c spot

2 in 1

noreply@blogger.com (m.c.) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 02:43:00 +0000

because of my lack of time these days, i am going to do a 2 blogs in 1 tonight. first off...would be a post titled "oh holy night...part 2". last week, chad had to work late every night. he had papers due for school and stayed at the office working on them every night. i am still adjusting to juggling things myself. if everything goes as planned, it's no problem. tiring...but no problem. this particular night...things did not go as planned. i needed to give annslee a bath, so i made the kids dinner, and while they were eating got her bath ready in her tub by the kitchen sink. i took her clothes and diaper off and while i was getting her into the bathtub, she decided to pee all down the front of my shirt. i called for colt to go get me a clean shirt as i stepped in the puddle on the floor. i used my peed on shirt to mop up the floor and threw on the clean one. after her bath, i was in the rocking chair feeding her as the kids finished up dinner. i asked colt to rinse the dishes and load the dishwasher for me. he was doing that while aiden was crying because i was trying to make her eat her dinner from the chair. that's when chase carried his full glass of orange juice from the table and tripped...spilling it all over the kitchen floor, the walls and into the living room carpet. he started crying...making that 2 out of 4 that were crying. i knew if i stopped feeding annslee that she would start screaming herself...so i chose to just sit there...totally out of control as the oj soaked into the carpet pad...never to be properly cleaned. that made me want to cry. then i did what was only logical. i got mad at chad. :)

the second post would be titled "the mrs." yesterday, i went to both boy's christmas parties at school. only they are not called christmas parties anymore because that might offend somebody. they are now "winter parties". only i think that is stupid and call them christmas parties anyways. i mean, who are we fooling? they are at christmas time and they are doing christmas activities. santa was even there. seriously? winter party???? at chase's, a little boy came up to me and asked if he could come over to our house to play. i said "sure...we will have to do that sometime." then he ran off and told chase that he was coming to our house to play which got chase all excited too. then the little boy came over to me again and said, "when can i come over mrs.........ummmmm......mrs. chase?

Oh Holy Night

noreply@blogger.com (m.c.) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:24:00 +0000

so, puddin has decided that she is not going to sleep at nights. she made this call about when chad's mom and grandmother came in from iowa for a nice, holiday visit the weekend before thanksgiving. it would start at the 9 or 10:00 feeding and last till 4 am and sometimes until 8am. at first she would scream and holler, but now she just is not asleep unless you keep putting the pappy back in her mouth every time it decides to pop out. i'm beginning to think that the pappy is conspiring against me. these are the thoughts that seem realistic in the middle of a sleepless night. 2 nights ago, i tried the bouncy seat, the swing, the ever popular hold her all night so at least one of us is sleeping, the walk around and bounce, the snuggle in bed tactic, and finally the baby einstein video so that i could get 30 minutes.......all to no avail. our bedroom looked like the circus. at 4:30, i woke up chad. when i woke up to get the boys ready for school and aiden breakfast, she was sweetly sleeping. when she started this, i thought...this is my fourth baby. i've trained all my babies to be great sleepers. i've been responsible for getting them all on great schedules from the beginning. i've prided myself in NEVER...EVER waking chad up to help me in the middle of the night. i've been in charge and in total control of their sleep patterns. i can do it again. now i'm asking myself, how can such a small person have such control???? and, how can i become used to being up all night where i will greet the other puddins as they skip down the stairs in the morning sweetly requesting breakfast just as i've gotten her to sleep? (well...it is probably more accurate to say that she, herself has decided to go to sleep.) anyhow, chad and i are trying to split the night because...let's face it...she is going to do what she wants and we are totally at the mercy of the conspiring pappy.

now, i've used every free minute of the tired time that i have to help other family members get their christmas shopping done. you know the calls. the "do you have any ideas for the kids?" calls. i've had 6 of them right off the top of my head...plus actually going to the stores 3 different times to help pick things out for them to get them. it is great that everyone wants to get them something that they all want, but now it's 18 days till christmas, all the stuff on their lists have been taken, and i have yet to come up with anything to get them from chad and i. plus, when the "i don't know" answer doesn't fly, i come up with something off the top of my head and under pressure and now i can't remember what i've told people. when did christmas presents for kids become so hard. a doll for suzy, a toy car for tommy...etc. shouldn't it be a little easier? this is about when i decided that they have way too much as it is and that next year we are scaling waaaayyy back. i remember coming to the same conclusion this time last year. i may sound a little bah humbugish...and for that i am sorry. i never said you would get anything but direct honesty here. and next year, i'm doing my shopping BEFORE i help everyone else do theirs!

