A Bookcase Sounds Good, Right about Now!

Sleep is an amazing thing, and it would be that much more amazing if I actually got to experience it!!!

Now, don't get me wrong...I go to bed at a decent time (normally no later than 10:00), and I'm able to fall asleep and drift off into a wonderful dreamy slumber. Until... the crying/screaming/thrashing begins roughly an hour later, and continues on through the night!

Yes...Kallen is not sleeping. I think I've told you all before a little about the little man's sleeping issues, but it's gotten so bad that we have a call into the pediatrician for a referral to the sleep specialist. If I'm not functioning on the amount of sleep I'm getting, then how in the world do I expect my 2 1/2 year old to function either?

I've been trying to figure out just what could be bothering him, and possible solutions to get him into a more restful sleep, but to no avail. We've tried white noise, black out fabric on the windows, no naps, shorter naps, even longer naps, no TV, no sugar...trust me, we've tried it all, and the only thing that seems to work is Benedryl or Motrin right before bed. Sorry...I'm not going to give him Benedryl every night just to get him to sleep better, there has got to be another way! It's been so long now, that his lack of sleep has compounded and I'm half expecting to find him like this one day...At least he'd be sleeping, right!!!

For the longest time, I've been thinking he was waking up with "night terrors", and that it was "just a phase he would grow out of" (doctors words). While it bothered me, I knew there wasn't really anything we could do about it. Now that I've kept a sleeping journal of sorts for the kiddo this last week or so...I'm not convinced!

Anyways...we're all cranky, feisty, irritable and just plain not fun to be around right now...so don't pity me, just be praying for sleep to find it's way into our house!

*update: As I was posting this, I looked over and found Kal on the couch like this! He's thrashing a bit, mumbling, and being just plain restless, but his eyes are closed, and he's unresponsive, so as far as I'm concerned...he's asleep enough for me!

Blessings,

Here's a Little Story...

...about a frustrated little girl, and her frustrated little mommy (okay...not so little...but it sounded good!)

Anyways...You see, this little girl (let's just call her Kynlee) is 9 months old, and really livin' life. She's full of spunk and personality! Greets people with a huge tooth filled smile every time, sings and dances whenever music is on, is talking up a storm (she says momma, dadda, Kal, and bye-bye clearly), and loves to play with her big brother!

The one thing Kynlee is not however, is as mobile as she (and I...oh wait...her mom) would like her to be. She's not crawling, nor is she walking, and as pleasant as that might sound...it's not. You see...she (this little girl Kynlee, that is) would like to be mobile, and gets RATHER frustrated when she's can't move about the way she would like. Does she roll you ask...oh yes! Does she scoot...uhhh huhh! Can she pivot and move about more than she makes you believe...indeed she can! Then why won't she? Ahhh haahhhh...the inevitable question!

Kynz sits down on the ground, immediately leans forward over her feet into what would look like a normal crawling position, the flops to her belly, and proceeds to scream as if her world has ended. Her parents have tried to let her get a little frustrated in hopes that it might make her a little more determined to move...but to no avail! The frustrated little girl, simply gets so mad she can barely breathe. We then prop her back up, only to repeat the process only seconds later. If she doesn't like her tummy so much...why doesn't she just stay sitting...or CRAWL...novel idea???

The one thing that does makes her happy EVERY time, is when she's standing up walking...with the aid of someones hands, the couch, or even a push toy...the problem...she can't crawl over to those items to get up on her own, and therefor is in need of constant assistance from someone who can help her! As much as I would like to...I just can't be by her side every minute of the day...just so she can be mobile. Talk about a 24/7 crutch...I am not!

I never thought I'd wish walking at an early age on any of my children...but I do! If she woke up tomorrow and decided to walk...that might just make my day!!!

Blessings,

He Must Get it From His Dad!!!

As I sit here...my TIRED, and oh so STUBBORN son, is once again (remember the egg incident)refusing to eat his lunch. Actually...we are now going on 2 hours (2 hours, 10 minutes to be exact), and he is still refusing to eat. He has been crying, screaming, picking his nose, twiddling his thumbs, trying to sleep (though I wont let him), and continually pushing his food away!

The thing is...he isn't necessarily refusing to eat because he doesn't want the food, but rather because he wants me to feed him. I tell him "no...you're a big boy", and the screaming fit starts all over again. You see...we have been very lucky that Kallen really hasn't shown any jealousy issues towards Kynlee herself, however he often gets jealous of the things we do for her. She gets carried a lot of places...when she cries, we try to figure out what's wrong...and yes, we feed her. Kallen has decided that he too needs to be carried, he needs to cry and whine if he needs something, and the only way he is going to eat anything is if we feed him as well.

