Wednesday, April 30, 2008

The verdict

Charlotte flipped to the head down position!!!!! She isn't engaged in the pelvis yet, but I hear that for non-first timers that is normal, but her head is down near where it should be and her body is curving around my left side with her feet located where her head was the last ultrasound. I knew those hiccups were in a different place!! There is still a chance that she can flip herself back again because I have enough amnio fluid and she still has room, but the doc said that there isn't like a huge amount of fluid so the chances are low that she will completely rotate to breech again. Thank heavens! I know that I am not 100% out of the woods, but really no one is when it comes to guessing what a baby in utero will do. I am SO happy that for now it is a non issue......I am glad though to have gone through this because it caused me to do a lot of research and I learned a lot of stuff that I previously had no idea about. It's always good to learn new things and I am going to store it all up in case I need it in the future. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers, we don't need this baby changing her mind and trying to find that comfortable but inconvienient breech position again!! But for now it looks like I am set to try and deliver this baby the good old fashioned way.....like Eve! lol

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Making progress

I feel like I have less water above my head and I am thisclose to being able to breathe. We got Maddie's new room painted....at least the base color and boy is it pink!!! She's gonna love it! Dan is currently sanding dressers and we hope to at least prime them tonight. This weekend we were hoping to go to the beach, but I really don't think it is a good idea with how much stuff we have to accomplish and how much gas costs. I am going to start working on drawing butterflies and dragon flies on Maddie's walls and hopeully this weekend we will be in a good place to paint them. I also think we're going to Lowe's today to look at new hardware for the dressers and new tracks so they don't pull out and crush my babies.

I finally got through sorting 7 large trash bags of baby clothes from 0-18 months and organized them all by size. I folded them all up neat and bagged them and vacuum sealed the bags. As soon as the dresser situation is all done, I will be moving Maddie's clothes to her new dressers in her new room, and washing all the 0-6 month baby clothes and putting them in the nursery. I really do adore tiny little baby clothes.....size 2T can be cute too, but nothing compared to a new born onesie. Those space saver vacuum bags are fantastic.....Dan and I used them when we drove cross country 3 years ago, and they seriously save you space. We have put all of my clothes that I bagged a few weeks ago, and all of the baby clothes over 6 months under our bed and not only are they totally compact, but they stay clean and folded and dust free. Space Saver bags really should pay me to endorse their product!! lol

So, today is the first of many big days. I have my OB appt. and another ultrasound to check on the position of little miss Charlotte. Lot's of people have been asking me if it feels like she has changed position, and honestly, I just can't tell. She has been VERY wiggly this past week and making movements that very well could be a flip in position, but it's too hard for me to tell. It still feels like something is using up the space on my upper right side (where her head was last ultra sound) but it very well could be her butt if she did in fact flip around. And I feel a lot more pressure in my pelvis than I did before, but again that could be her butt too. The only thing that gives me hope is that when she gets the hiccups I am feeling them in my lower adbomen instead of near the top of my belly like I used to....which to me (Gina Schultz M.D. lol) would indicate that her chest is closer to my pelvis which would mean that her head is down. Right??? I may be totally off base, but hey.....it could be true and I am going to believe that she did roate until 3:00 this afternoon when my OB tells me otherwise. We have been doing a LOT of research and talking to tons of people and Dan and I have come to a decision in regards to my options if Charlotte does not turn on her own, but I don't think that I am going to share them at this point. I truly appreciate all the input that I get from people, but I don't think that I want to hear anything negative about our decision.....I know people who don't talk about the name they chose for their baby before it's born because they don't want to have to listen to negative comments about it......I think this is a LOT bigger than that type of situation and if they can keep quiet, so can I! lol So, I'm keeping my lips shut and only staying positive about my baby flipping herself head down. Well, wish us luck at the doctors today.....it would be the best news in the world if Charlotte had already flipped and all the other stuff was a non issue. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Happy birthday to me?

Yesterday was my birthday. I am officially 28 years old. I remember when I was freaked out over turning 24 and now I am a mere 2 years from the big 3-0 and it doesn't seem like a big deal at all.

So, my day started off well.....Dan got me the 50mm camera lens that I have been wanting, my friend came over and brought me breakfast, flowers were delivered from a dear friend, I got 4 great happy birthday e-mails and a handful of phone calls and then I started having contractions around 11:00. No, it wasn't anything serious, but I had them off and on all day long and let me just say they are not very comfortable. They were never consistant and I honestly think that I just overdid it this weekend because today I've only had one. It's just weird becuase with Maddie I didn't have preterm contractions or braxton hicks contractions and this time I'm having them 4 weeks early!

I had an OB appt. scheduled for 2:00 yesterday to have another ultrasound to see how the baby is growing (since I have GD they are concerned that she will get too big) so I get to the office and end up waiting for nearly an hour.....I finally get into the u/s room and things look good, Charlotte is weighing in at 5 pounds 10 ounces which they said was right on track.....hooray she isn't getting too big.....BUT she is breech. For those of you who don't know that term, it means that the baby's head is up by my rib cage instead of down by my pelvis where it needs to be for birth. I know that doesn't sound so bad because babies move around and stuff in the womb, but at this point only having 4 weeks left Charlotte really should be head down and ready. So after talking to my OB there are 3 options. 1. Charlotte is a good girl and in the next 2-3 weeks she rotates on her own to the proper birthing position. 2. At 38 weeks I go to the hospital and have a external cephalic version performed which basically is taking drugs to relax my uterus and then having 2 doctors try and force the baby to rotate by pushing her out of the pelvic bones and shoving her in one direction in hopes that she flips. 3. Scheduling a c-section during my 39th week.

Here are my thoughts on the options: aaaaahhhhh.....%@^& $%%^! $%!!! This child better rotate on her own because I don't even want to think about the other 2 options. I really really really don't want to have a c-section. I have never had surgery before and I really don't want to be cut open, I don't want there to be a delay in me being able to bond with Charlotte or have any problems with nursing due to not being able to have her at the breast right away. I don't want to have a longer healing time that comes with major abdominal surgery and I don't want to be limited to c-sections for future children since not many doctors like to deal with vbacs. With the other option, the external cephalic version there is only a 65% chance that it will even work and more often than not the stress on the baby causes preterm labor which is why an anesthesiologist has to be present because if anything starts going bad they will put me under and take the baby. I also talked to a woman today in my playgroup who had one with her first child and said it was the most painful thing she has ever been through, it didn't work and she ended up having a c-section anway. She said it was WAY worse than the c-section itself.....and that includes the pain from the healing process. I know that nothing is final and Charlotte could very well turn herself around, I'm just really bummed because with my first pregnancy I was told numerous times that I was more than likely going to have a c-section because of my gestational diabetes, and even after I delivered my doctor told me he thought for sure I was going to have one, but I didn't. I proved them wrong and proved that I COULD have a vaginal birth and now this time I was all pumped because I knew it was possible and this little stinker could make it impossible just because of her position.....I really thought the "c" word was going to be a non-issue. SO, please please keep us in your prayers, send happy baby rotating thoughts our way because I would really like to not have to deal with options 2 or 3.

