Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Halloween Treats

Nathaniel is going to "school" one day a week this year and we are both loving it so much. He walks right in to his classroom and starts playing with his little friends. Yesterday when I went to pick him up, he didn't want to leave!

His teachers are awesome and are so very sweet to us both! We wanted to do a little something for them for Halloween. I'm actually the crazy person who gives small gifts for every occasion. I know as a teacher, it meant the world to me when parents made a little extra effort to show they cared! Even just a little note to show their thanks was so appreciated. 

I can't actually take credit for this idea, a parent gave this to me my last year teaching! I thought it was adorable and kept the idea in the back of my mind for when it was my turn. Inside the baggy is 3 ghost peeps, 4 mini hersheys bars (even though kit kats are where its at when it comes to smores) and a stack of graham crackers! I couldn't find the actual tag she used, so I made my own in picmonkey. Super easy. 

Here's the tag if someone else wants to use it. I opened a word document and sized it to about 3 1/2 by 2 1/2 or so. That's the best I can do with tech help. 

Monday, October 28, 2013

Toddler Finger Painting... errrr paint eating.

(anyone there??)

This morning I took little mister to the doctor for cold he's had for the better part of two weeks. Apparently it is really just a cold and we've got to tough it out. Poor little guy has an awful cough. He had to get a finger prick at the doctor and this mama felt incredibly sad for him, especially because the nurse did not get a good stick and tortured him for a good 5 minutes to get enough blood to fill the vile. My angry eyes totally came out. So... on to the point of this post.

Because I felt SO guilty, I really wanted to have fun with the boy this afternoon. I've been meaning to finger paint with him for awhile and never found a good day. We've painted in the tub several times, but never just let him go to town with finger paint. I wanted to use an edible paint because, lets face it, he's 13 months old and most of it was going to be eaten. A friend sent me this recipe and it worked really well. I did cut the water by about half, but other than that didn't change anything. 

Pretty much the first bite went into his mouth. 
 We started with the pumpkin and moved quickly to painting paper. I thought with the paper, he may not eat quite as much paint. 
 And I was sorely mistaken. 



 He really had a blast painting (and eating) so I was super pleased with today's activity! His hair really appreciated the flour/sugar mixture he decided to style it with. 

 We had so much fun during art time that I decided to try another activity I've been holding out on. He. Loved. This. He basically thinks I'm the coolest person ever now. I got so tickled watching him try to figure out what was going on. I'm a little concerned that we might have a future raver on our hands though. haha!
 We finished the night with a Halloween book and jams. Obviously the best way to read a book is upside down and surrounded by glow sticks. 
I'm really hoping to get back in the swing of blogging. I've got a full year of amazing first to catch up on! I highly doubt that'll ever happen, but it never hurts to have goals.

Monday, December 31, 2012

Meet our Sweet Boy

Nathaniel Paul was born September 19, 2012 at 12:58 pm. He weighed 8lb 2oz and was 21 inches long! He's kind of awesome. It's quite amazing how much we love this kid. 

Birth Story: Don't read any further if you don't want to see some total TMI happening.

First of all, Tyler put an event in our calender in February. He guessed the baby would be born September 18th at 8:32pm and weigh 7lb 9oz. At my appointment the week before, Dr. H laughed when T told him his weight guess saying he was bigger. But everything else? We thought he was going to be right...

The morning of the 18th, my mom and I ran about a thousand errands trying to get ready for the boy. We had a few small things that we needed before his arrival. We decided to eat lunch at Johnny Carino's. While we were at lunch, I told my mom I thought he was really low. I felt like he was poking me completely at the bottom of my belly. I knew he was still high, so it was bizarre. About half way through lunch I got up to use the restroom. I came back and sat down and told my mom that my water was potentially slowly breaking, but we just brushed it off. There was no gush, no contractions, just a little damp. Well, about 10 minutes later, we got up to leave and I literally couldn't walk out of the restaurant. Because I was soaking wet. I obviously have not been back to Carino's. I was laughing so hard and in complete disbelief. I said about a thousand times that I was either peeing uncontrollably or my water was breaking. 

We called T on the way home and told him to get the bags ready, that we were coming home and going straight to the hospital. At this point, I had only felt one small contraction, so was still thinking it wasn't the real deal... total denial. We got to the hospital and went to check in. I told the girl at the desk that I was in labor and she straight up laughed at me. I laughed back and said I wouldn't belief it either if there wasn't a puddle between my legs. We had to wait for a room to be available and I really only felt a couple of small contractions. 

When we got in our room, they checked me and I was only at a two... which I had been for 3 weeks. But my water had definitely broken, so we were there for the long haul!! 

