Good news all the way around and a funny

Good news from the Dentist.....X-rays looked good...swelling is normal and they expect everything to go back to normal. In the picture you might be able to tell that her right tooth looks a little shorter than the other one, that is just because her gum above it is still really swollen and purple. She does still need to eat soft things and go back for another X-ray in 6-8 weeks. Which is when all three kids have their 6 month check up. She loves the dentist....yesterday when she found out that she had wait another day she whinnied about so much I eventually had to leave her with Kris and just get out.....I was going nuts! That and the fact the kids dumped all of the toys into a huge pile and they added all the draws that normally are supposed to go in to the top of the pile. I was so not happy. Not that my playroom area is normally all neat, picked-up and in order......but it was before they dumped everything! Why am I the only one that knows exactly which draw each toy goes into. Awhile ago I went out and brought 4 of those stack, plastic draw things and made sure to get the clear ones (just so the kids could see into them.....they don't get it) and I even labeled each draw and had each of the kids help with it so that so that they would know and that this would be a thing for them.....okay so I am done rambling about my odd thoughts for the moment, BTW thanks for listening.

Drew also had his ENT appointment yesterday......it was interesting.....we reviewed his CT (Temporal Bone scan) results......and apparently there is nothing physically wrong with his ears! This leaves us wondering.....so the next step is to have the specialist up at UW review them and see what he says.....the ENT guy in Rockford is stumped. Nothing explains his hearing loss now. I know-he is a guy selective hearing and all.....At least we have 3 of 5 doctors appointments for this week out the way!

Things are coming together for the baby.....I have gotten a going home outfit-this is a special thing in our family....or at least to me....I don't think Kris really cares about it. I am sure that other moms get it, it has to be cute, and perfect for the weather....and that other oh so precious baby stuff. AND I also order a blessing outfit....for those interested we are tentatively scheduling it on Oct. 19th. If everything goes okay and as planned. Yes I know it seems really soon...especially considering that the baby isn't even due until the 18th, but mom my will still be in town and I would love to have her here....she has been at each of the other kids so I want to keep the tradition up it at all possible. I am hoping that since we live near family now that some of them will come too (hint, hint).

OH-another good thing. It is only about 60* today I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!! I got to open the windows and air out the house-we stink, or at least the house was just starting not smell so great. The cat is totally going nuts and keeps running back and forth between each window and checking things out. Funny Funny!

This morning when getting ready to take Izzy to the dentist I mentioned to Kris that I was wearing pants and tennis shoes.....I haven't done that since I have gotten big yet......he chuckled at me and asked "how are you going to get your shoes on?" Now that I write it-the questions sounds kind of mean but he knows me......it was hard. I was laughing at myself trying to do it.

Teeth

I know everyone wants to see a pic of her entire face....but the camera died. This morning as Kris and I were waking up to get ready for church we heard Izzy start to cry.....a LOUD cry. So he rushed down stairs to get her..... Elaine come up with her as blood is dripping from her mouth and explains that Izzy tripped over the swiffer in the kitchen. At first I thought that it was just the two holes on the inside of her mouth....nope straight through the top of her bottom lip and down and out just under her lip on the outside.....or at least that is what we think happened. Her two top teeth were bleeding but looked fine at first. We gave her Tylenol and had ice on it. Awhile later I noticed that her upper gums are swollen, purple and both teeth are loose. We have had a similar experience with Drew and he ended up being fine....his accidents were a couple weeks apart ...but not this bad and both of his teeth turned a nasty gray color and then over time have lightened up. Poor thing....she can't eat. I made Spaghetti for dinner with garlic bread....she is willing to eat the bread after I break it up into little pieces for her put into the back of her mouth. She did eat her lunch-a peanut butter sandwich which I cut into itty-bitty pieces. Anyone have (or know of someone who did) a similar tooth experience???? I want to know what you did. I do plan on calling the dentist in the morning. I hear that it takes a little bit for the root of the tooth to die, so I am not sure if they will want her to come for X-rays right away to wait a few days.....Poor thing....

I did say that I would post a picture of toothless Elaine too. At least Elaine is the appropriate age to be loosing teeth. I really really hope that Izzy doesn't loose hers.

I got to sleep in!

