Am I the only one....

who will be:

wrapping a bunch of gifts tonight after the kids are asleep...

finish sewing our *stupid* stockings...

mopping a dirty kitchen floor before a bunch of people come over in the morning???

Christmas with a newborn puts you so far behind!!! I'm not as prepared as I though I'd be.

Happy Christmas Eve!!!

Catching up

My tree *IS* decorated.
Shopping is *almost* done.
House is a pig sty.

This week has been a tad bit stressful. *graphic content to follow*... Reagan has (had) a Labial Adhesion. Basically it was pretty bad too. She could only pee out of what was the size of a pin hole. We tried fixing the problem with an estrogen cream, but it didn't work and yesterday we had to take her in to have it opened. (Insert mommy fainting/dying/stressing out icon here.) Really... we tried to do everything to prevent this procedure. We were kind of left with no choice with the chance of not peeing, and the possibility of her having a UTI/bladder infection/kidney issue.

This was our first experience with any sort of "genital" surgery. Thankfully everything went well... Our dr is GREAT and he is at least smart enough to know that EMLA cream has to be left on for an hour before *cutting* (again, insert mommy fainting/dying/getting ready to vomit icon...) She did really well, and now HOPEFULLY we won't have to deal with a UTI. (She was on her way to one... was stopping herself from peeing because we guess it hurt... hard to get an 11 week old to tell you what's going on...)

We weighed her again too. Last week she was 9 lbs 3 oz. Yesterday she was 9 lbs 4 oz. I thought for sure I was going to hear the words: pump and supplement, you're week of *freedom* is OVER babe.... but our ped. thinks that she just goes in an up and down cycle of weight gain, so we're NOT supplementing. (HOORAY!) We'll just have another weight check in 2 weeks. (Gain baby, gain!)

I'm sort of feeling like I want to go to bed and hide under the covers. I'm tired. REALLY tired. But there's hope! Brian is coming home early today... (not many people buying/selling real estate during the holiday's ;) ) and I think I will totally run upstairs for a nap!

Oh. One last thing. Madison asked me today what I wanted for Christmas. I said "hmmmm"... and before I could say anything else she said: "Okay, mommy wants a tape measure" and walked off. What kind of 2 yr old thinks of a tape measure for her mom? I'll tell you what kind of 2 yr old.... the same one that sat on Santa's lap and asked him for a flashlight. Man, she's crazy.... ;)

A Promise

I WILL decorate my

Christmas Tree today.

Shame on me for not doing it sooner.

Jordan's Birthday

So, Jordan decided that he wanted a FIREMAN party instead of Curious George at the last minute. Brian says to me "that'll be easy! We'll just take them to the fire station!"

So that's what happened. :) The kids had a BLAST.

Brian took pictures of all of them "driving" the firetruck. Then, he created a picture of each kid that we sent off in the "thank you" notes... Here's an example of what we sent:

I thought it turned out cute. And most importantly, Jordan had a great time. ;)

P.S. My Christmas tree STILL isn't decorated. I feel like such a looser. Oh, and Reagan gained weight yet again! She's up to 9 lbs 3 oz! She gained an ounce a day this past week. We must finally be doing something right!!! (whew!)

"The List"

Decorate Christmas Tree (yes... it's been sitting in the living room for almost a week without even the lights on it. SAD.)
Pictures for our Christmas Card
oh, the actually Christmas Card
Plan Jordan's Birthday Party (we've narrowed it down to a time, now for all the little *details*)
Put together a "Wise Man" costume for Taylor for church Christmas Party
Plan and make food for Inlaws Christmas Open House
Figure out decorations for Parents Christmas tree since they probably won't decorate it until the night before THEIR open house... (I get the frantic *help* call the Saturday before... :P)
Find something to wear for Brian's work Christmas Party.
Help out with Parents Open House
Christmas Shopping.
Try my darndest to help the kids realize the REAL meaning of Christmas instead of letting them see their mom run around like a crazy woman trying to get everything done.