a few little dittys

noreply@blogger.com (m.c.) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:07:00 +0000

there is little time for the ole' blog these days. holiday season at the elementary school is quite the affair. the sweet 4 year old sissy is having...shall we say..."adjustment issues." and the cutie pie little sissy is what my mom calls "colicky"...which sounds old school to me, however i think she is right. apparently i was colicky when i was a baby...which i would like to apologize to my probably still tired and frazzled parents at this point. and let's be honest...if i do get a little break, the last thing on my mind is blogging. she is actually laying under her little hanging animal toys right now and is not crying, so i thought i would give a little catch up.

colton: he came home from school the other day and said he knew the "F" word. i closed my eyes, held my breath and asked him what the "F" word was...hoping he would say "fart." no such luck. he does, in fact know the "F" word, due to one of the boys in his class saying it and another girl spelling it. it looks like 3rd grade is the end of innocence and we will need to be having some candid conversations that i am not entirely ready for shortly before he starts hearing it on the playground.

chase: had a teacher conference where his praises were sung, thankfully. i did have to explain to his teacher that his two take home reader book reports were done, and that we didn't send them back in his folder, not because he wasn't ready for the next ones...but that i wasn't. i still hate homework.

aiden: just to prove that i'm not lying about the "adjustment issues"...the other day, while i was feeding annslee, she came to me and told me that she was spitting up. needing a little attention maybe??

annslee: eating, pooping, fussing, sometimes sleeping if we are all jumping through the right hoops that day, growing (9 pounds now), looking super cute, and slowly learning that not being held can be ok sometimes.

chad and i: tired...but very blessed.

GNO

noreply@blogger.com (m.c.) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:39:00 +0000

getting ready to leave for our GNO

(i'm not super stoked about this picture of me. i think i look really tired. probably because i am. but let's face it...the night was all about aiden.)

cutie pie

aiden doing some coloring before we started our games

the "in house" brewed root beer and famous pizza

(unfortunately i didn't get a picture of the pizookie...which is a chocolate chip cookie baked in a deep dish, personal pizza pan served hot with vanilla ice cream piled on top. YUMMY.)

last night aiden and i had our GNO. i was really looking forward to spending some un-interrupted time with my big girl. i vowed to talk about anything and everything that she wanted to talk about. and if you know our precocious aiden, you know that i was mainly listening. which was fine. everyone needs to be listened to once in a while. she chose to go to BJ's...a favorite among the locals. at least our locals. (i love that i sound like we live in a beach town in hawaii with that whole "locals" line.) anyhow, we chatted and colored and played games and shared a pizza and pizookie and chatted some more. we basically did whatever she wanted and it was so much fun. i really want to do this with each of the boys as well. it's tricky to make happen...but oh so important! i loved our GNO ("girl's night out" for all you more "advanced" folks who didn't know what that meant).

a note-worthy conversation of the evening included when i was signing the check at the restaurant and aiden said she needed to go poopie. i asked her if she could wait until we got home and she said that she could. when she was getting out of the car in our driveway, she exclaimed, "oh mom...i didn't go poopie in my panties!" i said, "no you didn't!" then she turned around and tried to look at her bottom and said to herself, "good job butt!!!!"

some of my favorites.

noreply@blogger.com (m.c.) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:29:00 +0000

the 4 darlins

the biggest brother and the littlest sister

chase and annslee (the 2 peas in a pod. he loves that she looks most like him.)

aiden and annslee: "sissys"

the latest of the sugar plum

i love these. i actually got ready. chad was taking me out for my birthday. and look how sweet annslee james is.

what i normally look like...no make up and hair doing who knows what :/

(colton was the photographer here. this one is for you, ashley. :))

poor aiden has been strugglin. she is no longer the baby or the only girl. she is having to share "her boy's" affections and stays right at my feet all day. she loves her sister, but is unsure of where she fits now. temporary, i know...but a big transition for the big sister. a couple of days ago, while she was supposed to be playing with the boys and some friends, i found her outside...meditating...literally.