Basically, the party started and we just hung out. I obviously started feeling a few contractions, but nothing major. They checked me at 6:40 and 9 and still had no progress, so my doctor requested we start pitocin. The nurses told us that with spontaneous water breaks, patients typically get 18 hours to get the baby out, my doctor was usually a little more lenient, but we decided to do the pit to hopefully have this boy. 
{they were being so sweet and telling me when I was having a contraction... because my unmedicated self obviously couldn't feel them. ha!}

I was checked a few more times through the night with no change. The pit was doing nothing but cause pain. haha! By 7:15am, I had only progressed to a 2.5. I had thrown up through the last 5 or 6 contractions and was miserable, so I went ahead and got the epidural. Quite honestly, I had (quietly, to myself) decided at about 5am that I needed to get the epi if there wasn't significant change. I was pretty convinced that we were going to end in a section and figured, why stay in pain if I don't get to have him vaginally anyway? So I got an epi around 7:45 and immediately passed out for an hour. It was marvelous. I was so exhausted. My doctor came in around 11 to check again and to talk possibilities. I had progressed to a 3. In almost 24 hours of labor, most of that with a drug that was made to help you along. Obviously this wasn't going anywhere. He told me that it was up to me, and he would let me continue laboring if I wanted to, but was concerned that we would still end up with a section 12 hours later. I had been praying about it all morning and felt complete peace that if I hadn't progressed, I needed to have the cesarean. When I told Dr. H that I wanted to go ahead and have him, Tyler and my mom literally cheered. Funny people.

I was taken into the operating room at 12:41, my mom and Tyler joined soon after and Nathaniel was born at 12:58. With a full head of hair! Dr. H told me later that I could've labored for 17 more hours, and he still wouldn't have come out. He was so not in position, which is why I wasn't progressing. He was sunny side up and his head was in such a position that he just couldn't drop. One of his ears was curled up, so pretty sure he had been stuck there awhile. 
 {what up, world?}

 {showing daddy the hair}

{meeting my precious son}

{no one mentioned the hair to me, so I didn't know for a bit!}

 {my loves}

{so incredibly in love with this boy}

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

... anyone there?

Hi friends! My computer bit the dust, and posting from my phone got old, real fast! But! My mama surprised  me with a new computer for Christmas, so hopefully I can play catch up. It'll take me awhile! Most importantly, if you don't follow on IG or Twitter... Nathaniel Paul is here and perfect! I will make a post about his birth in a bit, but didn't want you to think I was 12 months pregnant. 
Until then... meet Nathaniel. Seen here with his Thanksgiving feast.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Prayer Requests

My brother and his friends are in the "rock" scene here in town. I dont know how to explain their look, but most people see them and judge them for their outward appearance. 1-inch+ gauged ears, covered in tattoos, many have lots of piercings and the boys wear skinny jeans. You get the point. Tonight they showed what an amazing group of kids they actually are, regardless of what people may think of them.

My brother's friend Tyler is 21 years old. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer in April. He had one testicle removed, they thought it was contained and thought they got it all. At his 6 week post-op appointment they found out they were wrong. He has now been undergoing extremely hard chemotherapy since then. He's lost his hair, including his eyebrows. He's lost an insane amount of weight. He is on steroids so has the face and belly that come from that and he is so weak that he is walking with a cane. Pray for him.

Back to tonight. My brother and his friends put on a benefit concert for Tyler. They were all in several bands in high school and they had a "mini-reunion" to support him. Several of these 21 and 22 year old guys flew in from all over the country to join their friends and play to support. They sold 400 tickets at $10 each. Every penny is going to Tyler and his mom.

I cannot tell you how proud I am of these "kids." I've watched them all grow up and many of them didn't necessarily do what society expected. And that's okay. They are still great kids making a difference.

Please keep Tyler and his family in your prayers. I can't imagine what his poor mama is going through.


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Monday, June 4, 2012

24 weeks!

Yay! We are growing and moving right along in this pregnancy! My guy has REALLY started moving and kicking like crazy. He found my bladder yesterday and is using it as his personal trampoline. Haha!

Time for the questionnaire again!
How far along? 24 weeks, 3 days
Total weight gain/loss? I've gained 5.5 back of the 19 I lost. Yay! I'm sure I won't be excited about that gain for much longer. ;)
Maternity clothes? Oh yes.


Stretch marks? Not yet.
Sleep? This week has been rough. I can no longer sleep on my stomach so Im trying to find a new position for sleeping!
Mood? I cry all. the. time. Like this week when I started crying while driving down the interstate. Over The Office. As in the show. That I haven't watched in a least 6 months. Yep. Hysterical.
Best moment last week? He has REALLY started moving. A ton. It is pretty much the best feeling in the world! And we got to hear his heartbeat again this morning. Best sound in the world.
Movement? Tons.
Food cravings? I just really want milk. And I can't have it.
Sex? BOY! Nathaniel Paul!
Labor signs? Umm. No.
Belly button in/out? In.
What I miss: having normal bladder control. Hahaha!
What I am looking forward to: getting started on his sweet nursery. I cannot wait to make a space in our home just for him!
Milestones: that he has reached the viability point. Yay :)

I can't stop making things for the little guy. Really, I can't. It's a sickness. Here are a few of his mommy-made items!











- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone