Memorial Week-end

This long week-end has been wonderful. We Keith got some things done around the house, we relaxed, and we spent some good quality time together as a partial family. Yes, a partial family. My parents went down to visit my sister and her family in Iowa for the week-end, 2 1/2 hours away. As much as our whole family would have LOVED to have gone, that's too far for comfort at this stage of the game for my 37 week pregnant self when my last labor was 5 hours from start to finish. But they agreed to bring Carsen along, which he was very excited about.

Being a 1 kid family for the week-end was strange. Madelyn is so different without her brother around. She isn't as competitive. She isn't as whiny. She's much more snuggly... in fact on Saturday morning she walked into our room and told Keith "Daddy, I snuggle you". Being that she's our 2nd child, we've never really had much alone time with her, so it was definately a treat to soak us up some good Maddie time. :) I don't think she minded the extra attention she got, either. Have I mentioned how much she is Daddy's Girl? It's adorable.

We started our week-end off right by having a mommy/daughter shopping date. The weather was perfect, as was my little girl. She happily rode in her stroller for 2 1/2 hours while we shopped. When we left a store she would say "bye-bye shopping". Then she would say "more shopping" as we entered the next store. A few times she would randomly say "I like shopping". I'm sure glad she does... because we'll be doing a lot of it during her growing up years... :)

Madelyn loved helping me bake some cinnamon coffee cake, and was my champ stirrer.

 Sunday night Madelyn was telling me that I had "petty toes". I asked her if she wanted pretty toes too. She said "Blue ones!". Unfortunately I don't keep blue toenail polish on hand, so she settled on pink. And tickled pink she was.

 

She was so giddy about her pink toes all night long. I could barely get her to sit still for a picture...

 Today we went to the annual Memorial Day Parade. When I asked her what her favorite thing was, she said "Horsies!!". There were a few spotted horses that she thought were cows, but whatever... she's not even 2 yet (but will be this Saturday!) so we'll let it slide.... :)

 

Keith and I used to spend at least part of Memorial Day with my Grandma & Grandpa Schuler. Last year we brought Grandpa Schuler to grandma's grave, and enjoyed lunch at A & W restaurant. This memorial day was difficult as they have both passed now, but we will always carry the tradition of visiting the cemetary on Memorial Day. It's crazy how much changes come in a year's short time.

 

The week-end was a blast. I'm sad to see it go. I had Madelyn tell her Daddy that she wanted to have earrings, but he didn't give in. He wants it to be a real decision made by her, so maybe in another year or 2.

As much as we enjoyed our "alone time" with Madelyn this week-end, 

I sure am a happy mama looking in the top bunk tonight and seeing my favorite little boy up there. :)

We've got a 2nd birthday to celebrate on Saturday and another birthday that is TBD for our other little girl.

Life is good.

happy X's a lot

I am due to have this baby in less than 5 weeks. I can honestly not believe that I have made it this far. I have been in and out of the hospital with contractions since I was 21 weeks. I have feared pre-term labor far too long. I have officially made it to the "safe" zone, and I couldn't be more thankful. Although she isn't considered full term yet, she has everything going for her. I had the sterroid shot 2 weeks ago, so her lungs should be good and ready. The hospital in our town doesn't have a NICU, but I have made it to the point where if I went into labor, they would deliver me in town. With all my contractions, I never knew if my body was progressing, so a trip to the hospital to be monitored and checked was necessary to make sure I wasn't laboring for real. Now when my contractions get strong, I wait it out to see if true labor is coming or if they simply go away. I am so thankful to be at peace about all of these things.

With the birth approaching (even if it's another month) I figured I might as well get her room ready. Plus, I'll take anything nesting related lately. :) My grandma & grandpa both passed away in the past year or so, and I received their dresser.

It matches the crib & changing table very well, so I figured it would be a perfect addition to the baby's room. The dresser originally belonged to my great-grandma, so there is a lot of history with it. I love it. The porcelin doll on top of the dresser is one I picked out for Madelyn the night before my grandma passed away. My grandma loved dolls and had a huge collection. It makes me happy to look at this dresser, and think of both of my grandparents.

And you KNOW that it's already filled with our little girl's {clean} clothes. Pulling out baby clothes and washing/folding them was so fun. I can't wait to go through the baby stage one.more.time.

On a completely different note... this morning I walked into the kitchen at 6:45 to find this...

