Cute Halloween Hair

Lily is spider girl so I made a spider out of her hair
Emma is a ballerina and I made a flower out of her hair.

Losing Weight? Update

Ok.............. so I have a new game plan.

Preface:

Whenever I have lost weight after a baby I have done it very fast with a low carb diet. It's very strict and you are very limited. I was able to do it, but after I would go off of it I would gain all the weight back just as fast. I wouldn't exercise very much at all. Maybe not at all. I would let the number on the scale rule my day. If I gained some or didn't lose any for that day I would get all cranky and stuff. I guess it was I was so limited in food variety and it was so hard that if I didn't see results all the time it was hard to stay dedicated. So I'm going to do it the slow permeant way this time.

I started the weight loss on low carb this time and went to las vegas and didn't have a kitchen that allowed me to eat so strict so that went out the window. Jonathan and I have been discussing the importance of exercise in our lives and to teach our children to be healthy by keeping active. So we are playing baseball at the park on the weekends and we made an investment in our selves with a treadmill. I love having a treadmill in the house. I can get a great workout while the babies are napping. Just by having gone on the treadmill twice I already have much more energy than before. So what is the rest of my plan. I'm going to cut down on portions and cut out sweets. I'll snack on fruits and veggies, and drink lots of water. I'm going to gage my weight loss by either how my clothes are fitting or measuring I don't know. Maybe both I'll have to see how it affects me.

My feelings exactly!

Almost everyone in my house is sick, and this is how I feel about that!

I got a smile!

This is Miriam's second time she has really smiled at me. Oh how I love when babies start to smile.

One Week Down..... Many To Go.

I just posted yesterday that I'm losing weight. Well I started a week ago and I've lost 6 lbs already. It's typical that I lose this fast at first. I'm doing really well on my diet. I'm trying to move more like walk the kids to school and stuff like that. I'll update my weight loss every wed. I've noticed when ever I start losing weight around the holidays I do really well. Isn't that kind of backwards?

Losing Weight AGAIN!!!!

And I tell you for the VERY LAST time.

Here is a starting out picture that I have. It's blurry and I'm partially covered but that's all I have. I'll post progress pictures as I see fit.

Pretty Hair.

Now that my girls are older and have hair that is thicker and less wispy I have come to enjoy doing their hair in cute styles on Sundays. I found some blogs that gives great ideas and instructions on how to do hair. My girls love it since they are both very girly. It also helps me be more creative as I really need to be creative. I also enjoy the time I get to spend with my girls.

Emma's Do.

Lily's Do.

Front of Lily's Do.

Happy Birthday Emma.

Emma is now 6 and just growing so fast. She's a huge help around the house, and that is a life saver for me. She loves anything pink and girly. She tries very hard to excel in school. She gets all her homework done for the week early so that she doesn't have to worry about it anymore. She's a straight A student so far. She's a great reader, and loves math. Emma always volunteers to serve others. She is a great daughter and I'm lucky to have her. She is very spiritually minded. She wants to do what's right at all times. I love you Emma.

Look at what I made!

Emma wants a ballerina outfit for her birthday tomorrow. I found a tutorial online and decided to make the tutu part. It was really easy and fun. Yay me.

Can I still call you baby?

Now that Miriam is here I see Benjamin as a big boy now. He's just so much bigger than Miriam and it's hard to see him as a baby. But he is a baby still, and I'm not ready to have him move to big boy status. When I got pregnant with Miriam my main worry was Benjamin and how he would be affected by having a baby that required lots of mommies time. Now that she is here he has had a hard time with the care it takes for a newborn. He was the baby, and he loved it. So guess what I have two babies and it's hard work, but I love it. One is just a lot heavier than the other, and gets into a lot more stuff than the other. I can't wait to see how good of friends they will be as they grow. I love being a mother of 5.

Babies, Babies, Babies.

Here are the 3 cousins that are practically triplets. Miriam (on the left) was born first and she was due last. 2 days later Spencer (on the right) was born and he was due first. Craig (middle) was due second and born last was born 3 days after Spencer. Miriam was 5 lbs 14 ozs. Spencer was 9 lbs 1 oz. Craig was 9 lbs 5 ozs. You can sure see the difference in a almost 6 lb baby compared to 9 lb babies. You can sure feel it as well. It's fun having these 3 so close together.

Updates...........