Things scratched off the list:
Homemade Christmas decorations
Lights on the outside of the house (unless Brian is willing to take on the challenge)
Sewing Christmas stockings and tree skirt (It's the ugly $1 stockings for us this year again...)
Neighbor gifts (unless I'm brave this year and give "air freshner" with a note that says "Hope Your Holiday's don't STINK"...)
Even the slightest possiblility that the house will look decent over the holidays.

8 weeks old

Yup! Reagan is 8 weeks old. I can hardly believe it!

She's been smiling a lot more, but still not to where I can catch it on camera!!! I'm not very good at holding her, holding a camera, and trying to juggle the other 3 kids. But take a look! I got CLOSE to getting a picture of her smiling!!! ;)

See? SO CLOSE!!!

And really... I know her eyes could still change color, but they're looking mighty blue still. Jordan would be soooo happy. Before she was born he would say: "Taylor has brown eyes like mom, Madison has hazel eyes like dad, so baby Reagan will have blue eyes like me!"

Oh, we can just hope!

December is BUSY.

I'm exhausted just thinking about it. ;)

Brian and I are going to see Glenn Beck on Saturday. We're way excited! I'm a bit nervous about leaving Reagan though. She's still so little and she and I have been through so much. But, we promised that if Glenn ever came to do his Christmas show in Salt Lake we'd go.

I'm suposed to go to a baby shower for my cousin that same day too.

Jordan's birthday is the 10th. He wants a "curious george" party. I haven't even started planning it. Sometimes it seems like such a waste to plan so much because when family comes over for his birthday, it's a short visit since they always have other stuff going on. His birthday is on a Sunday this year which complicates things since my Inlaws are having their christmas open house that same day.

My parents are having their Christmas Open House the next Sunday, the 17th.

Lots of food and stuff to get ready for BOTH open houses!!!

Jordan also has no idea what he wants for Christmas let alone his birthday. It's so hard having them so close together. I feel BAD for December babies!!! ;)

Here's a picture of him on Thanksgiving. I can't believe he'll be 5 soon. Time sure flies. :sniff:

O Christmas Tree

New traditions have started. We've decided that the Monday after Thanksgiving, our little family will have it's own turkey dinner before heading out to find our Christmas tree.


Dinner was yummy. I decided not to go to the effort of making mashed potatoes since as Brian put it: "you can have mashed potatoes any day of the week - I want to fill up on the good stuff". Instead of pumpkin pie, I made pumpkin crunch cake. YUM. And I'll totally admit it... I had Brian pick up some rolls on the way home last night. I just couldn't seem to get Reagan to stay out of my arms long enough to get the ENTIRE meal home-made. ;) But the turkey turned out great, the stuffing was yummy and the cranberry sauce of course was fabulous.


It started snowing pretty hard just as we were leaving. The kids were all bundled up and I was glad the tree lot wasn't far from home.


It's hard to pick out a good tree with snow all over it, but I think we did a good job. Now to get to the craft store and figure out some stuff to put on it! I'm trying really hard to let go of my "perfect tree" mindset and let the kids help make some of the ornaments... I'd like them to be a part of it. Part of me though still wants a "professional" looking tree... not a "kid tree". Oh the inner conflict. ;)





Reagan didn't like picking out the tree... see?





And here's our "naked" tree... just waiting for some nice "fixin's" to go on it.

Thanksgiving

Madison and Reagan in their Thanksgiving Dresses


We had a nice Thanksgiving. Brian's brother and family came from Las Vegas. It was way nice for the cousins to be able to play together. :)





Brian had a scary insulin reaction at dinner. He didn't realize how low he was and was pretty upset at me for trying to "help" him with all the family around. It got to the point though where he was starting convulsions and he was "loosing control" over his body. I asked his mom to grab me some orange juice concentrate because I couldn't get him to use a straw to drink a normal drink. He kept on spitting out the OJ concentrate though, and I finally had to put my hand over his mouth to get him to keep it in. He was a little frustrated that so much attention by his family was drawn to him, but I'd rather have him ALIVE and embarrassed vs. another option... His reactions scare me recently. They haven't been terribly frequent, but they seem to be a bit worse when he does have them. Stupid diabetes.