My morning started off great! I mean GREAT! One little thing made all the difference....my alarm didn't go off. Yes, this is a good thing, it felt like a Saturday. It wasn't supposed to go off. I know that normally when some says that there alarm didn't go off on a weekday it really isn't a good thing.........but rest assured this was a great thing....until......Elaine came up stairs and said something on the lines of what they made for breakfast. Not good! She explained some of it, and I got very worried. Anytime the kids make there own breakfast I get worried. I have often wondered.....how do other moms do this.....do they really get up before the kids and take a shower, do the hair and make-up and get all Joan Cleaver?!? I see other house....I wonder? Is this my laziness, or do I have monster children.....or politically correct very inventive children? They just love finding ways to give me more things to do. Must be their job....they are trained in the premortal existence that the only thing that can take from this life when they leave is their knowledge......they are to learn in every way possible. I really only know one person that gets up and does the entire morning routine before getting her kids up. She gets up at 5:30-sorry not for me. I think my kids are up by then anyhow. We really don't know what time they get up....they are up before us and that is all we know. I don't see it being even remotely possible for me to get up before them. Really what do you other moms do?!? So back to my morning..... I head downstairs.....now you have to understand how my house is set up....when you go down the stairs you end up near the front door....and we eat in the back of the house.....I just had to stop and get the camera before heading back to the eating area. This is what I found.

It really doesn't look so bad.....There are a total of three plates. The one at the bottom of the picture is cut off. My main concern was the one in the middle. Can you tell what it is full off? It looks like chocolate milk at first. Elaine did try to clean up the mess for me (so sweet)......but these are paper plates, Dixie....yes when they get wet the get soggy. So when she did try to pick it up some of the stuff on the plate feel to the floor. I see it now...you are trying to imagine the splat of chocolate milk on the floor.........it wasn't chocolate milk. See the sugar shakers in the picture. One had powdered sugar and the other had a mixture of Cinnamon and sugar. That is what made the plate mixture look like it was chocolate. I also noticed my beyond yummy homemade strawberry jam that was brought over as part of one the the dinners last week. The container of my wonderful jam is sitting almost empty on the table as well. Notice the whisk on the plate? I ask Elaine where all the jam went .........

She pointed to the plate.........

AH!!!! MY JAM!!! You have to understand I loved this jam.....

Well at least they tried to be semi-healthy with breakfast.....adding some peanut butter. I think the Nilla Waffers must have been all gone....I didn't find any of them on any of the plates....or maybe they were just using them as dunkers.....EW......just the thought makes my stomach turn. The bread on the table was soggy too......I couldn't even pick it up......

I am almost glad that they didn't start to clean things up....the norm in the house is to run to the laundry room and grab a towel to clean up the mess....most of the towels in this house are white. They are starting to get brown stains on them.....too many chocolate milk spills. I keep yelling "NOT A WHITE TOWEL! Get a brown one!"

You might be wondering if not having the alarm go off was worth it........YES.....every little bit of it was great. AND the mess really wasn't that hard to clean up. I will have to mop later, but only do that after the kids are in bed. I have learned not to carry paper plates full of milk to the sink.....just bring something to dump it in to the table and have towel already laid out.

25 days!

It is 25 days until my official due date, however with the doctor being willing to induce early it is really only 16 or 17 days. SO HAPPY! Yes I am counting....in a BIG way. I am officially off of the modified bed rest, but when I asked about it at my last appointment I was told that I should be the judge of it. EW....so now I over do it and complain about it....but I am able to do thing, which I am happy about. I was beginning to feel like a slacker-mom, which is a surprise because I really do tend to be a lazy prego. I really never want to be pregnant again. I have never had pain like this, not with any other pregnancies or really at any point in my life. My fingers and toes look like sausages when I wake....people want pics, but I don't know....I think about it. My nose isn't fat yet, and it was last time.

It feels so weird for me not to have a name picked out....I have never done this. I always pick a name early on and refer to the baby as that name instead of "the baby". Evan really is my second choice right now, but Kris doesn't like my first choice.....I might still have a chance and getting the first choice, but I want it to be a surprise.

Things have been crazy here.....it is going to get cold soon and it always seems to sneak up on us on a Sunday morning and the girls end up wearing winter dresses that are too small with tights and sandals.... it really is a always quite funny. We manged to get out on Saturday and buy a couple more things for the kids and winter. I am sure that I will be cold, but at least they will be warm.