Well it happened I turned 30. It's got to happen at one point in your life. As my birthday got closer and closer I was dreading it. But once the day came I was ok with it. I had a great 10 years in my twenties. I got married to my best friend. He is the perfect man for me and I couldn't be happier. I had 5 beautiful children. I kept wondering if the 5th would come before my birthday. I have learned so many great things in my twenties, and now I have so much to learn, do, and experience in my thirties and so forth. I'm excited about moving forward in my life and enjoy raising my children and loving my husband even more.

Here are some pictures of my little girl. She still seems so tiny to me. She's drowning in her car seat. After my 2 SIL's had their babies. Which were 9+ lbs she seems really small.

Miriam is a really easy going baby thus far. She rarely cries at all. She'll just lay around looking at things. I love it that she is really quiet just like when she was inside me. She's a great sleeper as well. I think she'll be sleeping through the night in no time.

Miriam is here!!!!

Miriam Belle is here and I couldn't be happier. She is a wonderful baby that only cries when she is hungry or getting changed. I have to say that even though the pregnancy was hard it was soooo worth it. I got a beautiful little girl out of it.

Here is her birth story:

Last Saturday I decided that I was done being pregnant, and started to clean the entire house and mow the back lawn. I was getting light contractions throughout the day anyway so I thought if anything was going to come from them might as well stay busy. By 7 that night the contractions were getting pretty painful and I wasn't in the best of moods. We had family night because it was pushed back because of Jonathan's work. So during that time I was not really there as I was trying to get through each painful contraction. Jonathan decided that it was time to get to the hospital at about 9. I really didn't want to go but I was in a lot of pain. We got the kids clothes together and off we went. We dropped the boys off at Maria's house and the girls off at Larry and Margarets house. When we got to the hospital it took them a half hour to come in and check me. It seemed as if it was an eternity because I was really nervous that there would be no change and I would be sent home. Well that wasn't it I was 5 cm and getting admitted to labor and delivery. The next thing I asked for was the epidural. They got me too my room and about a half hour after that I got my epidural. Oh that is a story all in it's self. The epidural lady had the hardest time getting it in. She tried 3 different spots and it was painful. Jonathan was watching the whole time and he said she would put the huge needle in my back and dig around in there. He could here the needle grinding on my bones. I was holding on his hand so tight during it I'm surprised I didn't hurt him. By the end of the second attempt at the epidural he said that he wasn't feeling so good. The nurse told him that his lips were going white and that he better sit down. Jonathan said he was just about to faint. So he sat down and epidural lady tried on last time and I couldn't feel it at all because she had put some of the medicine in earlier. After that ordeal I was comfortable and ready to sleep. But I can't sleep when I'm waiting for something so exciting. I had to wait until 4 am to have the dr come in and break my water. So about 4:30 am he broke my water and hooked me up to some medicine to get my contractions stronger. At 7:15 I told the nurse that I was ready to push and I was. It took about 30 mins for her to come out and during that time the Dr. guessed that she would be about 7 1/2 pounds until she came out and said nope she's your smallest one. Jonathan cut the cord and then they gave her to me. I was so amazed at how small she was. Finally they weighed her and she was 5 lbs 14 ozs. Just a tiny little girl. She is so sweet and alert. She was awake from the time she was born until after lunch time. I was amazed that she was that alert for being early. Well I had my baby and I am enjoying every minute of her and the rest of my family. I have to say that going from 4 to 5 kids is not that bad. There is no change really just more to love.

Pregnancy Journal Week 36

Wow I made it this far..... last week I didn't think I would. Since coming home from the hospital I've had regular contractions both Sunday and Monday night. Poor Jonathan was anticipating a middle of the night hospital visit. He is sooooo excited for this baby to come. I had an appt yesterday expecting to have dilated more. But guess what nothing. I had all those pains for hours for nothing. Ugh, I guess I need an experience of a lifetime for my last pregnancy. I told my Dr. about my contractions and he said it just doesn't make sense for me to have such regular contractions and have no change in my cervix. Then he said you must be miserable and of course when you are having labor pains yeah your miserable. Well at least me. He said that if this is going on all this next week we might talk about getting an amnio done to check the babies lungs. If they are mature he might deliver me. If you don't have a medical reason there are a lot of politics you have to go through. I'm just getting contractions that a normal woman would go to the hospital for and come home with a baby. Since they are mimicking real labor pains and nothing is resulting from them except a sleepless night and pain it feels as if I'm going through the labor process night after night. I'm hoping that I'll be able to get induced but I'm not really counting on it. Lily came at 37 weeks and did great. I'm glad that I've been documenting this whole pregnancy even though it will be hard I know that the end result will be very much worth it. Oh I kind of got a taste of what it will be like for the kids to have a baby around. My next door neighbor had a baby a little over 2 weeks ago. We went over there for the kids to hold him. Lily loved it and wanted to do it several times. Emma had her turn and liked it but wanted to play more. Peter would come up to the baby and say "Hi baby." I would ask him if he wanted to hold the baby and he exclaimed very forcefully "NO". Benjamin didn't care less which most likely will be different when it's mommy holding and caring for the baby all the time. I don't know if Peter will just be friendly with the baby and not hold her or if he will want to. We will see. Hopefully soon.