The rest of my birthday was okay although I was extremely uncomfortable. I got some money from my parents and grandma's that I am trying to figure out how to spend and I took a lovely bath to try and relax before bed. Oh, and Dan got me some cheese cake. Not the best birthday ever, but I felt really loved by those around me, and hey it could have been worse.....I had mono on my 19th birthday and my parents thought I was going to die. That was WAY worse! lol

Happy birthday to me.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

The art of snot and letting go

The house of Schultz is on its way to being healthy. Maddie's scary viral infection turned into a wicked cold with runny nose and coughing up phlem, and now Dan is sick with a cold, but so much easier to handle than a toddler! ;o) I somehow managed to dodge the bullet and haven't caught so much as a sniffle.....which is good becuase I don't think I could handle being sick again on top of being preggo and not sleeping. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Maddie has learned how to blow her nose. We still hold the kleenex, but she blows like a big girl and we can actually clear her nose out rather than just wiping what has come out off her face. That is the good news.....the bad news is that she now walks around the house randomly blowing her nose onto her hands, her arm, the couch, and my shirt. This child is producing snot like she is running a factory and most of the time I am covered in it. Gross. I am really proud that she learned something new, but seriously.....I'm ready for the cold to be over! lol

I'm having kind of an emotional day. We are slowly getting Maddie's new big girl room ready but the bedroom has been used as a guest room since we bought this house. It has all of my old bedroom furniture in it from before Dan and I even knew each other and the closet and huge dresser are completely filled with all of my clothes. Not really clothes that I have worn in the last 2 and a half years since I've been pregnant and such, but stuff that I always had planned to wear again after I was in a stable size. We are giving my furniture to Dan's parents and I have to clear out the dresser so they can take it next weekend so we can continue to get Maddie's room ready. I bought some of those storage bags that you suck the air out of and they get really small and flat and my plan was to put all of my old clothes in these bags and store them somewhere until I was ready to use them. I don't think that I fully understood the enormity of how much clothing I have!!!! There is no way that I would be able to get all of them into the storage bags, and honestly there is no reason why I should keep all of these clothes. I've just never wanted to get rid of them......just in case ya know? I haven't worn some of these for years, and some still have tags on them from when I bought them which was at least 4 years ago. Some of them are from so long ago (when I was pretty small) that I don't know if I will ever get that little again, and if I ever do it will be 2015 and they will be totally out of style anyway. So, needless to say I am going through my clothes, my cute, young, hip, sexy, pre marriage, pre baby clothes and bagging up the ones that I haven't touched in a couple years.....which so far happens to be 2 large trash bags full. I hate to see them go, but we just don't have the space for me to keep them anymore, and honestly I don't know if I would wear some of them even if they did fit.....I don't think that I need to wear mom clothes, but some of my old clothes are short and tight and low cut and reveal a tad bit too much for me to be comfortable wearing. I need stuff that is easy to wear and comfortable enough for me to run after my kids in and not worry about them getting snot and food on. So, it's sad, but it needs to happen and really; I'm ready. I am still bagging up some things that I think I'll wear post baby and storing them, but it's about 1/3 of what I currently have. I thought about trying to sell some of it on ebay or something but honestly I think that it would be a bigger hassle than its worth....all the bidding and shipping and I HATE the post office. It works out for my friends though, I'm gonna have my girlfriends Amber and Alice over and see if they want any of it, and the rest is going to goodwill.

So, thats my day so far. The house is a disaster because Maddie likes to "help" me when I'm trying to work on something and there are clothes all over the house in piles to keep and get rid of. I'll clean it all up, but right now Maddie is napping and I think that a nice snooze on the couch sounds like a much better idea than bagging up clothes.

Happy Sunday everyone! Take a nap.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Mom of sick toddler driven over the edge: is admitted to psych ward

Maddie has been sick since Thursday morning which would make today DAY 5 of sick watch. I’m seriously losing it! Going.....crazy, looney, mad, loco etc. It all started with crankiness and a fever of 100.3 Thursday morning and escalated to 103.7 by 9:00 that night. Both Dan and I were worried sick because there were no other symptoms and Maddie has never been that sick or had a fever that high before and we really didn’t know what to do. I tried the warm bath which caused her to start shaking with the chills and crying non stop, I tried putting cool wash cloths on her forehead and chest and we tried tylenol. We were both opposed to taking her to the ER because the wait would have been ridiculous and she was exhausted because it was past her bestime and the last time I went to the ER when Maddie was 7 months old there was absolutely nothing they could do and it really tramatized both of us because they ran a whole bunch of unnecessary tests on her. We finally got the fever to go down a little bit and Maddie basically passed out and pretty much slept the night through. I for sure thought she would wake up Friday morning and feel fine because every illness she has had thus far has only lasted 12-24 hours other than colds of course.

She did not wake up fine. Her temp was lower, but still high at 102.7 so I called her pedi and made an appointment. Of course by the time we got there her fever was pretty much gone because we had given her tylenol and there were no other symptoms so the doc said to just keep her hydrated and continue giving her tylenol and motrin as long as she had a fever and if it was still around on Monday to bring her back because by then there should be other symptoms. We went home with our no fever child and put her down for a nap. She woke up about an hour later crying hysterically, her fever was back up to nearly 103 degrees and she sounded hoarse. We gave her some motrin and the rest of the evening she was pretty much stuck on the couch watching cartoons looking terribly sad. Friday night was not nearly as easy as Thursday night was and she was up about 4 times during the night.

Saturday morning she still had the fever, was really hoarse and was acting like her throat hurt. I ended up e-mailing my moms group and told them what was going on with her and asked if anyone else’s kids were sick, or if they had been recently with anything that resembled Maddie’s symptoms. I got quite a few responses and one woman said that her son was sick right now with strep throat and has the exact same symptoms. So we loaded the sicky poo into the car and drove to my doc office urgent care because if it was strep I didn’t want her to be in pain and go through the rest of the weekend just getting worse if I could prevent it. Well, the 6 minute strep test came back negative but Maddie’s throat looked HORRIBLE. It was all red and inflamed and by that time she wasn’t eating or drinking anything and wasn’t really even swallowing because it hurt so much......there was a lot of drool cover her, Dan and I! The urgent care doc thought that it was probably a viral infection which there isn’t any type of medicine for and we were told to keep her hydrated, give her warm and cool things to eat/drink and to continue giving her tylenol and mortin for fever and if she is acting like she is in pain.

So, here we have been since Saturday living with a sick toddler. Her fever broke yesterday and we haven’t seen it back again, but by no means is she "better". I am so emotionally and physically exhausted. I never really knew how much worry and stress a child could cause just by being sick and having a high fever. I feel so terrible for her, but also just want to be done.....it’s been 5 days of dealing with a child who is in pain and miserable and who is crying over every little thing and so so clingy. She doesn’t want to eat or drink.....I continue to try and even went out and bought fun foods that I normally don’t give her in hopes of her wanting to eat the fun food, but she doesn’t want popsicles or spaghetti o’s or jello and I’ve even resorted to giving her more than 50% juice in her sippy (with the non flavored Pedialyte) just to entice her to drink the freakin stuff. She wants to be held all the time, but doesn’t want to be held, but when I put her down she cries and wants to be picked up again. She is not okay with me being anywhere but right next to her on the couch while she watches cartoons. I got so sick of Dora that Dan went and rented Monsters Inc., Over the Hedge, Veggie Tales-Jonah and Madagascar and she didn’t really like any of them (too grown up for her maybe) and so here we are watching the same episodes of Dora and Backyardigans over and over and over. She cries when I change her diaper, she cries when I give her a bath, she cries when I try and feed her, she cries when she is tired and needs to go to bed, and yet she hasn’t really been sleeping. Last night she was waking up about every hour, she has only napped for 45 minutes everyday since Thursday and she is used to getting 12 hours of sleep at night and between 2-3 hours of naps during the day. So, I know that the lack of sleep is making everything so much worse, but I don’t know how to get her to sleep when she is in pain!!!!!

I hope that this blog didn’t come across as me feeling sorry for myself because I really don’t. I am going a bit stir crazy from being inside and a little crazy in the head from Maddie crying/whining most of the day and me not being able to do anything to help make her feel better. This is soo not how she normally is and I’m not at all used to it and it’s now been going on for 5 days which feels like forever! I think that I just needed to vent a little bit. I feel so horrible for her and I hate that she looks at me with big fat tears in her eyes with a face that says help me Mama and there really is nothing that I can do.....she is too young for me to explain what is going on, or reason with her that sucking on ice chips or popsicles will help her throat feel better. She doesn’t want to have anything to do with the things I’ve been trying that might make her feel better and I can’t make her or get her to understand. I feel stuck and frusterated.

Maybe she’ll wake up tomorrow morning and feel 1,000 times better. Here’s hoping! Please pray for the crazy mom, that I may have patience....or I just may end up in the psych ward!!!!!

A rose by any other name

Dan and I have had a name picked out for Schultz baby girl number 2 for many months now, but for some reaon we haven’t wanted to commit to it....in case something we liked better popped up? It’s weird though because we have been calling her by name for at least 2 months now when we talk about her amongst ourselves. So here I am committing to our name and declaring it for the world to see. Our soon to be baby girl will be called:

Charlotte Grace Schultz

I was debating trying to find a different middle name because it seems like lots of people are currently using Grace as a middle name, but I’ve liked that since before Maddie was born and really who cares if other people share her middle name.....mine is Ann and I think that half the populations middle name is Ann. Both Dan and I adore the name Charlotte and there was never any debating about it, or really any other name that either of us liked as much. It’s kind of awkward that we happen to live in a state with a large well known city named Charlotte and that Dan’s parents live there, but over time I think that we will think solely of our child in reference to Charlotte and not the city at all. I reserve the right to call her Charlie as a nickname, but who knows what nickname will work and what will stick. But I’ve always liked the name Charlie for a little girl. I don’t know why but I like a lot of typical boy names for girls. I’m weird.

So that is that. We are now committed which feels good, because thats the way it should be.....we’ve known for a long time now. I can stop using terms like "the baby" "and when she arrives" and start using her soon to be name. I’m happy because we are having a baby shower thrown for us in 2 Saturdays and it makes it feel very final and brings new excietment. I was really hoping that we would be able to have a celebration for Charlotte because it seems so sad to have multiple parties and such a big to-do for your first and have nothing for your second. We should be celebrating her life too! It should be a good time......I’ll let ya know. And all I have to say is bring on the cake!!!!!! lol

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Update

Life has been really busy. Maddie and I are constantly on the go to play group and activities with my moms club and running errands, it seems like we are home long enough for her to take her nap and then we are off again. We are currently in the process of getting her big girl room ready, and by in the process, I mean that I just bought her bedding a couple days ago. But hey, thats the first step. We have also picked out the paint color and are planning ..ing her room this weekend.....maybe. I have to decide what else I want to do with her walls, there has been talk of painting a tree, or polka dots, or butterflies......lot’s of decisions, but her bedding is white with pink butterflies and lady bugs, so it is going to be a GIRLY room!

Maddie is doing great! She is still clumsy, but no new wounds since the last head injury! She is such an active little girl and is really good at entertaining herself which I think will come in handy once her sister arrives. She loves doing puzzles and is really good at matching all the pieces and getting them into the spots. She can name about 10 farm animals and also say what sound they make which is highly entertaining. She also loves coloring and requests that we color at least 3 times a day.....she also loves the color blue and talks about her blue crayon a lot although we call them colors. lol She is extremely social and waves and says hi to everyone when we are out and about. She has made me realize how much I say the word okay because she now says it ALL the time....."juice okay," "blue color okay," "help okay." etc. She is such a funny girl. She is also a big gril....at her 18 month check up she was 34 inches tall and almost 31 pounds. She is currently wearing 2T clothes and I am praying that she makes it through the summer in that size because all of her spring/summer clothes are 2T. We are currently in the process of phasing out the paci and she only gets it in her crib and in the car, and let me tell ya, it has made it SO easy to put her to bed. She doesn’t want to rock, she doesn’t want a story or milk or anything.....she gives Dan a hug and a kiss and dives into her bed to get her paci and go to sleep, same for nap time too. Silly. We are no where near potty training and I am really okay with that. I think that it’s gonna be hard for her when we bring home the baby and even if we started training now, I’m almost 100% positive that she would regress. I think we’ll wait till she is at least 2 as long as she is showing signs then cause she sure isn’t right now. I thought that we would try and transition her into a big girl bed before I have the baby, but I don’t think that she is ready for that either. And since I will be nursing the baby and she will be in our room for the first few months, I think we’ll keep Maddie in her crib in her old room until she seems ready for a big girl bed.....it will be ready and waiting for her in her new room when she is ready. Such a grown up girl in so many ways, but also still my baby!

Easter weekend Dan finally sold his truck! We have been trying to sell it for months.....many months! We finally listed it on ebay and it sold within 5 days. The winning bidder lived in Virgina and drive down with his wife and 2 kids (one more on the way) and test drove it and gave us the moola. It sold for a bit less than we would have liked, but we made a profit and it went to a good family and not to a dealer who would sell it to someone else and rip them off, so we feel good about it. I was really skeptical about selling something so large on ebay, but it worked out really well and I highly reccomend it. We will miss the truck dearly, but we won’t miss how much it cost to fill the gas tank!!

This Saturday our dear friends Christian and Tonya are going to watch Maddie so that Dan and I can get out of the house alone and have some date time. They have a little boy who is 2 weeks older than Maddie and the kiddos LOVE to play together so I know she will be in good hands and having a blast while Dan and I get some time to enjoy each others company before we add another monkey to the family. I don’t know exactly what we have planned yet, but it will probably involve dinner and hopefully a movie! (I can’t tell you the last time Dan and I saw a movie in the theater together) We might do some shopping, or some coffee drinking and talking. But it really doesn’t matter what we do because I always have a fantastic time with Dan......good thing I married him huh? lol

Things are moving along with my pregnancy. It is really hard to believe that I have less than 55 days to go. This pregnancy has FLOWN by!!!! I am feeling good although I am not sleeping well....but that is really my only complaint, well that and the fact that I am getting huge! lol I am ready to not be pregnant anymore, but I’m not ready to have an infant yet, so I am going to savor these last few weeks. I am also starting to get a little bit sad because I have very little time left where it is only Maddie and me. She is my only baby right now and I get to spend 100% of my time focused on her and lovin’ on her and life is going to be so different so soon. I really want to make sure that she still feels imensely loved and that I have enough time for her. Adding another child to our family is going to be a huge change for everyone and I want to help Maddie to adjust as easliy as possible, but I’m not really sure how to do that. I’m really curious to see what the baby is going to look like. Will she look like Maddie who looks so much like Dan, or will she have more of my characteristics? Will she be an easy baby, will she have colic, will she like Maddie and will Maddie like her, will breastfeeding be easier than with Maddie? So many questions. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see. It really is SOO crazy that we are going to have another baby next month. In 2 and a half years we went from newlyweds to parents of 2 girls. CRAZY. But it totally fits and it feels fantastic.....I wouldn’t trade my life for any other life, even on the crappy days. La vida es bella.


She walked all over the house with my shoes on backwards.


Trying to eat yogurt with a fork.....didn’t work out all that well, but it was entertaining!


The scab from her face meeting concrete the other day. It’s been about a week and the scab is already coming off and it looks a lot better.

Ladies and Gentlemen.....I give you the deck

I finally got around to taking some pictures of the mostly complete deck. The reason that I am finally getting around to it and the reason it is mostly complete really is the same reason......it’s been raining here for 5 days solid. Yeah! for the earth, not so great for being outside. I still can’t believe that we have a deck out back. We had been talking about building one for so long (2 years) and it is amazing that we got it up.....and quickly too! It would never have happened if not for our brother’s in law Lane and Kellen who came and stayed the weekend and worked their butts off to get it done. So a huge thank you to them!!! Dan has a few more things that he would like to do like building flower boxes and of course cleaning up the back yard which is currently a HUGE disaster area. We are also going to get some more patio furniture because the deck is humongous at 20 x 30 feet. And in time we’d like a new BBQ and a fountain or something, but those are things we can take our time to purchase. I am so proud of my husband. Watching him draw up the plans and dealing with the red tape to get permits and working so hard to build this deck for our family. He is an amazing man, a wonderful carpenter and a great provider for his family. Alright.....enough gushing......enjoy the pictures of our (and when I say our I mean Dan and the boy’s) deck building journey!


Dan digging holes for the support beams


Dan and Lane mixing and pouring concrete


And the deck building begins with the frame going up


Deck boards being screwed in


Just a few more to go


Just a man and his deck


The grand stairway.....6 feet wide


Deck from the side


Deck from the back


The doggies LOVE the new deck!

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

April 2008


  • Todays verdict

    Current mood:ecstatic
    Charlotte flipped to the head down position!!!!!  She isn't engaged in the pelvis yet, but I hear that for non-first timers that is normal, but her head is down near where it should be and her body is curving around my left side with her feet located where her head was the last ultrasound.  I knew those hiccups were in a different place!!  There is still a chance that she can flip herself back again because I have enough amnio fluid and she still has room, but the doc said that there isn't like a huge amount of fluid so the chances are low that she will completely rotate to breech again.  Thank heavens!  I know that I am not 100% out of the woods, but really no one is when it comes to guessing what a baby in utero will do.  I am SO happy that for now it is a non issue......I am glad though to have gone through this because it caused me to do a lot of research and I learned a lot of stuff that I previously had no idea about.  It's always good to learn new things and I am going to store it all up in case I need it in the future.  Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers, we don't need this baby changing her mind and trying to find that comfortable but inconvienient breech position again!!  But for now it looks like I am set to try and deliver this baby the good old fashioned way.....like Eve! lol
  • Making progress

    Current mood:bouncy
    I feel like I have less water above my head and I am thisclose to being able to breathe.  We got Maddie's new room painted....at least the base color and boy is it pink!!!  She's gonna love it!  Dan is currently sanding dressers and we hope to at least prime them tonight.  This weekend we were hoping to go to the beach, but I really don't think it is a good idea with how much stuff we have to accomplish and how much gas costs.  I am going to start working on drawing butterflies and dragon flies on Maddie's walls and hopeully this weekend we will be in a good place to paint them.  I also think we're going to Lowe's today to look at new hardware for the dressers and new tracks so they don't pull out and crush my babies.
    I finally got through sorting 7 large trash bags of baby clothes from 0-18 months and organized them all by size.  I folded them all up neat and bagged them and vacuum sealed the bags.  As soon as the dresser situation is all done, I will be moving Maddie's clothes to her new dressers in her new room, and washing all the 0-6 month baby clothes and putting them in the nursery.  I really do adore tiny little baby clothes.....size 2T can be cute too, but nothing compared to a new born onesie.  Those space saver vacuum bags are fantastic.....Dan and I used them when we drove cross country 3 years ago, and they seriously save you space.  We have put all of my clothes that I bagged a few weeks ago, and all of the baby clothes over 6 months under our bed and not only are they totally compact, but they stay clean and folded and dust free.  Space Saver bags really should pay me to endorse their product!!  lol
    So, today is the first of many big days.  I have my OB appt. and another ultrasound to check on the position of little miss Charlotte.  Lot's of people have been asking me if it feels like she has changed position, and honestly, I just can't tell.  She has been VERY wiggly this past week and making movements that very well could be a flip in position, but it's too hard for me to tell.  It still feels like something is using up the space on my upper right side (where her head was last ultra sound) but it very well could be her butt if she did in fact flip around.  And I feel a lot more pressure in my pelvis than I did before, but again that could be her butt too.  The only thing that gives me hope is that when she gets the hiccups I am feeling them in my lower adbomen instead of near the top of my belly like I used to....which to me (Gina Schultz M.D. lol) would indicate that her chest is closer to my pelvis which would mean that her head is down.  Right???  I may be totally off base, but hey.....it could be true and I am going to believe that she did roate until 3:00 this afternoon when my OB tells me otherwise.  We have been doing a LOT of research and talking to tons of people and Dan and I have come to a decision in regards to my options if Charlotte does not turn on her own, but I don't think that I am going to share them at this point.  I truly appreciate all the input that I get from people, but I don't think that I want to hear anything negative about our decision.....I know people who don't talk about the name they chose for their baby before it's born because they don't want to have to listen to negative comments about it......I think this is a LOT bigger than that type of situation and if they can keep quiet, so can I!  lol  So, I'm keeping my lips shut and only staying positive about my baby flipping herself head down.  Well, wish us luck at the doctors today.....it would be the best news in the world if Charlotte had already flipped and all the other stuff was a non issue.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
  • Today

