Psalm 139: For you are fearfully and wonderfully made.

I almost forgot how wonderful the sound of a beating heart heard from a Doppler was until today when Scott and I sat and listened to Baby Ferstle part dos and it's beautiful heartbeat pounding strongly at 164 bpm...

I started getting the "itch" for another baby shortly after Sean's first birthday.  My logic was I'm already in "baby mode" so we might as well complete our family, have them close in age, and get the whole breastfeeding, diapers, and baby toys out of the way.  It took Scott a little longer than me to warm up to this idea, but after a month of deliberating, he agreed it was the best time.  With the holidays approaching, it was difficult not to drink, but with the possibility of being pregnant I didn't want to risk it.  New Years Eve sober was kind of lame, but it paid off when I got my BFP (Big Fat Positive) a few days later.  Scott was at work since his break was over, Sean was at daycare for the first day in two weeks, and I had the day off to cook toddler food.  I tested when Scott got up to get ready for work, impatiently thought two minutes had passed with a negative result, and hurried up to go back to bed.  I woke up a few hours later, looked at the test from earlier that morning, and almost fainted when I saw two lines.  I knew the risk of an evaporation line from not reading the test within the time limit, so I quickly re-tested with both an internet cheapie and a digital and, again, almost fainted when two lines and the word "Pregnant" came up almost immediately.  I. Freaked. Out.  No one was home to share this with me!  I made a quick decision to call both Trisha and my mom to tell them.  The rest of the day was a blur as I cooked Sean's food, froze it, washed the dishes, and figured out how I was going to tell Scott.  Over the phone didn't seem quite right.  So, I waited until he came home from work, put Sean in a "Big Brother" onesie, tied the positive tests to Scott's favorite 6 pack of beer, and baked Cinnamon Rolls in the oven.  It was quite the surprise!

I started out at a new practice this time since we moved and it wasn't as smooth as I hoped it would be.  To be honest, I didn't feel comfortable and felt that I was still driving a ways to get to the hospital for delivery so I might as well drive all the way back to Royal Oak so I could use my old practice. Back at Somerset OB/GYN after starting this pregnancy in Ann Arbor, I feel so much more comfortable and relaxed. We had a confirmation ultrasound when I was 6 weeks 3 days and we saw the heartbeat! 

Since then I've been battling the exhaustion, which by the way is 10 times worse this time around since I'm running after a non-stop toddler.  He's Mr. Busy these days and I can hardly keep up.  I also was rudely introduced to morning sickness, or afternoon sickness in my case.  Not enough to make me throw up, it's there to nag me from lunch time until bedtime rearing it's ugly head the most around dinner time.  Needless to say, Scott and Sean have been extremely understanding when they come to find dinner is pancakes and eggs or poptarts for me.  It is still going strong and I'm hoping that as my first trimester comes to end, so do these symptoms.  Here's a few snapshots at the quickly growing bump...

With the confirmation from my doctor that it's completely normal to be showing as much as I am this early and the reassurance that I can attempt a VBAC, we breezed through my 10.5 week check-up today.  And my bump from today...a huge difference from last week in my opinion ( I didn't get to use the chalkboard since we were in San Antonio over the long weekend, but a mirror shot will do...):

Well, it's 8:30pm, my new bedtime.  So, I'm off to bed to rest up for another fun-filled day with hormonal teenagers.

Goodnight lil' prune...(the size of baby this week)

My funny Valentine

Sean this morning before his party at daycare.  Enough said.

Pinterest Projects Day 1!

I finally had a little bit of down time this weekend to do a few "crafty" things.  I had a list longer than my grocery list for Michael's and Scott was a bit scared when he saw the receipt, but without further ado, here they are:

Those that know me well know that I'm a meal planner.  In fact, it always seems to be a conversation topic when people come over.  They want to look at the schedule for the week.  So, I saw this cool idea on Pinterest for how to better display the menu:

All it took was a 12x12 wooden frame, a piece of scrapbook paper, and scrapbook letters.  I'm waiting to go back to work on Monday to get a dry erase marker from my classroom and then it's officially done!  Here's hoping the paper isn't too busy of a background...

