Building A Nest

I don’t do nearly enough homeschooling posts. 

On that note, we tried building a nest this week.  A nest.

For birds.

Not as easy as you might think!  My girls learned quickly that they would not make great birds.  They can’t build a brilliant nest.

{That… and they can’t fly… weird!}

Their science book suggested the project and so they thought they’d give it a go.  They had just learned about all the different types of nests that birds make.

Ingredients were gathered.

Mud…

Sticks and twigs…

Weeds…

And with that they set to work.

 

They even tried soaking the twigs in hopes of making them more ‘bendy’.  The dry ones kept snapping.

In the end, they came up with a great little basket thing (or maybe a potholder?)

And C made some delicious pies!  (He was so proud!)

H was determined to build a nest.  This is what she came up with. 

She even put it up in the tree because she thinks a bird might use it.  I don’t have the heart to tell her otherwise.  It could happen!

 

New Beginnings

Why does the title look misspelled?  Beginnings… hmm, I guess that’s right.  Spell check knows all.  ;)

K was invited to New Beginnings at church.

NEW BEGINNINGS!!  Do you know what this means?  I’m OLD!  It also means that K will be 12 this year and entering Young Women’s. 

So weird.  (I swear I was just entering Young Women’s a year or two ago. :/)

Anthony and I were invited (as were all the other parents).  It was so fun to see K be presented with a crown and beads.  The theme was ‘royalty’.  We are all royalty in God’s eyes.  We are his princesses.  There were a couple of talks given and they were powerful.  Integrity and Virtue…. what are they and how do we apply them to our lives and our character. 

The program was short and simple. 

K with the other two girls being welcomed this year.  One of them is her best friend, on the right.

And this is the other best friend.  They can’t wait to join her in YW. 

You can’t tell from the picture since they are sitting down but they are both significantly taller than K.  She’s not short, just average.  They just happen to be super tall!

I’m pretty sure I look amazing in this one.  Do you love the bunched up skin on my neck/cheek?  Me too.

We were supposed to do a silly one first then we BOTH would kiss her on the cheek in the next one.  Anthony totally ruined it!  The punk!  :)  K is absolutely embarrassed about this picture.  Don’t tell her I used it… she’ll be mortified.  **Enter evil laugh**

We’re both so stinkin’ proud of the beautiful young woman that K is becoming.  She is talented beyond measure and knows how to make anyone feel loved and needed.  She’s a shining example of how to be a real friend. 

Keep it up, K!  We sure love you!!

He’s Here!! (Part 2)

…My SIL texted back saying she was so excited.

I woke Anthony up for good around 5:30 to let him know he would need to find a replacement to speak for him in the other ward.   

At 6:22 am I texted my SIL again letting her know that the contractions were getting much closer together and that I hoped she had left already.  After all, my labors are pretty quick. 

PSH!!  That’s what I thought anyway. 

She wrote back saying that she would be getting her son and hubby up and going right away. 

I hadn’t slept all night despite trying.  I was able to lay down for about an hour and a half but the contractions wouldn’t allow for sleep.

The girls had all been invited to join us in the delivery room if they chose.  They’ve known for weeks now.  K was a definite YES, A was a maybe and H was a definite NO!!  When I woke them up to let them know I was in labor and heading to the the hospital soon (6:30-ish) they were all super excited.  A decided though that she would stay home.  K was up and at ‘em right away.  She couldn’t wait! 

My mom, dad, sister and brother headed over around 6:45-ish.  The surges were definitely getting harder and I was having to breathe through them.  Since I was planning on doing this whole thing without the relief of an epidural it made great practice.  I had read the Hypnobirthing book and thought it made a lot of sense. 

By the time my dad got back from buying donuts for breakfast (that’s the kind of breakfast you get when Grandpa’s in charge ;)) I was ready to head to the hospital.  Surely I was dilated to a 5 or 6.  This was exactly how it felt when I was in labor with B and I was a 5 1/2 when I got to the hospital. 

Anthony phoned his sister who had just left and I was just hoping she would make it.  It was just after 7:00.  She had been invited to be in the delivery room as well. 

Then we left, the boys still sleeping and the two younger girls ‘trying’ to sleep.  Grandpa and Uncle Parker were in charge. 

Upon arrival, I was obviously introduced to the classic hospital gown.  I would be allowed to labor in my own clothes once my cervix was checked (I never did change out of the gown).  At this point I had no idea which midwife was on call for the day.  I asked the nurse as she walked us to our room if she knew.  Of course it was one of the three midwives I had never met, there are nine total.  It’s one of the things I had worried about. 

