Scrapbook Layouts

This one was created with the promise collection by ShabbyPrincess.com. I love that site!

This one was created using the Tropical Punch kit from Digital Design Elements, another really good site. This picture was taken while Liv and Boo were at Nana's house while I was in labor.

Cute Pictures

Isn't this priceless?

Julius has a cold, as previously mentioned. His nose is so stuffed. He won't sleep unless he's laying on my chest. That feels okay with me because I feel better being aware of each of his breaths. It just means I got nothing done today besides feeding people. That's okay with me, too.

The Past Week or so...

..has been a lot of nursing, a lot of napping, and a few other things thrown in.



Well, we got home from the hospital last Sunday. I took a nice nap and then Mommi brought the "big" kids home, plus some ham wraps and brownies (yummy thank you). It was good to have the kids home. We all really hate to be separated.



Monday was Lee's graduation ceremony at HACC. There are obviously very good reasons why I didn't have to go, but it was really important to me. The odds were stacked against Lee earning his associates degree, but he persevered and did it anyway. I can't even say how proud I am of him. He has also been working at Pizza Hut as a manager now for basically his entire college degree, and that is a big deal, too.



Nan helped me with the big kids, and Julius nursed in the wrap during the ceremony. It was long. My FIL came with an uncle, plus my SIL and her kids - all those left early because my neffie poos are not at a good sitting still sort of age. Also our great-Aunt Mary (Nan's sister) came. That was nice. Plus Jon Whaley came to show his support for his buddy. Lee and Jon have been friends since school. Thanks for coming, Jon, it meant a lot to Lee.



The kids were very good.



Tuesday we did nothing, and it was very, very good.



Wednesday I got some work done on the house. I got the living room almost all dug out. Lee had to go back to work Wednesday night, so I went to Nan's to let her hold the baby.



Thursday we napped and nursed. Joe and Nicole came over in the evening to watch Smallville and Supernatural with us (I don't watch Supernatural, it's too scary for me) and then make plans for Creation '08.



Friday I went to see my Mommi in the morning. I am not really supposed to be driving by myself yet, but I figured since she was so close it wouldn't hurt. We had a nice bonding time.



Then Lee had to work all night Friday. The kids and I sat, all four of us, snuggled on the couch and watched Scooby Doo. I am trying very hard to spend lots of time with Boo and Liv so they don't feel left out. I think we are doing fine. They really don't seem jealous to me. They love their little brother and want to spend time with him and touch him as often as I will let them.



Over the weekend, the entire family developed a cold, including the little goblin. We are all snorting snot now. Since he can't blow his nose, he gets really mad. I now actually know how to use those snorty snot bulb thingies they give you in the hospital (totally clueless with the first two kids). Lee made my dryer work - yay! Mommi, the plug you had was the same one we already had... the opposite of the one we needed! Sad. But we were able to pick it up at Home Depot!



Now Monday was another big day. Lee was scheduled to go to Millersville (his college in the fall) for an information session. He asked me if I would go with him. I said I would love to, but I wasn't ready to leave the baby yet. So he said fine, we would take the baby! That's Lee for you. So we asked Nan to watch Boo and Liv (she gets lonely without them on Mondays anyway, and said as much). We went to HACC first to trade our textbooks back, then drove down to Millersville. It's nearly an hour drive. Hopefully he will be able to get all his classes on two or three days a week to save on gas. When we got there, he got his student ID, did a driving tour of the campus, then we went to the information session. Julius slept in the sling during the hour chat. At one point, he was snoring and the teacher asked if there was a dog in the room, then got a good laugh out of it - he said, "Oops, don't tell the baby I said that." Afterwards we got to talk to the Admissions director and Lee got a few questions answered.