Elaine lost her second tooth on the top and now the is completely missing both of her front top teeth. I think the new ones might start to grow in before Christmas......and yes she is already practicing the song "All I want for Christmas...". I'll post a pic as soon as I take one.
I had some of the best dinners from the Relief Society over the past two weeks. With Kris back in school again and things the RS president arranged to have dinner brought in every other night. I have been in some wards were dinner were good, and another where it your really hoped that they just forgot that you had a baby or even needed dinner, I know that sounds terribly ungrateful of me, but here I can speak my mind. The meals that were brought over from this ward are always GREAT!!! We have amazing cooks here. There wasn't one meal where I didn't feel like I had to have the recipe and eat it again within the next week. Here is the recipe for Candied Chicken....the last meal that was brought. AMAZING! We got the chicken, a great potato dish, Green beans, rolls, homemade strawberry jam, and these really good bars for dessert....tasted just like a Reese's Peanut butter Cup. Every meal was like this....great and a ton of food, with homemade stuff. And just think I am sure that people will insist on bring some stuff after the baby is born....I am hopping to not have too many at that time. Mom will be here and Kris will be off from work and I feel like I have already been helped so much.

CANDIED CHICKEN
Flour and brown chicken parts and put in a baking dish (she used legs)
Cover with sauce.
1 1/2 Cup brown Sugar
1/4 Cup mustard
1/2 Cup ketchup
1 Tbl Worchershire sauce
1/4 cup onion
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup water
Bake at 350* for 1 1/2 hours.

It was the drugs.....

I feel like such a bad mom. Tuesday night....in the middle of the night I heard this loud beep. I really didn't think too much of it.....I actually thought that it sounded like the smoke alarm...but just a single beep not a series of beeps...in my mind the battery was low on that particular alarm and would need to be changed in the morning. Seriously I didn't think anything of it-when alarms go off they really go off, over and over and over again not just one beep. Maybe because I was so drugged. I kept going off through out the night, and the time between it sounding was getting shorter in length.....I am blaming it on the drugs.....I was not thinking straight.....really what else could it be? I really wasn't going to get the step ladder, find a battery and change it in the middle of the night. Kris gets home in the morning and wakes me up by saying "I think we might need to get out of the house!" "What for?" is the only thing that I could think. The house was kind of foggy looking, and it wasn't the smoke alarm that was beeping single beeps it was the carbon dioxide(or is it monoxide?-I get them mixed up) detector that was beeping. This was the bad mom moment for me. Kris took care of things....he changes the battery and says that it is okay. It was only beeping because the battery was running low. I felt so low......here the detector thing was going off and I was making excuses for it instead of checking....I am so glad that it really turned out not be a big deal.....I would have been just crushed if it really had been a real issue. AND we are guessing that foggy house was caused by the humidifier I have been running to help me sleep at night with the head cold thing that I have going on top of everything else. I did mention that I was drugged above. I love codeine. The doc gave me this cough syrup with codeine in it, and the instructions say to take it every six hours or as needed, so I only take one dose right before bed. I have actually been able to sleep. At the beginning of the week I only was getting about 3 hours of sleep each night, and that is not a consecutive 3 hours just a total of 3 hours. Between getting up to pee, kids coming into my bed because they weren't feeling well either or not being able to sleep because of the head cold. The first night I took this cough syrup I slept....and it was wonderful. Ever take a nap and sleep too long and wake up feeling worse than what you did before you went to take a nap....that is me.....I do wake up feeling drugged and not completely with it. It wears off after about 15-20 minutes then I really do feel much better....rested.

Update....
After getting some email comments and rereading the above post.....I am not overdrugging! I just think a little helps A LOT! Didn't mean to make is sound like I was so drugged I could only sleep.... I am normally so out of it when I wake up anyhow that a little codeine just made me that much more groggy.

Another Cute Cake!!!

I know this isn't the best pic.....but at least I remembered to take a picture! This is such an adorable cake. Our family has just had the cutest cakes lately. We had Kelli's (maternal cousin) baby shower today. Her mother in law made the cake. I sent her an invitation and this is what she came up with! If you want to see the invite scroll down, I know that it is on here.....in an August post somewhere....Such a great job!!! It was great having a shower and seeing the family that came. Thanks for letting me do the shower Kelli!