The kids had fun out on grandpa's backhoe, and it was fun to see all 3 babies together. Kelly and Jeanna's son Andrew was born first, then Reagan about 10 days later, then Eric and Cindy's little boy Lance 12 days after her.

Grandpa with Lance, Andrew and Reagan


Grandpa with Jordan, Jackson and Taylor


Grandpa with Madison and Jackson



Tonight I'm making our little family it's own "thanksgiving" dinner... (we miss having leftovers!!!) and then we're going to go get our Christmas Tree. I'm hoping that will totally motivate me into figuring out Christmas ornaments! I have no idea how to decorate the tree this year.

We're still struggling a bit with Reagan's eating. I feel like all I do all day long is either pump or feed this kid... maybe it's because that IS all I do all day long! Her appointment is on the 5th of December, and we're hoping for good news. I'm just really hoping she's just "small" and we have nothing to worry about. I'm totally worn out though since feedings take so long. In fact, I fell asleep before church yesterday and didn't even hear Brian leave with the kids. I'm so grateful that he didn't wake me up to go though. I needed sleep in a big way. (And a little more sometime this week wouldn't hurt I'm sure... ;) )

Problems still with weight gain

Not with MY weight gain, I'm doing just great in that departmant (unfortunatly... :P ) but Reagan's.

We struggled with her weight in the very begining... she was born 8 lbs 3 oz and in a short 2 week period lost 13% of her body weight and ended up at 7 lbs 2 oz. I started pumping and supplementing breastmilk through a supplemental nursing system (no bottles!) and in a week she was up to 7 lbs 12 oz. That was her last weigh in 1 month ago.

I had to take Madison in to the dr yesterday because it looked as if she had pink eye. While we were there, I had them weigh Reagan just for curiosity sake. 7 lbs 14 oz. She's gained 2 oz in 1 months time.

So, our dr is being "cautious but not overly concerned" at this point. We're back to pumping/supplementing which takes ALOT of time out of my day... but she's worth it. Early this morning with the pumping/supplementing it took us a good 2.5 hours to get fed.

I'm exhaused. My only job right now is to be a milk factory.

We have another appointment on the 5th of December to find out where she's at. They're giving me plenty of time to try and up her weight.

My 7 week old is so tiny!!! I usually have *butterball babies*... this little baby thing is so new to me!

Here's a few pictures of Reagan and family from her blessing on Sunday.

It's DONE!!!

What a project.

Brian *finally* was able to put the last of the hardware on the kitchen cabinets at 1:00 AM. We're tired.

The cabinets turned out to be more of a pain then we thought they would. Replacing the hinges wasn't so easy. We ended up having to make new door fronts for all the cabinets so we could do concealed hinges. THAT was a bit stressful when they were brought into my house on FRIDAY!!!

Anyway... it's SUCH an improvement. Here are the before and after pics. (Oh, and the "new" cabinet for our double ovens did not get finished. My Father in Law didn't get the cabinets over to us until 9:00 last night, and there just wasn't time to prime and paint them... so we're living with it today and hopefully the project will be totally finished this week. ;) )













SOOOOOO Glad to be DONE!!!

So, you want an update, do ya?

Let's just say this kitchen project has turned into quite the experience.

It's not done yet. Reagan's blessing is on Sunday. The rest of my house is a disaster area, but not quite as bad as the kitchen.

It's going to get done though.

Maybe.

When I started really *stressing* about this project getting finished, I realized that Brian would be home all day on Saturday, so really... we should be able to get it all done in one day. (Heck, they can do it on *While You Were Out* and *Trading Spaces*, right?)

Then I got a phone call. Apparantly Brian signed up to help with a service project Saturday morning.

So I'm trying not to panic.

My parents are taking the 3 older kids tonight, so at least what I attempt to clean up won't be ruined by three little tornado's running through the house. ;)

For all those wanting pictures? I don't want to post a "progress" photo... I want strictly before and after photos!!! But for some of you who were giving me advice on a few things, I'll give you a sneak peek at something that might make you very happy...