Hospital Experience.

I think it's time to document my experience at the hospital. It all started August 13th a Thursday night. I took my blood thinner and bam not 1 minute later I started to get small contractions. It kind of concerned me because it takes 24 hours for the blood thinner to leave your body. So as a couple hours had passed and the contractions started to come on stronger and closer together Jonathan and I thought it would be best to go to the hospital to stop the contractions. Jonathan's mom came to our house and we went. When we got there the Dr. had already left orders for me to get trabutalene and I got my first shot. It started to work but quickly wore off, so I got another shot. It did the same thing and by now my heart was beating out of my chest (that's one of the side effects). So they gave me another shot which made me feel even worse but this time it gave me the major shivers. It didn't work either by the way. So my Dr. called me up and told me that we would need to admit me and give me Magnesium Sulfate which is a very nasty drug and worse than the trabutalene. I was really upset as my Brother in laws wedding was the next morning and I didn't want to miss it. But that is what was going to happen. Then I got settled in a room and started on an IV of this stuff. I didn't think it was that bad. It made my face really hot, I couldn't see to clearly, and since it is a muscle relaxant I was really weak. But the important part is that it stopped the contractions. The plan was to keep me in the Hospital until I was 35 weeks and I was 34 weeks at the time. At 35 weeks they would test the lungs for maturity. But during that week I was there I started to break through the medication and have contractions that would stop on their own. On Tuesday morning I started to have small contractions that throughout the day got worse and worse. I was still on the Magnesium and it wasn't stopping. I was really feeling like I was in labor so I called Jonathan to come to the Hospital to be with me. The nurse checked me and said I was at 2 cm which I was completely closed just a couple of days before so the contractions were doing something. I was also getting this really bad pain at the top of my stomach that came with the contractions. Eventually I was moved to L&D thinking we were going to have the baby that night. I was told that I wouldn't be taken off the Magnesium until I was 3 to 4 cm. Soon after I went to L&D guess what happens my labor starts to slow down. I would think that would happen considering I was still on the Magnesium. My Dr. comes in and thinks I was having a gallbladder attach. It's decided that I got back to the antipartum unit and get a ultrasound in the morning on my gallbladder and if that is alright I get to go home Wednesday night given that I don't contract the next day. Wednesday morning I get the ultrasound and everything checks out just fine. As I waited all day for the Dr. to come in he finally comes in and is stumped as why I was having such a bad pain in my stomach. It could have been the Magnesium that caused it. He tells me that I could go home and that I would have to be seen twice a week for monitoring as I'm off the blood thinner because it is too risky and if there is a problem with the baby it would be gradual and we would spot it before it became a really big problem. So that is where I'm at right now. I'm like a ticking time bomb. Every twinge I feel or look of pain I have on my face Jonathan is ready to go to the Hospital. He's so excited for the baby to come. Personally I'm really leery about when the time comes and I'm having major contractions. I've experienced this and my body loves to start labor and then stop. But with the blood thinners I was more cautious, and didn't want to risk anything. But now that I'm not on them I will really have to be in a lot of pain for me to go in. So that is my Hospital Experience and it was really hard to be away from my kids. But I'm glad that the baby has had more time in me to grow so it was good that I was in there for so long, but not something I ever want to repeat.

Pregnancy Journal Week 35

Ahhhhhhh!!!! I'm home and so glad to be here. This last week has been HARD. Being in the hospital with no baby to show for it is not what I wanted. I didn't want the baby to come early either. But now that I was away from my precious children for 6 days I have come to love them even more (if that is even possible). I would often cry myself to sleep just thinking about how I wouldn't be able to bring my girls to school in the morning and get Benjamin his bottle first thing in the morning when I was barely awake. I missed cuddling Peter during the day. I missed having Jonathan there with me every night. I had so much help it was incredible and I'm so grateful for that. I'm glad that we have modern medicine to keep my baby in me to grow and develop more. Right now I'm no hurry to have this baby. I want as big as a break from the hospital as I can. I need to establish some stability in my home for my children. I know it's been really hard on them. They were taken care of so beautifully while I was gone but they need their mommy. Right now I'm sore and stiff from not walking for 6 days. So I'm going to take it easy the next couple of days. Oh I'm not on bed rest any more which is good. If I go into labor I go into labor. But I'm not going to in courage it at all. I'm just so glad to be home and with my family.