Lucky for me, she was AMAZING!!  Had I met her before in the office I think I would have hoped for her anyway.  We really ended up liking her a lot! 

She came in, introduced herself, and then checked me…

Three…

WHAT!?  Three?  That’s it?  UGH!

However, I was completely effaced except for a paper thin layer.  Hooray!!

So, my options…….. I would not be allowed to stay if I hadn’t made any progress in the next little while.  I could either go home and then have to come back when things started rockin’ and rollin’ or I could have my water broken or get pitocin.  I chose to walk the halls in hopes of getting things rollin’.  After monitoring the baby for a while, I went and walked for about half an hour.  At that point, they wanted to have me checked again.

THREE!!  Again!

Are you kidding me??

My options had slimmed at that point.  Either have my water broken, pitocin, or go home.  Walking the halls was no longer an option. 

I didn’t like any of those options but I chose to have my water broken… oh how I hate the feeling of peeing the bed over, and over….. and over!  But I suppose it was going to happen at some point.  During surges I would have Anthony push with the heel of his hands underneath my knee caps and push my legs up.  It worked to help alleviate the contractions a bit.

 

After more monitoring of baby’s heart rate, I was allowed to walk the halls again.  But not before going in to the restroom to do the hula over the toilet.  The midwife suggested it to try and release more of the amniotic fluid.  It would make walking the halls less… messy.  ;)

We made two loops without a single surge and then… they hit!  And they hit hard!!  I was no longer able to just think of something else and stay upright.  Suddenly, I was having to grab Anthony’s arm or the hand rails in the hallway and really concentrate.  Mom, Kortney, and K had gone to get something to eat in the cafeteria.  But returned shortly.

Another check… 4 to 5!!  Yay!  We love progress.

Shortly after being checked, my SIL walked into the room.  And shortly after that my mother-in-law and another SIL walked in.  At that point I was ready to try the tub.  I had heard that the warm water feels really nice.  Little did we know that the tub would take a year and half to fill.  Holy crap!!  I was forced to endure more bed surges.  But once the tub was filled, I was IN IT!! 

It didn’t really feel all that great.  I’m guessing it might have had something to do with the fact that, I had a gargantuan belly that didn’t quite make itself under the water with the rest of me.  I labored there for… not very long.  Just a few surges and I was outta there! 

More monitoring…

I had no idea how long it had been.  I was just concentrating on getting through each surge. 

At some point my MIL had asked Anthony how we would feel if she stayed in the room to watch the baby being born.  I hadn’t invited her.  My mom and my sister had been invited to each one but I’m comfortable with them.  This was the first birth that K would see and my SIL had been invited because she just makes me feel comfortable.  It didn’t feel strange to invite her.  Not that I’m uncomfortable with my MIL.  I love her but having her in the room wasn’t something I felt comfortable with. 

I thought it was a little strange that she was looking at Anthony to ask the question.  After all, it would be MY body being exposed, not his.  I honestly didn’t think they would allow her to stay because I had already invited the ‘max’ that they supposedly allowed.  She ended up staying after the midwife said she didn’t care.  I’m sure if the midwife knew that I was a little uncomfortable with it she would have asked her to leave but what could I say at that point?  I have a hard time saying no. 

And it ended up being alright.  I’m still a little embarrassed when I think about it.  I don’t know why.  Just to think that she saw all my junk ‘downstairs’, ya know?  Just feels a little awkward to me.   

From this point on, I remember it all, but I only remember it from my crazy, surging body’s point of view.  I am sure that everyone else in the room could give more accurate details and paint a more accurate picture.

I remember getting on the exercise ball hoping that would be a little more comfortable.  The nurse, who had given birth naturally… twice (talk about pressure! ;)), told me some things that helped her.  Leaning against the bed and laying my head down on my arms.  Um, yeah, it wasn’t fun.  After only two surges (I think) I was DONE with that.  I remember vocally saying… possibly half yelling, “I think those HypnoBirthing people are full of CRAP!!”  The nurse agreed with me which made me feel better. 

I climbed back into the bed and decided that I was done.  I couldn’t do it anymore!!  I was sure that I was still only a 5 or 6. 

Surprisingly I was at an 8!! 

I asked how long it normally takes from that point.  If I was already an 8 surely I could make it the rest of the way… so long as it wasn’t going to be much longer ;).

The nurse and midwife both said that I should have a baby in my arms within the next 15-20 minutes. 

Ok, I could do it!!  I could stick it out that much longer. 

The midwife wanted me to try hands and knees for a bit.  More like knees with the bed sitting almost straight up and I would hang over the top.

 

That’s when it really hit!!  All of the sudden I was no longer just surging.  I was DYING!!  No longer able to breathe when the surges would hit, I became a frantic mess.  It was all I could do to catch my breath.  There came a point that I felt like I was no longer in my own body.  I was feeling all of the pain but my head just wasn’t right.  The pressure became unbearable and I yelled, “I’m either gonna fart or poop!!”  To which the midwife said was a sign that I was in transition and baby would be here within the next couple contractions. 

Then she wanted to check me… DURING a surge!!  I just have one thing to say… YOWSERS!!  That was the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life!!  Then she had me push hoping that pushing would help get the remaining cervical ‘lip’ to disappear (whatever that is!!!)

I was complete while surging except for that darn ‘lip’. 

But I was done!  I could feel myself slipping further and further away from myself and I HATED that feeling.  It sounds silly but I have no other way to describe it.  I needed relief.  I think I was entering shock.  And that 15-20 minutes they had said it would take had turned into an hour!  And those ‘couple of contractions’ had turned into more than I could count.  And I heard the midwife tell, I assume the nurse, “She can’t go on like this.  She should have had a baby by now.”  Something to that effect, anyway.  Anthony says I had the whole room in tears.

{It wasn’t until shortly before he was born that I started to feel ‘normal’ again.} – side note

The anesthesiologist was called and I had to endure a few more breathless, panic stricken surges.  He found it amusing that I was ‘going natural’ and yet, there he was… wisecracker!! 

After it finally kicked in, the midwife gave me time to rest.  I napped for about 20 minutes. 

Anthony and his sister had just left to head to the cafeteria but were promptly called back in because it was time to push.  They never made it to the cafeteria.

From my past experience I should have had a baby within just a couple of pushes.  Heck, with H I didn’t have to push at all!! 

Not the case this time.  I pushed for almost an hour!  And now we know why…

This kid has got a gigantic head!  It ended up being 38 cm… 97th percentile.  The midwife said that’s the biggest head she’s ever delivered in all her 30 years of midwifery!  And she said that it explained why he wasn’t here within the time frame they had given earlier.  

But he’s here!  4:32 pm.  Almost exactly 24 hours from the very first REAL contraction.  And I can’t get enough of the little… BIG guy!  My biggest baby in all aspects!

The neatest thing was that Anthony actually got to deliver him.  When we asked the midwife about that earlier in the labor process she got excited and started telling Anthony that he could deliver the whole baby (sounds funny, eh?) head and all or wait for the head to be out.  Then she started explaining that there is a whole process to getting the head delivered to reduce or eliminate tearing.  At that point Anthony said that he was ok with waiting for baby’s head to be delivered by the midwife and he would take it from there.  It was pretty neat to have him actually hand the baby up to me and put him on my chest.  Anthony is still talking about how neat it was.

 

One thing that I loved was that the midwife waited for the cord to stop pulsing before clamping it and having Anthony cut it.  Anyone that wanted to was able to feel the cord pulse.  I was too busy gazing at my new love!  However, I did get to see the placenta which I’ve never done before. 

WEIRD!!   

The nurse (or CNA?) that weighed him asked us all for guess on his weight.  We knew he was pretty good sized so we all started yelling out numbers.  8 lb 13 oz, 8 lb 15 oz, 8 lb 10 oz.  Somewhere in that range.  Then she held him up and bounced him a little and said, “I’m guessing nine six.”  (As in 9lb. 6 oz.)

9 lbs. 7 oz!!!  I guess she’s done this a few times ;)  22 inches long.

I tore only a little (not quite a 2nd degree) which is pretty good considering…

LOVE this baby!!  Not quite sure what to call him on the blog because he shares a first initial with B. 

And for the record, I am not in any way disappointed in myself for choosing an epidural in the end.  I endured as long as I possibly could and am so grateful for medical technology.  To be able to get that kind of relief when it’s needed is nothing short of a miracle, in my opinion.  Had it been any of my other babies I am positive I could have done it naturally (in fact I did once, just not on purpose).  This sweet baby and his gargantuan head… 

But I look at him and see a tiny little baby.  I don’t have anything to compare him to.  It’s hard to remember how little the others were.  Anthony slipped into the nursery once during our hospital stay and said that seeing our handsome boy next to the others was quite the shock.  He really IS big!  He kept asking the nursery workers if the others were preemies.  To his surprise most of them were average 7-8 pounders. 

I have to say that I absolutely LOVED having a midwife this time around.  Why didn’t anyone ever tell me how great it was before?  I would highly recommend this experience to anyone.  The midwife was even willing to walk my SIL through every little thing.  My SIL is a nurse in Idaho but has never done labor and delivery.  She was asking all kinds of questions.  She was even able to check my cervix early on.  And she learned all about tears and stitching them back up. 

IF and when (but bigger IF) I ever do it again I will absolutely choose a midwife again.

I was nursing in this picture which is why you don’t see the baby.

  

My mom on the left and Anthony’s mom on the right.

 

My sister and me.  She took most of the pics.  The nurse thought we were twins!  I wish we would have been smart enough to have included Anthony’s sister in this pic. :(

 

More pics to come…

Halloween

This year when we asked the kids what they wanted to be for Halloween, C was the only one that said something and stuck to it. 

Santa Claus!!

Of course, we got to choose for B since he’s too young to really understand what it’s all about.  We used an idea we had seen on Pinterest a few times.  A Bum! 

The girls changed their minds several times before finally deciding on something. 

After it was all decided, C was going through each costume in his mind… out loud.  “H is gonna be a pirate, I’m gonna be Santa Claus, and B’s gonna be a butt!  **Pause** Mom, why does B have to be a butt?”

I laughed hysterically.  Actually I’m surprised it didn’t put me into labor.  :)  Apparently, he was hearing ‘bum’ and interpreting that as a butt.  (I really hope it doesn’t offend anyone.  It was just a cute costume… not to mention FREE!!)

It really was a fun Halloween.  My family came over for carving pumpkins the night before and on Halloween night we went to our ward Trunk or Treat.  OH how I adore those!  Get all the candy in a fraction of the time and get on with your night.   

We also hit a few houses in the neighborhood that don’t attend the Trunk or Treat but have their houses ready for Trick or Treaters. 

We came home to dinner that my mom had made. I don’t remember what it was called but OH MAN it was delicious!!

 

 

This is one of the few pictures I got of Santa after he was fattened up.

 

My sister was kind enough to be Santa’s reindeer per his request.

Pictures, Marathon, Friends…WOW!

**WARNING:  High volume of pictures… and a video… but first there’s a whole lot of babbling!  Warned again.

It was one of those weekends!  Jam-packed and so much fun… yet so much drama! 

First off, I took the kids to get their pictures taken.  My mother-in-law had given each grandchild $50 for the new school year.  Since we homeschool and we don’t get the traditional school pics every year I decided to have some taken. 

That was an adventure!!  I was worried about doing it by myself with the boys… Anthony had to work.  When I had first mentioned having pics taken to C he asked if they would give him a shot. 

I opted not to tell him that pictures are sometimes called ‘shots’…

He was satisfied at ‘no’.  So, that morning we gathered up a few personal items to take with us for the shoot.  Each child brought something meaningful to them.  For C I chose to bring Anthony’s cowboy hat and boots since C is always wanting to wear them.  We brought B’s Utah jersey, a football, and Anthony’s UTE helmet because seriously, the kid LOVES football!  And he’s got a pretty great cheer for the Utes! 

The girls brought their own things; American girl dolls for K, gymnastics outfit and doll for A, and a stuffed Goofy for H. 

The photo session went remarkably well!  Boy was I glad for that!  The boys cooperated and thought it was so funny when the lady did her shenanigans to get them to smile. 

Shenanigans… don’t you just love that word?

Anyhow, then of course there was “The Sale”.  UGH!  How I hate that part!  She had to explain to me every stinkin’ package and show me every stinkin’ special effect they could do with the photos.  I told her I was very limited in my funds.  I wanted the $3.99 per sheet deal and I was NOT going to go over $50 total! 

She didn’t care… she still went on and on about how great this package would be and that effect would be.  I didn’t physically roll my eyes but in my mind my eyes were rolling all over the place.  I knew what I wanted already!

Meanwhile, the boys were getting extremely restless so I sent K to the front of the store (Target) to buy a pack of M&M’s for each of them.  But of course the rest of the kids can’t possibly sit patiently next to me and wait… Oh no, they had to go with her. 

She came back… leaving the rest of them at the checkout to ask if the M&M pack was the right size.  Like I care what size!  Just get the M&M’s and get back here!  Silly goose.  They finally come back, eat their M&M’s, lady is still going on and on, and the boys are out of control.  K was kind enough to follow them around for a few minutes and then….

Here she comes, crying… with a fan thing stuck in her hair!  NICE!  It just doesn’t get any better.  C had got this little candy fan stuck in her hair while trying to show it to her.  We had to cut it out.  Never a dull moment!

And the lady STILL went on.

I was finally able to order what I wanted (didn’t go over the $50, hooray!) and we left.  PHEW!  Got that one out of the way.

Can’t wait to pick up my pictures tomorrow.

Now let’s talk friends… and a marathon.

