New Job!

Yes! Finally after 2 years of trying to find something more permanent than photography, and after 1 & 1/2 years of trying to get into the teaching field, I FINALLY LANDED A FULL TIME JOB! I'm working back in human resources and payroll and working for a non-profit company, Tampa Jewish Federation. The position encompasses processing payroll and human resource management for both the Federation, which includes numerous community service programs, 2 preschools and several summer camp programs; and the for-profit assisted living facility, Weinberg Village. I'm very excited to go back to work full time and earn wages that I can support myself and my daughters with. It has been over 5 years since I have been in the HR field and admittedly, I have a lot to catch up on. But my HR mentor and friends has assured me that it really is like riding a bicycle and I'll be back up to speed in no time!

Thank you to all who have said numerous prayers for this very event for the last few years! God is very good and is faithful. He never promises speed, He never promises to do things in our time or meet our demands, but rather what furthers HIS kingdom. I'm interested to see what things He has in place for me where I have landed! Keep those prayers coming!

Neurology Visit ~ EEG Test

Having an EEG test performed looks a little scary, but really doesn't afftect the patient very much, barring the sticky goop that ends up all over your head. It also looks really quite funny! Amelia had all these probes all over her head and then they wrapped her up in gauze. In hindsight, I should have taken a picture! She looked like a lab monkey!

I watched the lines on the test and my grandmother held Amelia. I don't know what I was looking for, as I have no idea how to read an EEG test. I guess maybe I was expecting the computer to immediately self diagnose my daughter's squiggly lines and print out signals on the screen such as "QUICK! Get the Doctor!" or "Real bad case of nfieroa hioewhaiophioa;bn tuei" (that's some latin word for a disease that has yet to become mainstream because only a few people have it, including my daughter) or rather "Everything is normal. Send patient home reassured." But back to reality - none of those messages appeared on the screen.

The test was over in about 25 minutes and now we have to wait until next week for the results. Although the tech added that if there was cause for concern, the doctor would call before then. Since I have to believe there is a hidden meaning to everything medical people tell you (when usually there isn't) I'm sitting on the fence as to whether that meant "expect a call" or "it's fine so no need to fret for the week".  Uugh!

On a lighter note, the tech was expecting, and asked about Amelia's cloth diapers when I changed her. So we had a short discussion about my cloth diapering experience and how to get her started. I wished her luck with her pregnancy and we went on our way. Barring the reason we were in Tampa to begin with, it was a nice day to spend with my grandmother. We stopped at Westshore Mall in Tampa to eat, shop a little and for Starbucks, of course!

Amelia's Neurology Appointment

I am in continued awe of parents with chronically ill or special needs children. I honestly don't know how they do it. I don't know how they handle the sleepless nights, or how they pay the medical bills, or how they justify the extra attention that has to be paid to their typically adjusted siblings. How? What? Where is this extra source of energy? Gumption? Is that even a word? But you understand, they just seem to have more of something special. Maybe it is the child itself. Maybe the bond between a parent and a more needy child is more special than the bond of a typically developed/healthy child. If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not find out. I'm sure those parents didn't want to either. They just are.

I'm certainly not saying I'm there yet or will be. I just know I don't want to be one of them. Today was only the first appointment and I know very little more tonight than what I knew this morning. Which is what I expected. After answering a few questions regarding family history and daily living habits, including the sperm donor who has never even laid eyes on her, the physician briefly examined her. She commented on her low muscle tone, how she was such a good baby and offered little explanation into her developmental delays. With that being said, I was quick to point out that since her 6-month well check-up, Amelia has been lifting her head better, reaching out with her hands a little more and can respond to her sister with her own yelps and squeals. These are all signs that she is progressing, just not at a "normal" rate. That had to be good, right? "Yes", she answered. "If it were a neurologically progressive disease, we would be seeing more lethargy, not improvements." This sounded reassuring, but since I really knew this part on my own, it wasn't as reassuring to me as it should have been.

We discussed my concern with her seizure like activity. One type of activity is presented shortly after her bottle feeding, but not usually solids, such as cereal, etc. She will arch her back like she did with the reflux, but also lock her head way back (almost touching her back) and stretch out her arms with clenched fists, her eyes will flutter and roll back and she grunts, almost like in pain. This can go on for 5 to 10 minutes or so after feedings. I'm not convinced it isn't simply related to the reflux, but I'll leave that for the doctors to figure out. Another episode she presents seems to be this staring into space, dead weight body, and then her head will drop. This will present itself for about 15 to 20 seconds and then she "comes to", fine as she was before. Then there are times where she is literally writhing around like a snake, or belly dancer, and it appears completely involuntary (as this can also occur in her sleep).