*i need to get some good pictures of chad. he is one of my favorites too. although not a big fan of the camera. now that he's finally well...we will have to corner him.

what birthday?

noreply@blogger.com (m.c.) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:07:00 +0000

i told my mom that i would just skip my birthday this year. however, i still want the presents. it was yesterday and i think it un-necessary to discuss my age. yuck. we sort of celebrated by chad and i taking chase and aiden to target. my mom is out of town and my dad offered to bring an ice cream cake down and watch annslee for us to go get the rug from target that my parents got me. i also wanted to pick up a few clothing items that would work now and hopefully later too. we decided that leaving all 4 kids with my dad was not very nice, so we divided and conquered. i thought the easiest combination for him would be colton and annslee. so, chase and aiden "got" to go with us. i don't know what made me think that a good birthday activity would be to try on jeans, but let me just say...it is not. bad decision. i did end up with 2 button down sweater vests and 2 white t-shirts to go with them. and...when the clothing for the body is just not working out...move on to the shoe/hat/purse department to make yourself feel better. i got 2 pairs of shoes for my skinny again feet and a hat for the winter. thankfully, chad agreed to the shoes/hat purchase due to fear of another "post jeans try on" performance. the rug for the living room also worked out swimmingly. i think i should stay away from any clothing from the waist down that does not involve stretchy...very stretchy material. and, any full length mirrors for a while. i'll just stick to admiring my feet in their new shoes for now.

tonight, chad took the boys to the star wars concert in houston. it consists of a symphony playing the music from star wars to large screens showing scenes from all of the movies. and also a display of a lot of the costumes that were worn in the filming of the movies. chase was most excited about seeing chewbacca. i'm glad they got to go...and i'm more glad chad remembered to take the gel in his pocket. i'm at home with the girls, where we will be enjoying some quiet girl time. although aiden did just ask, "when are my boys gonna get home. i want em really bad." i guess watching annslee eat and poop and sleep is not as fun for her as we made it sound when she watched them leave for their boy fun tonight. poor big sister who is experiencing not being the baby and only girl anymore. i think she is feeling a little left out.

at a glance...

noreply@blogger.com (m.c.) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:08:00 +0000

this past week, at a glance. (it should be self explanatory why i have not had a chance to blog and post the cutest ever pictures of our 4 loves.)

sunday night: mom comes to stay with us to help in the mornings getting the kids off to school and in the evenings getting dinner and the kids in bed.
monday morning: took annslee to the doctor for a jaundice check.
monday afternoon: took annslee to the hospital lab for blood draw to test billi levels per dr.'s request
monday night: started annslee on the billi blanket at home for jaundice
tuesday morning: took annslee back to hospital lab for re-check
tuesday afternoon: dr. called and told me to keep her on the billi blanket except for when she eats.
wednesday morning: hospital again for re-check
wednesday afternoon: dr. called and said to keep her on it through thursday evening and then take her off for the night and re-check on friday morning.
wednesday afternoon (post nurse call): i have a postpartum, lack of sleep induced, irratioinal, emotional breakdown and mom and ms. ann come to my rescue.
thursday afternoon: chase comes home from school with cough and fever
thursday evening: per dr.'s orders, i leave with annslee to stay at my parent's until chase is 24 hrs fever free
friday morning: chad takes chase to dr. and i take annslee to hospital for billi check (this is what i call the picket fence defensive play)
friday afternoon: say chase does not have the flu, but another bad respiratory virus and annslee's billiruben levels are coming down and she can stay off the billiblanket.
friday afternoon: colton comes home from school with 102 fever and aiden has the sniffles
friday night: i go to store and get supplies/food/medicines for chad and drop them off. notice chad making himself hot tea and make a mental note that that was not a good sign
saturday: chad begins coughing and feeling bad. colton running 103.
saturday night: stuff (furniture) that we inherited from grandparent's house moved into our house at 11 pm.
sunday: chase better, chad and colton still sick, aiden on the fence. i start having pain in lower abdomen where i can't even stand up straight. wonder what is wrong...but in complete denial that it could be anything serious. realize possible uterine infection and promise to call dr/ in the morning.
monday: chase and colton and aiden home from school to ensure 24 hours fever free and chad says he's feeling better. i line up a house cleaner to come tuesday morning to clean/sterilize the huse and annslee and i plan to come home tuesday afternoon. call my dr. and they say it is probably due to lifting her carseat around every day last week and strained. wait and see approach.
monday night at 9:45: chad calls and he, colton and aiden running fever. i call house cleaner and cancel and tell her i will call to re-schedule. praying that uterus will feel better tomorrow and that kids and chad will start feeling better.
tuesday: chase back at school; colton at home but feeling way better; chad feels like total crap; aiden still mild and basically fever free. deep breaths and praying for His protection and that our family can be all together soon. annslee misses her brothers and sister. i miss my husband and other 3 loves.

