing but talk about church and her missionary work earlier, took money from both of us! I tried giving her the benefit of the doubt…thinking she would come back the next day and give one of us our money back, but she didn’t. I felt really bad for my aunt because she shouldn’t have paid her to begin with!

The next morning we went back over to my aunt’s house and hung out some more. My uncle took the kids down to the farm to see the animals and the rest of us just relaxed. We headed out around 1:30 PM and pulled into our driveway around 11:30 :) It sure is annoying traveling with a newborn that cries every couple of hours! But like I said, we did it without killing each other and John and I actually had a good time.

Hopefully the fun and good times of the weekend last me throughout the week as I get back into trying to find a routine…and a place for Ryan to sleep where the other kids won’t wake him up!

Gasping For Air...

I’m completely and totally exhausted. Not from lack of sleep or from my new little guy, but from my other two kids. I love my kids, of course, but I have never been so worn out as I am right now.

They are loud. They are demanding and apparently they don’t need much sleep. I spend my entire day running around after them and cooking and taking care of them. I think they’ve gotten worse since Ryan has been born…spending days with them has never, ever worn me out.

I feel so guilty for feeling like this. I feel like I’m constantly yelling at them and telling them to be quiet, or careful or to stop fighting. I want to have fun with them. I want to enjoy my time off. But I also want to enjoy Ryan.

Even my laid-back, easy-going little Joshie is completely wearing me down. He doesn’t stop talking, which normally is perfectly fine, but when I don’t get a moment of peace and quiet, it really starts to wear me down.

I’m hoping things will get better in the next week or so. I wish John wasn’t so busy and was able to take time off work to be with us. I wish I had family closer that could give me a little break.

I will be fine…I know that. I just wish I knew when I will start feeling better and more like myself.

Ryan's First Bath...

Today we gave Ryan his first bath. I was dying to know if he would be like Josh and like baths, or like Kylie and hate baths. Boys are winning so far...Ryan did not cry once while in the tub and seemed to enjoy himself.

Heading Out...

I had a major accomplishment the other night…I took the three kids to the grocery store…by myself. I was nervous, but John had poker and we were quickly running out of diapers and wipes, so I had to go.

I loaded the kids up and headed out. When we got there, they wanted to go in the TV carts (the kids sit in a car and get to watch shows such as Dora and Barney). Luckily for me there were two sections up top…one where I could put the carrier with Ryan, and another for a small amount of groceries. Thankfully I wasn’t planning on buying much!

We slowly made our way around the store. The kids were fantastic and Ryan slept the whole time. The only issue we ran into was at the end Joshie said he had to go potty and the check-out lines were so long…so I pulled the cart over to the side and told them we would go potty and then check out. Kylie was so cute when she very seriously looked at me and asked “what if someone steals our baby?” I of course informed her that Ryan would be accompanying us to the bathroom :)

The whole trip took us about two hours, but I can honestly say it was fun. We have put Josh in a booster car seat, so getting in and out of the car is pretty easy and everyone was in a good mood. Ryan saved his screaming for once I got him in the car and for the whole ride home :)

Family Update...

I’m sorry it’s been so long since I’ve updated. I’m trying to get into some type of routine that will allow me time to both post and catch up on everyone’s blogs. We’ll see how that goes :) Right now my days are spent feeding and changing Ryan along with entertaining the other two. To say I'm absolutely wiped out at the end of the day would be an understatement :) But I'm loving every minute of it!

Ryan is now 9 days old…I can’t figure out where the time has gone already! I am having so much fun with him and truly enjoy every minute I spend with him. He’s such a good baby so far (crossing fingers).

This past weekend we headed down to our parents’ houses for OU’s homecoming. Little Ryan was dressed in OU apparel as were the other kids. We had a ton of fun at the parade and then the football game. It was also nice just hanging out with our parents and siblings.

This is the annual Homecoming picture we take of the kids (once they're able to walk that is...Ryan will join in hopefully next year).

First Couple Days of Life...

Wow, what a crazy last couple of days!