Tuesday was Lee's birthday. I didn't have any presents for Lee and that made me a little sad, but he asked me to make him a white cake with chocolate frosting. Yay! Haha, of course Julius decided that he was sick of the "cold" thing and chose to cry the entire time while Lee was at work. I made the cake anyway, with him strapped to my chest and crying. THe kids caught wind of the fact that it was Daddy's birthday and wanted to make him presents. So I set them free on the "Pajama Sam Fun Shop" - one of those things on the computer where kids can make cards and what-not. They made two birthdays cards, a decorated door hanger, and a puppy dog mask, and put them in a gift bag. Then Elijah gave his Daddy his Superman movie cards, and Olivia gave him my baseball glove. I had a bag of chocolate caramels that I'd been hiding from him, and stuck that in there. Boo was upset that there were no balloons, so he hung Blankie Blue One and Scratch Pinkie (the kids security blankets) from the windows in lieu of decorations.



Lee brought pasta home from work for dinner. We had our little party. I asked Lee if he wanted anything else for his birthday - he said yes. He wanted a glass of coke, and for me to sit next to him on the couch and play his favorite video game (Final Fantasy X) for him while he watched and fell asleep. LOL Soooo I brought him a glass of coke, and then I sat next to him... and fell asleep myself instead. I slept for almost three hours... while he played his game. It was a good nap, with Julius laying on top of me the whole time. It's always a good idea for Mom to take a nap while babies sleep, right?! :) :)



We are all still sick, and Julius is very cranky, but we will be fine soon enough. The great thing about having more kids is that its easier in general. Lee and I are so much more patient and confident that fussiness doesnt phase us so much.




I have just a few things I want to get done today. I am going to go get the rest of the pictures downloaded so maybe I will be able to post them later.

A Few Other Thoughts

First of all, I just love Holy Spirit Hospital. We loved all of our nurses and doctors. The whole birthing experience was very well done. They are so supportive of breastfeeding and were very accomodating of my desires for comfort during labor. I could not do it without that Jacuzzi! After it was all over, I got to order my meals out of a menu - yum, what could be better than breakfast in bed for ALL of Mother's Day weekend? I was able to receive Communion in my room without even having to ask for it. Julius hardly ever had to leave our room, but when we needed a little break to get some sleep before we went home, the nurse gently suggested that we send him to the nursery, where he was loved and kept asleep without stress to us. Altogether a wonderful, wonderful experience (aside from the whole pain thing).

Second thought: Lee needs a gold medal. He has been so awesome. He was so gentle and so helpful during labor. He stayed with me, let me squeeze the crap out of him, reassured me, and made me feel safe. He took videos and pictures throughout the day to document the whole thing. Then after Julius was born, Lee held him for hours. He held him so much that I didn't feel overwhelmed at all. I still don't. He has been holding him for hours at home. And when its time for Jules to eat, even though there is pain, I don't feel stressed because I just feel like I have a partner who is there to help me carry this whole thing. Thanks so much, Chief, even though you won't read this. I have never loved you more.

There's more to say, but I'm out of words for tonight.

The Birth Details, for those who are interested in that sort of thing...

Friday morning we went in to be induced. We were due there at 7am, we got there about 7:30... it didn't really matter, though. They didn't start the gel until around 8:30. We got settled into our room and waited for pain to descend.

For awhile, we just sat and read. Slowly contractions started. Very, very slowly. Lee was reading Lord of the Rings. I was reading the Psalms, Corinthians, and Harry Potter. Doctor Long was my doctor for the morning, he had good recommendations for Psalms to read and told me how much his wife loved Harry Potter.

By lunchtime I was dilated to about 2 centimeters. That was something, but the baby was up very high. High is normal for me; it creates problems in all my checkups.... anyway. The doctor was encouraged enough by my progress and the regularity of my contractions that they decided not to do pitocin, just to do another round of gel. By 2:00 I was definitely having a lot of pain and hit the jacuzzi. It helped a lot, it really helped me relax through the contractions, which in turn helps the body progress. I couldn't tell I was progressing until I got out and realized that the pain had in fact gotten worse, I was just dealing with it better.