WELCOME SWEET LOVE

noreply@blogger.com (m.c.) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:51:00 +0000

annslee james clarkson

weighing 6 pounds 1 oz.

and 17 1/2 inches long

sweet love

i'm not just resting. i'm dilating.

noreply@blogger.com (m.c.) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:26:00 +0000

so, my regular doctor's appointments are on thursdays, and that is also when i change weeks. however, yesterday i had to go in for a nurse visit to get the B12 shot due to being anemic...(which just gives my mom and dad the ability to give me a big "i told you so" on my need to consume red meat...which i haven't done in 16 years.) because of us almost going into the hospital this past saturday night (woke up in the the middle of a hard contraction at 1:19 am and then they were every 5 minutes until around 4:45) they decided to "check" out the situation. i was somewhat in shock when she said, "ummm...you're dilated to 3 and 60% and the baby's head is right here coming through the cervix...you won't have to push at all. i'm not even sure you'll make the appointment on thursday."

excuse me???? did you say 3? did you say it's going to happen so fast that the next time i start contracting, we need to "get there"? did you say something about sitting on towels? did you say that by this time next week, we would have a baby?

i don't feel so bad about resting now. it's called preparation.

jedi training

noreply@blogger.com (m.c.) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 16:22:00 +0000

birthday party down. now it's time to have a baby.

for the faithful readers, prayers, and "good deal" leather bag lovers

noreply@blogger.com (m.c.) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:32:00 +0000

i must be up and around more...as the blogs have slowed down. sorry faithful readers, (if i have any.) bed rest officially ended at my doctor's appointment last thursday. she said...and i quote..."you can do whatever you feel like doing." well...alright then. does that mean whatever my brain feels like doing (going shopping and taking a much needed jog to get the muscles in my legs to wake from their 10 week hibernation slumber) or what my body feels like doing (which is more lounging on the couch)? as we approach this week's appointment, i find myself hoping for a "dilated to 3" status. i was a full 1 last week, so i figure with all the work i've done, (and by "work" i mean walking at a snail's pace at target, followed by soaking in a hot tub, followed by getting my swollen feet rubbed by my, oh so patient and understanding hub) that is not too much to ask. let's face it. at this point, i just want to know that almost 1/3 of the work is already done.

on "a boy who loves star wars" note, chase's birthday party is this weekend. he has been saying for months that he wants a darth vadar cake...which normally would be an acceptable challenge for me. however, in my delicate...and increasingly uncomfortable condition...i'm not sure a 3-D version is in the cards. after researching online and realizing that to make this concoction i would be on my feet for like 3 days straight, leaning over the kitchen counter, up to my swollen hair follicles in black icing...i came up with a plan. and it's called the "have chad pick up an inexpensive darth vadar mask to slap on top of a sheet cake" plan. i tell myself that this is okay, due to the "condition" i am currently in and that chase will think it is the coolest that he will get to wear his cake and eat it too. if you are the praying kind...please (at this moment because i know if not now, you will forget) pray for no rain so that i don't end up with his entire 1st grade class in my house and that the jedi training course that chad has planned can actually take place outside where it belongs. somehow, the light saber training and destroy the death star game won't have the same "affect" in my living room.

and an update on the "wish" post from last time...i got a bag for annslee's lovelies that i think is pretty lovely and it was only $16 dollars. which is a good thing, considering we got down the infant carrier to clean up this weekend and the button the you push to adjust the straps to fit the baby is totally broken. the plus? a stylish, new and improved, very girly car seat for the baby sister. graco...how much of my money do you have? and are you a part of some conspiracy that i should be aware of?

wish

noreply@blogger.com (m.c.) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:34:00 +0000

is this bag not the most delicious bag you have ever seen? i came across it through a random blog that had a link to another random blog that had them featured. it just so happens that i have been in the market for a new diaper bag for annslee...okay. actually for me. (but it would be holding all of her loveliness.)...over the last several days. i have looked at places such as tj max, ross, and target. i have focused on these places because they happen to be the only places i was in and seemed to follow our budget. however...i found nothing. until now. unfortunately this little piece of perfection, although would make the perfect diaper bag, does not meet the price criteria...at roughly $250. annslee's lovelies will have to find another place to be toted.

33 weeks

noreply@blogger.com (m.c.) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:33:00 +0000

as long as everything goes according to plan, (aka: the test that predicts labor comes back negative), the doctor says that bed rest will be officially over in 1 week. to think, 8 weeks back, i thought the day would never come. she is actually letting me get up 1 week earlier than what she originally said, and i'm not sure why...but i'm not questioning her!!

we have all been instructed to get flu immunizations this year. aiden and i got the raw end of that stick because we were the only two that had to get the injection instead of the nasal mist. she couldn't because she had received her 4 year immunizations only weeks prior to getting it and i couldn't because i'm pregnant. oh well...it's over and i'm glad it's done. i went to walgreens today to get mine and there was a plus side to this little excursion...and they are called PUMPKIN CANDY CORNS! that's right. they had just put them out on their seasonal isle and i treated myself to 2 bags. i was chomping on one when the pharmacist came out to give me my shot. she said, "whatever gets you through." 1/2 a bag later, i have a bit of a tummy ache. although to my defense, chad ate 2 and aiden ate 2. so i only ate 1/2 a bag minus 4. and i like to tell myself that they probably ate more than that and i just don't know it. i'm gonna have to slow up on the pumpkin candy corns. although...not today. it's the first bag of season, and i'm supposed to be gaining weight anyway...therefore, it doesn't count.

(disclaimer: this post contains a fair amount of rationalization.)

chairs, lunchboxes and trains

noreply@blogger.com (m.c.) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 17:12:00 +0000

i am sitting in my chair...(and i do think it has become MY chair, with all the sitting i've done in it over the last 6-7 weeks)...and the kids are all chomping on their pretzel snacks while we wait, patiently, for chad to get home. i am passing the time by looking online for creative lunchbox ideas because...let's face it...after 2 weeks of school, they are already tired of the same, boring sandwich, snack, fruit, and juice box filled lunchboxes. i am also listening to them show each other, excitedly what shape or number they just made with their pretzel. nothing too exciting. then aiden gets a confused look on her face and puts her hand on her throat and says, very seriously, with furrowed eyebrows..."my throat feels like i ate a train. only i haven't ate a train."

we all just kind of pause and look at her. nobody says anything...we just kind of look at her while she looks at us...because how do you really respond to a statement like that?

all about colton, chase, aiden and annslee

noreply@blogger.com (m.c.) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:07:00 +0000

my new philosophy is to enjoy the tranquil and quite days until this baby is born. today is the first day that i have had totally alone since last year on tuesdays and thursdays when the boys and aiden were all in school. aiden spent the night with granna and grandaddy last night since i had an 8:30 doctor's apt this morning. i came home and chad left shortly after that for work. i have just been enjoying my pumpkin spice frap, no whip and a tall glass of water since then. i have been able to chat with a friend and just enjoy the morning. i started thinking that i should enjoy it while it lasts.

on to the doctor's apt. i was worried at first because i had lost a pound and did not grow any since my last apt, however the ultrasound put me at ease. i may not have grown, but our baby girl has! she is weighing in at close to 4 pounds and her measurements changed her due date to october 24th, which is my birthday. that also moves her from the smallish 17th percentile to the 45th. i like to think of that as just a gentle, little rub on the back and a wink from God...letting me know that i was doing good work at growing this baby and that he is keeping her exactly where she should be. if i have annslee when i had aiden, it would make it october 7th...so anythime after that, i'll be one happy individual!

aiden annee-grace starts preschool on tuesday. she is very excited and ready to be with some friends. she is also ready for her little sister. every day she tells me something else she is going to teach her.

the boy's have been in school since this past tuesday and on thursday night, chase came down to our room at 2:30 and announced that he had thrown up in his bed. i must confess that this was a rough night. i can't thank God enough for giving me chad for a husband. he jumped up, got chase in the tub and started getting all the sanitizing under way. i went upstairs to assess the damage and started making laundry piles. unfortunately, we had some stuffed animal casualties due to him having about 28 of them in his bed with him. i was trying to help although moving kinda slow. chad, very sweetly and gently told me to go lay down and that he would take care of all of it. he did...and i was able to go behind him and spray everything with lysol or bleach and then he did a thorough cleaning after that.

i have been on my knees, (figuratively...i'm sure the Lord understands how hard it is for me to actually get on my knees) begging that whatever it was would not spread to the other kids and to chad and i. i'm really trying hard to not stress about all the potential threats this season to all pregnant women. every time i turn on the tv, i'm hearing about how dangerous this flu situation is this fall for pregnant women and their babies and how i'm supposed to stay away from public places and people who come in contact with it. and, i'm also hearing how bad the flu already is in the schools here. i explained to the school nurse my situation and she said that she would let me know as soon as it is on their halls, but i can't help but be apprehensive. this, evidently, is not the best season to be pregnant. the nurse also told me to get the regular flu vaccines for the kids now...so they are getting them next week. i will just keep praying. we are all in God's hands, right? i need to keep reminding myself that they are very capable ones.

meet the teacher...

noreply@blogger.com (m.c.) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:47:00 +0000