My hospital stay was nice…we had fantastic nurses the whole time, and surprisingly, hubby and I got a lot of time alone with little Ryan. The only problem was that he really didn’t want anything to do with sleeping in his bed at night. The first night I only got about 2 hours of sleep, and the last night I got about 4 1/2, only because at 4:00 AM I finally sent him down to the nursery and told them to feed him a bottle when he got hungry!

Thankfully, last night was not so bad. He is doing pretty well sleeping in his bassinet, so I was able to get some sleep between feedings and diaper changes. He is a fantastic eater, so thankfully that has been very easy on both of us!

And since I now have two sons I’ve decided to start using the names of my family members. Originally I had hoped this blog would be anonymous, but since that is not the case, I have no reason to not use real names (plus it will be much less confusing going forward). My hubby’s name is John, my daughter’s name is Kylie, and my oldest son’s name is Josh.

We are now home and today was fantastic. Kylie had school, so we walked her there and then Josh, Ryan and I hung out all day together. Josh and I played down in the playroom for about 3 hours and then headed outside. After that it was nap time and then time to pick Kylie up from school. I just had so much fun! Josh is such an easy kid, and it’s amazing how miserable I am when I’m pregnant…I feel like now I can do anything and I’m not uncomfortable. I know Josh is really appreciating the fact that I’m no longer pregnant.

Thankfully John told me that he’s really only interviewing new technicians this week and not doing anything else, so tomorrow he’ll be home most of the day, which I’m really looking forward to.

That’s about it for the updates…I’ve taken some cute pictures of Ryan, but I’m currently unsure of where the card reader is. Hopefully I’ll be able to post some new ones tomorrow or the next day.

He's Here!!!

Ryan Mark

8 lbs. 10.6 oz

19.5 inches

After a very long day Ryan finally came out at 5:03 PM with 5 contractions and the cord wrapped around his neck twice.

After he was born it was so nice and peaceful. For the first time, there were very few people in the delivery room - hubby, me (obviously :) ), doctor and one nurse. After I delivered him they put him on my stomach (on top of mats - I'm not into the messy stuff) and he just laid there looking around and he finally let out a little cry.

After they cleaned him up a little they let me hold him and feed him with no one else in the room. It was the most calm and peaceful time I've ever had post-delivery.

Thank you to all of you who were keeping up with me all day. It was long, but totally worth it!

It's 4:20 PM...

Hubby again. Still no baby. Deb is 9 cm and we are getting in the "home stretch". It shouldn't be much longer now...

Third Update...

It's 2:10 and I've been chilling for a while now. My water was broken around 1:10 and I was 4 cm dilated. I'm really hoping that things will be moving along quicker now, but who knows!

2nd Update

Hubby here. They just gave Deb the epidural. They are going to break her water in about 30 minutes. She is in great spirits and had me do this post only because they are making her lay down. I will keep you all updated…

First Update...

I have wireless access at the hospital!!!

For our last night as a family of four we went out to dinner with my two sisters and my one sister’s boyfriend. My sister actually ended up buying us all dinner, which was really nice. We went to Cheeseburger in Paradise, which is one of my favorite places (although I was desperately wishing I could have one of their fantastic alcoholic drinks…one more day!).

We actually stayed up until about 11:30 packing and getting ready. I was back up at 3:30, so I didn’t get much sleep which I’m feeling right now.

When we got here at 5:00 AM, the check-in lady informed us that there had been 4 deliveries already this morning (a lot for this hospital), so I had to wait until they had room/staff for me. Another lady came in to be induced as well and had to wait too.

They finally called us back at 6:30 AM. We did the paperwork and then went back and got settled in our room. I had my IV put in and answered some more questions. We were right in the middle of shift change by this time, so we actually had three different nurses in here. We brought them all a couple dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts, so they all loved us :)

The nurse checked me and I’m still 2 cm dilated. They then called my doctor and got the orders to start my pitocin. My contractions are getting up to “8” at times, so I’m feeling them! My fantastic nurse informed me that I can have my epidural whenever I want it and she’s in the process of super hydrating me in preparation for it.