You know who you are. ;)

It's scary still

The kitchen I mean.

We weren't able to get the wallpaper off last night in time to mud and sand the walls. I've worked on them off and on all day.

Brian came home just a hair early and he's trying to get the last pieces off so he can start mudding.

Lets just not talk about the kitchen right now, okay?


New Subject: I'm a bad mom.

I noticed today as I was downloading some photos that I did NOT take any pictures of Taylor in his Halloween costume. Not one.

I need to call my sis in law and see if she took any at his school parade. You see... SHE went to the school parade and I stayed home. ('nother reason for my bad mom status.)

So...Here's pictures of my other children on Halloween... none of my oldest though. (shame on me.)




Here's Jordan. He's a Tiger. Apparantly, Tiger's are very angry creatures...




















Here's Madison. Not much of a costume as the "princess" title seems to be claimed by her on a daily basis. She insisted on "princess hair" whatever that is. So I tried brushing her VERY curly hair out a bit in an attempt to have it look longer.















and finally, Reagan. She was a bit mad. I don't think she likes Halloween. Actually, I don't think she likes much of anything besides nursing....















I best get back to helping with the kitchen. I'm WAY anxious to post the "after" shots... Please oh please let it get done!!!!

Wallpaper Woes

So.

I decided to stirp my wallpaer off in my kitchen today. Sis in law is coming over tomorrow to help me paint.

I didn't think this would be a big deal. You see... the same wallpaper is up my stairs and in the hall. The stuff pulled off in full sheets today. EASY!!!

The stuff in the kitchen? It appears they didn't paint the drywall before putting the stuff up years and years (and years) ago. The stuff is totally stuck to the drywall. It comes off in little tiny pieces, bringing parts of the drywall with it.

I may be up until o'dark-thirty tonight mudding and sanding the walls for paint tomorrow morning.

And there's no turning back now! I have a house full of people coming over on Sunday for Reagan's baby blessing!!! eeks!

Take a looksie:

Scary, ain't it?

Brian is sooooo not going to be pleased to come home and see this. I feel a big "I told you so" coming on...

Please tell me it'll be worth the stress... a nice "newer" looking kitchen (provided people don't look at the floor...) ;)

I'm still excited. More excited to have it DONE though than actually doing the project!!! :P

Now we're Cookin'...

Well, more like "Baking" vs "cookin'"...

I searched all over in my photos to find a picture of our "old" oven. You're just going to have to trust me on it's size. It was TINY. We couldn't fit a normal size cookie sheet in the thing. At least not the "normal" way a cookie sheet should fit in the oven. It had to go in and the back of the cookie sheet would touch the back of the oven, and the front of the cookie sheet would hold open the oven door ever so slightly.

So... in our couple of year long quest to find an affordable oven (by affordable I mean cheap...), we came across a DOUBLE oven. The guy selling it wanted a different color appliance for his kitchen. He hardly used the thing, it looks brand new. Plus, it fit the "cheap" criteria.

In order to put the oven in however, we had to rip out the existing cabinet and build a new one. Brian's dad thankfully helped (ALOT... He pretty much did the whole thing) and we put it in yesterday.

We still need to make the doors for the front of cabinet parts, but I still think it looks great.



I really need to choose a color to paint the cabinet. When we paint it, we'll paint the rest of the kitchen cabinets. My kitchen is UGLY. We won't be able to totally re-do it for a few years though. It just needs a little face lift. The biggest facelift would occur if we could re-do the ugly floors. That's just not going to happen.

So what color should I paint my cabinets?



Our counters are a bit "tanish" and the floor is a white and green swirl linolium. (Ugly. have I mentioned that?) Man I'd like to get this project done...

Fall Photos of Reagan

We attempted to take some pictueres of Reagan outside yesterday. Since she was born in October, we thought some "fall leaf" pictures would be great. (I still haven't sent out her birth announcement, so I'm looking for a good shot of her to send a picture... She's only 5 weeks old... it's not too late to send announcements, right?!?)