There are other symptoms we have noticed along the way and I should have taken better notes, because somehow I feel like I didn't convey the gravity of my concern to the doctor. I'm sure I did, but there was no "AHA!" moment in her voice, or even the voice of reassurance, only the listing of the battery of tests that "might" have to be performed. But, says the doctor, let's get the standard EEG done tomorrow, and then we may know more. Great. Another trip to Tampa, another day of missed work. I will do anything that I need to, but having a job with no vacation or sick benefits means if I don't work, I don't get paid. Simple as that. However, we will be back there tomorrow afternoon, with a jacket this time, because for a pediatric doctors office, it was INSANELY cold. Who needs to waste that much electricity anyway? But I digress...

So another night of praying, another round of "what if's" and another night thankful that our Lord God has found favor in me by entrusting me with these two beautiful angels! I will update more when we learn more. Please keep Amelia in your prayers for health, Abigail in your prayers for understanding and me in your prayers for strength and wisdom. Thank you!

Halloween 2011

There really is little to compare to a child's delight when it comes to Halloween. As a Christian mom, I am somewhat torn between the celebration of all things evil and the child-like magic that comes from playing dress-up and asking complete strangers for fistfuls of gummy, goey, chocolatey candy. Being a chocolate lover myself, I find it hard to resist the stuff. But I digress. Ken went out trick or treating with us tonight and I asked something to the effect if he remembered trick or treating with his kids when they were little. He indicated that he and his ex wife didn't allow the kids to celebrate Halloween because of the pagan rituals, etc. Again, being a Christian, I can understand that following. His children didn't lack for anything as they were taken to fall festivals at church, etc. instead. Perfectly acceptable in my book.

But I wouldn't have missed tonight with my girls for the world! Amelia's year of special "firsts" & Abigail is now old enough to understand her magical version of Halloween (no ghosts, goblins or scary things yet for her...) and has been talking about trick or treating since she picked out her costume over a month ago. She has attended two fall festivals with her costume and now trick or treating. She was all too happy to carry her sister's bucket and fill it with candy "cause sissy is too little" she says. I'm sure she'll be all too happy to eat the stuff as well! That's ok, as long as it's her and not I! 

Happy Halloween!

Hard to believe that the girls are getting so big! Abigail is really looking forward to trick or treating this year! We are going as the Sesame Street crew. Hopefully I can make it to the mall by Monday so I can pick up a Cookie Monster t-shirt to go with Abigail's Big Bird and Amelia's Elmo costume. Hope you have a great Halloween and get more treats than tricks this year!

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The More You Read

I saw this Dr. Suess drawing and saying on an elementary school media center door the other day and just had to capture it. There were a few others that I captured as well, but this saying stuck with me more than others. Why? I guess because of the school's location, books and imagination may be the only escape for most of the children who frequent those media center doors. It was a school in west Tampa in a pretty impoverished neighborhood. Books can take you very far! I remember reading books and writing in a journal to escape from "life". I wonder how many kids at that school need to escape? I pray that God bless each of the students and the teachers with a safe and productive year!

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I Want A JOB!

This is how I feel! I feel like walking around with a sign on the street corner like the homeless do begging for money. But instead of begging for money, I want to beg for a JOB! A good job. Is that too much to ask? I have a good education, lots of skills that are transferable from one career to another and an excellent work ethic. So what's the problem? Well, if you ask the "experts", the stalemate answer one gets is "the economy is still in the tank". Really? You think so? Hmmm... I didn't think of that one.

Now if you ask the politicians (all of whom ran on the platform of "creating jobs" mind you...) it depends on what party you are asking as to what the answer will be. If you are speaking to a democrat, the economy is still lousy because businesses are hoarding capital and not hiring despite handing out tax breaks like candy. If it is a republican doing the talking, they would say it is because the spend hearty democrats have burdened business with regulations and taxes that would otherwise create job growth. Everyone agrees that the so called stimulus funds handed out did little to stimulate such an ailing economy. That temporary solution is too expensive to try too many times.