...could have been a scene out of meet the parents as far as i'm concerned. at my last appointment, i got special permission from the doctor to be able to go up to the school today for "meet the teacher." i explained that as long as i wasn't putting the baby at risk, there was no way that i could send my other, bigger babies to school without knowing who their teachers were, being able to talk with them in person, finding out where their classrooms were, and making sure that they felt comfortable with the situation. yes...chad could have done this on his own, but there are just some things that a mom wants to be a part of. annnnnnddd...maybe a little of me wanted to make sure that the teachers understood "the situation" and that if the kids talk about their mom being at home on the couch, they didn't picture a woman in a moo moo, watching soaps and eating bon bons with her hair in those old fashioned, pink, foam curler things.

so...off we go.

now, it was no secret to us that there was one teacher that colton did not want to get. this is not a reflection on the teacher, mind you...but the common knowledge that this man was very outgoing and loud and had the kids get up and dance on occasion. for my little shy guy...this was not appealing. i made the choice to let it play out and told him that the chances of him getting in this particular class were slim and not to worry. but all summer long, whenever we would talk about this year...he would say, "i just hope i don't get "mr. so and so." on friday, chad took the kids up to the school to see the class lists. i was on the phone with colton when he walked up and made the discovery that sent him into a tailspin of worry for the next 2 days. he got mr. so and so. and to top that off...he did not know one kid in his class.

we had long conversations over the weekend about how sometimes the things that we are most afraid of end up being the things that are the most meaningful. that was then translated into...sometimes the teachers that we are most afraid of in the beginning, end up being our favorites. this seemed to put him in better spirits until this morning. he was so nervous that he had a stomach ache. i pulled him close as we walked from the parking lot into the building and said, "don't worry. you've got this in the bag." chase...who never meets a stranger...or someone he doesn't like, was not worried at all. he was super excited to meet his teacher...and his allotted time to do so came first. after hugging his new teacher, hugging his friends in his class, and attempting to get the snake out of the display case, we headed to the other side of the tracks...known as the upper elementary side of the school. however, colton's teacher, mr. so and so was walking down the hall. colton said, "there's mr. so and so. he overheard colton say his name and said very friendly and outgoing like, "hey colton! you're in my class this year." colton was so nervous that he didn't say a word. however, chase did. he ran up to mr. so and so and pointed at him and said...very loudly i might add, "yeah...only he really didn't want to get you for a teacher."

you know when things start going in slow motion...and you open your mouth but nothing comes out except for a little squeaky noise...and you realize that there is no way to salvage what just happened...and all you want to do is run? well...that about sums it up. mr. so and so handled it with great dignity, especially since there were a ton of other parents and kids standing around who heard this honest outburst from a concerned sibling. as he walked away, i thought, "welp...our work here is done. let's go." however, we still had to make it to colton's classroom for the "formal" meet the teacher, although i wanted to slink out the door...never to return...making up some excuse about why i needed to home school my oldest instead of send him into the classroom where the teacher knows exactly how he feels about him. meanwhile, chad had a conversation with chase about the need to pretend there was tape on his mouth the whole time we were in mr. so and so's classroom. i'll spare you the rest of the details, but chad and i managed to salvage the situation once we were in there and colton became ok after he found a box of legos in the classroom that all the kids were playing with while their parents were putting there best foot forward for the teacher. i figured i didn't need to do that...seeing as my chaser had already put his in his mouth.

conversations with aiden

noreply@blogger.com (m.c.) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 04:22:00 +0000

i have noticed lately that aiden has become quite the little chatter box. when i was little, my mom used to have to tell me that her ears were tired and needed a break. i now understand what she means. i can't get one of a's questions answered before she asks the next one these days. i don't think that i could have possibly talked as much as she does. (chad would, most likely differ in opinion.)

here is how one of our MANY conversations went tonight:

Aiden: Mommy...take my feet off and turn them around backwards and put them back on.

Me: Why?

Aiden: So that I can walk backwards.

Me: How would I take them off?

Aiden: You could cut them off...then turn them around and put them back on.

Me: How would I get them back on though?