The past week

I love it when kids turn about 3-4 years old and they start to get witty or start saying the cutest things and just the perfect time. Tyler is here visiting, and Izzy doesn't really know him. She is shy until she gets to know someone. They were standing near each other behind the love seat and he picked her up swirled her behind him and dropped her on the love seat.....she was not happy about this. Later she made sure to tell me that "Uncle Tyer (yes she says it with the "l") is SO RUDE!". I laughed....I didn't even know that she knew the meaning of rude.


Even though Drew is having a great time in Kindergarten I think that he still has to work on his listening. Each day they get three smarties if they didn't get a warning and only 1 if the did. They also have the vine with bananas hanging from it on the wall. Each of the bananas has a name of one the students on it. If you are so bad that your bananas gets moved off the vine.....you know your in big time trouble. Drew hasn't had is banana moved yet. BUT quite a few days he has come home from school and says he only got one smarty because he didn't listen. I am beginning to think that he know he can misbehave once and still get buy with things. At the end of the week if has not had his banana moved from the vine he gets an entire roll of Smarties for making smart choices! Oh the things that teachers come up with....I don't think that I could ever be that creative.

Both of Elaine's top two front teeth were loose, until last Sunday. She loosed one up and it was grossing me out. I have never been grossed out by loose teeth but she could push it completely forward and hold it at a horizontal angle between her lips. I told her she had to pull it out before dinner of she wasn't allowed to come in the room. I know....I am such a mean mom. We have been teasing her that she might be singing "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" soon, but I am beginning to think that it will at least part of the way grown in by the time Christmas rolls around. It makes it officail to me.....she is so big. Kris thinks she looks like a hockey player and I think the missing tooth is perfect for a witch!

My kids are gross......I was making mini muffins for a baby shower today and I went to pour the milk into the measuring cup over the bowl with the mix and egg already in it.....chunks started to fall out of the carton. I couldn't figure it out. I can't stomach spoiled milk but these chunks were different. It was hard to tell what they were when they were falling from the carton into the measuring cup.....so I dumped the cup out into the sink and when the milk rolled off and down the drain we had cereal in the sink! I am guessing that Drew and Izzy thought that it would be funny to put cereal into the milk instead of milk into the cereal. WEIRD!!!

Bed rest.....well modified bedrest

I went to the OB today totally expecting to be somewhat dilated with all the issues that I have had this week....nope. Which I am really happy about. The doctor keep telling me that he wanted me to rest more.....I don't think that he understands that I am the laziest pregnant lady that anyone will ever meet. He left the room to check out something under a microscope and when he was gone I asked Kris if he got the impression that I was being put on bed rest. He didn't know so he suggested that I ask the doc when he came back in the room. When he came back in and I asked his response was "Basically-you need to rest up more". So I asked what my limitations were......I was worried that he was going to give the run down about only showering and using the bathroom stuff. Luckily it isn't complete bed rest just once I start to have a contraction or when I start feeling pain I need to go and rest up. I have a contraction every time I stand up! Good thing it is only going to have to be until I hit 36 weeks which is in 2 weeks.
I am throwing a baby shower next Saturday (along with another cousin of mine) at my house for a cousin who is due a month after me....this will be fun. I am very grateful for my family who has already said that they will help out. Kris of course is so looking forward to cleaning for and do the shopping for the shower. Good thing I am keeping it simple!
Another thank you.....my cousin Michelle lives 13 miles north-ish of me and I called her as soon as I got home from the docs to tell her about things.....and to see if she could come help out with the kids, lunch, and the typical household stuff. She is coming down during the week once her kids are off to school. She will leave just before Kris normally wakes up for the day. This does add a lot on her, but I can't tell you how great this is! Not only do I have physical help with things I will really enjoy the company and time spent with her. THANK YOU THANK YOU Michelle!!! I also called our Relief Society President from church to fill her in and see if she find a back up for me when it is my time to teach this month. I am not scheduled until the 21st which is the 36 week mark.....I really want to teach and plan the lesson and stuff.....and long as I am not having contractions when I stand up. She is also organizing dinners for every other night......I love it. Kris will take care of things on the opposing nights....he just started back to school this week so all of this extra help comes on the perfect week.