If I had to take a gander on what the problem is I would say this: It's a little bit of both answers combined with the end of an era of Americans spending more than they make. If we take a good hard look at the last 20 years, so many of us have lived through credit, extended credit and more extended credit. We've financed homes and cars and education that is beyond our reach, and saved way too little for the proverbial rainy day. Well the rainy day has come and gone, and it is still raining. The forecast for the near future by the way is ~ more rain... Less items being purchased equals less money in business coffers. Less money in business coffers equals less money in the form of paychecks. Less paychecks equal job loss and families on the brink of disaster. All of it equals less taxes coming in to support local, state and federal government. Less money coming in to the government means either less federal spending (which equates into jobs...) or higher taxes. A vicious cycle that is very hard to break.

But I digress... I'm very thankful to have a seasonal job to go back to now that it is fall, but it isn't what I want to do, and by no means will it pay all the bills and allow me to fully support my 2 daughters. And it is only temporary. Come November, our photography season will be over, and I'll be looking for my sign... once again.

Thank Goodness for the Diaper Sprayer!

There are those brave mamma's out there that cloth diaper without the wonderful invention, the diaper sprayer, but I'm here to tell you ~ I AM NOT ONE OF THEM! I use mine regularly! As a matter of fact, I made sure Uncle Russell had installed the diaper sprayer on the toilet before the cradle was even put up! I don't really think I could dunk diapers in the toilet and then wring them out with my hands, knowing that poopy water was all over them. Yuck! And if I wasn't thankful before her new medicine took effect, I really am thankful now! The prevacid that she is on is causing her stools to be very watery, greenish gray & quite smelly! So just a quick rinse with the diaper sprayer and toss the diaper and insert in the diaper pail! I love it!

Happy 4th of July America!

Ken and the boys, Marissa, Abigail & I went to the Dunedin Hometown USA baseball game, concert and fireworks in Dunedin on the 3rd. We had a great time! Jen and Joe and their gang & Stacy and Bryce joined us for the fireworks as well. The fireworks was one of the best I'd seen in a long time. Awesome family time!





Press "play" to see Abigail with her sparklers!

Pediatric Gastroenterologist

Last Tuesday was our visit to the pediatric GI doctor. She came recommended from our regular pediatrician, sees patients in West Pasco County and is on her insurance, so I made the appointment and off we went, finally hoping to get some answers. Answers that seem to elude us with her regular pediatrician, despite changing from breast milk to 4 different formulas. The office seemed eerie, I guess because it was at a Pediatric Surgery Center, so it seemed a bit drastic of a move to me. GI doctor to SURGERY... hmmm... maybe I'm over thinking this a bit. But in we went. My grandmother came with me, so she could hear from the horse's mouth what the doctor thought. I also felt if she had anything else to add - she could tell it to the Dr., instead of giving it to me when I got home!

Anyway, on the counter inside the exam room was an occult stool sample collection kit with gloves and KY Jelly. Odd, I thought, is this the "PAP smear kit" for kids with belly problems? Yikes! Teaching them young to look out for those tubes of KY! However, we wouldn't be needing that for this visit, thankfully. The exam was thorough and we had an opportunity to ask questions and she explained a lot of things to us. It basically boiled down to this - Amelia is allergic/reactive to the proteins in her formula. No matter where she gets it from: mom, cow's milk or soy, she is going to react to it. She may or may not grow out of this problem, and we may have not seen the worst of it yet (great). She may or may not have a problem in digesting other foods later on, so stay away from foods that contain milk or soy proteins. Ever try that? That is HARD! Her fix for now is a hypoallergenic formula (Allimentum) that is super expensive. Thank goodness for WIC!  If she has problems with Allimentum, her next step is a prescription elemental formula that only has the most basic of proteins in the mix. However, most babies have to be tricked into drinking the stuff because it is nasty (her words, not mine).

She also has reflux, or GERD. This will definitely get worse before it gets better. This disease generally peaks between 4 months and 6 months, then for most babies, tends to slow up and by 2 or so, disappear all together. She is on prevacid for this, because most other acid meds use milk and or soy proteins for binding. See how hard this milk protein thing is? Anyway, the prevacid is going to take 7 to 10 days to work, and meanwhile you can take her off the Zantac because her dose really isn't high enough to do anything for her anyway, I was told.