    Current mood:tested
    -I have heartburn like you wouldn't believe.  I feel like I could breathe fire.
    -Nothing sounds good to eat.....well nothing that I have in the house.
    -Maddie refused to take a nap, but stayed in her crib for an hour and a half  refusing to come out and yelling off and on.  *relaxing*
    -I just finished writing 12 thank you notes to give to Dan's co-worker's for baby gifts.....I hope that people don't show one another the cards because I always write pretty much the same thing in every thank you note.
    -At 4:00 Dan's crew is throwing me a baby shower at the office.....my thoughts: 1. I hope there is cake.  2. Cake will probably make my heartburn worse, since EVERYTHING makes it worse.  3. I'm kinda hoping there won't be gifts because I am burned out on thank you notes.
    -Our house looks like a disaster area.  We are still spring cleaning and trying to organize before this baby arrives and I have baby clothes everywhere waiting to be folded and vacuum bagged.
    -I haven't been sleeping well and am perpetually exhausted during the day and for some reason totally AWAKE at night.  I don't get this part of pregnancy.  
    -I am really bummed over the state of our country, the cost of living, the housing crisis, the price of gasoline. 
    -I don't think that I am going to be ready for this baby to arrive.  Yes, I will in theory have to be ready, but there are lots of things that I still want to do before she gets here and we are running out of time and steam.
    -I wish that right now it was this time tomorrow because then the work day would almost be over and Dan would be home and have 2 days off.
    -Maddie is crying because she is overly tired and I won't let her rip up my thank you notes.
    Lord, please help me get through the rest of this day.
  • Happy birthday to me?

    Current mood:blah
    Yesterday was my birthday.  I am officially 28 years old.  I remember when I was freaked out over turning 24 and now I am a mere 2 years from the big 3-0 and it doesn't seem like a big deal at all. 
    So, my day started off well.....Dan got me the 50mm camera lens that I have been wanting, my friend came over and brought me breakfast, flowers were delivered from a dear friend, I got 4 great happy birthday e-mails and a handful of phone calls and then I started having contractions around 11:00.  No, it wasn't anything serious, but I had them off and on all day long and let me just say they are not very comfortable.  They were never consistant and I honestly think that I just overdid it this weekend because today I've only had one.  It's just weird becuase with Maddie I didn't have preterm contractions or braxton hicks contractions and this time I'm having them 4 weeks early!
    I had an OB appt. scheduled for 2:00 yesterday to have another ultrasound to see how the baby is growing (since I have GD they are concerned that she will get too big) so I get to the office and end up waiting for nearly an hour.....I finally get into the u/s room and things look good, Charlotte is weighing in at 5 pounds 10 ounces which they said was right on track.....hooray she isn't getting too big.....BUT she is breech.  For those of you who don't know that term, it means that the baby's head is up by my rib cage instead of down by my pelvis where it needs to be for birth.  I know that doesn't sound so bad because babies move around and stuff in the womb, but at this point only having 4 weeks left Charlotte really should be head down and ready.  So after talking to my OB there are 3 options.  1. Charlotte is a good girl and in the next 2-3 weeks she rotates on her own to the proper birthing position.  2. At 38 weeks I go to the hospital and have a external cephalic version performed which basically is taking drugs to relax my uterus and then having 2 doctors try and force the baby to rotate by pushing her out of the pelvic bones and shoving her in one direction in hopes that she flips.  3. Scheduling a c-section during my 39th week.
    Here are my thoughts on the options: aaaaahhhhh.....%@^&  $%%^!  $%!!!  This child better rotate on her own because I don't even want to think about the other 2 options.  I really really really don't want to have a c-section.  I have never had surgery before and I really don't want to be cut open, I don't want there to be a delay in me being able to bond with Charlotte or have any problems with nursing due to not being able to have her at the breast right away.  I don't want to have a longer healing time that comes with major abdominal surgery and I don't want to be limited to c-sections for future children since not many doctors like to deal with vbacs.  With the other option, the external cephalic version there is only a 65% chance that it will even work and more often than not the stress on the baby causes preterm labor which is why an anesthesiologist has to be present because if anything starts going bad they will put me under and take the baby.  I also talked to a woman today in my playgroup who had one with her first child and said it was the most painful thing she has ever been through, it didn't work and she ended up having a c-section anway.  She said it was WAY worse than the c-section itself.....and that includes the pain from the healing process.  I know that nothing is final and Charlotte could very well turn herself around, I'm just really bummed because with my first pregnancy I was told numerous times that I was more than likely going to have a c-section because of my gestational diabetes, and even after I delivered my doctor told me he thought for sure I was going to have one, but I didn't.  I proved them wrong and proved that I COULD have a vaginal birth and now this time I was all pumped because I knew it was possible and this little stinker could make it impossible just because of her position.....I really thought the "c" word was going to be a non-issue.  SO, please please keep us in your prayers, send happy baby rotating thoughts our way because I would really like to not have to deal with options 2 or 3.
    The rest of my birthday was okay although I was extremely uncomfortable.  I got some money from my parents and grandma's that I am trying to figure out how to spend and I took a lovely bath to try and relax before bed.  Oh, and Dan got me some cheese cake.  Not the best birthday ever, but I felt really loved by those around me, and hey it could have been worse.....I had mono on my 19th birthday and my parents thought I was going to die.  That was WAY worse! lol
    Happy birthday to me.
  • Maddie vs Nature - The SmackDown

