The Ridout BEAT

very interesting bug...

2009-11-18T17:10:00.000-08:00

I found a very odd catepillar looking bug on my front porch this morning and was fascinated by it. So I took a picture of it and, after discussing it with Stephanie and getting an idea of what it was, I went on internet and confirmed it is a Tomato Horn Worm. Interesting!

Ok, it's time to update...

2009-11-18T16:07:00.000-08:00

It's been a few months with lots going on. There is the news that everyone knows but for documentation reasons, I will comment quickly on them. We found a house we love on July 5th and we got it! So, we went through all the processes and closed on the house August 13th. We moved in August 15th and are very happy with it! Outside of a few hitches from the Electric Company and the Phone Company not wanting to switch our service when they were supposed to, the move has gone fairly well and we are finally mostly settled.
September 1st, we received the biggest shock we ever have. I'm pregnant again. We will be taking this happy family of five to hopefully a happy family of 6 on May 11, 2010. (or within a few days, knowing me) We find out Dec 3rd if it is a girl or a boy...we will see! This pregnancy has been much more difficult on us emotionally but we are getting to a calmer point.
Those are our biggest changes for now. Trevor is adjusting well in his new middle school. It's alot of work and very different from his normal way of things but he is learning a ton of stuff and doing ok for now. Andrew loves his new school and the smaller classroom size. He took awhile but is coming around to behaving and doing well. He got Mono in October and got to miss 2 weeks of school. So lately, he has appreciated it over the boredom of being home with me all day. :)

Wow....

2009-09-02T22:20:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile people and I'm seriously sorry for that. I will definitely catch this thing up to the VERY many things we have been doing lately, but it may be another week or two before our routine is stable enough. I wish I could post pics at moment but this comp is still very disagreeable to that. Ugh!

Our Trip

2009-07-08T12:32:00.001-07:00

Some pics of the boys on the flights to Chicago...

The boys goofing off during the layover

My boys being handsome!

Trying not to "cheese"

Bathtime in the Sink...

2009-06-24T12:54:00.001-07:00

I have temporarily misplaced my camera cord so I am unable to download the pics from our trip just yet. However, my dad emailed me this pic from last week and I can't wait for the others to come in before showing it off! It's too cute! N was terrified of the all the bathtubs we put him in out there but didn't mind bathing in the kitchen sink.(odd, I know.) This pic was caught at such a perfect moment!

Spaghetti!!!

2009-05-28T14:38:00.000-07:00

As you can tell, he ABSOLUTELY adored it!!!

Video's from the park

2009-05-28T14:18:00.000-07:00

We took the boys to the park with our neighbors last Saturday. It was a beautiful day and we all had lots of fun. N got to see the ducks in the pond which led him to spend about an hour chatting about the "duckies". It was very adorable! This park is very awesome and I'm so happy it's where we are throwing T's 10th bday party this summer...very nice!

2009-04-04T18:10:00.000-07:00

N's 1st Birthday Party!

2009-04-04T17:11:00.000-07:00

We had N's party a week early so my sister and his cousins could be here for it. It came off without much of a hitch....except that N is coming down with a cold and had a fever. Oh, and he didn't appreciate the cake smash his daddy did!

After N's cake smash!

After A's cake smash! B missed A's 1st birthday and so missed being able to smash the cake. He saw how much of N's cake went untouched and couldn't resist!

Waiting for the smash cake...he was slightly disappointed that I didn't let him have the big cake.

The Smash Cake

The Birthday Cake

Pressed for time

2009-03-01T10:48:00.000-08:00

So, I didn't have a lot of time today but I managed to get some videos downloaded to youtube and posted some of them here. There are 8 total. N is getting so big and doing so much that it's hard to keep it all posted as it happens! At least I have been able to catch alot of his new stuff on video!

My new job!

2009-02-06T19:55:00.001-08:00

Well, I have been looking for a babysitting job half-heartedly for a couple of months now. I finally came across one that didn't sound too bad and I responded to the craigslist ad on it. The parents needed a nanny for their twin 2 1/2 year old daughters. I was a little nervous about handling 2 two year olds at once, but I think it was a very good move for us. They adore the heck out of the boys and N....and are adored right back! They are super good, super sweet little girls. I have never heard of siblings (of any age) that would lay down for nap in same bed and just go to sleep...no playing no messing around! They do just fine at that. They play well and are very caring girls!

Heidi and Elise (Leesy)

Changes

2009-02-05T21:14:00.000-08:00

Well, there's an awful lot of that going on lately. We have made some changes to our lives that have had a fairly positive affect on us:

Changes in our family circle...In the beginning of January, we brought B's brother, Brad, to live with us. He needed a fresh start and a calm environment to make it in, and we figure we can give it to him. So far, this has been a very positive adventure. We are all getting along beautifully and he even already has landed a job doing what he loves! He is helpful around the house, caring to the kids, and a good guy all around. We are enjoying his company quite a bit.

Changes in us...B and I began noticing how very "blah" our dinners were beginning to taste. We have been eating the same thing over and over and over for longer than I can even track. We are tired of fast cooking and easy kitchen living. My cholesterol is up, we both are dragging and just feeling "icky", and the boys hate almost everything healthy. So we made a decision to start the new year with a monthly menu and nothing but good cooking on it. I am proud to say that we have continued to stick to it for almost 6 weeks now and we are all noticing changes in the way we feel and behave! The added bonus to this is...drumroll please....I have lost enough weight (10 pounds) to finally be able to put on a pair of size 8 jeans AND close them AND breathe too!!! *cheer* My husband now refers to me as his "skinny hot wife" and has been so encouraging in this that I am noticing a definitely lift in the way I see myself. :)

Changes in T...Just before the holidays, I found a school for T to go to which is supposed to be one of the best in the nation. It's a Charter school called Basis. It has wonderful ratings and I managed to get him enrolled just in time for the 09/10 school year. It will push him harder than any other school he has been in and he will learn a ton of new things, but in spite of this, he is super excited about going. Mostly because he found out they have a Chess Club and that is one of his favorite things to do. My sweet boy is growing soo very fast on us that we can barely keep up with him! Well, for some reason, he locked up and brought home a report card that held 3 D's. We were very disappointed and upset with him and decided that his video games were becoming a distraction to him and his work. So, we took them away until he brought a better report home. Progress reports came home yesterday and I'm proud to say, his held one C and 4 A's!!! It worked beautifully!

Changes in our house...We have been struggling with N's increasing mobility for some time. He has discovered our TV stand and that he can touch all of the electronics on it. :( We got our tax refund back and went shopping for a new TV stand to fix this issue and fell in love with this one. It serves the purpose and is very nice looking too! We both liked it from the start and we purchased it and brought it home on Sunday!

Nick-zilla!!!

2008-12-25T13:02:00.001-08:00

Opening Presents...

2008-12-25T12:39:00.000-08:00

I only have a few of these pics because for some reason, my camera was being silly and taking very blurry pictures. :( Oh well, there are some good ones anyway!

The Tree and The Presents!

2008-12-25T12:24:00.000-08:00

The racetrack was a HUGE hit! The boys spent a good 10 minutes playing with it before really even noticing the presents behind it. Lol!

More Christmas...

2008-12-25T12:19:00.000-08:00

Just random pics from Christmas Eve and one or two from Christmas Day...

Merry Christmas!!!

2008-12-25T11:28:00.000-08:00

Yay!!! Christmas Pics posted ON Christmas!!! :)

Christmas Dance

2008-12-11T13:11:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Hi!!!

2008-12-07T09:05:00.000-08:00

Look at my baby waving!!! He's sooo sweet! He's just picked this up in last 2 weeks and now he waves every time we are leaving or he sees someone new... :)

My hair...

2008-12-07T09:02:00.001-08:00

Okay, so I know there are other things I should be updating on here but for now, I just have a few minutes and have been asked for pics of my latest spur of the moment action. B and I got into a debate over my hair and how I'm unwilling to change much about it. Somehow this debate came around to how he likes red hair and how I would never dye my hair that color, as far as he thought. From there, it got around to him Daring me to do it. :) What can I say? I love a good dare!

Diaper Fun!

2008-11-23T08:12:00.000-08:00

Is it weird that my child enjoys getting hit in the face with a diaper???

On the go!

2008-11-19T06:48:00.001-08:00

This video is just to show off one of his latest forms of transportation!

New Skills!

2008-11-18T21:11:00.000-08:00

This is the first time N has gotten up on hands and knees and realized he could do more than fall back down on tummy. He now is doing it every chance he gets!

Video Stupid....

2008-10-23T18:25:00.001-07:00

Okay, so since I can't seem to figure out how to post videos on here....I have some adorable videos of N posted on youtube.com. Once on the site, type in tasmomma as a search word and it will pull them up for you. :) Enjoy!!!

6 Months!

2008-10-21T21:19:00.000-07:00

We are 6 months old now! N is a very sweet, very opinionated little boy now. He weighed in at a healthy 17 pounds 1 ounce and is 27 inches long. His checkup went well and thankfully there is no negatives to report. He is happy and healthy!

My Trip to Oklahoma

2008-09-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

For my birthday, B gave me a trip to see my best friend of 15 years, J. She currently lives in Oklahoma City. So, N and I flew out there to hang out for 5 days. It was alot of fun! I haven't seen her in about 3 years and we both have had babies since then, so it was good times visiting and getting to meet the little ones.

N's first plane ride! He actually was a wonderful flyer...he just wasn't too happy about the loud engines at first.

This is J's third and most recent addition to her family, X. Isn't he just adorable??? He did amazingly well with N.

This is the best picture I managed to get of J. She's a hard woman to catch sitting still!

This was the best experience! N had not experienced the feel of grass on his feet up till this point. We don't see alot of grass in Tucson and certainly aren't inclined to put our feet in the little bit we see...you never know what wildlife you will find!

After a few minutes of uncertainty, he ended up deciding to like it!

Random Pics

2008-09-20T09:00:00.001-07:00

Pippen has been such a good dog even though there is a serious lack of attention for him these days....guess he figured N lays on that pillow and gets lots of attention, he might as well try! (it worked!)

I haven't got a clue what we were doing or why I felt like snapping a pic of A at the time, but man, he's adorable...dirty face and all!

B was goofing off with N while I was making dinner....this is what happens when I let that man play with my baby??? Lol!

I noticed that here lately, I don't have very many pictures of T. I'm glad that I've gotten a few of them together, but I will definitely be working harder to get a few extra of him...he's changing and becoming more and more of a young man every day. It's so scary!

N prefers to ride in his stroller without his car seat these days. He is such a nosy little guy!

My 30th Birthday Party

2008-09-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

I had started out saying to B, "Let's have a small get together and cookout. We will invite all our friends..." I had figured "all our friends" to come to around 15-20 people....Wow, I didn't realize how much our circle has expanded in last 6 months or so! Mostly by people following us from Germany, but happily with a few non military additions as well!

Wow, he's a clown! These two were the first set of our friends from Germany to arrive in Tucson after us...Copycats!

I actually did manage to blow them all out....(the cheat is that there are only 15 candles put in the shape of the number 30 on the cake!)

My wonderful close friends who started the Great Migration from Germany to Tucson!

One of our neighbors whom we are so grateful to be friends with! (Our neighbors on the other side are just as appreciated, but unfortunately had to step out early)

We are just getting to know these two and are definitely enjoying their company :)

Another good friend(s) of ours from Germany!

More Around the house...

2008-09-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

So, this one was left from the mountain pics....Isn't it beautiful?

N in his Jumperoo...He loves this toy as well!

A and T in their new Cub Scout Ranks! A is a Wolf and T is a WeBeLoS this year!

(WeBeLoS translates into "We Be Loyal Scouts".)

N spending some more time smiling at us! He is such a happy baby!

Tummy time is fun for this baby...he really wants to roll but hasn't quite figured it out yet...

Mount Lemmon without the rain...mostly

2008-09-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

It rained some this time, but not nearly as much or as hard as the first trip up!

The 7 waterfall place in the sunshine!

T and A with Tucson at their backs....Absolutely Awesome!

Some cool rock formation on the way up

Another cool formation!

Okay, so nothing special except that for some reason, I found this tree to be very interesting...

Mount Lemmon

2008-09-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

We went up the mountain that isn't too far from here to get a look around and check out the little tourist town that is up near the top. I got several good scenic pictures even though it was raining. We went up about a week later when it wasn't raining but I will post those on another blog.

Awesome Cacti Shot!

This is just cool the way the sun was coming through clouds!

Getting cloudier....

This place is awesome cause in the Monsoon, there are up to 7 waterfalls running down this one spot of the mountainside. I believe we counted 5 that day. Some were so small I couldn't get camera focused well on them.

More of the waterfall shots

A few pics from early August time frame...

2008-09-16T21:16:00.001-07:00

Just some around the house pics....

He loves his exersaucer!

T and A, actually getting along!

N has gotten over his hatred of riding in his car seat. Now we can't get him to stop jibber-jabbing the whole ride! It brings out the conversationalist in him!

What a Cutie!!!

Get the damn camera away from me Mom!

N's 4 Month Checkup/A's 7 year old Checkup

2008-09-16T20:54:00.001-07:00

A is doing well. He weighs 37 1/2 pounds and is 43 inches tall. He is still the smallest kids in his class and all in all a tiny kid...but he doesn't let that stop him! He is very energetic and loves to laugh! We are dealing with concerns over his classroom behavior, which has been declining over the last 5-6 months. He just seems to have forgotten how to sit in his chair when he is supposed to and follow direction with simple things. He is still making good grades, he just needs to be reminded of class rules several times a day. We are checking out some ideas before having him tested for ADD. Will keep up on that one at a later date.

N is doing well. Very well....He's getting very chubby! He is still a bit small but for him, he's chunky! He weighed in at 14lbs 2oz and is 24 1/2 inches long. He is growing well and the doctor is very pleased with his progress. He hated the shots of course...I guess I got spoiled because T and A both were good shot kids in the first year or two. Oh well... N is changing so much over the last few weeks it is hard to keep up with him. It won't be long and he will have his first tooth. He is having lots of teething pain and crankiness. :( This of course is leading to less sleep for the both of us. This phase is definitely welcome to pass soon!

So here we go....

2008-09-16T20:51:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna do my best to chronicle the last few weeks correctly. :) I will start with the boys' birthday party. We had it at Breakers Water Park. I would love to post pictures on this but unfortunately, after only one or two very blurry pictures, I misplaced the camera and didn't find it again till the end. I'm very sorry but it was chaotic! They did have alot of fun and received gifts that they loved. Overall, it was worth the stupid amount of hassle and money that we dealt with to set it up!

I'm still alive....

2008-09-11T23:25:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a bit. I have been stuck in a serious rut with blogging...I have tons to put on here and not enough time or energy to do it all. I hope to get it accomplished soon, so please hang in there!

Cardiology Appointment

2008-08-07T10:06:00.000-07:00

N had his checkup for his murmur yesterday. For starters, Whoa Baby! We have picked up our weight to almost 13 pounds! Now we look a little chubby. The murmur checks out fine. It's called innocent and we can move on from that. The doc did find a small defect in his aortic valve. This should not bother N though. It's just something that needs to be watched over the years. The complications that are seen from this aren't usually noted until the person is in 40's or 50's. So, no biggie for now! They will see him again next August and decide from there if he needs to be seen every year or every couple of years.

School is starting again on Monday and everyone in this house is looking forward to it. T is a little nervous about going into the 4th grade and testing for the gifted program. They will start the testing soon after the school year gets under way. A is absolutely proud and excited about the 2nd grade. He tells anyone who will listen about it! N and I are looking forward to quiet, peaceful days (for the most part) and mostly, uninterrupted naps!

My birthday is coming and I suppose I can say I'm a little excited. It's a big one. I am turning 30 on the 30th. It's interesting because I sort of feel like I'm turning a corner in who I am. I have been a overly tired, depressed, stressed worrier for most of my 20's. Lately, I am still overly tired and still feel the effects of stress, but for some reason there is a new calm over me. I don't know if maybe I have just worn myself out on worrying but I can't say I am hating this new feeling. It's nice to be able to take things in stride for once. I couldn't believe how calm I felt after that appointment. Normally, I would have been freaking out and worrying about when he gets to that age. I was totally able to just be happy that he is healthy and has a positive outlook over all. : )

My loving husband is providing me with a plane ticket to Oklahoma to see my best friend for my birthday! This is such an exciting thing for me! I haven't seen her in about 4 years so I'm totally looking forward to this.

I love my Grampa!

2008-07-15T11:10:00.001-07:00

My dad bought this set for N when they visited after he was born. Doesn't Harley Davidson look awesome on my boy? :) (yes, my 3 month old is wearing a Do Rag!)

Latest Update

2008-07-12T07:41:00.000-07:00

N had another appointment for his weight yesterday. He is officially cleared of any worries over his weight!!! He weighed in at 10lbs 8oz! Little chubby guy! He seems to be doing just fine on everything. They don't need to see him in again until his 4 month checkup. :)

Sweet Boy!!!

2008-07-04T14:53:00.001-07:00

I brought him downstairs this morning and put him in the Bumbo, his new favorite place to be. :) He sat there and cooed and looked around for about 10 minutes and I looked over at him to find him like this...

Such a sweet looking boy!!!

First Cereal

2008-07-04T14:45:00.001-07:00

Okay, so the latest update on N's weight and stuff is this. As of July 2, he weighs a whopping 9lbs 9oz! He has been gaining steadily since we started giving him a few formula bottles a day. They are please with the gain and are continuing to monitor him weekly for now. He was spitting up quite a bit so doctor put him on Similac Sensitive RS. It is new since my last baby and it seems to be helping a little. The doctor told me to start giving him a little cereal in the evening as well to help with weight gain and with the spitting up. They detected a Heart Murmur as well and are having him seen by a cardiologist just for precautions sake. This doesn't worry us since A had the same issues. Overall, N is progressing well and is turning into a very sweet and cute almost 3 month old!

More Around the House Pics

2008-07-04T14:39:00.001-07:00

Swimming Lessons

2008-07-04T14:27:00.001-07:00

So I didn't get alot of pictures from the Level 1 class. Maybe I will get more this time around. They both graduated to Level 2 and it starts on Tuesday, July 8th.

Around the house Pics

2008-07-04T11:31:00.000-07:00

Sonora Desert Museum

2008-07-04T10:56:00.001-07:00

So, we picked the hottest day of the week to go to this museum we had heard so many good things about. It's a museum, right? Indoors, look at a bunch of dead things and move on, right??? Not so much. In all that we had heard, no one had mentioned that it was outdoors. Ugh!!! It was 110 degrees that day! It was HOT!!! We were ill prepared, of course. We didn't bring enough water and only one person was wearing shoes that were appropriate for being out in desert where there were signs everywhere warning us that we are in the wildlife's territory, not the other way around. Several pairs of eyes watched the ground just about everywhere we stepped!

More...

2008-07-04T10:49:00.000-07:00

A few more pics from Golf N Stuff...

Golf N Stuff

2008-07-04T10:34:00.000-07:00

We went to this place called Golf N Stuff and the kids had a blast! It has Go Karts, Bumper Boats, and Mini Golf. It was a great day and all the kids slept well that night.

My niece is 15 years old and loves babies. So, when she volunteered to carry N in the front pack, I told my sister we ought to make her walk around with it all day. That will make her think twice about getting pregnant before she turns 30! I have less mobility with him in that thing than I did at 9 months pregnant!

Visitors!

2008-07-04T10:26:00.001-07:00

My sister brought her son and daughter down for a week long visit. It was alot of fun! We did just enough to enjoy it and not feel like we were rushed. Here are a few pics from the Drive-In we went to. (We saw Kung Fu Panda and Indiana Jones) Plus a cute pic of N loving his cousin!

Silly A

2008-07-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

So I haven't posted any crazy sleeping positions for A in awhile...finally caught him in one while my sister was visiting!

The Follow-Up

2008-06-19T07:39:00.000-07:00

On Monday, I took N back to doctor to get his weight checked again. We were all a bit nervous that he would be the same weight, since he didn't appear to have grown any. No need to worry, he gained 8 ounces! That was enough to satisfy the doc and she told me to just keep doing the same thing with formula and breastmilk and she made us an appointment for Friday to check him again. She said as long as he keeps steady gaining we shouldn't have any issues with him being a little small. He weighed in at 8 pounds 6 ounces on Monday and I'm curious to see his weight on Friday. He appears to be getting a bit pudgy in the cheeks and belly!

Nick's 2 month Checkup

2008-06-15T23:13:00.000-07:00

So I took N to his checkup and to get shots on Friday. The doc said he is way underweight. She said most other docs would admit him to the hospital for his size but she would like to try to avoid that. Normal weight gain for a newborn is an ounce a day. He has gained 14 ounces altogether and should have gained 56-60. Yuck! I am not totally worried since we had alot of doctors freak out over A's size and he is fine. I will let this doc do what I'm sure she is required to do with all undersized babies. I was instructed to start feeding him a bottle of formula every other feeding and to make his feedings every 2 hours instead of every 3. He has another appointment scheduled for tomorrow to see if this has helped any. He is also anemic, which she gave me Poly-Vi-Sol drops for. I was anemic when I was a baby too, so this doesn't shock me either. Hopefully, tomorrow she will tell me things are fine and there is an easy solution to this.

A and His Cuteness....

2008-06-09T22:17:00.000-07:00

So, we were having lunch at Sonic today. A came and asked B "Where's my desert?" B told him if he wanted desert he had to go knock at the door where they have register and kitchen. (for those who don't know, Sonic is a Drive-In restaurant) He told him that when our waitress answered he needed to ask her "Does my cuteness get me a free Root Beer Float?". Okay, so we laughed cause we thought he wouldn't do it. He did. He marched right over there and knocked on the door. The lady opened it and we could see him talking to her for a few minutes and then she waved and walked away. He came tearing across the patio and was yelling "SHE SAYS IT DOES!!! IT REALLY DOES!!!" ROFL So then we were wondering if it really did or if we were going to be charged for it...No, it really did earn him some ice cream!!! She came out about 5 minutes later with ice cream cones for all the kids. She said she really wanted to give him the root beer float but was told she couldn't, so she did the ice cream cones instead. It was the funniest thing!!! That kid is definitely not shy when it comes to getting himself some ice cream!

Family Pictures!

2008-06-09T22:11:00.001-07:00

First family pictures we have taken in 4 1/2 years. A was only just 2 in the last ones....I know I'm a slacker but what can I say?

Nick's First Smile!

2008-06-09T22:08:00.000-07:00

This is the first smile in 50 pictures that I was able to catch on camera! I'm soooo happy I caught this one!

A few more....

2008-05-06T20:18:00.001-07:00

Random Pics

2008-05-06T20:07:00.000-07:00

Nikolas' First Bath!

2008-05-03T20:53:00.000-07:00

This is N's first bath. He was not happy about it. It has taken about 4 baths now to get him to take one calmly. It's fun to see the things that each child likes and dislikes and compare them. T hated baths sooo much while he absolutely loved being in the shower with Dad. A hated showers with a passion and would have lived his whole first year in the tub or sink if I would have let him. N seems to have found an indifference for bathtime after 4 of them. We haven't taken him into a shower yet. We normally wait till they are 3-4 weeks for that.
Here are a few pics of his very unhappy bath.

Get me the H out of here!!!

Fine, I'll just suck on your hand!

WTH???

It's about time you got me warm again!

Nikolas Warren!

2008-04-15T15:08:00.001-07:00

So, it finally happened! We welcomed our new baby boy on Saturday, April 12th at 3pm. He is 7 pounds and 19 1/2 inches long and absolutely AWESOME! We showed up at the hospital at 8am for the induction. They got us into a room and settled and then started my Pitocin IV. About 20 min later, they broke my water and the show got on the road. By 9 I was contracting very well and by 11 I decided it was time to get the epidural. I kind of was worried that things would move too fast and then I would have to go without and I wasn't having that happen! By 11:30ish, I was feeling REALLY good and we entered the waiting game. This was probably the worst part about the good pain control. We got so bored waiting to have the baby! Time just seemed to crawl so slowly and we were both so so ready to meet this little guy! Finally, at about 2 the nurse checked me and said I was at 5 centimeters, which to us was completely not far enough. We were a little bummed that it seemed it would be so much longer. We had just finished discussing how disappointing it was about 10 minutes later and the nurse came back in and said she was going to check me again. Apparently, she has seen that when some women progress alot in a little time, the baby's heart rate will drop in the contractions. Well, this is what was happening. So she checked me at about 215 and lo and behold, I was at 7cm. So she got everything set up and ready and at 245 checked again. She said I had made it to ten and called doc. This left just enough time for the rest of her preparations and about 5-10 min of pushing before Nikolas Warren joined us in the world!
Here is a tidbit of information that is a miracle but I feel I better warn is not for the weak stomach. If you have followed this from the beginning, you will remember I had alot of bleeding issues and spent most of first 12 weeks on bedrest. The diagnosis to that issue had been a blood clot between the placenta and the uterus. At the time she had said it was not an issue as long as I took it easy and all that. Now, it appears our little one having made it here is truly a miracle. The "small" clot was not so small after all. It covered a scary amount of the placenta and had calcified, leaving all of that area of placenta essentially dead. He managed to make it to term with only a portion of the placenta working! Wow! This was shocking news, since he is also healthy as a horse!
The funny moment came right after this. They placed him on me for a few minutes and then took him over to the warmer to clean him up. As soon as they laid him down, he gave them all a golden shower! A very typical move for one of our boys!

His weight

One of the best pics!

Now, because of the amount of time this computer is taking to upload pics, I will refer you to my Myspace page if you would like to see more pics of him. Otherwise, it will be all week before I get them uploaded to here!

Update!

2008-04-03T22:02:00.001-07:00

Okay, so we have survived past 38 weeks. Yay! I have been contracting irregularly for over a week. I am over this pregnant thing. I am ready to meet my new little one we have been working so hard to grow for so long.
Our appointment today went well, if a little disappointing. I am still the same as I was last week. 2 1/2 cm and the baby has moved down a little since. This was a little frustrating with the contractions feeling stronger and happening more frequently this week. I was so sure I had at least changed some, even if I haven't been successful at going into real labor...
The light at the end of the tunnel is in sight, though. Doc said she would start calling the hospital today to set up the induction sometime close to due date. She said she wasn't sure she would be able to arrange it in advance or if she would be calling the night before with a cancellation. Well, she got a date set. April 12th, if I haven't already gone into labor, I will be at hospital at 8am to be induced. I'm praying for natural labor to take place between here and there, but I will be happy even if I have to go in for that. I am just thankful we have been able to carry the baby so much longer than we did the boys and it gives me that much more confidence that baby will be healthy and happy and maybe even go home with us! That will be a new experience for B and I. We have never actually left hospital with the baby. We had a week with each of them to adjust to life before bringing them home. This will definitely be an interesting thing!

Better than a Baby Shower!

2008-04-03T00:18:00.000-07:00

So I got a call from B this afternoon. He says " I ran into Jerry at work today. He says him and Chrissy are going on a date tonight NO KIDS and wanted to know if we would like to come and make it a double date." They did some talking, called Chrissy, according to her the sitter for her kids was willing to keep ours too. Score! I was all for it. So I got kids all ready and got some clothes together for B and headed for Chrissy's house. I have so been had! This was all part of an elaborate scheme to get me and kids to show up at Chrissy's unaware that our friend Tamara had driven her and her two boys 14 hours down from Utah to see us! I walked into Chrissy's house prepared to discuss who the sitter was and what details needed to be dealt with and was met with Tamara sitting on the couch as if she has lived here all along.....WTH??? :) I was definitely shocked. Beyond shocked, even. When we left tonight after having gone to dinner and gone shopping for a bit with her, I was still trying to decide if it was real! I was anxious for this child to be born before today. I can't describe how badly I want to have it before Sunday (when they have to head home) now! Wow! I'm so happy to see them and her kids have grown sooo much since last May that I just wanted to hug them over and over again! It was a very emotional thing for me....but I didn't cry! I'm so proud of myself!

False Alarm : (

2008-03-29T22:52:00.000-07:00

Well, today was interesting. I enrolled the boys in a Big Brothers class at the hospital and it was today at 10am. I woke up at 530 this morning with the WORST case of heartburn I have ever had....including the course of both of my other pregnancies. But we paid for this class and we had a cub scout outing we had to make it to so I dealt with it. We got boys ready and to the class on time. I tried milk and Zantac on the way. Neither worked. We sat through most of the class and I was having contractions and some severe pain from heartburn as well. So, I told B we needed to go to Labor and Delivery and get it all checked out. We went and got checked in and they hooked me up to monitors. My contractions were not strong enough or close enough to cause them concern so I got the boot. : ( Before sending me on my way, they gave me this concoction for the heartburn. The foulest tasting mixture I have tasted in YEARS! It made my tongue go numb and made my head spin for almost an hour....but it worked wonders in less than 10 minutes! I would so pay mega bucks for a gallon of that awful stuff!
So, now it's back to the waiting game. The contractions are still happening but without the heartburn, they are so much more tolerable. I just need them to get regular again so we can get back in there and have this baby!

37 Weeks!!!

2008-03-27T20:07:00.000-07:00

This is it folks! Today is the last day of charted territory for me as a pregnant woman. A was born at this point. Unfortunately, according to doc, I probably won't make it much further. I am 2 1/2 cm dialated and where I wasn't thinned out at all last week, now I'm 70%. Baby is at -2 station as well. We are ready to have this kid!
From the beginning of this pregnancy, I have felt very strongly about making it as close as we can to 40 weeks and have had lots of anxiety issues over whether or not the baby will be healthy. Maybe because we have made it so far, maybe because I have finally come to terms with whatever will be will be.....but I feel totally calm and confident about the strong possibility of not making it through the weekend. If we do, then I guess we do! I am just so excited that we will meet this baby soon and I will finally be able to hold it in my arms and get to know it and start watching the wonderful journey of it's growth!

36 Weeks!

2008-03-20T20:53:00.000-07:00

Well, people, we made it! Now for the countdown to the big event. T was born at 36 weeks on the mark and A was born at 37 weeks 2 days. One week from this Friday, I will be more pregnant than I ever have been. Lol...odd countdown, I know. While I hope to make it, we will see. I have been experiencing more and more Braxton Hicks and they are increasing in strength as well. At the doctor's today, she told me I am 1 1/2 centimeters dialated and to get busy walking and stuff to encourage a short or at least less painful labor. I'm cool with that. With the boys, I had already been taking daily walks for several weeks by now. I'm not sure if it's cause I'm bigger or just lazy but this time, I just haven't been motivated to walk as much. I started today. We will see how long it keeps up.
I do have a pic to post for this point in the pregnancy. Unfortunately, it's on the new camera we just bought and somehow we have misplaced the box that has the computer cord in it. :( I've been desperately searching the house for this box. When I find it, I will upload the pics and you can see what a whale I have become. On the weight subject, I have happily made it to 169 pounds. I know I swore my limit was 170, but I have given it up. I will eat what I eat (within moderation) and just have to work a little harder at the gym if it's more than I intended.

2008-03-14T08:18:00.000-07:00

Okay so I know I've not been on top of posting lately. I have actually had a bit of energy so there hasn't been that much time spent at the computer. I have hit that "O-my-God-it's-the-last-few-weeks-before-baby-comes,-I've-got-to-get-busy!" phase. Unfortunately, since we have bought the furniture and done the nursery building, it seems this hurry-hurry mode is nothing more than "Hurry up and Wait...." So, I'm spending an ample amount of time in Walmart and Target wandering between girl things and boy things and wishing I knew which one to buy for. I would prefer not to buy alot of neutral stuff so I have only what we had to get for that area. A few sleepers and onesies and such.
I am very excited to say the Bassinet, High Chair, and Baby Tub are on their way! My mom and sister are so awesome! I love and appreciate all the help they have done for us with each child we have had.
In other news, A had a dentist appointment yesterday. They sedated him so they could fill 5 cavities. :( Originally, this was supposed to be done in November but we could not afford it. The dental plan we have through the military is actually not that good of one, so if you are preparing to move back from overseas....Get all your work done NOW! It's sufficient coverage for things like cleanings and such. But it does not cover nearly enough for Crowns and Cavities. Anyway, the dentist originally said one of the cavities was bad enough for a cap to be necessary. The good news is it didn't need a cap, which cut the projected cost of procedure by a good amount. The bad news is the Sedative given did not relax A enough to last through all 5 fillings. He was feeling the discomfort by the time they finished number 3. Cried and cried through the last 2. I felt like such a terrible mom cause dentist asked me after the 4th one if we should stop and schedule another appointment for the 5th. I said he should continue and just get the job over with. I didn't want to have to convince him to come back and get back into that chair willingly knowing what was gonna happen. That would have been a pain in the butt!

So, that's what has been up the last week or so. We haven't done a whole lot worth posting on. I have been considering the week changes in affect on Saturdays and realized the other day that we should actually be changing them on Tuesdays (as April 15 is a Tuesday), so I may or may not post a belly pic Saturday, I may wait till Tuesday. I will be turning 36 weeks this time! I am SO ready to have this child!!! :)

Playing Catch-Up

2008-03-05T09:36:00.001-08:00

Okay, so I know this is a little late, considering I have another appointment tomorrow. Better late than never, right?

My appointment 2 weeks ago....The baby is doing fine and everything looks good. However, the doctor has pretty much set her mind to delivering this child early. The baby's head is down and things are starting to look like labor won't be too far off. She said that even though my measurements still put me at 32 weeks (at the time), my uterus and the baby both seem to be behaving as if I am more like 35 weeks. She estimates that baby will be here in last two weeks of March. At this point, I estimate that baby will get here when it gets here....I'm so anxious to have this child! I am trying to stay relaxed and not freak out too much about the fact that it's getting closer and closer every day. I swear it's like someone keeps hitting the speed up-slow down button over and over. One day it feels like things are going at warp speed and I want it to slow down and the next I feel like it can't get here fast enough!

The Nursery!

2008-02-21T22:50:00.000-08:00

The long awaited pics are here! I finally figured out what was wrong with that vacuum and 40 dollars and a backbreaking process later, it works! So then I was able to vacuum the nursery which led me to feel good about posting pics occuring in this room.... :)

The Americana Lifetime Crib

(otherwise known as a storage area for next few weeks...)

The Americana Dresser

(already half full of little t-shirts, diapers, and accessories)

The best view I could get of the three existing elements of the Nursery

The Tooth Fairy Map

2008-02-21T22:38:00.001-08:00

After much begging and pleading done by A, T sat down with him and helped him draw arrows to direct the Tooth Fairy when she came to see A tonight. This was the result....Absolutely Adorable, if you ask me!

This one was placed next to front door

At the bottom of stairs...

On A's door

On his lower bunk post, right above where he keeps his pillow....

They had alot of fun, even if T didn't originally want to join in. I enjoy watching them actually get along and do projects together. It may be rare, but it's the sweetest thing when it is happening!

My baby is growing up....

2008-02-21T22:27:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, I have a hard time coming to grips with the fact that A is 6 1/2 years old. He is still so small that sometimes, when he is sleeping mostly, I can pretend that he is still younger and not growing smarter and more imaginative every day. Well, not anymore. A lost his first tooth day. It totally shocked me! He woke up and came into my room and said "Look! I can move my tooth in circles!!!" Of course he could. It was only holding on by a small small part. So, when we met up with B a little bit later, he asked B to pull it for him. Isn't he so grown lookin??? : (

I love being in the states....

2008-02-20T21:25:00.000-08:00

I am occasionally reminded of how very much I'm happy to be home in the states again. B and I went out and bought the crib and dresser for the nursery about 3 weeks ago. We put the dresser together fairly quick, since I had a pile of clothes and stuff forming that needed a place to go. The dresser came in so many pieces and with such a difficult set of directions, B was not at all in a rush to see the crib (same company) put together. We both assumed it would be just as tedious and frustrating. Well, I got tired of waiting for him and enlisted Chrissy's help. Saturday, we set to work putting it together only to find that the front piece was broken. Unfortunately, this was the last piece and last screw to put into place that we found this out. Ugghh! So, we gave up for the time and Sunday morning I called Babies R Us.

Now, let's go over how this would have gone down in Germany. I would have had to call the company, complain lots, and pay to ship the piece back...assuming I had been able to get it shipped to our post office to begin with. If I had purchased it from BX, I would have had to either take it in and complain over and over and over again until they finally took it back, or had to do this over the phone. Most likely, the BX would have said "Bring it in to return it and we will order you another one which will take 6-9 months to come in." 6-9 months is the going amount of time they will tell you on everything you order through them...and usually, it's close to right. I would have been angry cause we don't have that kind of time, of course. So, now back to the present where I live in the wonderful states and have options!

I called Babies R Us and explained to them what was wrong. They said (after checking, of course) that they had the part of the crib that we needed in a box in the back of store and that all we needed to do was bring in the broken piece and they would replace it and just order another one for the unsold crib. SWEET! So we were able to replace broken piece and have crib fully put together by the end of Sunday!