I also had to start giving some thought to what Valentine's Day crafts I wanted to do with Sean or for Sean.  His Valentine's Day lunch/party at daycare is this upcoming Friday and even though we have Elmo Valentine's for all his buddies, I wanted to give something other than candy or snacks.  It just doesn't seem right to be sending 12-24 month olds home with crappy treats they shouldn't be having.  So, again, I saw this idea on Pinterest and got to work:

I took 3 boxes of 24 crayons each, peeled off the paper (that was painful and time consuming), chopped them up into small pieces, mixed them up, and dumped them in a heart shaped silicone muffin pan, and baked them at 250 degrees for 15 minutes.  I let them cool for another 15 minutes.  Now, I just plan to add a heart shaped cardstock cut-out behind the crayon that says, "You color my world", put them in individual baggies with a little notebook I picked up from Target that says things like "I love you" or "Would you be my Valentine?" and he is good to go for his party.  Hope they're a hit!

And that concludes my first two Pinterest projects.  Now on to a few more Valentine related crafts for Sean...

Happy birthday, Bailey!

Today our furbaby, Bailey turned 5!  We did our usual celebration that included her pink bandana and hat that I bought in Portland a few years ago, singing Happy Birthday, and giving her a cupcake frosted with peanut butter - her favorite!  Awww...it's so strange to see her with gray furs on her muzzle.  It seems like just yesterday she was a puppy and now she's a lady!  And now, a photo montage of our Boo...

Baby Bailey

Bailey's 1st birthday!

Bailey and her best friend, Dixie

Enjoying a bone at Grandma/Grandpa's

Gangster Bailey

Supporting her Lions

Halloween after Sean was born

Christmas 2011

And today...on her 5th birthday!

I guess there's a first time for everything...

including a trip and stay at the local hospital for Sean.  This week has been the highest of highs and lowest of lows in so many regards.  With our anniversary on Tuesday, the week started off strong until I took Sean to the pediatrician on Wednesday after work for what I thought would be a check-up for bronchiolitus.  He has had that at least twice in the past year and each time they told me to just let it run it's course.  I wasn't prepared for them to give him two breathing treatments, both of which were unsuccessful, and for them to tell me that he needed to be taken to the ER.  With a roast in the crock pot, Scott coaching basketball, and the dog cooped up at home, Sean and I ventured out in rush hour traffic to St. Joe's in Ann Arbor for him to be checked out.

I have nothing but positive things to say about this hospital!  From the moment we arrived, we were seen within 5 minutes, taken back to the pediatric section of the Emergency Room, and seen by a doctor!  From there, he had a breathing treatment, a chest x-ray, and an IV put in his tiny hand.  And the news came.  He would be admitted.  The chest x-ray showed the beginning stages of pneumonia on one side of his lung.  I was obviously devastated!  I still couldn't get a hold of Scott and luckily, Jackie was able to let out Bailey and turn off our crock pot.

Scott arrived finally at 8pm and by then I was about ready to gnaw off my arm I was so hungry!  He sent me to get food and to pack an overnight bag for him.  My loving husband told me he would stay the night at the hospital with Sean so I could go home and get some rest.  He must have felt bad that I had to go through this traumatic event by myself and he must have had mercy on me knowing that my back would not tolerate sleeping on a pull-out couch.  After picking up McDonald's for dinner (healthy, I know), grabbing an overnight bag, entering an absence at work for both Scott and I, kissing Sean and Scott goodnight at the hospital, and making sure I understood what would come over the next 24 hours, I finally made it back home around 11pm.

Sean stayed in the hospital on oxygen to help him breathe from Wednesday night - Friday afternoon.  He successfully slept through the night on Thursday night without the support of oxygen proving that he was ready to go home Friday morning.  He was checked twice by two different doctors Friday morning and was released with a prescription for his double ear infection.  It was a pleasant surprise to wake up from a nap at home to hear the sound of Sean's voice.  Since then he's been bouncing off the walls with energy, stopping every so often for a snuggle or two from Mommy or Daddy.  Scott and I are so appreciate of all the love and support we received from everyone!  What a week!

We have to take Sean back to the pediatrician on Monday to have him checked out one more time, but I'm so anxious and ready for life to go back to normal...

Hello Winter!

Nice to finally see you!  I can understand why some people aren't a fan of winter because of slippery roads for driving and the bitter cold, but if you have nowhere to go, how can you not love this?

After a pretty "crappy" week (pun intended) of me being home sick two days from a stomach virus and having to spend part of Thursday morning at the beautifully re-done U of M Women's Hospital, it was really refreshing to wake up Saturday morning to see that it was snowing!  We took Sean outside to play in the snow for the first time and while he wasn't a fan of getting all the gear on to go outside, but once we got out there he truly loved it!  We put the sled from Nana and Papa to good use and Scott got in some light exercise running around pulling Sean in the sled.  Heck, even Bailey enjoyed herself trying to catch Sean in his sled!

  

There's nothing quite like that first sizable snowfall.  Stepping outside and hearing how quiet and serene it is when it snows.  The sounds it makes when you crunch your way around the yard.  The brightness that makes your eyes water.  Seeing your breath.  It was a beautiful morning!  And even though it was really cold, one of my favorite parts is coming inside, making hot chocolate, and warming up!  Sean, Scott, and I all sport the wind burn on our faces today as proof that we enjoyed this snowfall!  

As our 3 year anniversary of our wedding approaches in the next week and a half, I can't help but throw out a few oldies, but goodies to show my appreciation of the winter months and January!

Now...how about a snow day????

"If we don't shimmy....

this will never work."  Words spoken from the mouth of my husband as we were attempting to move a very heavy, and full might I add, dresser across the carpeted floor of our bedroom.  I couldn't help but think about how dead on he was by saying that in more ways than one.  The theme of our holiday break this year was kicking ass and taking names.  Seriously.  I don't think either of us realized how long our to-do list was until we were knee deep in it.  In addition to the post below from putting the finishing touches on the playroom, we managed to paint our bedroom, hang up all the wall art in there, get a treadmill into the basement, set up the "gym", fix one of the two ceiling fans, and cook a ton of food for Sean.

Speaking of the ceiling fan...I think that installing a ceiling fan is the true testament of a solid marriage.  We were standing in our living room with Sean playing on the floor nearby, when Scott broke out the ole step stool and attempted to take down the existing broken ceiling fan (which he broke by the way).  Of course there's never a home project that he embarks on that he doesn't need my help.  Immediately, he demanded I hold the fan while he unscrew the screws.  Can someone please explain why ceiling fans weigh 40 pounds?  Since my butt hasn't seen the gym since the birth of Sean or even before that, I was not physically ready for this challenge.  The next 5 minutes consisted of me whining that my arms hurt, which turned into my voice being raised, which turned into an entire verbal assault on Scott if he didn't hurry up.  Just as we thought we were successful, Scott touched the wires to unhook them and was shocked!  Sparks flew (literally!) and emotions ran high.  He then begged me to hold the fan hanging by one wire that had just sparked as he went to figure out why the power wasn't off.  There was screaming, a few choice words, and even some tears.  But, in the end, he realized the switch on the wall was still on, despite the power being shut off downstairs.  Duh! But, to redeem himself, he realized that he could fix our existing ceiling fan, hang it back up, and save us $150.  Well done, Scott!

More into my domain, here are a few of the items I made for Sean in my "spare time", a.k.a. 8:30pm-??  One of these days I'm going to learn how to just sit down at the end of an evening...

Cheddar/Broccoli/Carrot Nuggets:

Sweet Potato Fries (one of Sean's fav):

 Next up tomorrow:  Sausage Ryes, Turkey Loaf, and Mac N' Cheese Cups...

As holiday break concludes, I'm so grateful that we had the time to work on some of the projects we had our eyes set on since we moved in August.  While it wasn't as relaxing as years past, it feels productive.  And I'm grateful for the extra time with my tooter.  He goes to daycare tomorrow and Friday and after a day like today, I'm kind of excited for some time to myself.  Although, even typing that out makes me feel guilty.  So, I leave you with this as an explanation: