Monday Morning

I don't have too much to say but I figure I'd better say SOMEthing! :-) Went this past weekend to DH's Grandma's house. She's 87 and I am afraid won't last much longer. It was good to see her and show off the newest grandchild, but at the same time it was sad to see her in such poor condition. Gettin' old sux man.

No new crafty things to report. I am in desperate need to start Christmas shopping and plans. I would like to make some candles for the family, but we shall see if that actually comes to be or is just wishful thinking! LOL I wish I had my friends around, we used to motivate each other to do that kind of thing.

I just got a call from the hospital scheduling a pre-op for my tubal ligation. Ugh I am not looking forward to it. Personally, I wouldn't mind trying for one more, but I know DH wouldn't hear of having another baby sniff sniff. So with everything he's gone through with OIFII and other things, I decided I'd rather get snipped. So please keep me in your prayers on the 28th!

Halloween and other stuff

So I know everyone is dying to see pix of my growing kiddos so here they are! Here are some pix of the pumpkins I carved this year. I found patterns on the internet and my personal fav is SpongeBob!

Here are the kiddos in their costumes: DD#1 is Elina from Barbie Fairytopia, DD#2 is a pink pixie, DS is a dragon, and DD#3 is a bunny!

Before Halloween I took them to a pumpkin patch which was a lot of fun! There was plenty of candy to be had, a small hay bale maze and a big corn maze (we tried it but only lasted 40 minutes before the kids were tired!) games to play,and pumpkin painting!

And one more pic of my littlest princess. I was trying to get a smile and she finally graced me with a hint of one, so enjoy!

Bubbah turns 2!

Wow my little man is not a baby anymore. (sniff sniff). I can't believe he's 2 already, it seems like yesterday he was so tiny and small. I look at our newest daughter and am blown away by how much she's changed already and I treasure her being small because I know it doesn't last.

We had a construction themed party because he's all into big trucks and machines. I ordered a cake from wally World and put a few toys on there for decorations...

We invited one other family that moved with us from Germany here. They have a 4 yr old daughter and a (almost) 1 yr old son. So the girls had a playmate and they played outside mostly all day. Bubbah and his friend played inside together for awhile and I had DH BBQ some hotdogs and burgers. Of course we served all of Bubbah's favs: hot dogs, grapes and bananas, chips, BBQ beans, deviled eggs, and punch.

Then time to open presents (Bubbah had already messed his shirt so that's why he's topless lol). He got lot's of car-type toys: a remote control car, a music and sounds tractor, some mega-bloks cars, some spiderman utensils, and a Bat Man cape.

And one final shot....the picture every Mom and dad treasure! The cake/ice cream face!!!!

Me again :-)

Busy busy busy is the life of a Mom of 4! I hardly have time to sit down and breathe let alone update this thing. But I figured I had a spare minute sitting here snapping shots of our newest princess. She's such a doll and so sweet (I'm partial though I know!)

We've had a bad bought of janudice with her the past week or so. It was almost high enough for the doc to re-admit her to do some bili-light treatments. But modern technology prevails and they had a portable bili-light called a "bili-blanket" which was a big pad that was strapped to either Gwen's front or back and it lit up just as brightly as the hospital bili-lights. So with that and getting a heel poke everyday to test her blood she FINALLY is back down to an acceptable level. But on the last time she had her heel poked they put a pressure bandage on her foot. By the time I got the bandage off it had caused her foot to swell up and turn purple and the bandage was so tight that it cut into her skin and bruised the top of her foot pretty badly. My poor baby I felt just aweful that that happened to her.

apparently, its a really big deal that this happened to her because the supervisor of the lab came and took pictures of her foot and reported it to the Commander of the hospital. So that lab tech that did this to my baby is in real trouble. At least this won't happen to any other baby there. They aren't supposed to EVER put pressure bandages on newborns, they are just supposed to hold some gauze on it until it stops bleeding.

She had her 2 week well-baby after that all occured and everything is alright. The doc wants me to give her a little formula ontop of breast-feeding because she feels that Gwen isn't gaining enough weight. I am just going to try to nurse more frequently and then when she get's a re-check next week, we'll see. If she's still not gaining then I will suppliment a little. She may just be like DH and I and on the thin side naturally.

Here;s a few shots of her sleeping in her bouncey seat....too cute!

Gwendolynn Autumn is here!

I don't have time to post a formal birth story but I will get to writing that soon! I just wanted to let all of my adoring fans know that I finally have my little girl! She was born 20 Sept at 9:19 pm and stats were 8 lbs 11 oz and 19 1/2 inches long. Her APGARS were 9 and 9! She's the joy of all our lives, a sweet baby who hardly cries and sleeps A LOT! Good thing too as I can get a few things done during her power naps!

Anyway I have to go to the commissary (aka on post grocery store) but here are a few pics of my newest little one!

This is me moments before I started pushing....a last belly shot (I had an epidural so yeah I was smiling!) :-)

Here's baby Gwen at about 12 hours old. AWWW!

Here's my darling DH with DD#2 and Gwen

My ham of a son!

And DD #1

Almost Done

Sorry its been awhile since I posted last! I have been trying to get ready for baby #4!!

Let's see...in the world of knitting I finished DD#1's felted slippers. She wanted them all purple so that was easy for me! Here they are:and here's the little princess posing LOL.

I am 39 weeks and 2 days pregnant today. I am getting induced Wednesday morning! We are excited and nervous to meet the little one. No longer a family of 5 but 6! Wow, I hope and pray God gives us A LOT of patience for 4 kiddos! But that's it, no more suprises as I am getting a tubal right after the birth!!!

On that note, since this is my last pregnancy, I want to remember and "cherish" my body remembering my fertile days. So here's a shot of my waistline. Can you read that measuring tape??

Yes, I am sporting a 42 inch waist!!! LOL WOW! :-)

And here's a wide shot of the whole package:

(don't mind the stylish outfit...I'm still in my pj's!!) Wow so all I can say is either there's a big'un in there or I managed to swallow a watermelon!! ;-)

My MIL is coming Tues night and staying a week to help out. My Mom is fliyng in Wednesday night for the birth. Although I am thinking she might miss it as I have to go in at 6am to be induced and she doesn't come in until 6 at night. :-( I was hoping she could be there...maybe God will torture me with an extremely looong labor or something (hope not!) and she'll be able to be there. Either way, at least I get to see my Ma and she can spend time with the newest grandchild.

I finally finished (well, mostly) the nursery/DD#2's room. I will try to get pix of that sometime this weekend. Man I have a lot to get accomplished and so little time! DD#1 was invited to 2 different b-day parties this weekend so I am shuttling her to those as well as doing some last-minute shopping and cleaning.

Anyway, speaking of that I'd better get going. TTFN

PRESENTS!

So one of my best friends, Allena made me a ton of cooooool gifts. Well, not for me but for the baby. So she put a card in there telling me to take pix as I opened it and here are a few...

Here are some cute red booties and a matching hat:















Here is some purple booties and matching sweater in a lavendar/white sparkly varigated yarn (sooo pretty!) :

Here's a crocheted baby blanket that matches the purple outift! It will be going with me to the hospital for when I take Gwendolynn home! Its soo soft and so pretty!!!

And finally a VERY cool home-made diaper bag! Its denim with striped material for pockets and accents. Too cute! Its huge too so it will come in handy toting 4 kids around!

Thanks soooooo Much Allena I LOVE all of it!!!

**Disclaimer---- I don't care if I look like crap I am 9 months pregnant darn it! LOL

Our newest addition...

Well, I am here to introduce the newest Loy! He came home yesterday afternoon and so far is a really good baby. He only cried 2 times last night, thankfully!!! The kids love him to bits and can't wait for him to get older so they can play with him.



I bet you all want to see a picture of our newest little guy!!!!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.Here he is! His name is Scout and he's 9 weeks old (fooled you didn't I?) I am STILL pregnant. hehehe

Ramblings

DH has been gone on a business trip all week and is scheduled to come home tonight. At least I hope he makes it with all the craziness at the airports! I can't believe just how strict we have to be to protect ourselves. I don't see what those terrorists think they are achieving...they die and go to hell (not heaven and no virgins!) and we just become stronger as a nation. Granted more people ARE fearful to fly again, but really how long will that last? Sometimes I don't wonder if the end times are fast approaching. I worry about the life my kids will have when they grow up. Its not safe anymore! I used to ride my bike everywhere ALONE as young as 8 yrs old and now I don't trust my kids to play in the yard without me watching. (granted at 5, 3, and 1 years old I shouldn't leave them alone anyway, but you get my drift!)

Another topic, someone decided that we didn't quite have a big enough debt on our credit card and thought it was good to add some more onto it. Yup our number was compromised and someone used it to buy about $150-$200 worth of stuff. USAA has been really helpful in everything though so I am not worried. Just makes me so mad that someone is STEALING from us!!

And another....2 out of the 3 kids are sick. This morning they woke up with coughing and drippy noses. So I gave them a round of Childrens' Cold meds and DS is sleeping it off while DD#2 is upstairs resting watching "Noggin". I think my kids LIKE getting sick only because they are allowed to lay around and watch movies all day. LOL! Its the only way to keep them quiet and resting.

Well, th-th-th-that's all folks

More canning...

Here's my latest creations: 10 jars of hot salsa! DH tried it before I canned it so I know its not horrid or anything. I have never made salsa let alone canned it so here's hoping it doesn't kill people. LOL j/k I followed the recipe exactly so it should be fine, I will put a warning label on there just in case ;-)









Also a pic of my gigantic watermelon belly. I am 33 weeks and 3 days today. I washed all of Gwen's clothes yesterday and packed her diaper bag. Now I just need to finish her room and get my bag packed!! I feel a lot of BH contractions ("braxton Hicks" aka practice contractions) so I know my bod is getting ready to pop this pup. I go back in 2 weeks and we'll see if there's any progress "down there" (if you kwim!)

Finally something to post about

I have been a busy bee lately!! Okay, for starters DD#1 started school yesterday so there was a lot of preparation to get her ready to go. Supplies to buy, clothes to find, I had to make a cover for her sleeping mat. Actually "making" should be a better word as its still 1/2 way finished in my sewing machine.

Then there's our vegetable garden. Well, we started out at the beginning of the year thinking we'd have a veggie garden. But as it turns out all we had time for were a few potted tomatoes. But they are turning out great and the tomatoes are delicious! They actually have a flavor versus the pale sickly one's at the commissary that don't taste like anything! You can see I have about 18 of 'em just sitting here waiting for...for something! :-) Actually I have discovered my canning itch and think I will make either some salsa or spaghetti sauce.

And speaking of canning, I bought 4 packs of strawberries that were on sale the other day and made these:

Some nice strawberry jam to eat, yumm!! And one final project, here I am actually KNITTING a hat for our baby-on-the-way. Which, she does have a name now! Gwendolynn Autumn, what do you think?? Anyway, here's a parting shot of Gwendolynn's hat-in-the-making...

PRESENT!

My good friend Danielle sent this package to me the other day!! Can you see the hand-made quilt? Yes, I said HAND-made! It's awesome with cute turtle flannel on the back. And a beautiful dress with matching bloomers (cute!!), a pack of onsies, a pack of sleepers, some soap, lotion, desitin, diapers, wipes, and a receiving blanket.

I can't believe how quickly this pregnancy has gone. Only 9 more weeks to go...and I still need to finish her room aaa!!!

Anyway, just though I'd share! I love you Dani!!!

31 weeks and counting

Here is the latest shot of my belly. I am 31 weeks pregnant as of today and feeling good. I am up to a whopping 170 lbs from 140 lbs starting out. My Mom is coming down for the birth, but since she's in a wheelchair she can only be away from home for a short time. So we arranged for her to fly down the day before my due date and stay until the day after. I was a bit worried, knowing that you can't really "schedule" when a baby wants to come, but I talked with my OB doc yesterday and pleaded my case and she said she would schedule me to be induced on the 21st of Sept (my due date) if I didn't have her before. So now I am praying she stays put so Mom can be there. At least I won't go 10 days late like last time!!

Anyway, my kids are playing in the backyard so I have got to go supervise...

Dang its been awhile!!

I didn't think it had been this long since my last post! Sorry! Been busy busy though! I have started to feel the pressure to get things done for Sparky (aka newest baby girl). We don't have hardly anything ready and I am scrambling. its not as easy as DD#1 was, I had an empty room and we had plenty of space for her crib and changing table and things. NOW though we have to rearrange 2 of the pre-existing 3 kiddos! I live in a 4 bedroom home and had the 2 daughters sharing a room and Bubbah all by himself. The downstairs room was a catch-all for our junk. Well, I have since moved Bubbah downstairs after getting rid of the junk in the spare room. Re painted to suit a boy's taste and everything!

Here's a "before" shot if the primer...

And here's Bubbah on his new bed in his new room. BUT those aren't his permanent sheets! I didn't pick purle floral sheets for my boy, that's just the only set of full size sheets we have!!

And since he and his belongings are out of his old room upstairs, I can get it painted and set up for Sparky and DD#2 to share. I figure DD#1 will need her own room eventually being that she's pushing 6 yrs old already!! So she will have her room to herself.

After room #2 is done I will post more pix. I have a bad habit of not poting for a month at a time but I will try to do better!

Portrait of a Mutt

Let's just say, I call this picture, "No you are NOT coming in!!" :-)

This once fluffy WHITE american eskimo decided to try and dye his hair. He was tired on all the other dogs laughing at him for being so cutsie and feminine looking. So a new look was made. Unfortunetly his choice of "dye" leaves much to be desired. Frosty calls it the "Mud look". What do you say, does he look more manly??? (imho he looks even more pathetic but don't tell him I said that! It'll give him even a BIGGER complex!)

Think Pink!

My Dh, my kids, and I were able to go get another ultra-sound *just* to see the sex of the baby and it is a girl! That makes 3 girls and one boy.....poor DH and DS are outnumbered!! (oh and the hat is one the nurse-prac makes for all the moms-to-be. She knit it not me!) She was kicking up a storm and we got to see her little legs kicking me and her mouth and eyes and of course the girl parts. :-) Everything looks good...except my weight gain seems to have sky-rocketed!!! i know I am supposed to gain weight when preggers but after 4 pregnancies it still sucks to see that scale go up and up. Makes me think of all the work I have to do to get my body somewhat back, and after 4 kids I am sure my bod won't ever be the same!

Anyway enough with my pity party here are some ultra-sound shots of the little girlie:

Of course we have the typical profile and floating fist....

And here's another profile but in this one you can see the lips and the one eye closed....cute!

Now that we know she is a she I can start really making preparations. Since we thought we were done with DS I had gotten rid of almost all my baby stuff so unfortunetly have to start from scratch. I started a Target registry for anyone that's interested email me.

Well today should be a nice day so we will have to go out and enjoy our new swing set. Yep Great-grandma gave us some money to buy the kids a swing set!! Its a really nice one so I will get some pix of the kiddos playing on it today. TTFN

The long sought-after belly shot

So I am only 3 weeks late in getting you this but here we are in all our glory! I am 24 weeks and 2 days along in this pose...what do you think??

Monday is the ultra-sound that will HOPEFULLY tell us if this is a little girl or a little boy poking me in the ribs. No solid decisions on names yet, but as I was taking a shower (where we all do our great thinking, right?!) I came up with "Constance Lois" What do you think? Constance just came to me and Lois is after Dh's grandma. Anyway, that's just a thought.

My friend Allena asked me to test a pattern for a granny square purse. Its VERY easy and very cute so if you would like to purchase the pattern or a bag, please contact her!! Its supposed to be in 2 diff colors but I needed to get rid of this skein and My daughter loves yellow so I stuck with that. The fabric on the right is what I plan to sew on the inside as a liner, as soon as I figure out how to sew on something crocheted that is!!

Anyway my kids are making this awful banging noise upstairs so I'd better go see what they are breaking now....