The presently ongoing rebellion against feeding himself has now turned into an out and out power struggle and the fact that he isn't "winning" is really starting to anger him. He tried the "I need to go potty" trick, and I simply carried him into the bathroom, let him go, and carried him back to his chair where his oh so cold and unappetizing lunch awaited him.

2 hours 20 minutes now...I don't know about you kid, but I could go all day!!!

Blessings,

Sleep...What's That?

Okay, so this may be a lengthy post that quite possibly will seem like a pity party, but the reality is...I need/want to document this sleep deprived last few weeks, and needed a place to vent. Here I go...venting away...oh...and it's a little graphic...so be warned!

So...We'll begin back on Tuesday the 11th. Kallen woke up in the middle of the night screaming. I got him up, took him to the bathroom and laid him back down. A few minutes later he began screaming again and since I knew he didn't have to go to the bathroom, I let him cry himself back to sleep and didn't think anything of it. We left that morning for MOPS, and as we were getting out of the car Kallen looked at me with an "uh oh" look and threw up all over the sidewalk. Okay...turn the car around...lets head home! Turns out I went in to make his bed when we got home (since we were running kind of late and I didn't get a chance to do it before MOPS), he had thrown up all over sometime in the middle of the night (hence the screaming...).

Wednesday and Thursday he seemed to be fine, though he wasn't eating hardly anything at all (yes...even less than he normally does). Then Thursday night, after Kevin and I basically forced the little guy to eat dinner...he walked into the kitchen, looked at me with that same "uh oh" look and threw up yet again! Okay...I guess he is sick!

So began the sleeplessness! That night Kallen was up 3 or 4 times crying, screaming, and not sure what he wanted. Night 1.

Then Friday night around 11:30, Kynlee woke up screaming and Kevin and I found her face down in a pile of throw up. She had it in her ears, face, and all over her jammies and bed. We changed her and her bedding and not 10 minutes later...more throw up. This went on all night every 30 minutes or so until around 6:30 Saturday morning. The poor thing was throwing up so much we nearly took her to the ER since the "dry heaves" really weren't producing anything. Night 2.

Saturday, Kevin began to get sick and spent all day between his bed and hugging the porcelain goddess! He was not doing well! Now I'm dealing with a sick husband, 2 sick kiddos, and 1 healthy friend who I tried to keep "sanitized" all weekend as to not spread on the germs (We had Dawson for the weekend so his mom and dad could spend a special weekend together at the coast.) That night Kallen woke up around midnight needing to go to the bathroom...and boy did he. The poor little guy had gotten diarrhea. We were up every hour after that using the bathroom. Night 3.

Okay...most of the messiness out of the way now! No more throw up, and the the other stuff cleared up after a day or too as well...the sleep however...has never been the same.

Since that weekend, my precious children have been up at least 3 times a night each and rarely at the same time. That basically means I have been up 6 times a night for the past 2 weeks. Can you do the math on the amount of sleep I am NOT getting! AHHHH! Fast forward to Night 13!

I love my children, but I also love my sleep! Come on little ones...a little sleep would be nice.

Blessings,

45 Minutes...

...That's how long our "power struggle" lasted before Kallen gave in and ate his lunch yesterday. Now, I understand that many of you out there have had similar meal time battles, that may have even lasted longer than our short bout...but do understand, that for us...45 minutes was an eternity!

You see...Kallen tends to be a 2 second eater, and in fact, I'm pretty sure he may hold a record for the shortest amount of time sitting in his seat for a meal before he is done! If we get two bites out of him, it's a good meal! People ask me, "is he a picky eater", and the answer used to be "no". He will take a bite of almost anything you put in front of him, but that may be it...a bite. I never thought of it as him being picky, until a recent lightbulb went on.

Sometime the beginning of January, he started pushing his plates away saying "I no like it". Sometimes he would take a bite, and sometimes just look at the food, before pronouncing his disgust. I tried every food possible to see what he might like, and no matter what was put in front of him, the response was the same "I no like it".

Kallen mind you has a choice for breakfast and lunch. When he gets hungry, he comes to me and says "I need eat...me pick". (There for a while I thought maybe he wasn't hungry the times I thought he ought to be eating, so now he lets me know when he's hungry and that's when he eats). Dinner is dinner, and we eat as a family, so he has no choice there, but the rest of the day is all his!

Well...I've gotten so tired of throwing away food after he asks for it, that I finally got fed up, and put my foot down. (I know, I know...I'm a little slow). Anyways. He went to the fridge and asked for an egg. No problem. It was a hardboiled egg, so I cut it open and turned it into a deviled egg (one of his favorite things). Well...as soon as I got it made he started throwing a fit that he wanted to pick something else...No way mister...sit and eat your egg! So, I put him at the table, egg in front of him, and went on my merry way. He basically screamed at the top of his lungs for 45 straight minutes that he "didn't like it" and shouting "no", when I told him he could get down as soon as he ate the egg! One silly little egg!

