gloria or moses?

A quick little update.....I had another ultrasound yesterday, and after a 2 hour wait, all is still well in Gloria's world. In fact, everything looked absolutely perfect! My hemotoma has begun to absorb, and is now half the size it started out at- yeah! My dr. has officially taken me off of bedrest and told me to "take it easy and don't do anything crazy". Based on the heart rate of 123, (because we didn't find out), I may have to begin taking Dylan's side and start calling this baby Moses. I've only birthed boys with heartrates that low! Time will tell I suppose. Now that July is almost done, and end of summer/back to school business has already creeeped into my mind, I think we need to begin thinking about names. I actually have a girls name up my sleeve that Tim approves of...any suggestions for a boy?

summer fun

We spent last week in Pentwater with my family. The kids had a great time together and there was plenty of fun in the sun. Thank you mom and dad!

the 4th in fotos

This year marked our first 4th of July that we've stayed "in town" since we've had kids. It turns out our neighbors put on a very nice professional fireworks show! The campground we were supposed to camp at this holday did not really comply to my "take it easy" status. So, for the last 3 weeks I've faithfully checked other "easier campgrounds" daily, hoping for an opening...bound and determined to camp, I finally gave up a few days before we were supposed to leave.

We had a very nice weekend! We spent Friday working around the house and then up to the corner for ice cream and back home to play with sparklers. On Saturday we spent the day at Tims folks cottage. Some pics of the fun .....

this is my life

just so i don't forget these fun adventures we have... and since I don't know what to blog about, i thought i would take a minute to write about our trip to the dr. this week....just in case someday i forget how fun these trips really were :)

I glanced at my calendar on Sunday and noticed that i had scheduled back to back dr. apts for the boys this week. I cursed myself for not scheduling Dylan's during the school year, possibly eliminating a child or 2. Oh well, the situation didn't quite seem babysitter worthy, so off to the dr. we trucked- 4 kids in tow.

As I'm pulling out of our driveway i turn around and ask the boys if they're wearing underwear. They do a quick check and Austin shrugs and says "I'm sorry, I forgot". So, back up the driveway we go ....as it was, they looked like scrubs from playing outside all morning, so the least i could do was make sure they were wearing underwear. As an afterthought, i remembered i was out of wipes, so i quick grabbed a pkg. just in case Stella decided to go.

We arrive. Dylan looks at me and batts his lashes and those puppy dog eyes and says "I'm sorry, I forgot, I'm not wearing underwear" ...sigh. While i'm taking care of updating our insurance information, the kids decide to line up the kiddy chairs and pretend they are on an airplane.....complete with realistic sound effects. After 15 minutes of polite smiles and nods from patients peacefully reading their magazines, we are called back to our 12 x 12 cell.

The kids are promptly weighed and measured. Next up...the eye exam. Austin flies through excitedly, because it feels like school -on a side note, he is one step away from getting glasses :(

Dylans next up. The nurse points to the first shape... a star. Dylan in all seriousness tells her it's a heart. She asks again, he says heart. I see her write something down...hmm. Next shape up is a moon. Dylan tells her its a banana. This goes on and on. We're all laughing at Dylan, because quite frankly, it's just normal Dylan. The nurse passes him, though she questions his shape skills.

We gather up Stella who is gleefully running up and down the hall, and we all settle back in the room. The nurse goes through the hearing test, and Austin accidently smacks her in the face as he raises his arm when he hears the noise. Next up, it took Dylan many tries, because he just kept waving his arms around in the air. I think this boy is going to have some trouble in school next year :)

Stella so nicely kept herself busy emptying out the garbage can.

The nurse asks me if I think we can get a urine sample from each of the boys. I laugh, and off to the bathroom we tromp. Mind you, all of the chairs just outside of the bathroom are filled up with patients waiting to be seen. That being said, all conversations about pinching it off, aiming, and ding dongs were heard by all.

First up was Austin, who has always had bad aim, and is the reason we are now a "sit down" family. Well he didn't get the timing right, so i got a nice spray from the knees down. Thank goodness it was a cool out and i was wearing jeans!

Next up Dylan- he may not know his shapes, but he would win hands down in a cup peeing contest. While we were having all of this fun, Stella politely kept herself busy wandering between playing in the garbage and emptying the drawer of urine sample cups. After all hands were washed, and one last showing of what was behind that amazing metal door was given, back to our cell we went. All smiles and nods from those waiting outside the door of course.

We wait....I promptly hand out snacks until all supplies are gone. We wait some more .... I notice that the air just rots. I glance over at Stella and notice a nice brown stain seeping through her pants as she is bending over to eat her fruit snacks that have fallen on the ground. I reach for my diaper bag to change her, and realize, oh yes- my wipes are on the passenger seat in the van where i tossed them. Not worth the trip, so she'll just have to sit in it for a bit and contribute to the air quality. We wait...the kids decide to have a long jump contest off the bed.

The dr. finally gives the highly anticipated knock on the door and comes in. All goes well and we have nice conversation. Poison ivy, vision and growth percentiles are discussed. During our conversation Stella once again politely occupies herself by spitting out the granola bar that she has saved up in her cheeks and grinds it into the carpet with her fingers...just showing off her fine motor skills I suppose. The dr. checks them over... Austin just about decks her when she checks his boyhood, but he made it :) She tells me, loud enough for the kids to hear, that Austin needs 2 shots and Dylan is a bit behind and needs 6.

(Some background... last summer Dylan saw the dr. for a gigantic sliver in his foot... he got so irrate when the dr. tried to give him a numbing shot that he kicked it out of her hand and on the floor it landed. He made be small, but he's a strong little bugger.)

Dylan starts crying, and wailing, and acting ridiculous when he hears he needs shots. I quickly give Austin the big brother pep talk, that he needs to go first and be really brave for Dylans sake. He was, and I was proud...all the while Dylan is standing by the door wailing, quite surely contemplating making a run for it.

Dylan's turn. They want me to lay him down on the table... however, he will have no part of this, and is beyond reasoning with. He jumps into my arms and clings for dear life. I start trying to peel him off of me and he clings harder. I finally get him on the table and i have to lay on him to make him stay down. Like a good girl, Stella has moved on to splaying the contents of the cupboards to occupy herself.

All is well, we are finished. Tears are dried and suckers given. We are on our way, just another hour in our blessed life!

he's the best!

Since yesterday was Fathers Day and all, I figure it only seems appropriate to take a few minutes to tell you a bit about this guy....

I married well. Sure, he may have a tendency to work a bit too much, and he did throw my favorite little black sweater in the dryer...but all things aside, he is an amazing husband and father. He is the hardest working person I know...both at work and at home. He is a patient, loving, godly and selfless man.

After a long days work, he is usually greeted and tackled by 4 kids before he even has both feet out of his truck, and it doesn't stop until they are all tucked in bed....usually by him.

In the last couple of months being on bedrest I have truly been amazed at all he's done for our family, all with a genuine smile on his face and from the kindness of his heart... and all the while understanding my crabbiness and not holding it against me :)

I could go on and on, but I will spare you.... We love Tim, you're the best! Happy Fathers Day!

thank you etsy.....

Finding out we were expecting again, coupled with the very real possiblity that this new little one might be shacking up in our room for a few months, has made me want to re-do our bedroom. Nothing drastic, maybe a new duvet cover or color scheme to spice it up a bit.

Well, if you know me well- and know my style, you know that the minute i laid eyes on this gem i was smitten. Combined with the savy etsy price it really was a no brainer.

So, as i eagerly await the arrival of my package in the mail, my thoughts drift to paint colors and pillows. I could use some advice....any thoughts my blogger friends?

nothing new

I saw my dr. today, and baby Gloria is growing nicely and measuring in at about 17 weeks now. My hemotoma has not changed one little bit. It is still there in the same exact spot just as large as it was 2 weeks ago.


This is good news...... but not good enough to be taken off of bedrest.
However, my dr. said i could step up my activity level just a notch since nothing is changing. What does this mean? I may now go to church as long as i don't stand around talking afterwards or do anything crazy, I may continue to pick up Stella when necessary, I may do very basic household chores...but nothing wild and crazy like pushing a vacuum or carrying laundry baskets up stairs :)

I'll take it though. At my apt. today, they scheduled my ultra sound, and the earliest they could squeeze me in was 4pm. My dr. went through regular apt. stuff and ended it with checking the babys heartbeat. She tried, and tried, and tried...not to be found. They got me in for an ultrasound right away.....and all was well with the little troublemaker! Praise the Lord! That is all that matters. It's all perspective. Worse case scenario, I will be in this situation for 4 1/2 more months, watching my butt grow rounder by the day :) But I'll take it. I've grown quite attached to this little bugger, and his/her safety is what's most important.