Now, I know what several people are wondering. "Why haven't I posted pictures yet?" Well, the putting together of this crib and dresser was a very dirty task. There is all sorts of leftover debris up there in that nursery. I have managed to pick up the big stuff but it still desperately needs vacuuming. I went to accomplish this today and found to my dismay that our vacuum isn't working right. So, hopefully by weekend, I will have fixed the issue and taken a few pics. I will warn everyone, we are not doing anything more than placing furniture at this point since we do not know what baby is. I will buy the bedding and stuff after baby is born. : )

32 weeks!

2008-02-16T23:57:00.001-08:00

8 more weeks....that seems so short and so long at the same time! I'm soooo excited! I am so ready to have this baby and hold it and know what it looks like! (most importantly, what sex it is....) B took a pic from side and straight on this time to show just how big I am and how it looks too. I'm starting to have real problems sitting in one position for long and breathing has become a very interesting task....Since when did my lungs become punching bags???

2008-02-11T11:02:00.000-08:00

This week was a little hectic. A stayed home Monday and Tuesday. I finally thought his ear was done being messy and sent him back to school on Wednesday, only to get a call from Pediatrics saying they had his follow up appointment scheduled for Thursday at 945. This wouldn't be an issue but I had my o/b appointment 11 on the same morning. So, I let his teacher know he would be missing another day. Let me fill you in on A and meds. He has taken every antibiotic known to children to treat his ear infections. Of them all, we have found that Zithromax cures his infections best and most completely. So, when he was looked at on Sunday, the doc gave him that at my request. For the first time ever, it didn't work. I was shocked when this doctor on Thursday said he still had the infection. ??? So, now he is on Augmentin...one that used to tear up his stomach when they would give it to him. Thankfully, it does not seem to be bothering him this time and he even is enjoying the taste. : )
I'm not very fond of this doctor. I am seriously contemplating having a switch made. This doctor saw A for all of about 5 min and he was spouting all sorts of crap about how A displays classic red flags for ADHD. I explained to this doc that right before he walked in, A and I had been playing games and being silly. Not only that but this child in particular has ALOT going on in his life. The doc asked if he had trouble in school. Well, yes, but only in last 3 weeks or so. Nothing major, he just is zoning in the mornings instead of doing his work. In the 3 weeks in question, we have all been sick...he has been sick for about 2 weeks of it, we have started bringing baby furniture in and putting the nursery together, and I have gained a bit more weight. I have definitely grown visibly and become quite a bit more uncomfortable. These are all things I would expect a child to react to in the same ways as this doc was swearing were these red flags. I believe the doctor was entitled to his opinion on these behaviors. I would not judge him for suggesting it. But he spent an ENTIRE 15 min focusing on how he likes to catch his patients ADHD problems early and how he would like him tested further and would like to start him on medication asap. I was fuming by the time I got out of there. I explained to the doctor all the issues I perceive as being the cause and he insisted that HE was right after only knowing my son for 5 min. Hmmm....6 years or 5 min, people? We have always agreed that A had one or two of the issues we see in T on occasion. But we have never seen them to anywhere near the extent and certainly have never seen the need to have him tested. There is a point where you just look at the child and say "he's just being a 6 year old boy". Anyway, I could rant and rave about this all day. I'm not gonna!

The o/b appointment went well. I cannot report on my weight gain cause A was distracting me when the lady did the scale. All I can say is that my scale at home reports me gaining a total of 16 pounds now. I'm attempting to give up worrying about it...lol, it's driving me nuts! I let A bring his gameboy into the appointment since I had a few questions and knew I wouldn't get them asked with him not distracted. Well, the gameboy worked too well...when it was time for the heartbeat to be heard, it took me and doc to get A to stop playing and listen. He's so funny about this baby. He's over emotional about the littlest things one minute and the next, you wouldn't think he cared even a little. He did crack me up. I have talked about how he believed baby is an alien. Well, there was a Month 1-9 growth chart on the door. He and I were going over it and he was telling me what he thought of each month. Month 1-Alien. Month 2-Alien. Month 3-Alien. Month 4-Alien. Month 5-That's when it's a baby, mom. Month 6-Baby. Month 7-Baby. Month 8-Baby. Month 9-Brother. : ) You cannot tell this child that he is having a sister. His brain cannot compute the possibility. We keep trying to explain to him that we don't know what baby is and that means it could be a brother OR a sister. He refuses to agree. This is Baby Nick and He is a Boy! So, either he has a sixth sense about this or he's just plain stubborn! (or both....) We will see but I'm starting to wonder should I be praying for this to really be a boy. I'm not sure I want to know what he will do with a sister....He may try sticking her in mailbox and sending her back!

Here we go again...

2008-02-03T21:58:00.000-08:00

Well, life was getting back to normal and everyone was feeling better. A and I were sick the longest but we were fairly over it by yesterday. So we looked forward to the week starting normal for first time in 3 weeks. Of course, that's not how it's going to work... Last night, I took my Ambien and then the boys and I laid down in living room to watch Transformers. A fell asleep right away. Around midnight, he woke up screaming and crying and totally uncomfortable. He said his ear hurt so bad. Poor guy couldn't sit still cause it was so bad. Well, we know this route. This is an ear infection and how it almost always starts for him. The only thing missing was the fever. He still has his tubes from a year ago so we were not completely shocked (though I was overly worried) by the draining that began in his ear. We gave him motrin and called the nurse. Well, by time nurse called back, he had fallen asleep again, so she told us to let him sleep and to take him to Urgent Care clinic today. Let me just say, Thank Goodness we are back in states! I love that there is more than one option for doctor care on a Sunday. We went to the Urgent Care that we have gone to once before. It is an effective place but very Ghetto....it looks dingy and dirty and the waiting area is always overcrowded without any thought to the spread of the germs that come and go. ICK! But it was the only one I knew the exact location for. So, we got in there and signed in and were informed that it would be a 3 hour wait. Double ICK. I called B (who was at home doing the cleaning I had planned for the superbowl get together we had) and had him look up the urgent care clinics and he found me one not too far from where I was that had way less people in it. A and I went there and found it to be ALOT cleaner and alot more concerned about the spread of germs. Everywhere we turned there was a bottle of hand sanitizer or a box of facial masks. I will be going there for future urgent needs....
Anyway, back on the track of things. A does have an ear infection. From the sound of it, a fairly nasty one too. Doc was insistent that I call first thing tomorrow and make him an appointment to be seen at end of the week. She put him on Zithromax (the only antibiotic that fully cures his infections) and sent us on our way.
So, tomorrow, I will be spending the day with him on the couch relaxing and recupperating. I have contemplated sending him to school since he never had a fever with this, but I think the school would have an issue with the draining that his ear is continuing to do. It's quite a messy affair. :(

Weekend Life

2008-01-30T06:29:00.000-08:00

So, a week ago T had a really gross head cold. He got over it by about Wednesday or Thursday. Saturday morning, we had plans to go to the Pinewood Derby/Pack meeting for Cub Scouts. A woke up totally miserably sick. Sore throat...the works. Since he had a few major parts to the opening ceremony, we still had to go. By the end of the day, T was the only one with no sign of being sick. B and I both had either sinus issues or sore throat and A was coughing and sneezing. Yuck! It made for a very grumpy family by the time Sunday rolled around. :( Monday, B had to go to work for a meeting, so he didn't call in. T was still fine so he went to school. A and I spent the day resting and cuddling. Tuesday, A was a little better with no sign of fever or the soreness in his throat so he went to school. I was feeling a little better as well, but am still sneezing and coughing. Double Yuck!

On the bright side, we made a stop into Babies R Us on Saturday to check out the new selection of cribs and dressers they had told us they would have. We came home with a 4 in 1 Lifetime crib and a pretty decent dresser! I was sooo excited to have finally found a matching set we both like! On Sunday, I had to step out to the store for some things. I went to Target, where we had both agreed on a stroller previously. While I was there, I decided to buy it! I'm so happy to finally be buying all the stuff we need for the baby! I can't wait until we put it all together and set up the actual nursery! It will be kind of a relief to be able to see it all in there and know that things are moving along. This Saturday marks the final 10 weeks of the pregnancy and I have been getting quite impatient lately. I know there is still a while left, but I am just ready to hold this child and love it and to finally meet the piece I have felt missing from this family for so long!

Doctor's Appointment Update

2008-01-25T07:07:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm still supposed to take life easy. Unfortunately, I have to also be careful with my diet from here on out. My glucose testing that we did 2 weeks ago didn't go so well. I do not have gestational diabetes, but the numbers are close. The cutoff is 140 and my levels were at 139. So, new diet and hopefully, we won't need to worry. The bloodwork also revealed that I am badly anemic. So, I have been given Iron pills to take with everything else. This all makes me kind of nervous. I'm not much of a medicine taker when I'm not pregnant. It makes me a little nervous to be taking all these pills but in the end, hopefully they will be more of a benefit to baby.
Other than all that, baby is doing well. Appears to be a healthy size and has a good strong heartbeat. That's all that really counts in my book!

In other news, T came home from school yesterday with a bit exciting news...He made the Honor Roll!!! I'm so proud of my boy! He has always been so smart and we have pushed and pushed him to do his best in school so he could receive something like this to show him that he is as smart as we say he is! I'm so happy he finally has something tangible to keep him reminded what a bright kid he really is! B told him to plan a night of things he wants to do and it will happen. So far the plan is to go eat at Pizza Hut for dinner and to go Miniature Golfing afterward. Sounds fun to me!

Mount Lemmon

2008-01-25T06:52:00.000-08:00

T's cub scout group planned an awesome 6 mile hike for last Saturday. It was supposed to end in a camping night but they had to cancel that because night temps have been getting to the low 30's. They kept on with the hiking plan and the boys had a blast! T was absolutely amazed that as dry as life is down here, there is a waterfall on the mountain. He just loved that! B and T left at 830 and came home completely exhausted around 4pm. Other than a little windburn on their cheeks, all went so well that T was ready to do it again this weekend...No, that's okay. B has never actually enjoyed hiking so once was enough for him. He did put a smile on it all for T, of course. :)

Look how little my boy looks!

The boys were actually asked to stay down at the bottom of the waterfall so T was very proud of himself for being one of the only ones who listened.

One of the spectacular views from up there. These few mountains are situated in a spot where they can be seen almost no matter where you go in Tucson. Absolutely Beautiful!

Another waterfall picture. I would have loved to go up there....just wouldn't have loved the 6 miles of walking involved. We are trying NOT to have baby this month!

Back to Bedrest :(

2008-01-22T20:57:00.000-08:00

Okay, so we took a trip to Labor and Delivery today. This was not on my list of things to do...at least not as a patient. Everything is fine now. I woke up feeling gross with some cramping that seemed pretty regular at about 5-10 min apart. Call it insanity or denial, whichever, but I got A on the bus before worrying about arranging a trip to be seen. T was home sick today with a cold he has been fighting since Saturday. So after getting him to the neighbors house, I drove to base where B and I left the van and drove to hospital. The result of 2 hours or so of being on monitor and being tested and poked and prodded....I have a UTI. Ugghh....felt kind of silly for thinking that the pain was contractions but was glad nonetheless for having gotten the infection discovered and on it's way to being cured.
This kid is VERY opinionated, apparently. I know I have said it before but wow....#3 does NOT like probes pushing in on the limited space. Baby spent the ENTIRE time kicking and rolling over the monitor. They did do another ultrasound (where baby still denied us a good peek at parts...) and the entire time Baby spent kicking the probe where ever she placed it. The nurse was attempting to measure the level of amniotic fluid in there and had to repeat the measurements more than once because child would not stop moving! People didn't believe me that I feel like the child has soo much energy, it's being sapped from me! I feel tired just feeling this little one go go go all the time! Lol...silly kid!

Overall, the news is good. The only other thing to report is that another cause for some of the discomfort and issues is the baby is laying diagonal (she called it Transverse) in there. Head is up in my ribs on the left and feet are down in my hip on the right...Yes, I could attest to this being the least comfortable spot for feet..... This isn't going to be a problem, though....baby still has plenty of time left to turn and put head where it belongs. :) Yay for healthy outcomes!

Um....Can we say "Pop"?

2008-01-19T20:56:00.000-08:00

28 Weeks!!! Okay, we are finally in the 3rd trimester...finally time to get serious about this business of growing a belly, I mean baby....Lol Apparently, I'm gaining a bit more these days. I have now gone from gaining 8 pounds to having gained 12. But to look at the difference 4 weeks made, you would think it was more like 20ish... :)
I did the glucose testing about a week ago and I can't begin to say how much I am glad to be done with that! I am finally feeling free to buy things for the baby when I'm out and about. I bought some tshirts and receiving blankets the other day and then bawled when I got them home cause it made the baby that much more of a reality to me. I bawled again yesterday at the commisary when I saw the pampers on sale so I bought a bag of size 1's. I'm doing alot of bawling lately people....No, not just hormones these days. I'm totally getting SO excited about how close the baby is to being here!!! We have less than 3 months to go now!!!! Yay!!!

Flying

2008-01-15T00:11:00.000-08:00

So, B came home today. Life shall return to normal soon. Not this week of course, he goes straight to night shifts tomorrow for a few days. Ugghh....I just thought I would spend a minute complaining about the way flights work in the states. The flight he was given had 2 stops. One leg of the trip was seriously a flight from Tucson to Phoenix, and the other way around on return flight. Wow, what a waste of time and jet fuel....it takes about 1 1/2 to drive the distance from Tucson to Phoenix. It takes less time to drive it than it does to check in, get settled, get in the air, land, and get off plane.....What the heck is up with that? Guess I just don't understand the need for that. I can understand having flights to Tucson and to Phoenix, just not having flights to and from the two places.....Someone explain the brilliance behind this!!! B landed in Phoenix for a 2 hour layover before they flew him the rest of way. I would have gone to get him there but I have no clue where the airport is or any kind of decent sense of direction....lol!

It's a Miracle!

2008-01-13T23:56:00.000-08:00

Well, this has been one hectic week. It started with Monday, around 1030, I got a call from my mother in law. She informs me that B's father has been in an accident at his transmission shop. He was under a car that was up on jackstands and the jackstand apparently wasn't holding proper part of car. The car fell from the stand and hit him in the face. B's brother called 911 and got the car off of dad. They rushed him to hospital where they did all sorts of xrays and scans and later moved him to Iowa City from their small town. Iowa City has more equipment and is better able to handle more complex injuries, I believe. Once there, the docs informed the family that dad's eye socket was partially crushed and that his cheekbone is broken. That is all. His brain and neck and all other vital parts are fine. This is totally shocking and wonderful news! God really protected him! We are all so very thankful that he will be fine and around for alot longer. B still flew out to see him and help him out with recovery and his 13 year old brother.
The docs had to wait for swelling in the eye socket to go down to do repairs so dad went into surgery on Friday and is now home resting and healing. Thank the Lord!!! B will be home tomorrow and he is VERY thankful that he was able to spend time with dad and help him out. Even if it meant leaving our very comfortable weather and living in the snow and ice that he hates so much for a week......

Snuggle time....

2008-01-13T23:44:00.000-08:00

With A showing signs of insecurity over the baby, we have been trying to squeeze in lots of loving time with him so he can hopefully know that we will love him just as much after baby arrives as we do now. Here are a few of our "snuggle time" pics...

New Year's Eve

2008-01-13T23:38:00.000-08:00

Okay, this was a fairly uneventful thing. At least, as far as chaos goes. We had Chrissy and Jerry over for pizza and ice cream. This is a family tradition for my family for as far as I can remember. With Dad in the Navy and gone most New Year's eves, Mom made a big deal for a lot of years to have pizza with us and then we would make ice cream sundaes and watch the big apple fall on tv. Well, B isn't gone usually, but I still consider that one of the fondest childhood memories that I am absolutely happy to carry on! The kids really get a kick out of getting to stay up as late as they can keep eyes open! This year's record is A knocked out around 1am and T survived until about 215 when I sent him to bed...I know this breaks the rule but Dang, Give it up Child!!! He was seriously lagging and still determined to make it as long as he possibly could. We had a lot of fun and I can't think of anything better than spending it with friends we have been blessed to live near again!

I know I'm way behind....

2008-01-13T23:12:00.000-08:00

So, I didn't send out Christmas cards and only took a few Christmas pics. I'm Sorry!!! I ran out of time and actually have no good excuse for the cards. I would have more pics but the camera was acting funny and didn't cooperate....we so need a new one! So here are the few pics we were able to take, less a few blurry or identical ones.

The night before Christmas....we only set out the family presents on Christmas eve and the boys get to choose one of these to open then.

He's so excited about opening one he just wishes I would put camera down and say go for it!

They actually picked these out on the internet and emailed them in their wish list to Gramma. As you can tell, these were a BIG hit! They actually asked if they could sleep with them....ouch!

This was the only good pic that came from Christmas morning. They were unloading stockings....T is holding one of his favorite types of books of all time, Magic School Bus chapter book. He will read that book 50 times and not tire of it, I'm sure.

Christmas Eve

2007-12-30T09:13:00.000-08:00

Okay so now I'm taking my time posting cause we have been busy with kids and their presents and such this week. Here is the run down on Christmas Eve. (yes, it needs it's own post!)

We got up and did nothing all morning and early afternoon. It was not what we were supposed to do, but I was feeling totally unmotivated and usually, when I'm not motivated, B doesn't tend to be either. So, we sat at computers until about 2-3. It was about then that T came and told us that there was a strawberry milk spill in the kitchen. So, B got up to go help him with that. Wow....the correct description would have been a strawbery syrup EXPLOSION. Ugghh...someone put the syrup in the refridgerator door, open and upside down. Never did get to the bottom of who dunnit in this case. It was everywhere. There was huge pool of it in front of refrigerator, stuck in the door seal, it had even started seeping under the fridge. This took us a bit to get cleaned up. It really sucked.
At some point, during the end of the clean up task (waiting for the floor to dry I think), B was feeling feisty with T. So they were wrestling in the living room and B had T pinned. Well, T had his last front tooth that was VERY loose. It was just barely hanging on and we had been attempting to get him to let us pull it for weeks. B got a good look at it while he had him pinned and decided that tooth was coming out. T didn't want it out because he didn't want anyone to tease him with the song "All I want for Christmas" (since his other one is already out and not showing signs of being replaced yet). He was also worried that he would look funny without front teeth. Sorry, son, but all kids look funny to some degree without front teeth..... :) Anyway, B popped the tooth out through struggles and kicks and screams and you would have thought he was killing this kid! The whole thing took less than 2 min to accomplish and when B stood up with the tooth in his hand, T went and stood across room from us. He wouldn't let us hug him or anything. He was MAD. I finally convinced him to come in bathroom and let us help him clean up a little. I'm serious folks, he was angrier than I have seen him in quite some time. Until he finished cleaning up and he was whining about how people would tease him about the "Christmath" song. He was half way into next sentence and realized that he hadn't quite gotten that S out right. So he tried again. And Again. By the time he gave up, he was laughing so hard! He sees the new lisp as a fun side affect of having lost that tooth. He's crazy. Anyway, by the time everything was done and kitchen was finished, he was singing the Christmas song about himself happily. Go figure!
So, after we cleaned kitchen, I decided to go dig up the stockings so I could get them ready and we would have less to do that night. I spent about an hour or so looking EVERYWHERE for these stupid stockings. Couldn't find them. Finally, we had to get ready to leave cause we were meeting Chrissy's family to go to Winterhaven Festival of Lights. This is an entire neighborhood done up in lights and themes. You can either walk through or drive through or take a hay, sleigh, or trolley ride. It was alot of fun. Except when you are 5 months pregnant and baby decides you have to potty and there are no potties ANYWHERE! It got to the point where Chrissy and I walked up to someone's door and asked to use their potty.....only to be told that the organizers of the event had instructed people not to let the public in for anything, no matter what. The kind lady did point out the nearest Port o Potty though. So, we made a beeline. Over all, it was a very fun time.

When we left there, we stopped at Walgreens and bought new stockings, at 9pm on Christmas eve...wow, talk about last minute! We went home after that. I needed to make pies and B needed to make deviled eggs so we could take this stuff up to Phoenix with us, where we were supposed to be spending Christmas Day with Chrissy and some of her family that lives up there. Well, when we got home, B went upstairs to feed the frog (Andrew got a Fire-Bellied Toad about a week and a half before this day). The frog was not in his habitat. We looked everywhere. After about an hour or so of searching, we noticed Pippen (4 year old Jack Russell) was looking a little ill. He was being very lethargic and if ever a dog looked ill, he sure did. We changed our search mode to a watch mode. Watch to make sure the dog would be okay cause at this point, we are sure he ate the toad.
Okay so at this point, it's about 1030 on Christmas Eve. We had run out of time before leaving to eat dinner, so we were just finishing it up. (no, we don't make a habit of eating dinner at 10 at night) I was just getting pies started and eggs had just been put on to boil. B is in a BAD mood and angry that I couldn't seem to stay on task. He does the driving when we go to Phoenix so he kept thinking about how we were going to need to leave at 830 and he was going to need to be awake and how this couldn't happen if we didn't get things done NOW. I still wanted boys to open a present that night and we just weren't finishing anything in any decent time. It was CRAZY. I called Chrissy for a minute to vent and in the long run, ended up just cancelling the trip to Phoenix. We felt so stressed and crazy that I just had this feeling that if we would have gone ahead with our plans, we wouldn't have had very much fun. We would have been tired and grumpy with each other, which would have led to grumpy with kids and not very good company. On top of this, we were nervous about what could happen to a dog who ate a Fire Bellied Toad....they are poisonous frogs when they get scared. So, I finished making pies, B finished boiling the eggs, we had the boys open their presents....by this point it's 1130pm. Boys finally went to bed at about midnight and we did the santa thing and were out by 130.

This day was so whirlwind, I really can't say if it sucked or was kind of a fun chaos. Of course parts sucked big time....but without parts that suck, what stories will we have to share with children and grandchildren later on? Andrew's frog will make for good story telling down the road. The dog is fine. He was acting way better on Christmas day and at this point, we are going through everything upstairs to make sure that if the frog survived the dog, we don't have any nasty surprises down the road....Ick!

24 Weeks!!!

2007-12-23T19:58:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are. I honestly don't feel any bigger than I was 4 weeks ago, but have been told otherwise. I have gotten a few shocked looks when asked how far along I am....and even the inevitable "Are you sure there is only one baby?" question... :(
On the weight gain side of things, life is wonderful. All that belly has been accomplished with only a 7 pound gain! I'm so anxious to see what the final amount is....not sure this is going to be a happy event, but so far so good, right?

Pictures....

2007-12-23T19:08:00.000-08:00

Well, here are some pics of the kids after they decorated the tree. I have a few videos of A's concert I can't seem to get to upload correctly, so they will have to wait. :)

T, C, A, and H sitting in front of the awesome tree!

Ninja Poses

I know A's eyes are closed but I just love the look on his face!!!

Exciting, yet oddly frustrating....

2007-12-20T13:11:00.000-08:00

So, as so many of you know, last year's Kindergarten teacher landed on most parent's poop list. Well, if she was only on there in pencil before, she is now on mine in permanent black marker...
I am proud to announce that A recieved an award for reading improvement today. When they tested him in the beginning of 1st grade, he could only read 9 words in all. That probably included his name. The award he recieved states that he is now reading 41 words within the alloted testing time!!! We are SO proud of him!!! I'm so happy we ended up with a school that put him in the recovery program that could catch him up so well! We warned his teacher that he would be behind so she was quick acting and he pretty much started out the year in the reading recovery. So, he was able to progress well and end up where he is now!
The frustrating part is just thinking back on everything. If he was able to correct the problem so quickly now, this just proves how very much he missed last year. I know we can't go back and fix the problem, but I can't help but reflect on the issue for a minute. That teacher really didn't have a clue...

I'm truly sorry.....

2007-12-18T23:28:00.000-08:00

So, I know I have slacked on the posts. I was looking for my camera cord so I could post some pics of A's concert and things. I will give a rundown of last weeks events.

A had a Winter Concert that he did awesome at. They put him in the back, for reasons unknown to me....he is like the shortest kid in 1st grade almost! So, while we got a few good pics, not the greatest cause of his location. He was so funny! He only sang through part of it and when he was doing the hand motions to Feliz Navidad, he looked more like he was trying to punch the kid next to him than like he was trying to roll his hands. Yikes! He invented his own little move to go at the end of the chorus that looked like he was doing a 70's dive dance....maybe that is why they put him in the back, save audience from seeing this very silly move!

T has spent last few weeks finishing up his soccer season and working really hard in school. They took this big reading test and he scored one of the 2 highest scores in the class!!! Him and another child tied for best at 98%!!! I was so proud of my little reader! I took him to dinner and treated him nice for it!

He was awarded a trophy after Saturday's tournament. The tournament would be a great topic if I wasn't so sore about it. There is this team. They play dirty. No one seems to care. That's the gist of it. T's team played them 3 times this season. T's team lost the first game. So, when 2nd time came, this team came on the field and spent the whole game teasing and taunting our team about how they whooped our butts once and they are going to do it again....even after being reported and "supposedly" talked to. So, no one was real happy to hear that this would be the team we would face first in tournament. Sure enough, they played dirty again. This time they cried every time the ball came into contact with them...swearing they had been kicked. There was one little kid that kept "accidentally" walking in front of our team members and tripping them or getting hurt and then insisting our team did it. Again, no one of authority (beyond our coach) seemed to see the issue. At one point their team did an illegal throw in and scored off it. Well, ref called it but allowed them to keep the point. That was the deciding point in the end. We lost by one. There were some VERY angry children and parents on the field that day! Coach promised to give the persons in charge a few earfuls and let us know, but the fact is the day is done and our team missed out on the rest of the games. (there were only 3 games in all so if you lost one, you were out)

Anyway, on to other news. We had another doctor appointment on this past Thursday. Baby is doing well. We definitely have a stubborn child growing though. Every time doc found heartbeat, baby would flip around and kick probe. So we got all of about 3 heartbeats and none of them in a row. Hehehe....well, the child does belong to B and I so guess there isn't much question as to where this attitude comes from! :) Doc says everything looks great with baby and we will see her again in January. This past Saturday, I marked 5 months!!! Only 4 more to go!!! I'm so excited and happy to be doing well. I've been a little impatient last few weeks. I'm so ready to hold this beautiful child and know what it is that I seriously just want to be done being pregnant! I know....I asked to be pregnant, but I only asked to be pregnant in order to get to the point of holding our baby.. :)

On Saturday we also celebrated 8 great years in the military! I'm so proud of my husband! I don't know what we would have done if he had not stepped up and joined the military to take care of us when it seemed we would drown in all the issues surrounding us. We have always known that we didn't want to survive at the cost of either of our parents and by him joining the military, we have made it much further than I think we ever would have. Although we did lean on family for some of the way, I'm proud of our independence and the way things have turned out. I know it hasn't been easy for him to stay in at points, especially when he was in Iraq and things were going on around him and the boys just wanted him home. I will never be able to say how grateful I am!!!

So, now that I have granted the wishes of some....and now they are saying "geez, end it already!!!", I will. It's late and I know I'm rambling!

What Kind Of Mom Am I?

2007-11-29T06:51:00.000-08:00

So, I took the quiz on sjsfalter's blog. I love it!!! It's so funny that I've lived up to my idol!

Which TV Mom are you?

Rosanne Connor: You are Roseanne Connor from Roseanne. You've probably got a sarcastic streak, and you may take some pleasure in embarrassing your brood. But ultimately, your kids know that when they really, really, really need to talk about something, you will listen...eventually. Truth is, you tend to see things from their points of view; you just don't like to let them in on that until necessary. That's your little secret. And while it may not be your style (or fit your schedule) to compulsively whip up a batch of chocolate chip cookies, if your kids want to microwave some popcorn and watch TV with you, there's always room on the couch, and even on your lap
Take this quiz!

20 Weeks!!!

2007-11-28T22:52:00.000-08:00

Finally, we are halfway there!!! Baby is doing well, causing the terrible cravings and heartburn, insomnia, and kicking up a serious storm in there! I love it all, even if sometimes I do wish it were a little less in intensity...I'm just glad to report that I have still only gained 6 pounds overall, even if it looks like lots more.....

Tis the Season....

2007-11-24T15:24:00.000-08:00

Tag! It's my turn....

2007-11-21T06:54:00.000-08:00

Okay so I get the point! I have been tagged twice now, so I suppose I will try this!
Here are the rules:

1 - Link to the person who tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2 - Share seven random and/or weird things about yourself.
3 - Tag seven random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
4 - Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
Okay, try not to laugh too hard about some of these things. I must say though, they are quite funny.

1. I can't stand the feel or smell of raw meat. I never have been able to. B thinks I'm the weirdest person ever cause I was willing to pay the high price for a KitchenAid just to avoid having to touch it!
2. I can't stand the sight or feel of gauze. I get physically ill if I have it in my mouth. Dentists just don't understand. I have actually had a dentist insist that I was out of my mind if I couldn't handle a minute of gauze. Jerk!
3. My first crush ever was on my actual cousin...and I knew he was my cousin. (of course I was only 12) I used to dream that we would run away together and not tell anyone we were related...gross I know! I'm so glad I never acted on that one!
4. I can't stand argyle. It also causes a physical reaction in me. Anyone who knows this has serious Christmas ammo, so I'm trusting you ladies to not hate me that much! ARGYLE MAKES ME SICK!!!
5. I have the WEIRDEST taste in men....I mean come on, people, have you met my husband???
6. I can't stand the ends of tape to be left up. Seriously, when the movers packed out our house in Germany, I followed them around and patted the ends of the tapes flat. I know it pissed them off, but I so couldn't help it!
7. Now for something I like. When I'm pregnant, I LOVE the smell of the air conditioner in the car. I know this is what is wrong with my kids.....but I just couldn't help getting right up close and sniffing it!

There you go! 7 Weird, and crazy things you did or didn't know about me! So now I tag YOU:

1. SJSFALTER+
2. Sly Fam
3. REENBLACK
4. Daisy- whenever she gets one up and going
5. Seriously, Sly
6. I know less people
7. Than you!

Okay, so I do not know anyone who blogs....I only have 3 people in my friends list. I have failed miserably, but I still hope the few who see have fun with it!

Ultrasound Pics

2007-11-16T18:34:00.000-08:00

I love the first pic!!! It is such a detailed pic of baby's hand. All 5 fingers are there and it's so awesome to me!

Waving Hi!!!

Spine pic...kind of cool to me, the black dot in middle of baby is the stomach...baby was hungry! We got to watch the stomach fill up with fluid some while we were there...Cool!

More evidence that baby just didn't want us to see parts!

This is only frontal pic. The legs made it difficult to know what parts are. Oh well, we want to be surprised anyway!

Baby Update

2007-11-16T18:28:00.000-08:00

We had our checkup yesterday. We had a good visit! Not much to report, which is such great news! We got to listen for a little while to baby's heartbeat, since baby decided not to be stubborn this time. No more swimming away when we find it. Hehehe.
Our ultrasound was this afternoon. That has always been the most wonderful event for me. I just love to lay there and watch the baby swim around. Or in the case of #3, lay there with it's back to us moving arms and legs here and there. Lol! Funny kid! NO, for those of you who are wondering, we do not know what it is since it's difficult to tell from behind a baby what it's parts are...we got one frontal shot and the top of baby was much clearer than the bottom. :) For those of you who have seen American Dad (i hate the show personally), we have been informed already that the frontal pic looks just like Roger the Alien......well, this fits A's description, anyway!

Tattoo Pic

2007-11-12T19:50:00.001-08:00

It has been brought to my attention recently that I have not yet posted the pic of my tattoo I received in July. Here is the pic. I'm not sure what my reasoning was on picking this one except that I love hearts and flowers and I was looking for something on the simple side since it was my first tattoo. It was only after the tattoo was done that we realized the shape is an L, which works so well with Liz. Lol!

I have to agree with Elissa's idea of how it feels to get a tattoo, getting pricked with needle over and over but not like a terrible pain. I will say the pain was gone the instant the needle was moved away. Oddest thing ever! Yes, for those with a keen eye for mistakes, there are 2, but in defense of my brother-in-law, I had a hard time sitting still when needle got closer to my ankle bone....fatty places are GOOD!

Tattoo on outer right ankle

A few more pics...

2007-11-12T19:40:00.001-08:00

Here's a few more pics of the race. It was sooo hot out there and I have had to apologize profusely to several people for even mentioning the word Sunburn (which I have a terrible one!) in the month of November. I do admit it is the weirdest experience!

Oops! Wrong way, dude!

(B looked forward to being able to see the accidents in person as they happened!)

Pit Row

The hill full of campers....

I can't say we had it better having paid for tickets to be in raceway, since all our tickets bought us was seats on glorified bleachers. I was irritated about that.

Nascar Pics

2007-11-12T19:14:00.000-08:00

We got tickets to go to the Phoenix Nascar Race last spring. Because of our good timing, I managed to secure us some pretty good seats. About 2 months after the first four tickets were bought, we thought we would have B's nephews living with us at this point. So, I went and bought 2 more tickets. I could only get 2 seats that were 3 rows back and one section over from the original 4, but they were still AWESOME location. B, T, his friend Joe, and a friend of ours Jerry all got to sit in the 7th row back directly behind the starting line. A and I sat in the 10th row back, just to the left of starting line. The four in front had the time of their lives! They are ready for next race to hit Phoenix. A and I didn't enjoy ourselves as much (he is too small to see over most of the people there!) but we had a good time overall. Here are a few pics from the 7th row...(okay, except the one of A and I)

This is the view from Row 7

T, Joe, and Jerry

A and I in Row 10

B, A, and I's favorite racer, Kasey Kahne!

T's favorite, Kurt Busch!

More Finished Pics

2007-11-03T21:08:00.000-07:00

Here are the rest of the pics.

Dining Room #2

Kitchen #1

Kitchen #2

And Now for the Moment We have been waiting for.....

2007-11-03T20:58:00.000-07:00

Ta-Da!!!! I am finally feeling some of the 2nd Trimester energy bursts! I attacked the living room, dining room, and kitchen today and I feel so wonderful about the way they look now! Once finished, I knew I had better take pics quick so I could finally post Finished pics on these 3 rooms. The only thing left now is to hang pics in the living room, and that can wait till later date!

Living Room #1 (sorry it's dark, but you get the idea...)

Living Room #2

Dining Room #1

Halloween Pics

2007-11-03T20:51:00.000-07:00

I only have one good pic of each of them in their costumes. Unfortunately, it was dark and I was having a very difficult time focusing. B took them Trick or Treating and they had a wonderful time. After trick or treating, they helped my neighbor and I pass out the last of our candy. A made himself well known among alot of the families. If they would forget to get candy from both buckets, he would chase them down the driveway screaming for them to come back....it was quite a hilarious thing to watch!

Ninja T

White Ghost A

Finally, a belly pic...

2007-11-03T20:46:00.000-07:00

Alright, I finally got around to being as far pregnant as I looked....for the most part. I was a little ashamed of looking more pregnant than I actually was. I still look further along than I am, but I am proud that I haven't gained a single pound to date. Yay!!!

16 weeks

The Ridout BEAT

very interesting bug...

Ok, it's time to update...

Wow....

Our Trip

Bathtime in the Sink...

Spaghetti!!!

Video's from the park

N's 1st Birthday Party!

More Recent Videos!

Pressed for time

My new job!

Changes

Nick-zilla!!!

Opening Presents...

The Tree and The Presents!

More Christmas...

Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Dance

Hi!!!

My hair...

Diaper Fun!

On the go!

New Skills!

Video Stupid....

6 Months!

My Trip to Oklahoma

Random Pics

My 30th Birthday Party

More Around the house...

Mount Lemmon without the rain...mostly

Mount Lemmon

A few pics from early August time frame...

N's 4 Month Checkup/A's 7 year old Checkup

So here we go....

I'm still alive....

Cardiology Appointment

I love my Grampa!

Latest Update

Sweet Boy!!!

First Cereal

More Around the House Pics

Swimming Lessons

Around the house Pics

Sonora Desert Museum

More...

Golf N Stuff

Visitors!

Silly A

The Follow-Up

Nick's 2 month Checkup

A and His Cuteness....

Family Pictures!

Nick's First Smile!

A few more....

Random Pics

Nikolas' First Bath!

Nikolas Warren!

Update!

Better than a Baby Shower!

False Alarm : (

37 Weeks!!!

36 Weeks!

Playing Catch-Up

The Nursery!

The Tooth Fairy Map

My baby is growing up....

I love being in the states....

32 weeks!

Here we go again...

Weekend Life

Doctor's Appointment Update

Mount Lemmon

Back to Bedrest :(

Um....Can we say "Pop"?

Flying

It's a Miracle!

Snuggle time....

New Year's Eve

I know I'm way behind....