I kept ignoring him, and finally about minute 44 or so...he gave in. He wasn't happy about "losing" the battle, but it was obvious I wasn't letting him off the hook! Man...Just eat kiddo!!!

Blessings,

Funny Hats, and Big Shoes

So, going out-n-about with the kiddos, just officially got hard. Up to this point, it's been relatively easy. Kynlee has been in her little carrier and I can set her down no matter where we're at: next to the car while I get kallen out, in the handicap stalls with us while I take Kallen potty, in the corner at MOPS so she can sleep, etc. etc.

Well, this last week, we decided that she was outgrowing her carrier, and it was time to put her in a big girl car seat! Good idea in theory, except for the logistic's of a two year old and a non walking 6 month old while we're out in public. Monday was the first time I went anywhere with both kids alone with our new seating arrangement...and let me tell you, I think I grew several grey hairs.

First was the fact that I couldn't really get Kynlee out first because I drive a big lifted rig and trying to climb up on the running boards with her in one arm all the while trying to unbuckle Kallen, would be a sight to see! If however I got Kallen out first, he would be able to run lose in the parking lot, and I think you can do the math there. Huh!

Then...what do you know, but the first store we walk into, Kallen needs to go potty. Fine, let's go...oh wait...what am I going to do with Kynlee? You see, he still needs help getting up and down from the toilet (especially public bathrooms where I really don't want him touching the thing), and I can't really sit Kynz down on the floor while I tend to Kal...gross...so once again, huh!

Getting back in the car...same dilemma. Kynlee first, then Kallen plays "frogger" with all the cars, Kallen first, and I look like a clown in a circus act, if in fact I don't drop either kiddo in the process.

So now it's Thursday, and I've simply decided to become a hermit! Okay, not really, but in all seriousness...we only go out when we need to. (Which was part of the "thinning out" plan was it not!) Then, when we do go out, it looks a little like this:

I unbuckle Kynlee first (she's on my side of the car), but leave her in her seat and run around and get Kallen out. Then Kallen comes with me and keeps one hand on the car at all times while I simply pull Kynlee out (much faster now that she's already unbuckled, and if Kal's 2 year old curiosity starts to take over, I'm not above the back seat spanking to show him how serious I am). Anyways...we head straight for the bathroom, where Kynlee rests straddled on one leg, while I prop Kal on the potty...talk about a balancing act! Then we're on our merry way. Same thing getting back in the car, Kynlee first, just sitting in her chair, then Kallen gets buckled in (and he's starting to be able to buckle himself, so that's nice) then I go around buckle Kynlee, and we're off. Hopefully the reminder note on my dash will prevent me from leaving Kynz unbuckled too many times! Oh, and the front pack and sling have also become my second set of hands...they just stay in the car so I never forgot them! Phew...I think we're figuring it out!

All that for a gallon of milk...who needs to eat, right!

Blessings,

Bite your tongue

Popcorn, soda and a little orange and black, to support the team, makes for a fun outing with the family...right??? Right...until the black looming cloud (the fans to our right) came "reigning" down!

Instead of finding a babysitter for this afternoons basketball game, Kevin and I decided to take the kids with us! We had a bag full of goodies, toys, popcorn to go around and were ready to cheer on our Beavers!

We sat down, Kynlee in the front pack, Kallen on Kevin's lap and the game began! The kids were happy, content, and not making a sound. Beavers have the ball, down the court, they shoot, they score!

Kallen: Clap, clap, clap "yeah, Beavers"
Rude, unhappy lady two seats to our right, talking to her equally rude husband: "Great...we're sitting by kids" sigh, glare, "hopefully they'll leave at halftime" sigh, "who in their right minds brings their kids to a game?" glare, shake the head, glare "well, what can you do?" more head shaking!
Kallen remains sitting quietly eating popcorn, while Kynlee is nearly asleep in the front pack!

Excuse me??? I can hear you. I didn't know this was a library! Pretty sure my son's clapping, and oh so quiet "yeah Beavers" is no louder or more distracting than any of the other fans around us! Isn't basketball a family sport?

I began to get angry, and wanted to call this woman out on her rude and inconsiderate assumptions of how the game would play out with children by her side, but thought better of it. What would yelling at this woman prove, and what would that teach my children who had no idea anything had transpired. I prayed that the Lord help me move past this, and that I "grow thick skin" as my dad always says, and enjoy the game. Moments later the seats in between us, and said fans, were about to be filled. While walking in front of us, and taking their seats, a different woman and her husband turned to me and said "you have such beautiful and well behaved children...what a lovely family!" Thank you Lord for helping me bite my tongue!

Sniffles & Tears

After more than two weeks of continual sneezing, coughing, and 3 boxes of Kleenex, I decided to take Kallen to the doctor. I was pretty sure they would just send us home with the normal "it's just a cold, wait it out" prescription, but instead we got "amoxicillon". It seems to be that the little man has a sinus infection. At least now there might be an end to the snot!!!

On another note...I'd like to send out a blessing over all you moms and dads who've had to deal with colic. Now...I'd like to clarify and say that neither Kallen or Kynlee has had colic, so I don't truly know what it's like...but if last night was even remotely similar, than my prayers are with you all. Here's how our evening went down: All was well in the house. The kids were fed, naps were taken, and toys were being played with. Then Grandpa and grandma came over to see the kids, and things went downhill from there. (not because of gma & gpa of course...having company just added to the LOUD chaos!)Kynlee began to get fussy, then fussier, then the fussiest she's ever been! She began screaming at the top of her lungs in a high pitched pain filled tone. There was nothing we could do to console her. She wasn't clenching her fists, or pulling her legs to her chest...and her abdomen wasn't even tight. She was just fired up! It was at least an hour of these non-stop tears before I finally gave her a bath (which always calms her down) and put her jammies on for bed. She hadn't eaten since 4:00 in the afternoon, but she was too upset to eat. After sitting in her room, trying to rock her, and bawling myself, I decided to swaddle her up tight, shut off the light, and pray for her little eyes to close and for sleep to be upon her! Thank you Lord...she fell asleep, and all was quiet again.

I have to admit that I laid awake all night waiting for her to wake up, and the tears to begin again. She woke at about 4:30 am (since it had been 12 hours since she last ate), I fed her, put her back to bed, and tried to enjoy some sleep myself! No more tears! Huh...Let's hope we don't have another evening like that! And to all you parents who've had endless nights like that...God Bless You!

Success!

Well...this is my 100th post, and for the past couple of days I've been trying to figure out something cleaver to post about. Maybe 100 things I've learned from blogging, or 100 things to blog about and possibly not blog about, etc. etc. I have come up with nothing however, so therefore I'll resort to writing about something very often found here on "So Anyways..."; my children!!!

Okay, so when Kynlee was a week or so old, Kevin and I decided to introduce her to a bottle. Kevin wanted to be able to participate in feeding her, and I thought it would be nice to have a break every once in a while!

She did great with the bottle and we had no problems! Perfect, she'll be easy just like Kallen! Well, after a few days we had company over, went on a couple of vacations, and quite simply weren't home in the evenings to continue our little routine. No big deal we thought...she took to the bottle so easily that she'll have no problems picking it back up again...it's just like riding a bike right? Wrong.

About a week ago, we realized that I have ounces and ounces of milk stored up in the freezer (a hundred or so to be exact) and that we hadn't been feeding Kynlee out of the bottle in a long time. We felt that it was time to start up again, just in case she forgot what to do. Well...too late. She just sat and played with the bottle, rolling it around in her mouth, and gagging when any milk came out. We tried and tried, and finally stopped when the screaming started!

All I could think about was "what were we going to do with all that milk (cream for your coffee anyone...just kidding)?" I had several people tell me that their kids never would take a bottle so not to worry about it. Well...I wasn't going to stop there.

We have been trying and trying every night for the past week (and I've been trying off and on during the day), and finally last night...Success!!!

We had some friends, Aaron and Hollie, over for dinner and football, and when it was time to feed Kynlee, Hollie offered to give it a go! After several minutes of playing with the bottle once again, she finally latched on and started drinking it! Yes...Persistence pays off right!!! Now she'll get a bottle every night, no matter whose around or where we're at...otherwise, what have I been pumping all that milk for!

3 Quarters

Have you ever had what I like to call a "turtle moment". One where if you were a turtle, you would climb into your shell never to emerge again. Well, I had one of those very moments, just the other day.

I was standing in line at the grocery store, with a full cart, and two kids who were more than ready to be done shopping. Just as the clerk began ringing up the last few items, I went to reach for my wallet, and what do you know...it wasn't in my purse. I instantly began having a panic attack (well not a real panic attack, just the kind where you want to disappear and go on with life as if it never happened.)

I told the clerk to "stop ringing things up because I didn't have my wallet." What does she say? "Well, how about a debit card or a credit card". "Uh yeah lady...they are in my WALLET". "Oh, how about your ID for the beer, and I'll ring everything up and set it aside". "Um...IN MY WALLET". Then I realized that I had opened the chips to give Kallen a little snack while we were in the store. She said "Well, we'll just void out the order", "fine" I said "except that I've already opened the chips, and I only have 3 quarters in my purse".

By this time my face was bright red, the people in line behind me were totally annoyed, as was the clerk, and the bag boy was looking at my like I was the worst human being ever.

I was hoping my wallet had just slipped out of my bag in the car somewhere, so I get Kallen and Kynlee out of the cart, leave my groceries behind and head out to the car to find the item in question!

There it was between the console and my drivers seat. We headed back into the store, actually equipt with some money this time, only to find that they truly had voided the entire order and needed to ring it all up again. I kept apologizing profusely to the clerk and bag boy, and they never uttered as much as a second hello. They just said "uhu". I grabbed my groceries, and the kids and headed out of the store totally flustered, annoyed and beyond embarrassed.

Life lesson #97...Always check for you wallet before heading into the grocery store!

A Day of Tests...and It's only 1:00

My darling adorable son has chosen today to test, test and test again, all the things he should and shouldn't be doing. Let's see...

First he woke up at 6:30, screaming at the top of his lungs. The waking up at 6:30 is a pretty regular occurrence around here, but today for some reason, it was exceptionally hard to get out of bed.

He then wanted some juice and something to eat...only he actually "wanted" everything to eat. First it was cheerios, so I pulled those out of the cupboard..."no, no no" he said. Okay, what then? Yogurt...fine, yogurt it is..."no, no, no", toast..."no, no, no",etc, etc. When he finally settled on some applesauce, only to once again want something else...I ended that game. Once we have started eating something, we don't get something else. Well, he had a fit, throwing his juice across the kitchen. Time out #1

Then he was on my bed watching a movie while I got ready for the day, and proceeded to dump my bedside water all over.

While loading the washing machine for some much needed laundry, he began unloading it just as fast. When I told him it was time to do the laundry, not take it out and that he should help me put the clothes into the washing machine...he hit my arm and said "no". Time out #2.

It was then time to feed Kynlee and while that was happening, Kallen was dumping his crayon box all over the floor and scattering them throughout the room, while looking at me with the "what are you going to do about it" look. I'm getting pretty good at doing things one handed mind you, so up I got...forced him to pick up every crayon, and Time out #3.

After the time out, he immediately ran to the table, picked up a crayon and began drawing all over the table, chair, and wall. Time out #4.

*At this point he's crying when I get up because he knows he has to sit in time out again.

I then tell him to bring a crayon and his coloring book over to the couch where I'm sitting and feeding Kynlee, and that I would color with him. Great idea...well that only lasted until I had to burp her and switch sides, which meant I had to let go of my crayon and stop coloring. He instantly threw the crayon across the room and himself onto the floor. Time out #5.

And it only kept going. While playing outside he started to walk over to the neighbors house, and I told him no. He looked at me, looked back at the house and began running away from me.

When he was finished with his lunch, he started throwing the remaining food all across the room. After he cleaned that up, he walked by his sister who was lying peacefully on her blanket, and kicked her arm. He then grabbed my lunch that was sitting on the counter and dropped it on the ground... after I told him he couldn't have a bite (he had already eaten his lunch and if he wasn't done, he shouldn't have gotten down). Once again he cleaned up that mess, and while I was putting things away, ran into my craft room, grabbed a pair of scissors and started cutting things with them.

NAP TIME...I put him down, only to hear banging and crashing all throughout his room the minute I left. After going into his room 4 different times, and laying him back into bed I simply grabbed Kynlee, went into my bedroom, shut the door and closed my eyes for a much needed nap.

I woke up, didn't hear a thing, so I poked my head into his room. He's out like a light, sprawled out across his bed.

Now here I am enjoying the monotonous motor noise of Kynlee's swing, the annoying chirping of the birds (which at this moment doesn't seem so annoying), and the light background noise of Kallen's radio. Oh the calmness of it all!!!

Hopefully when he wakes up, we can start over with a clean slate and not wear out the carpet in the time out corner anymore!

A Little of This, and a Little of That

After whisking our daughter off to the nursery, the doctors determined that my blood pressure was higher than they like to see, and that it only seemed to be climbing. They put me on a Magnesium Sulfate IV drip in hopes to "flush" out my system and bring down the blood pressure. The magnesium made me feel week, groggy, and all around crappy! I have never had high blood pressure in my life, so the news was quite a shock!

Due to the magnesium, and my level of instability, the doctors and nurses ordered to keep me in labor and delivery for another 12 -24 hours. They limited my visitors, kept lights and noise to a minimum, and continued to check my vitals every hour! Let me tell you how much fun that was!

In the meantime, Kynlee was checked out in the nursery, and released back to our room...Thank you Lord! They still felt that her respiration's were high, and they wanted to keep an eye on her, but the immediate "threat" seemed to be gone!!!

We spent the rest of that day, and into the next morning in Labor and Delivery, before they released us to the post-partum area of the hospital. The magnesium worked, and brought my blood pressure down to a safe level. Kynlee was able to join us in our room, and all was well! At this point, I was going "stir crazy" from being so confined in the hospital, that all I wanted to do was head home and be a family. The doctors were still watching my blood pressure, and unsure why Kynlee was still breathing so heavy, so our request was denied. We were cleared to go home the next morning, but not before! Oh well...I can live with that!

Kevin stayed home with Kallen that night, and Kynlee and I had our first mother daughter, overnight "date". Things went great! It wasn't until the next morning that things began to change.

It Must Have Been the Full Moon!

Friday night around 10:00, I started having "regular" contractions again. They were about 5 or 6 minutes apart, and slowly getting a little stronger. Now, if you haven't been following along with my other false labor tales, you might think that 5 or 6 minutes apart really meant things were progressing...not for me. 5 or 6 minutes is really a weekly thing for me...the quality of the contractions is what I've been looking at now.

They really weren't any stronger than my daily tightenings, but I was definitely aware of them. Well, around 12:00am, they started getting a lot stronger, and were now 2-3 minutes apart, and lasting 45-60 seconds. Strong enough that I couldn't sleep through them, and was needing the breathe a little with each one...Huh...could this finally be the start?

After a couple of hours of this, Kevin and I decided to head up to the hospital. We got there, got all hooked up to the monitors, and got checked by the doctor...3 cm, 80% effaced. Okay...so we've got a ways to go. The doctor wasn't nearly as discouraged as I was, and told me to walk and "hang out" for a few hours, then she would come back and check me again. Sounds great!

She came in, looked at the monitor, and said by the "strength" and consistency of the contractions, she was sure things would be progressing nicely...Here we go...3 cm 80% effaced. Sighhhhh. "Go home, get some rest, and we'll probably see you back tomorrow, if not in a few hours." Fine...No problems here...I'd rather be at home laboring, instead of listening to the lady down the hall screaming "ouch...ooooouuuuuch....this hurts.....ooouuuwwwwyyy...ouch, etc."

We went home, took a nap on the couch, and what do you know...woke up with NO, yes you read right, NO contractions. Okay, back at square one...the waiting game.

It must have been the full moon...There were 5 deliveries between midnight and 3:00am the night we went in, and there really wasn't even a room available for us. The Lord is looking out for us, and for our precious little babe. We want the best care for him/her and me, and if that means we don't get it for a couple of weeks, then so be it. After all...the due date isn't until July 12th, so we've still got some time.

Just thought I'd vent, and update you all!

Vivid Imaginations will have to do...for now at least!

Imagine nice green grass, clumps of birch trees scattered here and there, bright vibrant flowers, plants and bushes all around, a seasonal dry creek bed running along the beautiful new fence, etc., etc.,

Can't you see it!!! This is what our backyard actually looks like right now!












When we moved into our beautiful new house last September, our yard left much to be desired. The landscaping was not part of the purchase, leaving us to deal with the dusty, muddy "moat" that surrounded our humble abode! We at least wanted to get grass in the front yard before the winter came, and that we did! The front is getting there...not there yet, but we're getting there, and at least it looks decent to passers by!

The back yard on the other hand, looks straight out of a jungle. We have a seasonal creek that runs through the back yard, and before the rains came this year, we traded some work with Kevin's cousin who placed a culvert in the ditch, and covered it with fill dirt in order to give us the greatest square footage of grass. Yeah...It was beautiful.

Well, we miss judged the amount of water that flows through our little "seasonal" creek, and now we're back to square one. Kevin's cousin still owes us some time, but he's a very busy man...so now we're waiting. Once he can come place another culvert, and make an overflow creek bed, we can start doing things ourself. We need to drill some holes for the fence, move dirt around, build some retaining walls, bring in some gravel, set some concrete, prepare the ground, and get our yard going! Ahhh...we can't do anything until the ditch gets filled in, and we can't do that until the rain stops and it dries out.
So for now, we're waiting, and I get to look at our beautiful backyard each and every day...I imagine it of course!

False Alarm!!!

Sunday evening, we went over to some friends house, to help them install their new hot tub! I wasn't feeling the greatest...fatigued, sore, just kind of "blah". I told Kevin he was on "Kallen duty", because I didn't feel like I could chase him around their house all evening, and I was just going to sit in a chair in the corner and keep to myself! So I took it easy while we were there, and upon arriving home later that evening, I started having more regular contractions.

As I've mentioned before...I've been having miscellaneous contractions off and on for the past month or so. These were different. They were more consistent, and definitely more than just a tightening of the uterus like Braxton Hicks are. I went to bed, not thinking much of it, and woke up at 2:00 am with even stronger contractions that were 6 minutes apart, and lasting any where from 30-50 seconds each. Huh...I still have 4 1/2 weeks to go, and I was feeling a bit nervous that this baby was too early!

I called the "on-call" doctor who said to try and get some more rest, and to not be anxious about the timing. She said babies born at 36 weeks, and even before generally do "just fine", and not to worry! If I went to the hospital at that point, they wouldn't try to stop the labor, and I'd just be hanging out well before I needed to be there! Okay...I'll just try to get some sleep.

Yeah right! All that kept running through my mind was the fact that I was totally "not ready" for this little one to arrive, and I better get up and get some things done! We had just ran the dishwasher, so I needed to unload the dishes, my hospital bag wasn't exactly packed, and neither was Kallen's bag...oh Kallen...where's he going to go?, The birds cage and surrounding area need cleaned, the furniture should probably be moved so we can vacuum under it, etc., etc. Who wants to come home from the hospital with a brand new baby, and cheerios under the couch!!! Okay, so maybe I wasn't exactly thinking rationally. Kevin told me to calm down and just relax. Fine...a couple hours later, after counting contractions like a little kid counts sheep, I fell asleep!

I woke up yesterday morning, and like a mad woman started preparing for the possibility of our newest arrival! The contractions started to slow down a little, but they still weren't gone. I knew these weren't the kind of contractions to "write home about", but with the VBAC and possible complications, Kevin wanted to go see the doctor.
So we did. Everything looked great, the baby is doing great, and I'm 2 cm and 50% effaced. Well, as most of you know...women can be dialated 2 cm and more for several weeks before labor actually begins, so no big surprise. They sent us home and said I was in "false labor"! If I had wanted to go ahead with a repeat C-section, they would have admitted me then, and gone ahead and taken the baby...hmmmm tempting, but since I want to try and have a VBAC...no go!

Well...you all might be surprised, but in a way I'm relieved. I'm not fully ready for this little one, and to give up my one on one time with Kallen yet. Besides...each and every day that our little "bun" can cook, is better for them! Now don't get me wrong...I'm definitely uncomfortable and ready for this baby to "get out", but I want what's best for our little man or lady, and know it's all worth the wait in the end!

So here we are waiting for the "real alarm", and just riding through the false ones!!!

Patience...and earplugs are always a bonus!

So I'm having one of those "okay Lord...help me through this" kind of a day! We woke up early this morning in order to be at our company meeting (Kallen and I attend these when they celebrate someones birthday!). The meetings go from roughly 7:30-8:00 which was great for me this morning. You see, I had MOPS at 9:00, and this is our last "official" MOPS meeting until the fall. At the last meeting, we always have a potluck style brunch, and I was in charge of bringing an egg/protein dish. Well...you can't very well make an egg dish ahead of time, and let it hang out in the car for a few hours...who wants cold eggs...so I needed a game plan.

The idea was to run to my mom's house between the meeting and MOPS, prepare and cook the "egg whatever" that I had planned, then head to MOPS at 9:00. Great plan!!! Yeah, Great plan until Kallen decided he would scream the entire time I was preparing it, and wanted nothing but to be in my arms! Grandma took him outside to see the fish in their pond, and that calmed him down for a split second! He ate some eggs of his own and a banana, and was happy as a clam...for the time being.

We loaded up, headed to MOPS, and no sooner did we walk in the door and he let loose. The crying wasn't even stopping while I was holding him. Fit throwing sobs, while clinging on to me for dear life. All I wanted was to go to my final MOPS group of the year, not hear a peep out of Kallen, and actually enjoy myself...Huh...

I sat with him for a while, until one of the workers said she was taking a group outside. OUTSIDE...yes...Kallen's favorite place to be. He ran over to the door, with my coaxing of course, and out he went. That was my cue to sneak upstairs. Finally, freedom!!! I had about 45 minutes of that freedom, until I could hear him crying all the way across the building. Sure enough, up walks one of the workers carrying my bloody murder screaming son, saying, "sorry...we just can't get him to stop." Yup...I know the drill..."come here kiddo". So there Kallen sat with me and all the other ladies for the remainder of the time. It wouldn't be all that bad, except he kept crying, throwing fits, and whining every couple of minutes. Sigh...Deep breaths. 11:00, time to head home!

He falls asleep in the car, then wakes up an hour later and it seems as if he never stopped crying. For 30 minutes we walk around, looking at different things, trying a snack, some juice, anything to get the crying to stop. Nothing is working. His bulldozer isn't doing what he wants it to be doing (not sure what that was, but it wasn't doing it). The juice wasn't right, I was sitting not standing...etc, etc, etc. Ahhhhh...I decided to ignore him, and let him throw his little fit...The one he'd been throwing all day...so that's where we're at. Every couple of minutes he'll cry about something, then calm down for a few.

I think I may go curl up in my closet with a book, flashlight, and some really good earplugs!

Alaska - Installment #4

Here goes the not so pleasant final stage in our trip to Alaska:

Sorry if this turns into a LONG venting session for me. Hopefully you'll understand where all my ranting and raving comes from when I'm through!

Back tracking just a tad...When I went through the security checks in Portland, I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew that security was high, and that they were very particular about what is allowed in your carry-on. Due to that fact, I made sure that any scissors, clippers, tweezers and the like were in my checked luggage, and that my carry-on was free of contraband...so I thought. Well, getting up to the line I realized they were being very particular about liquids. You needed a clear bag with all your "liquids" in it, and there was a volume amount that was allowed. Being that we had such long layovers, I had all our bathroom things, shampoo, lotions, etc., etc. in my carry-on.

The line in Portland was really long, I had the stroller, a restless kiddo, our bags, and I definitely looked like I had my hands full. The security lady looked over my bag of bathroom goodies, kind of gave a funny look and said "these things are borderline". I told her sorry, I didn't know, and she let me through...no big deal. Well...Fairbanks, not so nice.

Here I am, saying goodbye to my friends, and anxiously awaiting the flight home to see one very missed husband and daddy. "Shoes, coats, blankets, things for the baby, and anything liquid in the tray please." Sure, no big deal, we've been through this before. Then came the problems...shampoo & conditioner, garbage, lotions, garbage, garbage, garbage, garbage. Gee, thanks for leaving the toothpaste and toothbrush at least! Fine, I understand, just let me get on the plane. "uh ma'am, you're going to need to come with us...we need to thoroughly check your bag." What...what do they need to check my bag for, because I'm carrying a toddler, my arms are full, and I just want to get home. Fine, check away. Out comes a sealed Apple juice box, my liquid foundation, and a sealed cup of mandarin oranges. "Why didn't you disclose that you had these things in your bag ma'am. These are liquid items, and we asked for all liquids." Are you kidding me...um, because I wasn't really thinking about it, and quite frankly I forgot. "Well, we need to confiscate them, and we need to bomb sweep your entire bag, stroller, and any loose belongings. Ahhhhhhh, fine...sweep away.

All clear, big surprise...Now we board the plane. Once again on the flight from Anchorage to Fairbanks we had an entire row to ourselves, which was a blessing from God as it turns out because of the roughness of the flight. Let me tell you...I haven't been on a lot of airplanes in my life, but this was the worse flight I've ever heard of. The turbulence was so bad that the flight attendants never left there seats, and the plane didn't stop rockin' and a shaken' until we landed. We had multiple "bags" (the little ones in front of everyone's seat...catch my drift) passed to the center isle, and the paramedics even had to be called for one lady because she was so sick, and so weak they were afraid to let her get off the plane. Thank you Lord we were on land!

We found our trusty Anchorage nursery room, laid Kallen in the crib, took a cat nap myself, then headed to our final plane. Plane number two also had major turbulence issues, but nothing like the seat mates I had next to me. I'm already rambling enough, so I'll save that little story for another time...it's a duzzy. Needless to say, we didn't have an extra seat next to us, because the entire flight was full, so that was an interesting dynamic to add to the flight! Kallen did fine, slept on my lap almost the whole time, and woke up just in time to see the lights of Portland. Remember I mentioned this earlier...Here's the daddy story. It's 5:00 am, the entire plane is silent and everyone is asleep. Kallen finds the window shade and thinks it's funny to open and shut it, open and shut it. Fine, he's being quiet, and he's not disturbing anyone. Then we see the lights and I simply say..."look Kallen, we're almost home. My precious son blurts out in almost a scream "dadda". Wow...that woke everyone up around us. Then he proceeds to lift the shade up and down, and every time he pulls it up, he yells "dadda" again and again. I tried to get him to stop by distracting him, but all he wanted was his dadda and he was going to let everyone know!

We landed safe and sound, Kallen got to see his daddy, and we climbed in the car headed for home sweet home! It was a great trip, but we were glad to be home!

Thanks for listening to my rambling during these Alaska installments. We hoped you enjoyed reading all about our trip.