We were also told that she will continue to spit up mucous, that is normal in GERD babies (Gram still doesn't buy into this one. She says in all her life she has never seen a baby spit up so much mucous and it be normal); she may vomit up to 20 times a day and as long as she still gains weight, it is ok; thicken her bottles with cereal or thickener to the consistency of honey or so to help slow up the vomiting; the prevacid should help control the pain of the acid, but won't really stop the acid altogether. If there is breakthrough pain - treat with regular strength Malox. The adult stuff, I ask? Yep - the adult stuff. We are now dosing 3 times plus daily with the Malox. I'm not so certain that the prevacid is working... And her poops can be any color from normal to greenish/grayish and can be slowed by using rice cereal, and softened by using oatmeal cereal. BTW - only use Beechnut or Earth's Best, because the rest use soy and milk proteins as fillers/binders. Uuuggghhh... this is a long road ahead...

Tummy Problems

My Mom Doesn't Want Your Advice!

I saw this onesie at Target the other day and HAD to have it! Since having my second child with "colic" issues, the advice about how to handle her still keeps coming! Even from complete strangers while standing in line at the grocery store! But I digress... After repeated visits to her pediatrician and Amelia was still spitting up what seemed to me an enormous amount of formula, continued crying bouts from stomach aches and uncontrolled constipation, I decided to do a lot more digging into the reflux issue.  I was convinced that Amelia was allergic, or at least intolerant, to milk. However I thought is was due to the lactose in milk. So I put her on soy formula. Her tummy issues continued, although not as bad, but her urine started smelling so very strong! Almost pure ammonia! She even peed actual urea nitrate crystals that we thought was blood in her urine. Also come to find out, soy proteins are even harder to digest than cow's milk proteins. Soy is also an abrasive for the bladder and ended up being part of our problem for urine smell.

Then Grandma took matters into her own hands and talked with a nutrition guru at a local health food store who convinced her (and sold her) rice milk and coconut water to soothe her gut and get her system cleared out. After a weekend of throwing up a lot of mucous (the health food lady said it was necessary to get "rid of the old") and going through a whole container of rice milk, I made an appointment with a pediatric gastroenterologist and picked up a container of goat's milk. Goat's milk is thought to be (according to well intentioned older ppl.) the best form of gentle milk for babies. I already knew from listening to my doctor that goat's milk does not provide all the necessary proteins, fats, etc. for babies to thrive, but at this point, I'm willing to try anything!

With God's help, we'll make it through to our GI appointment!

Swim Lessons for Abigail

Abigail is a fish out of water. She would be in the pool all day every day if I let her. Two springs ago we started her with baby swim lessons and she has been hooked ever since. By the end of last summer, she was swimming very short distances without her swimmies on and would dunk herself underwater. I'm hoping with a few rounds of lessons, by summers' end she will be swimming without assistance very well and can swim the length the pool by herself. Ambitious goals for a 3-yr. old, I know, but if anyone can do it - it's our little mermaid, Abigail!

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Amelia's Baby Announcement

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We Are Family...

A large group, no doubt ~ but we are all family, in it together and for the long haul... For the record, I'm adding names so in case you haven't seen someone in a few years, you can pick them out. What a great group! And two think it all started with just two people... well, sort of... :o)

Bottom Row, l to r: Abigail, Marissa, Shawny, Evie, Javier, Grandma, Alex, Jaylen, Heather, Bill & Kaylease
Middle Row, l to r: Barbie (pregnant with Amelia), Sabrina, Nancy, Sierra, Russell, Jennifer, Anieka, Ruby, Stacy, Terri, Michael, Kayla, Jill & Julia
Back Row, l to r: Maria, Mercedes, Elizabeth (pregnant with baby boy!), Jaycob, Joe, Gabriel, Bryce, John & Zachary
Missing: Jill's significant other, Dwayne. Other than that - all are present and accounted for! We lost two since our last family portrait, but have gained many new babies! May our next one be just as full. When was the last time your family took a full family portrait? I highly recommend them at least once every 5 years. You never know when it will be your last one. I know it is tough to get everyone together, but WELL WORTH the effort!

Happy 3rd Bithday!

Three years have come and gone so quickly! I try really hard not to wish any of it away - but sometimes that's hard. Like the first 3 months of colic, or her boughts of pneumonia, or the weeks it took us to figure out why she kept throwing up her milk - mostly on me... But in truth, I wouldn't trade any of it. For that means another day of her wonderful smiles, her generous hugs and her infectious laugh. You truely are the center of mommy's world, Abigail, & I love you to pieces! Happy birthday and enjoy the week of fun I have planned for you! Love, Mommy.

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We're Going Home!

Praise and glory to God! Amelia gets to go home today! I'm so happy I could walk on air! This has been the most stressful week of my life, and that's saying a lot because stress seems to find me quite readily. I have a new found respect for parents of sick children. Just like so many other things in life, if it isn't happening to us- it rarely enters our mind. I'm so very blessed to have a wonderful support system to help me through this difficult time. You all know who you are, but it does mean so much to me! God is good! All the time!

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4/2/11 Amelia Update

Look at me - no tubes! Amelia is off nasal canula & oxygen, no additional apnea episodes and they discontinued the antibiotics! Prelim results from the EEG showed no signs of seizure activity. All such great news! We're hoping to leave here with in a few days, it is getting difficult trying to be there for Abigail & still spend time and bond with Amelia. Thank you so much to my family and friends for the love & support! I love you!

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3.31.11 Amelia Update

Ken & I spent last night and today with Amelia at All Children's Hospital. When we walked in, they were performing a spinal tap on her, which was very upsetting to me beings they hadn't discussed it with me first. That didn't start the night off well. I did get to hold her for about 2 hours last night before she had another apnea episode. This one lasted for just over 4 minutes. Of course they had given her morphine for the spinal tap, so I'm not really sure one can even count that one as an episode because of course if you give a sedative to someone who is already having breathing problems it would only magnify the problem. The neurologist came to see us and said he felt she was possibly having seizures and/or withdrawal symptoms from my medication that I take. I immediately felt horrible, but know that it is necessary that I take medication for my well being, which ultimately is for her well being.

The rest of the night and for the next 24 to 36 hours, they will have her hooked up to an EEG machine with audio and video to monitor for seizure activity. By the time we had left this afternoon, there had been no occurrences of noticeable seizures. This is good news! The doctors did say that if it is medication withdrawal, it should be completely out of her system within 5 to 6 days with no lasting effects. Praise God! If for some reason medication withdrawal isn't the answer, further testing will be necessary.

Hopefully tomorrow they can resume feeding her. She is hungry and feisty about not getting fed through her stomach. She is receiving IV fluids and nutrition right at the moment, but as long as she has the nasal cannula on for the apnea, they aren't real interested in feeding her. Although tomorrow I will discuss removing the cannula long enough to feed her.

If you would like to leave Amelia a note or message, I have been printing off the prayers and comments from friends and family to read to her. If you have a favorite poem or story, I would be happy to read that to her as well. She very much recognizes my voice and that of her sister and seems calmer when I talk with her, even at times when I can't hold her - like today. But since she doesn't seem to be interested in the mundane gossip, we have resorted to lullabies and nursery rhymes. Thank you all for continued prayers and blessings! We couldn't get through this time without you and without God's strength and wisdom.

Headed to All Children's Hospital

Please continue to ask for healing for Amelia and knowledge and blessing for Dr.'s and medical staff, and strength for myself and family as we struggle to find out what is going on with little Amelia. She is having many apnea spells (time where she quits breathing to the point of discoloration or respiratory distress) and respiratory distress today, so the NICU Dr. recommended sending her to All Children's Hospital for better diagnostic tools and measures. There still may be nothing wrong with her, jut that she was born fast and it may be something she needs to outgrow. But since it is so unusual for a full-term baby to have apnea, they are not taking any chances. Ken & I will be headed there this evening/night and stay tomorrow. I should know more by then. God works wonderful miracles and we sure could use one now!