Izzy the little helper

Izzy still likes to help out. She has never been allowed to bring up the trash cans yet. I just thought that she was too little, and they were too close to the street. Trash cans are big, but she just wouldn't listen.....Grandma even helped her. She brought up all three and only had help with one......she couldn't figure out how to get to stand on the wheels.....it didn't stop her from trying. She even did it all one handed.....she wasn't willing to put the flower down.

Fun Weekend (for me at least)

For a long time I have been wanting to organize all the bin of clothes in the basement. I used to keep it up....but some reason I got lazy and I have been tossing all the boy and girls clothes together when the kids grow out of them. I should have known better. Kris set up the table and got a bin for me and of course it was little girl clothes......I love little girl clothes. Girls really just are funner to dress. AND I have figured out that I do want another girl, I don't want to be pregnant again.....don't get me wrong I am happy that I am having a boy....I wanted it this way....to even things out.....but there is just something about little girls. Kris says that this is it, we are done having kids....or at least we are done with pregnancies. So while looking at all of these little girl clothes I was getting emotional not because I know that I am not going to give birth to another girl but I because my plan was to get rid off the girl clothes and after seeing them I just wasn't ready to part with them, when I got out each outfit my mind would flood with these memories of the girls and events that happened with each outfit that I held. I know I know, I am so sappy right now. I have even given a friend a hard time about the same thing-really they are just clothes! I couldn't do it, on Kris' suggestion I stuck all the girls clothes back in the bin and just did the boy clothes that the baby would fit into soon. Good idea.

Got all that done and when I was in the shower I got to thinking.....Thursday night most of Kris' family that live in AZ flew in. Aunt Elaine and Uncle Ken (8 years since we have seen them) daughter Emily who we last saw at our wedding, Uncle Bob (I have never seen him and it has been 16 years for Kris). Plans kept getting changed and it didn't look like we were going to be able to drive down and see them. Isn't that sad, I feel awful when I pregnant that I just didn't think that I could handle the drive down to Indiana where they were staying. BUT we just had to go and see them. I didn't want 8 more years to go by without seeing Aunt Elaine and having Elaine get to see her. Plus the kids and I had to meet Uncle Bob. So we planned the trip.

Then I went out to lunch with my cousin Michelle and had an interesting time shopping for some still needed baby items. I am so flaky....I couldn't even concentrate on shopping....that is unusual! I got a new baby monitor....the cat broke the last one that I had. When I got home (total blonde moment again!-this one lasted all weekend). I realized that the monitor has a night light on it. I don't like to sleep with a light on, and the baby will be sleeping in our room. I have even gone to and looked at other stores for different monitors...they all have night lights or are extremely expensive. This morning I was telling my cousin about my delma, and realized that if I am in the room with the baby I don't have to have the monitor on and so the light will not be on to bother me.....and yes it took me 3 days to figure this out!

We left on Sunday morning met up with everyone lunch, which was so great. Being down in Indiana we had to go to the Frogs Tongue. For those of you who don't know-there is a hotel in Portage that has a waiting pool with a frog in it that is actually a really cute little slide that the kids love. When ever we go down there we have to go and let the kids enjoy some Frog Tongue time.

On the way home we stopped in Algonquin to eat lunch at a Mexican Restaurant.....yes the only good one out here is an hour away. There is a See's candy shop not too far from the restaurant so of course we had to stop and get some chocolate. At first we were all going to go in and pick a few pieces but Kris was really tired so I ended up just going in and leaving everyone else in the van. Elaine still wanted to go in and she was trying to convince Kris that at least all the girls should go in.....Elaine says: "Why can't Izzy, Mommy, and me all go in and pick some chocolate?" Kris responds with "What would I be if I let 3 girls who love chocolate into a chocolate store with a credit card?" Elaine says: "A good father". We were laughing so hard....

Onto why this weekend wasn't fun for some. Emily (AZ cousin) had a horrible migraine while out here and had to be taken the ER....I think she is doing better now. When we were eating I got a call from a cousin, my Aunt Jean Ann ended up in the ER with chest pain and had an EKG and the results were not normal so they admitted her to the hospital. Then Kris and I have a friend who is going through a really ruff time. Her teenage daughter, Heaven, is sick and the docs are still trying to get the bottom things. So-please add all of the people onto your prayers!