Carsen had gotten himself and Madelyn some cereal. Yes, we had a talk about how it isn't safe to climb on our counters to get a bowl, but I couldn't help but love and appreciate the fact that he was trying to help. He is taking his role of big brother very seriously these days. His desire to help his little sister makes me a happy mama.

So for all you sports fans; here we are in the safety zone, getting ready for zone defense. Life is about to change once again... and I couldn't be more excited!!

mother's day

Happy Mother's Day!

I love celebrating this day! I love honoring my mom, and celebrating being a mom. Being a mommy is a blessing that I think is easy to take for granted... especially on the hard days...

This week was a crazy one. My mom and I went and got pedicures together on Tuesday night. It was wonderful having a back massage while I got my feet & legs rubbed, and my toes painted oh-so-perfectly... all while spending some quality time with my mom! It felt like the prefect evening... until I started having contractions every 3 minutes on Tuesday night. After laying down and drinking about 400 gallons of water at home, they didn't stop. I went into the hospital, and was given a shot to stop the contractions. But it didn't work. They gave me some iv fluids, and that didn't help either. They told me I needed to stay overnight for observation, and even threatened sending me away to the Twin Cities or Rochester in case I were to deliver (they won't deliver before 35/36 weeks at our hospital). I was scared. I knew our little girl wasn't full term, and her being born would mean a couple of weeks of her being in the hospital. After being monitored all night (and the contractions not ever stopping) but realizing my body wasn't progressing towards labor, they finally let me go home. They gave me a sterroid shot to help with the development of the baby's lungs so in case she were to come early, she would hopefully be able to breathe on her own.

Today I didn't get any big fancy gifts, but I feel like I have everything that I could ever dream of. I have these 2 amazing kiddos who call me mommy:

I have an amazing husband who chose me to be the mother of his children. He does so much around the house, especially lately when my energy is down the tube. I'm so lucky to be loved by him.

As much as I can't wait to meet our little girl, I also know that her staying in the oven for a few more weeks is what is best for her. Here's my profile at 34 weeks...

I was so thankful that it was a nice day today and I got to show off my pretty toes, too!!!

Sorry about the obstructed view... I actually had to lean forward to get this shot... Hello 30 pounds in 34 weeks and over 10 inches in my tummy ALONE.....

Little did I know at the time that getting your ankles/legs rubbed can stimulate horomones that can cause labor. No more pedicures for me until this little girl is born!

Today was perfect. My Mother's Day was wonderful. Being a mommy is such a true joy and an incredible blessing.

She loves me... she loves me not...

Today marks 33 weeks of being pregnant for me. Believe it or not, but time is really starting to fly by. I can't believe we'll have our little girl in about 1 1/2 months- W.O.W.!!

My nesting instinct has kicked into full gear these past few weeks. I love to clean and always feel very happy and accomplished when my house is clean and organized, so I am loving this nesting and the energy that I currently have to get some things done. However, I think Keith is about to go nuts. I try really hard to focus on my kids during the day, and do the housework when they are sleeping. So that means a lot of my nesting takes place late at night... quite often, very late at night. For example: last week, Keith and I were getting ready for bed. It was about 11:00 pm, our normal bedtime. As I was brushing my teeth, I noticed the sink wasn't perfectly clean... so why not clean it, right? In fact, why not clean the WHOLE bathroom... at 11:00 pm? It wasn't the most thorough cleaning, but it was still a good cleaning, none-the-less. As I happily climbed into bed around 11:10, Keith gives me the "what were you thinking" look. I was clueless. I thought I was doing a GOOD thing by keeping a clean home. A clean home makes for a happy family, right?

Wrong. A clean home definately  makes for a happy mama, but the rest of the family doesn't mind the house not being perfectly clean or picked up.

During naptime today, I went through some piles of clothes (I can not WAIT to have a garage sale this summer and sell some of our girl stuff and all of Carsen's old things) and organized and cleaned most of the kitchen cabinets. 2 1/2 hours later I was wiped... I was in physical pain... I was ready to take it easy. So I plopped me and my big ole' belly on the couch. Then about 2 minutes later, the kids woke up. Of course! :)

So as much as I am truely LOVING getting my house organized and overly clean, I am going to try to relax a little and not hold as high of an expectation for myself. Pretty soon I'll be tending to a newborn and feeding her every 2-3 hours around the clock in addition to taking care of the family that I already have. I'm going to be tired. I'm not going to have time to have my house looking 'perfect' all the time. And look out people... I might even be a bit crabby, due to the lack of sleep... and my messy house... :)