My sister and the kids will be here in about ½ hour and everyone else will be following shortly after.

I will keep updating as things progress :)

Tomorrow's The Big Day!!!

As I was driving into work this morning, I realized that tomorrow morning we would be making the same drive tomorrow morning. Only tomorrow there won’t be any traffic, because it will be 4:30 in the morning. It will be pitch black. We will be both nervous and excited as we make our way to the hospital.

Tomorrow’s the big day! Am I ready? Nope, not yet :) The car seat is now put together…we just have to get the base into the car. I will pack our bags today when I get home from work. I will get the presents for the kids ready then as well (I got my daughter a set of newborn twin dolls and a doctor’s kit for them, and my son some coloring stuff and some magnet-toys he loves). I have my manicure and pedicure appointments at 4:30 today :)

But I’m definitely ready to be done being pregnant! I’m sick of being so big! So wish me luck and please keep me in your prayers. I pray that this epidural works just as good as the past two have, and that it’s a fast labor and delivery.

I am planning on posting live updates throughout the morning, so feel free to stop by periodically tomorrow…you’ll be able to find out what this little baby is and how big it ended up being :)

It's a Good Thursday!

I’m in such a good mood right now! I just had my last real meeting for work, and hubby gave me the Mama Mia soundtrack, which I listened to the whole way to work and am listening to right now :) There’s just something about musicals that put me in a good mood!

Last night was gymnastics for my daughter. She was doing fantastic jumps on the beam! I felt bad for her though, because she is by far the smallest girl in the group, and they were doing stuff on the high bar and on the rings, and you have to lean way over to grab those things and she was just too short! The teacher would have to come over each time and help her out. But once she got on them she had a blast! She even rung the bell for the first time because she did something new (they get to ring a bell when they do something by themselves for the first time and everyone in the gym claps for them).

Afterwards my sister and her boyfriend came over to play with the kids so that we could run to the store and then sort through some baby clothes. They were such a huge help! Hubby and I got through a bunch of stuff and thankfully the car seat has now been brought out and was washed and is currently drying. So we’re getting closer to being ready (I mean come on, we still have 42 hours until we have to be at the hospital…plenty of time, right?).

Now off to finish my work so that I can be ready to get out of here at 1:30 tomorrow!!!

Gender Predictions and Thoughts...

People often ask me what I think this baby is (boy or girl). Or they ask me what I hope it is.

With my daughter, I had a very strong feeling she was a girl. But even when people asked me what I thought it was I said I didn’t know. And I desperately wanted a girl…but I never told anyone that…because I was scared that if it turned out to be a boy, people would think I was sad or unhappy, which would not be the case at all. And I was scared to be wrong. I mean come one, shouldn’t a mother have some idea about what gender her baby is? Even though I know that makes no sense, it’s what runs through my mind.

With my son, I had a very strong feeling he was a boy. When the doctor announced it was a boy I was not surprised at all. But again, I never told anyone this because I was scared to be wrong.

With this one I have a feeling what it is. I still don’t want to tell anyone because I’m still am scared to be wrong. Isn’t that weird? I mean really, who cares? But the weirdest thoughts I have are when people ask me what I would prefer. I think it’s a fair question, especially now since we have one of each.

When I think about which I would really prefer, another boy or another girl, my thoughts automatically say “girl.” But I honestly can’t figure out why. Another girl would mean a sister for my daughter, which I think is so important (not necessary, but would be very nice), but it would also mean another girl to take away the spotlight from my daughter. Another girl to steal my daughter’s stuff; girl fights and more of the drama that automatically comes with girls. And then my mind goes on to think about how much joy my son brings to my life. He’s my boy. Those huge brown eyes get me every time. He protects me and takes care of me. He’s so easy! He was such an easy sleeper and is so laid-back. He’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever laid eyes on!

So why is it that my thoughts still immediately say I want another girl? Before my son I chalked it up to the fact that girls were all I knew (I grew up with two sisters), and it scared me having a boy. But now that isn’t the case.

Oh well, I guess we’ll find out what it is in a few short days :) Anyone want to put in their guess as to what this baby is?

The Tradition is Back!

Last night was the start of Monday night football in our house. This weekly tradition started back when my daughter was just one, and has continued on since then. It was especially nice because my daughter’s school was closed due to the massive power outages our city is still experiencing, so she didn’t have to go to bed early.

Hubby gets the kids all ready for bed, and then they go down and pick out their snacks. They picked fruit chews and popcorn (and my son was super excited because he found a Hershey’s kiss too). They watched the popcorn pop in the microwave while hubby poured them some ginger ale (they get real pop!).

After the snacks are all ready we head over to the couch and watch football. Now I really don’t like football. I never have. So this has usually been my time to go off and do something by myself. And last night I had a huge task in front of me: Sorting through all the baby clothes in the basement to look for the coming home outfit and to be ready so that once we know what this baby is, we can wash all the corresponding newborn clothes.

But the kids were so cute as they watched the game, and I was in a lot of pain, so I sat down with them and had a blast! My son didn’t watch as much of the game as he played his own game of football. He was running and throwing so hard that he was sweating! He would play, and then run up and sit on the couch next to me so he could rest. It was so adorable!

So I didn’t get any of the clothes sorted. But I had a great time relaxing with the family and watching the kids have fun. Maybe I’ll get the clothes sorted tonight…:)

Our Last Weekend as a Family of Four!!!

What a weekend!

Friday I took a couple of hours off and headed home early. I spent some time with my mom, and then my son and I headed off to pick up my daughter from school. It was raining a little, so we had fun walking with our umbrellas :)

When my daughter came running out the door, she asked if her friend could come over to play (as she had previously done when I picked her up). I told her that I thought I would be running to the store, so then she asked if she could play over at her friend’s house. So basically my daughter ditched me! My son and I walked back home with an added backpack but without “sissy.” It wasn’t so bad though because my son and I played and read books together.

Hubby came home and we headed out to pick up my daughter and go to dinner! After dinner we headed to Babies R Us for the first time to really get stuff for this baby! The only thing I haven’t gotten yet is a diaper bag, but I looked at them! We got some new BPA-Free bottles (it stinks we have to throw all our old ones away!) and a new diaper genie thing. We were also having some problems with my son's carseat and moved him up to a booster seat. He looks so big now! And as an added benefit, it is so much easier to get him in and out of the car!!!

Saturday we woke up and really cleaned up the house. We were having a party for the USC game that night, so we went nuts cleaning and organizing the house. Hubby swore to me that I wouldn’t have to lift a finger to get ready for this party, and for the most part, he was right…everything I did was just because I wanted to (my scrapbook room desperately needed organizing!). We then ran some errands and came back to finish up before people got there.

The party was a blast! The guys played Wii, the girls hung out around the food and talked, and the kids played PERFECTLY together! We had a total of 8 kids and two babies, and there were absolutely no problems the entire night. It was so nice! It’s just too bad the Buckeyes did so horribly :(

Sunday, after church, my son and I took a nap and then one of John’s friends came over for a while. Around 3:00 the power started flickering on and off, which was really annoying, and then it finally went off around 4:00. We didn’t care too much as we headed over to hubby’s sister’s house for a birthday party for hubby’s uncle. The wind was absolutely crazy and his sister didn’t have power either. Luckily it was not raining, and still light enough that people were outside for a while, or just hanging out inside. We had a great dinner and had a good time hanging out with everyone.

We came home around 7:30 and there was still no power! I hate to say this, but I was really at a loss as to what to do! We took the kids outside for the last few minutes of daylight. For a while, the kids and I just sat on the porch and talked and played together. I had so much fun just listening to them…since there was absolutely nothing else I could do, I was forced to just sit, and I had such a good time! After it had been dark for a while, we came in and read some books by flashlight :)

Around 9:30 the kids went to bed and so did we. Thankfully, our power came back on around 3:00 AM, and I say thankfully because there are tons of people in this city that still don’t have power and may not have it for a week! Unfortunately my office has power, so off to work I went this morning :)