Anyway... it was cold outside so her poor little nose is totally RED in all the photos... but some of them were cute anyway. ;)

Enjoy!

I remember...

I remember what my house used to look like before I was pregnant and had Reagan. It wasn't perfect mind you, but it wasn't nearly as trashed as it is now.



This is NOT what my kitchen looks like right now. This is what it USED to look like and what I WANT it to look like.

Reagan lets me put her down for about 4 seconds at a time, so my kitchen might look good again in a few years... you know... like when I send her to kindergarten.

I *am* almost caught up on laundry though. This, my friends, is a miracle. I've gotten rather talented at folding clothes with a baby over my shoulder. I will tell you though that sorting socks is a difficult task while breastfeeding.

And now for a quick subject change: I don't kno what to put on my Christmas tree this year. I need a change after years of gingerbread men. I'd really like to sneak out and go shopping today and find stuff. An idea at least. Christmas is totally going to sneak up on me this year and I want to be prepared... not totally stressed out!!! ;)

Let's talk about Jordan...

Jordan, Jordan, Jordan... My little accident prone boy. I'm telling ya - if something can go wrong for this kid, it's going to happen. For instance? His teeth. He pretty much has none. This is due to the fact that when he was almost 2 and we were spending some *quality family time* at the State Fair, he fell through a table that was draped with a cloth. He didn't realize it wouldn't hold him. But then, not 5 minutes later, he was looking at the "bee" exhibit which was a bunch of bees in a "window"... he slipped off the step and whacked his chin on the window sill. It busted a few teeth and bled like mad. We ended up having surgery on his mouth to remove these cracked, busted teeth. It was awful. (We won't mention that he's lost several more from caps they put on to prevent further damage... ugh. His teeth didn't take to the treatment, so the teeth they capped have slowely fallen out over the years. The only thing we can do is wait until his permanant teeth grow in.) This kid is going to be a dentists dream... Dr. Johansen will have a new boat in no time.

Anyway, for all the accidents, stubborness, and just his own little personality, HE IS SO DANG SWEET. He really has a tender heart.

I was just feeding Reagan on the couch. Jordan just can't walk by without touching her head/face/something. It doesn't bother me - he loves her like crazy. But what he said was so special. He touched her little face and said "Mom? Reagan is in my heart. Is she in your heart too?"

Yes Jordan... Reagan is in my heart. But my little blue eyed darlin'? You are too.

Let the blogging begin...

Hi there!

I figured this would give me something to do while I sit at the 'puter nursing the baby 1 million times a day. (She's terribly addicted to breastmilk...)

Welcome, everyone, to my "Laughin' Place". Granted, it might become more of a "Sobbing Place" every few days, but hey. I'd rather laugh at what's going on in life.

Quick intro so you know who you're dealing with: I'm Heidi, wife to Brian, and Mom to 4 little kiddos. Most of what I write I'm sure will be about the kids, after all I am a stay at home mom, so my life pretty much revolves around them.

DS #1 is 7. His name is Taylor. He's way busy with 2nd grade... loves it. I'm not so thrilled about him telling me that a game of "kissing tag" has started occuring on the school playground however.

DS #2 will be 5 really soon. His name is Jordan. He's our blue eyed, left handed, totally oblivious child. He's in preschool for his own sanity - staying home with mom is just too much for this kid. He needs to be busy every second of every waking moment. But we love him and we'll keep him.

DD #1 is 2.5 yrs old. Her name is Madison and she's "Miss Independent". Curly hair, big attitude and totally a joy. When she talks about her dad, she says "My friend Dad"... Like "My friend Dad will be home soon".

DD #2 is 5 weeks old. We're still totally trying to figure each other out. I think I would have a clearer picture of what she's all about if she'd let me get a moment of sleep, and if I could put her down for more than 1/2 a second. There's LOTS to talk about in regards to her though, so be prepared to hear about Reagan often.

two quick photos of the kids... (I'm a BAD mom... I don't have any of all my kids sitting all together. How sad is that??? Give me another week or two...)

Pictures of Madison and Reagan and then the boys with Reagan. Stop by again!!! :)