*pause*

Aiden: tape.

who knew?

noreply@blogger.com (m.c.) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:49:00 +0000

welp...who knew you could outgrow sweatpants?

i like to tell myself that people are wearing things tighter these days and that all my sweatpants are the "tighter style" and that is why i have suddenly outgrown them and that it is actually a good thing and that it is "all baby" and that these 1 or 3 pair of sweatpants that i can no longer get over my hips are made of a fabric that is way less stretchy than other sweatpants.

however...i am still somewhat annoyed at my sweatpants and have been since i tried to get them on this morning.

and furthermore, all my maternity shirts are feeling uncomfortably snug and the maternity tanks are tight and short and nothing feels comfortable except pajama pants and my sleep shirts. i know i have nowhere to go, but sometimes a girl wants to put on a cute, stylish outfit and it does nothing for my declining mood to have nothing cute and stylish to wear...even if it is to just sit in the chair.

and let me just give a piece of advice to any other pregnant women out there...or anyone who is hormonal for another reason...or just plain annoyed..........refrain from getting long hair cut off. it only makes you cry. and obsessively look at all girls on tv that have the long waves that you used to have.

an update of the serious and not-so-serious kind

noreply@blogger.com (m.c.) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:56:00 +0000

the not so serious:

the other day, chase came and sat next to me on the couch and touched my belly. i could tell he was thinking about something. he said, "mommy...i want the next baby you have to be a boy so we can name him obi wan kenobi."

i believe it was that very night that chase came over to the couch and told me he had a secret. i said, "whisper it in my ear." he leaned in close and whispered, "at granna's house, i put a lego head in my mouth. and then i swallowed it. BY ACCIDENT. you can't tell ANYONE."

this morning, aiden was drawing and coloring a picture. i asked her what she was drawing and she said, "a picture of you mommy." i said, "thank you aiden. i want to see it when you are done." a couple of minutes later she said, "mommy...i'm not able to draw a flower in your hair. but i can draw a cookie in it!" i said, "a cookie will be perfect!"

an update of the serious kind:

i had the ultrasound yesterday afternoon and the baby looks good. she was moving around a lot, which the technician said was great. her exact words were, "sick babies don't move." she is measuring 2.5 pounds and that is on the small side. she said that was the 17th percentile and that she is just petite. my fluid level looks good and she said that if there was a problem, my fluid level would, most likely be down. basically, she said that i just have small babies. however, colton was 8 pounds 2.5 oz...so he was no small thing. chase was 5 pounds 11 oz at 38 weeks, so he was small. but he had stopped growing and i had very little fluid when they broke my water with him. aiden was 6 pounds 11 oz at 36 weeks and 5 days, so she was on her way to an average weight. so...all this to say, i'm not sure about all that. i will feel better when i see the doctor and she tells me that she has grown since the last time. at least then i'll know she is thriving in there. needless to say, my mother is now stuffing my face with fat and calories to "grow" annslee. i now have an un-natural relationship with cinnamon powdered sugar donuts.

bed rest quote of the day

noreply@blogger.com (m.c.) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 21:28:00 +0000

-"mom...i want you to get up and just try to run around."

aiden

28 weeks

noreply@blogger.com (m.c.) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:34:00 +0000

apparently i've reached some sort of milestone. 28 weeks is a good place to be. at least that's what my doctor said when she greeted me today at my appointment. after waiting forever, and getting quite uncomfortable sitting on what is becoming a tinier and tinier table with nothing but a sheet separating me from the rest God's creation, she decided to grace me with her presence. something about rushing from a delivery, blah blah blah...okay...i guess that was a good enough reason to keep me waiting. it doesn't mean that i wasn't getting super uncomfortable though.

everything "down there" still looks good, however she set up an ultrasound on tuesday because i didn't gain any weight (and i was expecting to have packed on quite a bit due to the ice cream, cookies, brownies, candybars, and sedentary lifestyle) and i'm starting to measure small. they will do measurements on the baby then to make sure she is still growing like she should be. let's just hope she is.

i also got special permission to go lay on my mom's couch. we are going to try and go over there a couple time a week. that'll be like a vacation. maybe i'll have lemonade to drink that day instead of just plain water. with an umbrella. (thanks for the suggestion kara. ;)

my entertainment thus far

noreply@blogger.com (m.c.) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 21:49:00 +0000

there's really not much i can say to add to the above...

after a long time of insisting that he never wanted to ride a bike...the other day, colton announced, "ok...i'm gonna ride a bike today." and he did.

changes...

noreply@blogger.com (m.c.) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 16:01:00 +0000

...they are a good thing.

i was tired of cute-sy bloggery.

now...onto the living room.

this is what happens when you spend a lot of time sitting...and looking...and thinking...and planning.

blog...check.

now...onto the rest of the house.

sorry cute husband...who wears his hat backwards...that i love.

