House face lift! :)

Our house got a significant upgrade today! Over the past few months we have been working on some projects in preparation for this day (I say we, but really it was all Mike!) He replaced 12 windows, a back door, and had our large picture window replaced. Today we got it all restuccoed! It needed it SO badly. The stucco was literally falling off in large chunks in some areas and it had some 'ugly' areas where previous owners had attempted to patch it on their own. Mike had wanted to attempt to restucco it himself, but a very wise woman convinced him not too! :) He did remark today while watching the men work that it was a very good thing he didn't try to do it himself. He said, "It would have taken me FOREVER and I would have made a horrible mess of it." Wise man. He also commented on how nice a job professionals do....I agreed! :) We had quite the fiasco with installing the back door yesterday, but that is another story for another time! Mike doesn't find it funny yet at all...

Now our home is beautiful and no longer tan! No offense if tan is your house color of choice but it seems like every house in Bakersfield is tan....and it is not for us! It is now a beautiful gray! I am one happy home owner! Mike is too I guess! :) Can't wait until we get the trim and shutters painted...once again I say 'we' but I mean Mike-he truly is a keeper!

Milestones

Owen enjoying a WHOLE pluot from the market with dad in the front yard! They were watching the stucco guys do their thing.

Owen is offically 15 months today! And no :( he is not walking yet. We have tried everything! :) We go to visit the pediatritian on Wednesday and I am dreading that conversation, and I am SURE it will come up. From what I have read/seen, 15 months is when most children are expected to be walking, and Owen is not! :) Now, I am trying not to worry, and am convinced he can do it, but still the question is there-why won't he walk? Here's what we think....Owen is just enough stubborn to not do anything he doesn't want to do....and he doesn't want to walk! Oh well. :) Plus he is fairly laid back about life....why walk? when mom and dad will carry me? Smart kid. Also-there is the issue of hardwood floors! Our house is FULL of hardwood floors and tile. He has already suffered many wounds from hitting the floor, so you can't blame him for being a bit tentative when attempting to walk in such a danger zone! Hoping the doctor believes/understands my theories, or that Owen will magically begin walking/running around before Wednesday morning! The later is my hope so that we can avoid the conversation all together and when the doctor asks, "Is he walking yet?", I can confindently state, "Yep!"

It's the little things

It feels like we are on a roller coaster around here! And I HATE roller coasters...except the old white weenie roller coaster at the Puyallup Fair. Owen got the flu...so we have had puke and poo to deal with....nasty! Then I caught the flu and it was not pretty. Let's just say we got our couch cleaned professionally as a result! :)

But, I think God has been using this time to show us that we truly need to be humbled. We have been reminded over and over again of others around us who are in much more need than we are. Like Mike said the other night, "We know that this will end. Even if you have to be on bed rest until October, it will end in October when baby E gets here and then it will all be worth it. Owen will not have the flu forever, that too will pass. We should be humbled, some families have this as their reality, there is no end in sight." wow. So, I just pray for those I know who are suffering like we are, and those who bear a much bigger burden.

So, it's been the little things that make me smile lately. This morning I let the dogs in and noticed that it wasn't scorching hot outside yet! (for Bakersfield this is a strange occurance in July). So I opened the windows to get some much needed fresh air in here! Then, since the windows were open I could smell the fresh cut grass from my neighbor's yard. What a lovely smell! Thank you Lord for the little things today!

oh what a day :)

You know, today should have been one of those terrible, horrible, no good very bad days. But it wasn't! Thank you Lord for answering my prayer. See yesterday was a rotten day. It was a complete 'woe is me' moment full of tears and pity parties. Owen was cranky, I was cranky, and poor Mike came home and caught our cranky. I didn't feel well, couldn't get a good nap in, and was just plain bored. That, and my rump hurt. Sitting on the couch for hours on end does not do my body good. :)

So last night, amid tears, I prayed that the Lord would give me a better attitude. Partially because I could not imagine another day feeling so rotten about my situation and also knowing that feeling rotten about my situation would certainly have an adverse affect on my blood pressure and heart, the whole reason I am on bed rest in the first place! :)

Thankfully I feel asleep rather quickly while praying for everyone I could think of who needed it (a nighttime ritual to stop my brain from worrying about MY problems!). I'm sure God understands if I dose off in the middle of a prayer now and again!