Amelia Faith's Birth Story

My last OB check-up was Thursday, March 24, where I was 4cm dialated and 100% effaced. Since I was only 38 weeks and 1 day, they wouldn't do anything to assist labor other than stripping my membranes. So off I went to try and enjoy one last weekend before giving birth. I felt like I'd been in labor with braxton hicks contractions for well over a week, and my induction was scheduled for Wednesday, March 30th, so I really figured that I wasn't going to deliver on my own. Friday I layed low and Saturday went to the annual Chasco Fiesta Parade in New Port Richey. I schlepped Abigail and lunches for quite some distance but enjoyed the day of sunshine, beads and parade fun. Abigail had a great time and it was really important to me to spend fun time with her, since I knew that once Amelia arrived, life would be a little hectic for awhile.  We spent Sunday preparing for family pictures and a picnic at Moon Lake park in the afternoon. I was having hard braxton hicks contractions all day, but again, nothing I hadn't been having the last two weeks. I felt good, a little tired, but finished out the day at the park with my rather large family. Pictures were a huge success, as everyone was able to make it and even though I was still pregnant, at least I was up front and pregnant enough that little Amelia made it into the portrait!

Once I got home, I was exhausted and decided to give Abigail an early bath and bed. She was tired and didn't really have a nap that day either. Abigail was sound asleep by 9pm and I was laying next to her. Ken & I had our nightly talk and prayer session while putting Abigail to sleep. About 10:15pm I decided to get up and get something else to eat, and make one of my dozen or so trips to the bathroom for the night. That's when it all started. While trying to get out of bed, I felt a pop and then immediately was wet with hot liquid. I knew my water had just broke. I thought my grandmother was right outside the door, but she wasn't, so I waddled out to the kitchen, leaving a trail of dripping amniotic fluid behind me. There was so much of it! I couldn't believe it! It just kept gushing! Then all of a sudden I had a REAL contraction! Wow! There was a difference between the bh contractions (although they were pretty intense and uncomfortable) and the real thing! I called my friend Laura, who was taking me to the hospital, and my boyfriend, Ken (who met me there) and then my mom. Within 20 minutes, I had already had a dozen or so contractions and they were about a minute and a half apart. I was still praying to get to the hospital in enough time for an epidural, because I was not looking forward to a natural birth. Bring on the drugs! During the 15 minute ride to the hospital, the contractions intensified rapidly in strength, duration and shortened the time between them! We barely got into a room and I was 7cm dialated already. The midwife had already been called, but they weren't sure if she would make it or not. The contractions were one on top of another and very painful. It was obvious I wasn't getting an epidural and I lost control and focus with the pain. I begged for other drugs and a nurse ran to get something for my IV. However, my friend yanked me back into reality, as there wasn't time for any type of drug, as the baby was crowning already & I was pushing on my own! Still no midwife, but 2 strong pushes and Amelia came out anyway! She wimpered a little, but no real cry. Her scores were fine and she appeared lethargic, but healthy! She had such a precipitous birth (2 hours from water breaking to birth!) that she didn't have time to recover. Amelia Faith Wagner entered the world at 12:13am on March 28th, 2011. She weighed 6lbs. 13ozs. and was 20.5 inches.

By 3am we were both cleaned up, our visitors had left and we were settled in our room for the night. While she nursed a little that night, it was clear her little birth had exhausted her beyond belief and all she wanted was to sleep, sleep, sleep! Which was just fine with Mommy! Welcome little Amelia! You are already so sweet and have so many people in love with you! I love you so much already! You round out Abigail and I just beautifully and I promise to love you forever!

Amelia Faith Wagner 

 

38 Weeks and Counting!

Well, we've finally made it to 38 weeks! I've been very uncomfortable these last 3 weeks or so, and experiencing a milder form of labor each night for about 2 weeks now. That's not to say that it doesn't hurt, or that it is pleasant by ANY means, but the hours of contractions I'm experiencing are not getting me anywhere ~ except to say that I can't sleep through them - so sleeping is out. They say that is nature's way of assuring 2 things. First, that the woman is fully ready to undergo the painful process of birthing a child and second, that one is fully prepared for the months of sleep deprived nights that lay ahead. Having gone through labor and birth once already, I would have just asoon skipped over the miserable part of pregnancy and remembered the lessons from the last one! I'm not usually one that requires retraining on important issues... Anyway - here we are, just counting down time, as so it seems. If I don't have her naturally by Wednesday, March 30th, I'm scheduled for my induction to start at 6:30am. So I should have her no later than the evening, if things go smoothly. We'll see! Hopefully she doesn't decide to make an appearance this weekend - I have plans on Sunday! Although Caroline (a friend) really would like her born on the 26th - as this is her birthday as well! We shall see!

Starkey Park

Abigail, Julia & Kaylease enjoyed out Tiny Tots group meet-up today at Starkey Park. We couldn't have asked for a better day! Plenty of sunshine, 78 degrees with low humidity and a nice breeze. It could have only been better if I wasn't so pregnant that getting out and about playing with the kids is quite difficult. But Jill is visiting from Oklahoma and was out playing with them, so they were well supervised. It was nice chatting with the other moms from the group, as I haven't attended any of the meet-ups in the last two weeks because I'm so uncomfortable. I really wish this baby would get here!
Kaylease and Julia loved playing with the digger thing in the sand box. Abigail wanted to try too - but it was really heavy for any of them to do by themselves!
Mom packed some watermelon for the kids - it looked really good. Poor Kaylease lost her second piece to Abigail - Abigail just asked for a "bite" and Kaylease never did get her fruit back! Thank you, Kaylease!







Abigail and Kaylease trying to maneuver the digging thing. Plenty of sunscreen was needed today! We successfully wore out two 2-year olds to take good, long naps for the afternoon! Everyone had such a good time.

Marissa's First Game

Marissa joined little league softball this year. It is her first time really playing the game, other than at school. She loves it! And while she is a little afraid of the ball, I think she will be a pretty good player. This was their first game. They played the 7-8 year old division from Shady Hills. That is who most of their games will be with. Their uniforms hadn't come in yet, so they were wearing maroon and black for the time being.

Both teams hit off a pitching machine. They each get 6 pitches, or 3 strikes, whichever comes first. This game they were all pretty scared of the pitching machine, so there were not a lot of hits. While they don't keep official score at this age, and no team wins or loses, Shady Hills did end up with two runs while Marissa's team didn't score.

Go Marissa & the Lil' Rebels!

Diaper Fluff

I'm getting more and more ready to bring Amelia home! We are finishing the house projects that need completed and I'm starting to wash clothes and diapers in preparation for her arrival. I want nothing more than her to come now, but in all reality, I'm just not quite ready. But, I have all the newborn diapers I think I will need, and even a few larger diapers to work into. In the cloth diaper world, it is called "fluff", but whatever you want to call it - they sure are cute! I'm prepping them this week, as they need to be washed 3 to 5 times to activate the absorbancy of the core parts of the diapers. They looked so cute all hanging in the sunshine, so I thought I would share!

The plaid one on the end is my favorite! Of course it was the most expensive, but it is lined with such soft material! I can't wait to get photos with these on Amelia!

Barbie, where's Ken?

I have heard this line all my life. As a child I would usually respond with some stupid response like "at home watching PJ & Skipper" (for those of you unfamilliar with the Matel Barbie clan, those were Barbie's little sisters). But as an adult, and yes I continue to get asked that question from grown adults, I just give them a funny look and say "I haven't heard that one in a long time - elementary school maybe?" But now I have a reason to answer anew! I have a new friend that I am quite interested in, named Ken.

I met Ken at Sunday School and we got to chatting for a couple of weeks and we hit it off nicely. We got the chance to go out last Wed. night to watch old people sing karaoke at the American Legion, and then on Thursday we took Abigail to the park. She loved it! She had such a great time, but I think Ken fell in love with her almost immediately. I can see why, she is such a cutie and going to be a heartbreaker! I added some of my fav pics. Stay tuned to see where this new adventure leads!

Valentine's Day Festivities

While most people know, not everyone will ~ but Valentine's Day is my birthday - #37 for me this year.  Abigail had a party to go to for the first time and we got to work on her valentines cards. It took us all week, because I wanted her to help sign them herself. So we did a few each night. This was the bag we made to collect her valentines in at the party. It was a whole week of arts and crafts, valentines cards and candy. And LOTS of it! I think she was on a sugar high the whole week...

She was so proud of the bag she made!

Valentine's Day party with Tiny Tots playgroup. This was at Sims Park. It was really cold that day - so she couldn't wear her valentine's day outfit. But she really had a blast anyway. Lots of goodies, arts and crafts and of course a fun playground to play on. Grandma took her to the party, because it was my 2nd day in substitute teacher training. I really wanted to go, but was glad that Grandma agreed to take her. Thanks, Gram!

Here she is in her valentine's outfit. We went out to Chili's on Tuesday night. Ever been out on Valentine's Day? Not worth standing in line or the price of meals when you're just going out for a birthday dinner. Besides, Karin can tell you a GREAT story of getting all dressed up to eat at Wendys. That's another story for another day...