nine...but we are gonna call it 6

noreply@blogger.com (m.c.) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:54:00 +0000

the first full week on bed rest wasn't too terrible. i am actually a lot more comfortable than i was. i knew i was hurting...but i didn't know that it was totally caused by activity. when i'm standing up and especially if i'm walking around, the baby falls down into my pelvis and rests on my cervix causing lots of pain and swelling. well...that was getting old, but i thought that i just had to suffer through it and that it was not causing anything dangerous. evidently i was wrong. because since i'v been off my feet, the pressure and pain is gone. i had a dr. appointment yesterday and she said that we were doing everything right. she checked me and said that nothing had changed since she checked me a week ago in the hospital. i will go every week and she will do a fetal fibronectin test every 2 weeks until 32 weeks. if at 32 weeks, it still comes back negative, she said i could maybe get a little more brave because that would take me to 34 weeks. so, instead of looking at it as 10 very long weeks, i am taking this a week at a time. 6 weeks just sounds better than 10 anyway.

we have, what seems to be a very workable schedule going. chad feeds the kids breakfast before he leaves for the office mondays through thursdays. my mom comes at 10 am on mondays and tuesdays and stays until he can get home in the afternoon. on mondays, she does the laundry...even washing and changing the sheets!! i can sit on the couch and help fold...which i actually like doing because i feel like i'm helping a little. on every other tuesday, we have...GET THIS...a sweet lady that is coming to clean the house. this will happen until i get to 36 weeks and can safely do it again!! thanks to miss ann for her name and number and for "loaning" her to us. my sweet mother in law offered to help us in this way and it makes me giddy just thinking about it!! i do love a clean house and i do love the idea of someone else doing it and i do love the idea of it being done on a regular basis!!!! thanks sue! then, on wednesday morning, honey (my sweet grandmother) comes, spends wed night with us and is here on thursdays too. all of my doctor's appointments are on thursday mornings while she is here, so that makes that easier. then, chad is off on fridays, saturdays, and takes the kids to church with him on sundays. i made a breakfast and lunch plan that will remain the same each week, so whoever is here can just look at the fridge and know exactly what the kids are supposed to have to eat without any questions. this also helps chad with the grocery shopping each week. it's basically the same list every week. (not that he doesn't come home with the occasional box of lucky charms that was NOT on the list) then...the other huge help are the dinners that are coming every other night from friends!!!! they don't know how forward i look to the hot meal and especially the visit with them! let's face it...at this point...one of my consistant excitements is "what am i gonna eat next?" :)

so...1 week down and i feel like a pro at sitting.

ten

noreply@blogger.com (m.c.) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:14:00 +0000

well...technically 9 and 5 days. i was tempted to tell the whole story...my need to relay details and all...but decided to just go from here. because that's really my little mantra right now. "just go from here."

i have been put on bedrest for the duration of the pregnancy. technically, until 36 weeks...(same as with aiden)...when they will take me off and let things happen. the hospital stay was not entirely bad. the bad part...chad being out of town and me really wanting him there with me. the bright side...a little sleep aid known as ambien. anyhow...the facts are:

1. dilated to 1 cm (not super uncommon for a fourth pregnancy at this stage in the game)
2. short cervix (also not uncommon with 4th and how low she is and all the pressure i'v felt since about 12 weeks)
3. 0 station (still unsure about this one...but i'm doing everything i can to keep her up high in my uterus and not on my cervix-short of standing on my head)

hence the bed rest and drinking more water than i thought humanly possible. i think i got up to pee 6 times in the night last night. and that is conservative compared to what it is during the day. i'm allowed to get up to go to the bathroom; take a shower or bath; get my water and a small snack that doesn't have to be prepared. no cleaning, laundry, cooking, carrying kids, going upstairs, etc.etc.etc. this isn't my first rodeo with this arrangement. it happened with aiden at 30 weeks. i was somewhat expecting it this time, but really hoping my body would last. the doctor didn't think i would have trouble when we started talking about having a 4th because we thought it was caused by a virus, fever and dehydration with aiden...so we thought the chances of it happening again were slim. however, i had a feeling a little while back that we may be in the same situation toward the end because of how similar aiden's little sister's pregnancy is to her's. anyway...here we are.

when i first got home from the hospital, i was struggling with being really down and wondering how i was going to lay here for 10 weeks...not because my body felt like getting up and running around the block a few times but because of how lonely you get. that's what i remember from last time. i'm feeling better now. a new week has started and we have a plan in place. a good friend has already put a meal plan in place and my mom and grandmother are on duty mondays through thursday. annslee and i both owe you all.

i intend to keep this updated on a regular basis. after all...i've got some time on my hands!!

9 weeks 5 days and counting...