For a few hours I alternated between staying in bed and being monitored and going back to the jacuzzi and dealing with the pain. While in bed I was squeezing the life out of Lee's arm - I totally relied on him to get me through the pain emotionally. I never before realized how much he helps me stay in balance emotionally when I need him.

By 9:30 at night I was getting heartsick. I felt like I should not have been induced because the boy obviously was not ready to come down. But it was too late to turn back. I felt like I would be stuck in pain forever. I didn't express those feelings or contemplate them very long because I knew that wouldn't help anything. We had a new nurse for the evening. Her name was Jen and she was amazing. She was a great combination of friendly, sensible, and supportive. She was of a similar age to Lee and I. Doctors changed shift, too, so that now it would be Doctor Manning looking after me. She had broken my waters around 7:30pm, which had strongly contributed to the increase in my contractions. But now the baby was still up high, so they decided it was time to do Pitocin. That scared the crap out of me. The nurse asked if I wanted to get an epidural first, and I was so relieved because I thought it was too late. I didn't want to deal with Pitocin-level contractions in my so-far drug free state. We agreed that I would get out of the jacuzzi, get drugged up, and do Pitocin.

That was all agreed upon around 10:00pm.

I started to feel pressure in the Jacuzzi.

They drew up the paperwork for the epidural.

I got out of the Jacuzzi.

The baby dropped. All the way.

Lee likes to tell this part of the story because I went berserk. The pain became unbearable (still drug free remember) and I didn't know what to do with my body or my emotions. They somehow got me into the bed and with three painful pushes, we had a baby. That was it.

It must have been the threat of drugs that made the poor boy drop :)

So with approximately 8 hours of labor, but only 5 insane minutes of pushing, we had a beautiful 7 pound, 4 ounce baby boy. They threw him onto my chest before I had even delivered the placenta. He nursed for a solid hour, both sides, before they even took him away from me to be weighed and measured. I was crying and saying thank you Jesus, thank you over and over again, and apologizing for my momentary insanity. (they assured me that they have seen much worse). I was so happy. The amazing thing was that I didn't even tear or need cut, so I feel so great now. I feel better than I did a week ago. The only pain I have is the afterbirth contractions (increased by nursing) to get my womb back into shape. I feel so healthy. I am so overwhelmingly grateful.

Good to Be Home

Right now Lee is cuddling Julius in his leather armchair, Boo and Liv are playing with the "It's a boy" balloons in the kitchen, and I am just happy to be HOME. There is so much more to say - it was a good experience, and I am glad that it's over. We have our beautiful little boy and pretty much all is well with the world.

I did get pee'd on the first time I changed his diaper.

Lee was amazing this weekend. I could not have asked for a better partner in everything.

Thanks to everyone for the prayers, for the gifts, and for the well wishes.

I'll post details later, I just don't feel like sitting in front of the computer right now. I want to be with my family.

School's Out For Summer

As of right this second, I have now finished my last final exam. I did it - I made it through a semester of school while ridiculously pregnant.

Now I can go have a baby.

Lee is finishing his last test right now, too. Be with him, Lord!

Tuesday

We got up to study for Lee's English final, only to realize that we had the day's switched. Today was not English but science, in the afternoon, not the morning. So Lee ran to Home Depot and picked up a lawn mower and weed wacker, plus a fire extinguisher, curtain rods, and smoke alarms. We still have more things we can get there, but these were the urgent things! He came home and mowed the lawn. I love how it looks now. You should see the pile of sticks the kids and I had to collect before - it was like a Beaver dam. Mowing was was hard work, but Lee enjoyed it.

Olivia - she is just determined to spread love and joy to the world at large. When we were leaving Home Depot the other day (not today) she told the cashier that she loved her. When a female clerk was giving Lee advice on mowers, Olivia told her "You are pretty. You are beautiful." This is my girl - what an open heart. She is so precious. I am so never letting her out of my sight.

Then he had just enough time to eat lunch and study for science. Right before he left, we found out that he got a final grade of a B in the class he was really worried about. YAY. One down, two to go.

After lunch I hung up all the curtains that we have to have a little privacy in the living room. It makes a big difference!

When he left, I let the kids watch the Chipmunks movie while I took my HTML exam. It was a two hour marathon. THe teacher gave us 60 questions, plus an entire web site to design in only two hours. It was really hard and really much more than a two hour project. I used every second and still feel I could have done a better job. I'm sure it will be fine, though.

Then Lee came home. He surprised me by renting a copy of "Enchanted". It really was a delightful movie and a great surprise. I was cramping pretty badly then so I laid down for an hour nap, then laid down and watched the movie. After that I took another exam, so that I have only one more exam to take. It's going to be a doozy, though.

One of my teachers gave me some nice grace - there was an assignment where we were supposed to write a reflection every week for twelve weeks, share it with the class, and then turn them all in at the end. Well, due to the craziness, I only did 9 out of the 12 weeks. I also turned the paper in one day late. The teacher still gave me full credit - I guess he really liked what I wrote. Thanks, Professor! (He's not reading this but I appreciate it anyway.)

My body is constantly reminding me that it is almost time for this little one to come out. I have contractions all the time. And other pre-labor symptons that I will pass over for the benefit of my male readers. I keep thinking "after exams are over everything will slow down" and then I remember that there won't even be a breath between school and the birth of this little one. It's okay, though. I am so excited for him to get here.

Tomorrow I will take that last exam (I want them done in case I go into labor!) and then try to get all the really important unpacking done - anything that will be harder after the baby comes. I am not worried about the kids toys, but I'd like the living room and the bedroom to feel peaceful, and good access to the kitchen. The key? LOW stress. :) Thanks everybody for praying. I feel your love and prayers around me all the time and it makes all the difference.

In closing, I share Olivia's bedtime prayer tonight: "Dear Jesus, thank you for the beautiful, beautiful world and my piece of cheese."

That's my girl.

A Quick Update

It's finals week, so Lee and I are pounding out papers and stuffing our heads full of things we hopefully already know. But just a quick update.

Thursday Michelle and Kaila came by with a new Futon mattress for our futon. We were so happy to see them again, plus the futon mattress completely rejuvenated our futon. You could really even sir on it before - now it is so comfy. I love it. We would like to get a nice loveseat later, but this will take care of us for as long as we need it. It is a cute flowered pattern that actually matches the carpet, too.

We got the apartment wrapped on Thursday night and woke up knowing we were "home" on Friday morning. That felt amazing. I like the atmosphere here because I feel like I am waking up in a campground. There are trees and birds all around. It's lovely. Of course as soon as I left the bedroom I was bombarded with a mountain of stuff. That was okay, though. Friday I worked on setting up my kitchen and finding the floor. The cabinet space is as awesome as I thought. I do need to work on eating our way through some of the backlog of soup and rice that we have now stored :)

Friday night Lee had to go to work, so I worked through the night, then put the babies to bed. I laid down in my new home by myself. I didn't know what Lee's car would sound like coming down the driveway, so I never fell asleep, just listened to every little noise. Finally around 1am I heard the front door open. It turns out that the alternator on the car died two minutes from the house. Lee felt so defeated. The sad part was, he had gone to Auto Zone that morning to price alternators, and the guy laughed at him and told him his wires were just loose - then tightened them for him and sent him on his merry way. Well, the guy was wrong.

Saturday morning, Lee's buddy Jon picked him up and took him to the auto parts store. They bought a new alternator and a belt for it. Not cheap. Lee spent the weekend replacing it. I admit I was going a little stir crazy being stuck at home, but there was PLENTY of work to do. I got about 2/3rds of the living room put away. (When I am not pressed for time I will post pictures.) I was soo happy when my Mommi and some of my sisters showed up with lunch. I got to show them the trailer for the first time. Normally I would be embarassed because it was so messy, but since we just moved in this week, I feel great about it. I can still see it all taking shape around me and it just lifts my spirits.