Still in the hospital.

Here I sit/lay in a hospital bed trying not to give birth to my baby that isn't due for 5 1/2 weeks. On Thrusday seconds after I gave myself a blood thinner shot my contractions came. It worried me a little but not much. Fastforward a couple hours and they are 2 to 4 min apart and even a baath won't slow them down. Jonathan had to convience me go to the hospital. We waited for Jonathan's mom to come and be with the kids. (btw this was the last night that this needed to happen. James my brother in law was getting married in the morning) We get to get asessed and see what was casuing the contractions. They tried to give me a turbutaline shot and it started to work but soon it stopped working so I was givin 2 more shots of that stuff and little relief and nothing. So then the bug decisison is here. Dr. Seal decieded to admitt me to the hospital and put me in the antipartum unit of the hospital. (that's where premie ladies are) They have me hooked up to magnesium solfate to stop my contraction, and it's done a pretty good job until last night when I was getting pretty regular and pain full contractions. I was given a sleeping pill last night that helped with the contractions, and gave me sleep. Now I'm awaiting the offical word if I'm going to be in here until my baby is born. I might be here awhile.

Pregnancy Journal Week 34

Crazy week 34............... So Sunday morning I started with the contractions and I think nothing of them. They start getting worse so with lots of prodding from Jonathan we went to the hospital again. There I was given a shot to stop the contractions. It helped but it made me feel awful. My Dr. put me on bed rest and I saw him today to see if I still had too. So here comes to today. Guess what BED REST ugh. Until further notice. I can't really do bed rest with 4 children at home. I know I can do my best and take it easy. Also at my appt. the Dr. put my name down for an induction for this Sunday. It really freaked me out the whole time I waited for him to talk to me. He came in and said I'm not inducing you, you are not ready. So they had to call the hospital to change the name. I think my Dr. is getting a little old, or just over worked. So I got a little excitement for today........ not that I need it....... sheesh. So as far as I know I'm going to 38 weeks if my body allows. But nothing is for sure........ and that is for sure.

Pregnancy Journal Week 33

I'm so confused.............. last week my Dr. told me that I would be getting a certain test to predict if I would go into labor within 2 weeks. Well I had my appt. today and I asked about it and they said that I'm too far along and that the results would be inaccurate. HUH? Why did you get me all worked up about them for the last week. (I have to admit that my Dr. is getting up there in age and a little forgetful. He asked me if the baby was active 3 times within 5 mins. during my appt, haha). I don't want to have this baby in 2 weeks. I would rather 4 to 5 weeks, so making me think that the possibility was there worried me. It's not an accurate test anyway but....... why get me worked up. With my infection I still have the increased risk of going into preterm labor. I'm just flying blind here. I thought that if I got an negative result on the test I could rest easy for 2 more weeks but........ nope I guess not. Oh well I'm really not that worried about having her early. I have 4 weeks to go to be considered full term. I just have to discipline myself to not do too much. I'm measuring a week behind but that could be the baby is in a certain position. I'm still dilated 1 cm and effaced the same. He's not too worried about me because I didn't dilate more over the last week. As too what is the outcome of this pregnancy your guess is as good as mine. I know she's going to be healthy, and that things will turn out ok. But I just don't know what is going to happen leading up to the big day and when. I guess that is what pregnancy is....... unpredictable.

Let The Drama Continue!!!!

Soooooo I spoke too soon. I went to the Dr. today due to my issue I stated in yesterdays post. Also I had contractions all night last nigh. Ok back to my appt. Ugggghhh I was checked for a UTI and nope not that. I have a different kind of infection. It's a kind that causes preterm labor and your water breaking prematurely. My Dr. also checked me for dilation. I'm already dilated to 1 cm and 50% effaced. Not very good when your are still 8 weeks from your due date. That's about where I was when I went into labor with Benjamin. So I'm to take a antibiotic (it doesn't mean it will help me not going into labor early either) and next week Dr. is going to do a test to see if I'll go into labor within the next 2 weeks. Fun fun stuff huh! So I need lots of prayers that this little baby will stay put for at least 5 more weeks.