    Current mood:blah
    We have had some lovely weather the last few days and since we are having a party at our house on Saturday we have been trying to get the inside and outside of our house lookin' good.  The inside needs to be cleaned basically from top to bottom thanks to the fantastic pine pollen that we get each year that leaves a green dust on everything, and the outside just needs a little TLC since we ignore the yard throughout the winter.  Dan mowed the grass er, um, weeds for the first time this season and pulled weeds in our flower bed in the front.  It's lovely though because spring is in full bloom and we have some nice color in our yard for the first time since we bought the house.  It's also terrific that Maddie is big enough to hang out with us while we work outside.  She has enjoyed being in the wilderness and walking all over our property playing with sticks and rocks and picking flowers.  She has thus far been really good about staying near us and not going into the street.
    Speaking of nature, we have a bird here called a killdeer and it annoys the crap out of me.  They are all over the place and their bird call seriously grates on my nerves.  Not only are they ridiculously loud (we can hear them with our windows and doors closed) but they are also the dumbest birds alive.  Spring is in the air which for birds means its time to make nests and lay eggs.  Normally birds choose trees and other lofty locations to make thier nests, but not the killdeer, these retarded birds lay their nests on the GROUND!  So, we have 2 nests in our front yard (at least they were smart enough not to lay them in the back where the dogs are) one is at the base of one of our trees and one is in the gravel driveway....which means that not only is my car covered in bird crap because it is in the flight path of the Mama bird, but I also have to deal with an angry female bird who thinks that I am going to steal her eggs or something and every time I leave or come home I have to deal with her squacking and trying to attack Maddie and me.  It is seriously annoying.....I have wished these birds dead before they decided to lay eggs in my yard and threaten my safety, now I want to run their nests over with my car. lol  But I would never do that because I do have a heart.....my child however laid the smackdown on one of the nests accidently while she was playing outside yesterday.  Which serves them right for making nests and laying eggs on the ground.  Sorry little birdie that never was, Maddie didn't mean to step on you or your brother.  I guess in Maddie vs Nature, Maddie is the victor!!!
    Oh, and if you want to hear the annoying killdeer bird call, just follow this link and click on "killdeer voice":
    killdeer bird call
     Maddie checking out the woods behind our house

     Daddy gave her a stick....I hope it smells okay
     Creeping chocolate chip plants
     Japanese Cherry blossoms
     We thought this was another cherry tree when it was planted....this is our first spring to see it bloom.....guess its not what we thought! lol


  • The art of snot and letting go

    Current mood:focused
    The house of Schultz is on its way to being healthy.  Maddie's scary viral infection turned into a wicked cold with runny nose and coughing up phlem, and now Dan is sick with a cold, but so much easier to handle than a toddler! ;o)  I somehow managed to dodge the bullet and haven't caught so much as a sniffle.....which is good becuase I don't think I could handle being sick again on top of being preggo and not sleeping.  Keeping my fingers crossed.
    Maddie has learned how to blow her nose.  We still hold the kleenex, but she blows like a big girl and we can actually clear her nose out rather than just wiping what has come out off her face.  That is the good news.....the bad news is that she now walks around the house randomly blowing her nose onto her hands, her arm, the couch, and my shirt.  This child is producing snot like she is running a factory and most of the time I am covered in it.  Gross.  I am really proud that she learned something new, but seriously.....I'm ready for the cold to be over! lol
    I'm having kind of an emotional day.  We are slowly getting Maddie's new big girl room ready but the bedroom has been used as a guest room since we bought this house.  It has all of my old bedroom furniture in it from before Dan and I even knew each other and the closet and huge dresser are completely filled with all of my clothes.  Not really clothes that I have worn in the last 2 and a half years since I've been pregnant and such, but stuff that I always had planned to wear again after I was in a stable size.  We are giving my furniture to Dan's parents and I have to clear out the dresser so they can take it next weekend so we can continue to get Maddie's room ready.  I bought some of those storage bags that you suck the air out of and they get really small and flat and my plan was to put all of my old clothes in these bags and store them somewhere until I was ready to use them.  I don't think that I fully understood the enormity of how much clothing I have!!!!  There is no way that I would be able to get all of them into the storage bags, and honestly there is no reason why I should keep all of these clothes.  I've just never wanted to get rid of them......just in case ya know?  I haven't worn some of these for years, and some still have tags on them from when I bought them which was at least 4 years ago.  Some of them are from so long ago (when I was pretty small) that I don't know if I will ever get that little again, and if I ever do it will be 2015 and they will be totally out of style anyway.  So, needless to say I am going through my clothes, my cute, young, hip, sexy, pre marriage, pre baby clothes and bagging up the ones that I haven't touched in a couple years.....which so far happens to be 2 large trash bags full.  I hate to see them go, but we just don't have the space for me to keep them anymore, and honestly I don't know if I would wear some of them even if they did fit.....I don't think that I need to wear mom clothes, but some of my old clothes are short and tight and low cut and reveal a tad bit too much for me to be comfortable wearing.  I need stuff that is easy to wear and comfortable enough for me to run after my kids in and not worry about them getting snot and food on.  So, it's sad, but it needs to happen and really; I'm ready.  I am still bagging up some things that I think I'll wear post baby and storing them, but it's about 1/3 of what I currently have.  I thought about trying to sell some of it on ebay or something but honestly I think that it would be a bigger hassle than its worth....all the bidding and shipping and I HATE the post office.   It works out for my friends though, I'm gonna have my girlfriends Amber and Alice over and see if they want any of it, and the rest is going to goodwill.
    So, thats my day so far.  The house is a disaster because Maddie likes to "help" me when I'm trying to work on something and there are clothes all over the house in piles to keep and get rid of.  I'll clean it all up, but right now Maddie is napping and I think that a nice snooze on the couch sounds like a much better idea than bagging up clothes. 
    Happy Sunday everyone!  Take a nap.
  • Mom of sick toddler driven over the edge: is admitted to psych ward