While Lee was working on the car, I took a test and did my final HTML project for the semester. Only one big project and three exams to go!

Sunday morning the car still wasn't running. I could tell Lee was going to be able to finish it that day, but he was frustrated. He was actually just stuck on one bolt. He knew exactly what to do (he is so amazing that way) but was just getting frustrated. So we spent some time together just being nice, then he went back to work. I love watching him work out the window. I can't take a picture because he doesn't allow it, but I do love to watch. His hands were black as soot and all cut up from working in the engine. Very attractive :) Finally, he got it figured out and now the car runs better than before. I am so proud of him.

In the middle of all this, Nan called to say she made steak dinner and we could come over if we wanted to, or she would keep it until Monday if we couldn't. Steak dinner sounded GREAT to Lee, so we headed over and hung out for a few hours. Then we stopped at the grocery store, and went home to do more homework.

Okay, Monday morning, that's today. Had a doctor's appointment this morning. Apparently my due date was yesterday so the doctor wants to induce me. Naturally. I was all resolved not to let them do that (it's annoying that they want to induce me for a third time, is that really necessary?? Don't I think that if my body was ready, it would GO?) But then she asked me what day would be convenient (birth? convenient?) and I realized that if I allowed them to induce me on Friday, Lee could finish all his finals and we could have the baby before graduation ceremonies. Then I could make sure Lee gets to go to his commencement. Hmmmmmm. So, yes, I am allowing them to "gel" me on Friday. This is what was done for Olivia, and it resulted in a convenient, quick birth. I'll go in Friday morning and probably have Julius by the end of the day.

Now Lee is getting ready for a final exam in the class he is most worried about. I know he will be fine, but pray for him anyway, so that his heart will be calm.

Thank you to the people who have helped fill in the cracks this week. This whole thing has stretched us to our absolute limits, and its amazing how you guys help make up the difference. I love you.

Mourning and Stability

As we packed the last few things into the car and threw the last boxes into the trash, I casually corrected Elijah by telling him that we wouldn't be coming back ever. It took about ten or fifteen minutes for this to sink in. I came back later to find tears streaming down his face. He was sad, he said. He was going to "miss this home." He was going to miss the rooms and "everything". Elijah is five; New Cumberland was his first real home. He may actually remember this. He is excited about the new house, but he just wanted permission to mourn the old one.

His father came out and talked to him. He told him that he was going to miss the old house, too, and that it was okay because all of our toys and games are at the new house, and there will be new friends. He told him to cry for a little bit, then be a big boy and stop. He was very sensitive about the whole thing. They are two peas in a pod, those boys.

It amazes me that I have a son who is old enough to mourn.

I guess I am more used to saying goodbye to houses. I am not sad at all. I am relieved to finally have everything wrapped up there. I am ready to make my new house into a home, to make it into a wonderful place for my family to live in. Even the small mountain of boxes in the living room fills me only with anticipation - even in conjunction with the little one currently pressing his limbs against my stomach. I am satisfied and excited. I hope Lee knows that.

More than anything, I am happy to be out of Limbo. The level of discipline in the household is shot right now. The kids (and me, and Lee) need some security right now. Yes, Julius will shake things up, but we will still be at HOME, just... together. Functioning as a family. Poor Olivia poo'd in her pants this evening in the hustle bustle of getting the old place cleaned and emptied. I couldn't even hardly be mad at her - she had mentioned that she needed to go, and I brushed it off. Then she had to deal with the results until I could get her to a potty and a stack of paper towels. My poor baby. Stability, that's what we need right now. Stability and a good working toilet Oh, wait, we already have one of those because Lee ROCKS at learning how to do stuff.

Dear God, thanks for getting us through all this. Please bring the baby here safely and help us to stay connected as a family. Help us to love each other and bear each other's burdens.