And here begins the reason it should have been another rotten day today. Owen puked at 3 am in the morning. I heard a weird noise and went in his room to discover the mess. It was purple (blueberries), it stunk, it was all over, and it was still in his MOUTH!!!! Disgusting. So I 'lovingly' called out to Mike for help and we cleaned up the fiasco. I then rocked Owen until he got sleepy again and laid him down in his now clean crib where he proceeded to puke purple again right as I crawled back into bed. Repeat of cleaning up the fiasco, except this time it was on EVERYTHING else that had not been hit in the first round-including his stuffed guinea pig and best buddy Jimmy. This time Mike took him to try and get him to sleep and brought him into bed with us. Now if you know Owen, you know that this has NEVER been a good solution. He kept us awake until the alarm went off an hour or so later at 5am for Mike to go to work. Mike just rolled over and said, "You think I should stay home?" I think my face gave enough of an answer! :)

So Mike called in sick and took Owen out into the living room to rest on the couch. Somewhere in my dilirium I remember hearing the microwave beep, knowing that Mike must be heating up some milk for Owen, and thinking that may not be a good idea...BUT sleep took over too quickly and I said nothing. Next thing I knew I heard the bath water running and Mike moaning, "He puked on everything again". Yep, you guessed it, the milk WAS a bad idea! I went to utter, "I told you so", but in fact I had not told him so. :) We did discuss it later on and laugh and Mike agreed never to give him warm milk after puking again. Mike was covered, Owen was covered, the floor was covered, and our couch was covered. Good ol' Stanley Steemer will be coming over on Monday.

So you can see that it had the makings to be a rotten day....but it wasn't. Owen didn't puke anymore. Mike and I laughed about that all day. Seems like Mike and I laughed about a lot of things today. I finished up a few crossword puzzles. We all got good naps. We spent time together playing and reading books. We had a great meal delivered to us from a friend. And my heart was slow, steady, and quiet all day. :) So Lord-thank you. And to all of you who are praying-thank you.

Been gone so long.....

Well, I'll admit, it has been awhile. I figured now is as good a time as any to pick this blogging thing back up! (Mom, pick yourself up off the floor, and enjoy my thoughts)

Owen is doing SO well! He is still cute as a button and sports his 2 little dimples. He will be 15 months soon and the answer is no, he's not walking yet. If you are familiar with Owen and his personality you will not find this shocking! We are learning that Owen is a very laid back child when it comes to things like walking and crawling. He just doesn't care and is stubborn enough to not let us 'make him' learn. We still do all the little things that parents do to try and convince their child to take a step....but Owen just puts his little bum on the floor and crawls. What can we do? :)

He did take one step while we were in WA visiting my family, but I am convinced that he wasn't aware that he even accomplished such a milestone. He was standing next to an empty box that came up to his chest, holding onto it for support. Then he began to pick the box up while standing. Then, he took a step while holding the box in the air. I think he thought the box was still supporting him? Silly kid! Mike and I got our hopes up that walking was around the corner! We bought him so fancy new walking sandals only to watch him refuse to take any more steps the remainder of the trip. Oh well! Like my dad said, "You don't see adults crawling around on their hands and knees....he will get it eventually!" So we will wait (and let you all know the moment it happens!)

SO...the reason I thought blogging now may be appropriate. I went to a regular checkup for Baby E yesterday. At my last appointment my blood pressure had been high but they just figured it was because I had just had an ultrasound and was pretty excited when I got my blood pressure taken. However, my blood pressure was raised again this visit along with a larger than normal weight gain. (funny thing is I stood on the scale backwards this time so I wouldn't see my actually weight, but they ended up telling me anyways....grrrr...)

So, long story short, I have been put on bed rest for the time being. My doctor told me to do nothing but drink water and rest. They are hoping that the weight gain and increased blood pressure is due to our vacation to WA. All that flying and driving did not do my pregnant body good! :) I am not allowed to travel anymore. She also stated how nice it was that I wasn't working....to which I reminded her that I had a 1 year old at home which was definitely work! :) She agreed but didn't offer to babysit! She informed me that Mike was to do all the cleaning and cooking for now on and I was to just take it easy. I will be honest, mentally, the thought of doing nothing is driving me crazy. I have so many things that I wanted to get done before Baby E arrived and am not able to do anything. I go back in 2 weeks to see my OB and I am hoping that they give me the go ahead to do some limited activity at that time! I also go to see my cardiologist in 2 weeks to get my heart checked out. Around this time in the pregnancy with Owen, I ended up in the hospital with heart problems (fast and irratic heart beat) so we are trying to do all we can to prevent that 'lovely' situation again!

On a nicer note, I don't have gestational diabetes! :) I was CONVINCED that I had it and was prepared for the worst. In my mind their was no other explanation for the size of my babies! :) It is such a relief to know that I am not 'making' big children by what I am eating. In case you missed it, baby E is another BIG baby. However, this just means that Mike and I combined make ridiculously large children on our own....yippee. And if you have seen my husband you know how silly that is! :) Let's just say, Mike married me to put some height in his family.

Also-baby E is doing well and is VERY active! As I type my belly is rolling & jerking all over the place. Yesterday baby E would not stay still for the doctor to get a good reading of the heartbeat. Naughty little child! :) We are secretly hoping that he/she gets all of his/her wiggles out in womb, but we know that is a far fetched hope!

Well, I think that is all for now. I am sure I will come up with much funnier posts in the future since I will have a bit of time on my hands...but for now this is it! :) Now if you will excuse me, I am off to lay down for a bit!....dr.'s orders

P.S. Baby E stands for Everett=boy & Emery=girl