    Current mood:cranky
    Maddie has been sick since Thursday morning which would make today DAY 5 of sick watch.  I’m seriously losing it!  Going.....crazy, looney, mad, loco etc.  It all started with crankiness and a fever of 100.3 Thursday morning and escalated to 103.7 by 9:00 that night.  Both Dan and I were worried sick because there were no other symptoms and Maddie has never been that sick or had a fever that high before and we really didn’t know what to do.  I tried the warm bath which caused her to start shaking with the chills and crying non stop, I tried putting cool wash cloths on her forehead and chest and we tried tylenol.  We were both opposed to taking her to the ER because the wait would have been ridiculous and she was exhausted because it was past her bestime and the last time I went to the ER when Maddie was 7 months old there was absolutely nothing they could do and it really tramatized both of us because they ran a whole bunch of unnecessary tests on her.  We finally got the fever to go down a little bit and Maddie basically passed out and pretty much slept the night through.  I for sure thought she would wake up Friday morning and feel fine because every illness she has had thus far has only lasted 12-24 hours other than colds of course. 
    She did not wake up fine.  Her temp was lower, but still high at 102.7 so I called her pedi and made an appointment.  Of course by the time we got there her fever was pretty much gone because we had given her tylenol and there were no other symptoms so the doc said to just keep her hydrated and continue giving her tylenol and motrin as long as she had a fever and if it was still around on Monday to bring her back because by then there should be other symptoms.  We went home with our no fever child and put her down for a nap.  She woke up about an hour later crying hysterically, her fever was back up to nearly 103 degrees and she sounded hoarse.  We gave her some motrin and the rest of the evening she was pretty much stuck on the couch watching cartoons looking terribly sad.  Friday night was not nearly as easy as Thursday night was and she was up about 4 times during the night. 
    Saturday morning she still had the fever, was really hoarse and was acting like her throat hurt.  I ended up e-mailing my moms group and told them what was going on with her and asked if anyone else’s kids were sick, or if they had been recently with anything that resembled Maddie’s symptoms.  I got quite a few responses and one woman said that her son was sick right now with strep throat and has the exact same symptoms.  So we loaded the sicky poo into the car and drove to my doc office urgent care because if it was strep I didn’t want her to be in pain and go through the rest of the weekend just getting worse if I could prevent it.  Well, the 6 minute strep test came back negative but Maddie’s throat looked HORRIBLE.  It was all red and inflamed and by that time she wasn’t eating or drinking anything and wasn’t really even swallowing because it hurt so much......there was a lot of drool cover her, Dan and I!  The urgent care doc thought that it was probably a viral infection which there isn’t any type of medicine for and we were told to keep her hydrated, give her warm and cool things to eat/drink and to continue giving her tylenol and mortin for fever and if she is acting like she is in pain.
    So, here we have been since Saturday living with a sick toddler.  Her fever broke yesterday and we haven’t seen it back again, but by no means is she "better".  I am so emotionally and physically exhausted.  I never really knew how much worry and stress a child could cause just by being sick and having a high fever.  I feel so terrible for her, but also just want to be done.....it’s been 5 days of dealing with a child who is in pain and miserable and who is crying over every little thing and so so clingy.  She doesn’t want to eat or drink.....I continue to try and even went out and bought fun foods that I normally don’t give her in hopes of her wanting to eat the fun food, but she doesn’t want popsicles or spaghetti o’s or jello and I’ve even resorted to giving her more than 50% juice in her sippy (with the non flavored Pedialyte) just to entice her to drink the freakin stuff.  She wants to be held all the time, but doesn’t want to be held, but when I put her down she cries and wants to be picked up again.  She is not okay with me being anywhere but right next to her on the couch while she watches cartoons.  I got so sick of Dora that Dan went and rented Monsters Inc., Over the Hedge, Veggie Tales-Jonah and Madagascar and she didn’t really like any of them (too grown up for her maybe) and so here we are watching the same episodes of Dora and Backyardigans over and over and over.  She cries when I change her diaper, she cries when I give her a bath, she cries when I try and feed her, she cries when she is tired and needs to go to bed, and yet she hasn’t really been sleeping.  Last night she was waking up about every hour, she has only napped for 45 minutes everyday since Thursday and she is used to getting 12 hours of sleep at night and between 2-3 hours of naps during the day.  So, I know that the lack of sleep is making everything so much worse, but I don’t know how to get her to sleep when she is in pain!!!!!
    I hope that this blog didn’t come across as me feeling sorry for myself because I really don’t.  I am going a bit stir crazy from being inside and a little crazy in the head from Maddie crying/whining most of the day and me not being able to do anything to help make her feel better.  This is soo not how she normally is and I’m not at all used to it and it’s now been going on for 5 days which feels like forever!  I think that I just needed to vent a little bit.  I feel so horrible for her and I hate that she looks at me with big fat tears in her eyes with a face that says help me Mama and there really is nothing that I can do.....she is too young for me to explain what is going on, or reason with her that sucking on ice chips or popsicles will help her throat feel better.  She doesn’t want to have anything to do with the things I’ve been trying that might make her feel better and I can’t make her or get her to understand.  I feel stuck and frusterated. 
    Maybe she’ll wake up tomorrow morning and feel 1,000 times better.  Here’s hoping!  Please pray for the crazy mom, that I may have patience....or I just may end up in the psych ward!!!!!
  • A rose by any other name

    Current mood:happy
    This blog is dedicated to my lovely friend Rachel who always makes me smile!  Cue cheesy dedication hotline music......
    Dan and I have had a name picked out for Schultz baby girl number 2 for many months now, but for some reaon we haven’t wanted to commit to it....in case something we liked better popped up?  It’s weird though because we have been calling her by name for at least 2 months now when we talk about her amongst ourselves.  So here I am committing to our name and declaring it for the world to see.  Our soon to be baby girl will be called:
    Charlotte Grace Schultz
    I was debating trying to find a different middle name because it seems like lots of people are currently using Grace as a middle name, but I’ve liked that since before Maddie was born and really who cares if other people share her middle name.....mine is Ann and I think that half the populations middle name is Ann.  Both Dan and I adore the name Charlotte and there was never any debating about it, or really any other name that either of us liked as much.  It’s kind of awkward that we happen to live in a state with a large well known city named Charlotte and that Dan’s parents live there, but over time I think that we will think solely of our child in reference to Charlotte and not the city at all.  I reserve the right to call her Charlie as a nickname, but who knows what nickname will work and what will stick.  But I’ve always liked the name Charlie for a little girl.  I don’t know why but I like a lot of typical boy names for girls.  I’m weird.
    So that is that.  We are now committed which feels good, because thats the way it should be.....we’ve known for a long time now.  I can stop using terms like "the baby" "and when she arrives" and start using her soon to be name.  I’m happy because we are having a baby shower thrown for us in 2 Saturdays and it makes it feel very final and brings new excietment.  I was really hoping that we would be able to have a celebration for Charlotte because it seems so sad to have multiple parties and such a big to-do for your first and have nothing for your second.  We should be celebrating her life too!  It should be a good time......I’ll let ya know.  And all I have to say is bring on the cake!!!!!!  lol
  • Update