Friday Anthony took the day off because we were going to Logan for a marathon on Saturday.  Lucky for us we have some friends that live there.  Even better is the fact that they live ON the route itself!  The very end of the route which means no driving for me in a town I know next to nothing about. 

It isn’t often that we are invited to stay at someone’s house.  I mean, really… we are a big deal!  And I don’t mean in the sense that we are really cool.  More like we are hard to take on.  We are very rarely even invited to someone’s home for an evening, let alone overnight! 

So when Kevin and Tiffany were generous enough to invite us to stay, along with some other friends of ours (that Kevin and Tiffany don’t even know), we were forever grateful.  They are seriously the coolest people ever!  Unfortunately, I got pictures of all the kids and all the husbands but not a single one of the wives.  WHAT WAS I THINKING??  This is a highly sophisticated one of Kevin.

C and their little boy were instant friends despite the fact that it’s been quite a while since we’ve seen them.  We met at the Brigham City open house before heading to Logan.  C and their little guy held hands for much of the tour.  I had originally planned on staying in the car with the boys thinking they would be asleep by then from the ride.  After all, it WAS nap time.  So, I wasn’t dressed in my Sunday clothes.  The boys were not asleep and they were not happy about staying in the car. 

We all went in… jeans and all.  I’m such a heathen! 

The temple was beautiful and C made sure to introduce himself to every usher we came across.  “I’m C!” 

Some of them were really cute about it and others just wanted to hurry him along.  I was shocked that both he and B did so well.  The last temple open house we tried was a bit chaotic with them.  My little boys are growing up! 

Oh wait… these are the same boys that ran around Target like mad men.

Anyway, after leaving the temple it was off to Logan. 

Tiffany immediately set to work making a spaghetti dinner.  Homemade sauce, breadsticks, salad, the works!  By the time it was ready, our other friends had just arrived.  He was also running the marathon.  They had a babysitter for their little ones.

Kevin and Tiffany insisted on serving us which I felt a little odd about.  So we sat… and as she brought the pot of spaghetti in she ‘TRIPPED’!  **GASP!**  She told A that she had tripped her and the food had spilled all over the table.  A’s face was beet red and I couldn’t help but laugh.  It’s like when someone falls and you immediately laugh but you don’t know yet if they’re hurt… like that. 

Then Tiffany said she might as well finish it off and dumped the rest on the table.  We were all laughing but not really knowing whether we should be.  Then Kevin reached over for the bowl of spaghetti in front of Anthony (minus the meat) and dumped it out, too! 

And then it all made sense… there were forks on the table but no plates.  It was all done on purpose. 

I SO WANNA TRY IT!  Who can I try it on?  I guess if you’re reading this I won’t be trying it on you ;)

We all gathered our portions in front of us and chowed down.  So fun!

The kids had fun playing before and after dinner as well. 

Sleep was much better than the last time we were away from home.

And Saturday was the marathon!  Anthony had taught me how to track him on Endomondo so I would know when to take the kids to the top of the street to watch for him.  That was about mile 24. 

It still weirds me out to think that people run that far… for ‘FUN’!  Really?  Is it really ‘fun’?  To each his own…

That 24 mile mark is also a water station so the K was all about helping any way she could.  That is until Anthony came by.  She planned to run the last couple of miles with him. 

H helped by handing out fruit. 

The other kids just played and waited. 

Then C realized what K was doing and wanted to join in as well.  I am so bummed that the video didn’t capture the cutest part.  Just after it rang (stupid 800 number!) and shut the recording off, a guy grabbed the water from C, thanked him, and C turned around and yelled, “You’re welcome!”  Then he walked up to me and said, “That guy said thank you, Mom!”  It was priceless.

 

The 800 number people couldn’t have waited another 30 seconds… REALLY?  GRR!

There were lots of interesting runners.  Like the barefoot guy and the blue hair guy. 

Finally, Anthony came by.  He surprised C and took a cup of water from him and ran off.  K was off as well. 

And that’s when we had a meltdown.

Apparently C thought he would be able to run with Anthony when he came by also.  Instead we had to head the other way to get to the finish line.  Anthony and K crossed and we were waiting for Nate.

 

That’s when C decided he was hungry.  He ordered a hot dog.  Unfortunately for him I hadn’t brought any cash with me at all.  My purse was at Kevin and Tiffany’s house.  So he just stood there with hunger in his eyes.  The lady finally gave him a pack of Starburst.  Anthony apologized for not having anything to pay with.

 

Nate crossed, we took pics, went to The Pizza Pie Café (gotta try it if you haven’t!), then headed home… TO THE UTAH VS. BYU GAME! 

More about that in another post.  I’m pooped!