    Current mood:happy
    Life has been really busy.  Maddie and I are constantly on the go to play group and activities with my moms club and running errands, it seems like we are home long enough for her to take her nap and then we are off again.  We are currently in the process of getting her big girl room ready, and by in the process, I mean that I just bought her bedding a couple days ago.  But hey, thats the first step.  We have also picked out the paint color and are planning ..ing her room this weekend.....maybe.  I have to decide what else I want to do with her walls, there has been talk of painting a tree, or polka dots, or butterflies......lot’s of decisions, but her bedding is white with pink butterflies and lady bugs, so it is going to be a GIRLY room!
    Maddie is doing great!  She is still clumsy, but no new wounds since the last head injury!  She is such an active little girl and is really good at entertaining herself which I think will come in handy once her sister arrives.  She loves doing puzzles and is really good at matching all the pieces and getting them into the spots.  She can name about 10 farm animals and also say what sound they make which is highly entertaining.  She also loves coloring and requests that we color at least 3 times a day.....she also loves the color blue and talks about her blue crayon a lot although we call them colors.  lol  She is extremely social and waves and says hi to everyone when we are out and about.  She has made me realize how much I say the word okay because she now says it ALL the time....."juice okay," "blue color okay," "help okay." etc.  She is such a funny girl.  She is also a big gril....at her 18 month check up she was 34 inches tall and almost 31 pounds.  She is currently wearing 2T clothes and I am praying that she makes it through the summer in that size because all of her spring/summer clothes are 2T.  We are currently in the process of phasing out the paci and she only gets it in her crib and in the car, and let me tell ya, it has made it SO easy to put her to bed.  She doesn’t want to rock, she doesn’t want a story or milk or anything.....she gives Dan a hug and a kiss and dives into her bed to get her paci and go to sleep, same for nap time too.  Silly.  We are no where near potty training and I am really okay with that.  I think that it’s gonna be hard for her when we bring home the baby and even if we started training now, I’m almost 100% positive that she would regress.  I think we’ll wait till she is at least 2 as long as she is showing signs then cause she sure isn’t right now.  I thought that we would try and transition her into a big girl bed before I have the baby, but I don’t think that she is ready for that either.  And since I will be nursing the baby and she will be in our room for the first few months, I think we’ll keep Maddie in her crib in her old room until she seems ready for a big girl bed.....it will be ready and waiting for her in her new room when she is ready.  Such a grown up girl in so many ways, but also still my baby!
    Easter weekend Dan finally sold his truck!  We have been trying to sell it for months.....many months!  We finally listed it on ebay and it sold within  5 days.  The winning bidder lived in Virgina and drive down with his wife and 2 kids (one more on the way) and test drove it and gave us the moola.  It sold for a bit less than we would have liked, but we made a profit and it went to a good family and not to a dealer who would sell it to someone else and rip them off, so we feel good about it.  I was really skeptical about selling something so large on ebay, but it worked out really well and I highly reccomend it.  We will miss the truck dearly, but we won’t miss how much it cost to fill the gas tank!!
    This Saturday our dear friends Christian and Tonya are going to watch Maddie so that Dan and I can get out of the house alone and have some date time.  They have a little boy who is 2 weeks older than Maddie and the kiddos LOVE to play together so I know she will be in good hands and having a blast while Dan and I get some time to enjoy each others company before we add another monkey to the family.  I don’t know exactly what we have planned yet, but it will probably involve dinner and hopefully a movie! (I can’t tell you the last time Dan and I saw a movie in the theater together)  We might do some shopping, or some coffee drinking and talking.  But it really doesn’t matter what we do because I always have a fantastic time with Dan......good thing I married him huh? lol
    Things are moving along with my pregnancy.  It is really hard to believe that I have less than 55 days to go.  This pregnancy has FLOWN by!!!!  I am feeling good although I am not sleeping well....but that is really my only complaint, well that and the fact that I am getting huge!  lol  I am ready to not be pregnant anymore, but I’m not ready to have an infant yet, so I am going to savor these last few weeks.  I am also starting to get a little bit sad because I have very little time left where it is only Maddie and me.  She is my only baby right now and I get to spend 100% of my time focused on her and lovin’ on her and life is going to be so different so soon.  I really want to make sure that she still feels imensely loved and that I have enough time for her.  Adding another child to our family is going to be a huge change for everyone and I want to help Maddie to adjust as easliy as possible, but I’m not really sure how to do that.  I’m really curious to see what the baby is going to look like.  Will she look like Maddie who looks so much like Dan, or will she have more of my characteristics?  Will she be an easy baby, will she have colic, will she like Maddie and will Maddie like her, will breastfeeding be easier than with Maddie?  So many questions.  I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.  It really is SOO crazy that we are going to have another baby next month.  In 2 and a half years we went from newlyweds to parents of 2 girls.  CRAZY.  But it totally fits and it feels fantastic.....I wouldn’t trade my life for any other life, even on the crappy days.  La vida es bella.
     She walked all over the house with my shoes on backwards.
     Trying to eat yogurt with a fork.....didn’t work out all that well, but it was entertaining!
     The scab from her face meeting concrete the other day.  It’s been about a week and the scab is already coming off and it looks a lot better.
  • Ladies and Gentlemen.....I give you the deck

    Current mood:peaceful
    I finally got around to taking some pictures of the mostly complete deck.  The reason that I am finally getting around to it and the reason it is mostly complete really is the same reason......it’s been raining here for 5 days solid.  Yeah! for the earth, not so great for being outside.  I still can’t believe that we have a deck out back.  We had been talking about building one for so long (2 years) and it is amazing that we got it up.....and quickly too!  It would never have happened if not for our brother’s in law Lane and Kellen who came and stayed the weekend and worked their butts off to get it done.  So a huge thank you to them!!!  Dan has a few more things that he would like to do like building flower boxes and of course cleaning up the back yard which is currently a HUGE disaster area.  We are also going to get some more patio furniture because the deck is humongous at 20 x 30 feet.  And in time we’d like a new BBQ and a fountain or something, but those are things we can take our time to purchase.  I am so proud of my husband.  Watching him draw up the plans and dealing with the red tape to get permits and working so hard to build this deck for our family.  He is an amazing man, a wonderful carpenter and a great provider for his family.  Alright.....enough gushing......enjoy the pictures of our (and when I say our I mean Dan and the boy’s) deck building journey!
     Dan digging holes for the support beams
     Dan and Lane mixing and pouring concrete
     And the deck building begins with the frame going up
     Deck boards being screwed in
     Just a few more to go
     Just a man and his deck
     The grand stairway.....6 feet wide
     Deck from the side
     Deck from the back
     The doggies LOVE the new deck!

County McCounterson