Desires of the Heart

"Is there something on my face?!?"

2011-03-19T09:30:00.000-07:00

I can't see it, but I can feel it!

Stop laughing Mommy! Please wipe it off!!

So, you think I look pretty funny, huh?

I bet you wouldn't be laughing if YOU had food all over your nose!

Why don't you come alittle closer so I can get some food on YOUR face...

COME CLOSER!!

Don't Let It Pass You By...

2011-03-10T12:14:00.000-08:00

... the chance to win one of these great items!

Last chance to enter is Friday. Winners will be announced on Saturday, March 12th.

Ear Warmer

Dying for something cute in these dreaded last months of winter?

Stylish Earring Organizer

Fabric Contoured Necklace with Rosettes

Give Away Time!!

2011-03-07T20:03:00.000-08:00

Give Away Time!! Please visit our new blog and
enter the give aways that begin today March 7th!

The New Blog

2011-02-28T19:14:00.000-08:00

Trains resembles our boys, Bows resembles our girls and the Two Cosmos are for Holly and I!

We are so happy to reveal the site and kick everything off with a Give Away! In fact, it will be a

3 day Give Away
Please visit our crafting blog and support us by grabbing our button.

Here's a little sneak peek at the give away

Smiles of Children

2011-02-14T09:00:00.000-08:00

Jackson loves Mommy's camera

In fact, Mommy's camera is often included in Jackson's bedtime prayers...

He shows off every chance he gets, if I can keep him at arm's length so his sticky little boy fingers don't touch my lens.

Jaelyn also likes Mommy's camera. It only takes Mommy about 20 snapshots to get 1 that's in focus and of her smiling.

Mommy has no time for editing her photos, but who needs to edit when you get a shot like this?

Sometimes, soliciting a smile... backfires!

And other times... you just take what you can get :)

Ms. Blue Eyes & Mr. Brown Eyes

The new blog will be coming soon. It's a tad slow going because my friend and I are so busy with life :) But a button will be available soon and you will be able to visit the blog before our Big Giveaway starts!

Stay Tuned...

Upcoming Give Away

2011-01-19T15:13:00.000-08:00

That's Right!

It's been forever since I have hosted a give away - but I absolutely LOVE giving things away to people who visit my blog. This give away however, will be held at my new blog. I won't be giving the address out at this point yet because things are not quite ready. I will have you know that my good friend will be hosting the blog with me and we will take turns sharing our creativeness :)

Please visit back soon and I will have all the details soon! Have a blessed week everyone!

Starting a NEW blog

2011-01-10T19:38:00.000-08:00

I have been toying around with the idea of starting a new blog. I originally started this blog because I was pregnant with my first child and wanted to keep all my friends and family updated on my progress as well as having a documented journal of that time. I have shared tons of experiences that come along with first time motherhood and have met some amazing friends along the way. I have also walked through my second pregnancy and shared my thoughts about what having two children would be like.

Now I am here - raising a 2 year old and a 4 month old and I don't have time to regularly blog about my life. Much of my time now is just taking things a day at a time. I don't have as many concerns and questions with my daughter because I have nurtured a newborn before. I feel pretty confident this time around :) But I also have the added bonus (or blessing) of a more 'at ease' attitude. So while I don't at all feel relaxed at the end of the day - I do have more patience and the ability to take a deep breath when my toddler dumps his shaved nuts all over my couch rather than frankly attempt to clean them up.

I do feel as though a weight has been lifted now that the holidays are over and I think you all can agree in your own ways. The past six months for me has been one project after another.

June - Redecorate Jackson's room from "baby boy" to "little boy"
July - Was a million projects to prepare for baby #2
August - Jaelyn's Nursery
Sept & Oct - From Sept. 7 - Oct. 22nd, we have 7 little kid's birthdays including our own two children. I handmade alot of their gifts which took a while.
Nov & Dec - started making christmas gifts (many of which I had shared, but didn't get into detail) including all of those 7 little kids I mentioned above.

My current project is Jaelyn's Dedication dress. My sweet mother in law has been helping me make her dress out of my wedding dress. YUP! I took a scissors to my wedding dress and have used the fabric to design a dress for Jaelyn. It's almost done and I can't wait to show you! It's precious and I absolutely love it!!

So now that January is here, I am able to exhale a good long sigh of relief. I loved making the gifts/projects and would really like to share the tutorials I discovered with all of you. I would like to show you how simple these creative projects were and take you through how I did them. I just love exploring other blogs that generously offer up their talents for the world to behold and I would love to participate as well. Having said that, I believe I will be abandoning this journal blog (for a while at least) and focus more on a crafty blog.

I had started AprilAccents two years ago and didn't do anything with it this past year (by my own chosing). I have still been selling some pieces I have made to friends and family, but I don't have the energy to keep up with a "business blog". So I would like to incorperate that into the new blog that I start. I hope that you will all venture into this next journey with me and give me feedback and encouragement, project ideas and your own tutorials.

I haven't started creating the blog yet, so it will be a little while until it's ready. Until then...

Only 3 months later....

2010-12-23T12:19:00.000-08:00

Wow - it's been so long I almost forgot how to create a NEW POST! Sheesh!
I am sure alot of you hadn't even noticed I was gone, but if anyone did - here's why.

I don't have the time :(

Jaelyn is a fanastic baby. Right away, we could tell she was going to be an easier newborn than Jackson was. And that was saying alot because we had it good with him too. She was always very content sitting in her little rocking chair which made things simpler for me because Jackson is quite demanding of my time. Now she is 3 months old and has discovered that being held is tons more fun. Jaelyn smiles and laughs alot and does enjoy laying under play gym for a shortwhile. She was sleeping awesome at night for weeks up until last week. Now she is back to waking for 2 feedings. What is that? Not happy about it at all. Her naps aren't great either. I am lucky to get an hour nap - but most are only 30-45 mins. Jackson was a fanastic sleeper as a baby. At 3 months, he was sleeping from 7pm-6:30pm straight and took a good long 2.5 hr morning nap (and 2 shorter afternoon naps). Jaelyn goes to bed around 7pm and is now waking at 1-2am AND 4-5am to eat before waking at 8am. Something has to change here because I am not getting much sleep at all! She's 3 months now...

Jackson's verbal skills really started to take off when he turned 2 (Oct. 22nd). He can speak in sentences of 5-7 words, however not all of them are understandable to people other than my husband and I. He knows ALL of his letters and numbers up to 10. His newest thing is wanting mommy and daddy to sign the ABCs and he claps and shouts when we finish. He is a whiz at navigating through our smart phones. This is helpful when we are situations when we need him to be still/quite and happy. There are a few numbers games on there for him now :) He enjoys playing with other children, but at home wants to watch too much tv. Sometimes it's easier to let him watch a few shows (of Elmo & Monster's Inc) than to keep him busy myself when things need to get done. That sounds terrible of me, but Christmas has been a challange this year with trying to save money. I decided to make alot of the gifts myself (which I had mentioned in my last post). So that has taken up much of my free time. They are finally ALL completed now, with only 2 days before Christmas to spare. Which is why I am actually able to write a blog post. Today is only the 2nd day ever when both of my kids were napping at the same time.... yesterday was the first and boy is my house clean!!

I hope to show you all the fun things I made in future posts. They are all easy enough to complete, but when you're making 3 of each item... then it can be time consuming.

Well, baby's awake in her crib dying to get out. Here are a few photos ...

Some small updates

2010-10-18T15:09:00.000-07:00

I will say that over two weeks is definitely the longest I have gone without blogging. I just can't find the time or energy these days! Having two kids, one a toddler, really changes up your normal daily flow. Because Jackson is quite demanding of my time during the day (that's a whole post in itself and I don't have the mental endurance to blog about that now) - I have little time to sit and hold Jaelyn. I am not the kind of mother who will wear her baby around the house all day. I don't do chores while holding Jaelyn or cook or do the dishes. It hurts my back too much. So the only times I really have to cuddle with her for longer periods of time are during Jax's naptime and after he's in bed. I am not fond of the fact that she can't get as much attention as I could give him when he was an infant. Such is life!

I just wanted to drop in and say that things are going well. Jaelyn is wonderful. SHe is such a sweetheart and a VERY well natured baby. Unfortunately she has adopted her brother's sensitive skin and has some pretty nasty baby acne right now. His was severe and I really hope that hers doesn't get that bad. SO far she hasn't lost her hair yet and I also hope that wasn't plaque her. For about 2 weeks now she has been sleeping a good long 5-7 hour sleep stretch at night, then another 3-4 hour stretch after nursing. She will be 5 weeks on Tuesday. I am pretty lucky!

I have been thinking ahead to christmas already for what kind of gifts/handmade items I need to get working on. Handmaking most of the gifts is quite time consuming, but when the budget is so tight it squeaks... what other choice do I have? We just came off the crazy busy birthday season. From Sept. 7 - Oct. 22nd we have 7 little kid birthdays. It's a hectic time of year for us. I had made about 4 different toddler sized purses that I just LOVED, but of course it didn't occur to me to take a photo of one before I gave them away. I did make Jax a pair of monkey fleece pj pants. Those turned out pretty well, I show you those soon. I have found several patterns for the Christmas gifts and will be starting those soon :)

We are just amazed at how much our two kids look alike as infants!

Just look at jaelyn above and jackson below...

JACKSON

JAELYN

JACKSON

JAELYN

Till I can find another hour to devote some uninterrupted blogging time...

Bye for now

Alittle More Breastfeeding

2010-10-01T06:17:00.000-07:00

Thanks again to everyone! You are all SO helpful. All of your wonderful comments have continued to bring up new questions for me, if you don't mind reading on....

Many of you responded sharing that you also fed your babies on just one side per feeding. Here's my question then... if you nurse on the 1st breast at one feeding, and roughly 3 hours later you nurse on the opposite breast... then 3 hours later you're back to the first breast. So do you allow your breasts to go a full 6 hours between every feeding without any stimulation? Do you need to pump during that time to maintain your supply or does your body automatically know how much to produce by the boob's next feeding (6 hours). Wouldn't the body start to think that the baby doesn't need much milk because there is no pumping/feeding for a full 6 hours around the clock? I have done that before and my breasts have still been soft when that 6 hour mark comes around. Am I wrong to think that my breast needs to have a FULL feeling in order to fill my baby's belly? Do I need to pump if she only nurses on one side at each feeding? How many of you have barely touched the pump after your supply was established?

I know I must really sound like I have never breastfed before. This child I am taking a different approach. With Jackson, I pumped before going to bed - in the middle of the night (because he slept thru the night VERY early on) and in the morning. I was able to store four - 5oz. bottles each day (20 oz total). This time around - I am trying to be more regular with breastfeeding and don't want to get that crazy about stashing my freezer. So trying to establish the appropriate amount of milk that my child will take from me - is a new concept.

Now a few of you have advised me to wake her up after 3 hours to feed her, even though she wakes herself up after 4 hours. I understand the reasoning there, but she never ate that close together. Even in the hospital when I tried to wake her - she wouldn't wake up enough to actively nurse. However, when she did wake up - she would be hungry enough to nurse. I have never been fond of waking a sleeping baby if it wasn't necessary. She has surpassed her birth weight by 2 weeks and has about 7-8 stools/wet diapers a day. She literally has a full wet diaper with poo splatters at every diaper change. She also sleeps for one cherished 5 hour stretch at night. Should I really begin to wake her after 3 hours when she has made this progress on her own? My pediatrican didn't bat an eye when I told her Jaelyn goes 4 hours between feedings. But I do value your opinions and views on the matter as I know many of you really know what you're talking about :)

More Breastfeeding and Family Visiting

2010-09-29T20:31:00.000-07:00

I HUGE thank you to all you caring ladies out there who left me your comments on my previous post. I really enjoyed reading them all and was also happy (not to hear of your troubles), but to be confirmed that these specific breastfeeding problems are not just my own.

I feel as though if I had waited 3 more days to write that post, it wouldn't have sounded so negative. All of a sudden, my body got in check. As if over night my boobs got on board with what they are suppose to do (supply wise) and I am a MUCH happier mother because of it. I think because I had breastfed Jackson for 10 months, the freshed memories I hold from that whole experience were from the last few months - when I considered myself a "pro". When all I had to do was put Jax up to the breast and he did the rest. I think there is a reason those early memories of struggles and tears were no longer on the surface of my mind... so I could enter motherhood again with an open mind and not have preconceived notions about the difficulties of breastfeeding a newborn.

I appreciate all your support and thank you for reading through my complaints and questions. Since then, I haven't really needed to pump (at least today was the first day I didn't at all) for expression purposes. The initial latch on is still painful and even more so if I am extra full. But I know that will continue to subside. I want to be careful to not let the supply get low (since I haven't pumped). Jaelyn sleeps a lot during the day still and she usually feeds 4 hours apart during the day. In the evening starting around 7pm, she cluster feeds every 1.5 - 2 hours until midnight. During that time she sleeps in 20-30 min spurts and is awake most of the time. Come 12am or 1am, she has her last feeding of the night and sleeps until 5-6am - she will eat again then fall asleep until 9-10am which then starts her every 4 hour feedings for the day. I read in the handout from her 2 week appt, that she should be feeding about 10 mins EACH breast at each feeding - a total of 20 mins. She does NOT eat that long. She's a sleepy baby and usually falls back asleep after about 10 mins TOTAL. Most of the time I only get her to nurse on 1 side. I try to keep her awake, but she falls asleep while I try to burp her (which usually takes a while). But if I don't get a burp out of her, she spits up BADLY within 15 mins. She is an efficient eater though. In that 10 mins on just 1 breast, she normally softens it really well (can't say it's "emptied" though).

Should I be concerned that she doesn't nurse much longer than 10-15 mins? At her 2 week appt, she had surpassed her birth weight of 6lbs 9oz and weighed in at 7lbs 1oz. That tells me she's doing pretty good.

At only 2 weeks, is it ok that she only nurses at 1 breast during a feeding? In most cases, I am able to get her latched on the other breast after 10 mins. of nursing the 1st side. But can never get more than 3-5 mins of her sucking.

Here are some updated photos for your enjoyment :) Or mine

Jackson loves to rock his baby sister in her chair.

My mom (Deedee to the kids) and Miss. Jaelyn

Uncle Brian and Auntie Emily came for a visit to meet their niece.

Uncle Brian showing Jackson his new sketch pad and crayons.

Calling All Expert Breastfeeding Moms!!

2010-09-27T17:17:00.000-07:00

Jaelyn will be 2 weeks old on Tuesday of this week. Making the adjustment from one kid from two kids has been quite a trip! I had several concerns about how Jackson would react to having a sibling and how he would react to ME dividing my attention between him and another child. The first jealous reaction Jackson had was actually when we were still in the hospital. However, it wasn't towards me - it was towards my husband. Paul was holding Jaelyn and immediately Jackson perked up and ran to him, "Baby Down, Daddy - Baby Down!" Thankfully that was the last we saw of that. Now, he will ask one of us to put the baby down only if he wants something that requires our assistance. Over all, he is adjusting very well. The first time he saw me nursing Jaelyn, he acted concerned. He wasn't quite sure what he was looking at and I explained that Jaelyn gets her milk from mommy, just as Jackson gets his milk from the frig :P He was a little freaked out at the breast pump - but who isn't the first time they see how that works?!? RIGHT?

Nursing has been a difficult task for Jaelyn and I. Jackson and I were slow learners as well, but I don't recall the uncomfortableness lasting this long with him. I guess I wrongly assumed that this time would be easier since I had breastfed one baby already. Sure I knew the positions and how to correctly get her to latch on - but in the end, she's still a different baby and nursing is a learned skill for some. Jaelyn nursed perfectly right after being born. But the next morning was a different story. Because of her jaundice, I attempted to fed her even during her sleepy states just to encourage more poopy/wet diapers. A few things I have learned: 1) Babies in high risk bilirubin levels are even more sleepy than normal newborn babies. 2) Trying to breastfeed a very sleepy baby will tear your nipples apart!!

Needless to say, after 4 days of my good intentions to get more colostrum/milk in her system - my poor boobs were in sad shape. I was prepared for this ahead of time and started wearing nipple shells right away to prevent friction from my bra. That did heal alot! I tried nipple shields and they weren't for me. I was advised to see a lactationist the day after we were released from the hospital. She had concluded that my nipples were so badly damaged that I could no longer tell the difference between a proper and improper latch. From what she saw, Jaelyn was latching on correctly. But I was still in so much pain, didn't help that the swelling made it nearly impossible for her to stay on the breast. The consultant told me to pump and bottlefeed for a few days to allow time for my breasts to heal. So I did that from Friday afternoon to Monday night when I felt I was healed enough to try again. During that time however, I was miserable! I absolutely hated pumping every 3 hours. I was still very swollen so I had to pump each breast one at a time because I needed to do compressions to help express the milk. Come Monday - my body was used to completely emptying my breastmilk every 3 hours. This was a problem because when I started breastfeeding her again - I would be lucky if she was drinking 25%-50% of my supply. Within 30 mins after her feedings, I was painfully full again. This is slowly getting better - but often times I still have to pump out milk either at the end of the feeding (because she didn't take enough to comfortably soften my chest,) or in the beginning of the next feeding to soften it enough to get her latched on. My breasts haven't been completely emptied since those days of pumping and bottlefeeding. So I assumed that my body would get the point by now and stop producing SO MUCH. Maybe all these issues are completely normal and you all are reading this thinking, "Yeah April - THAT's breastfeeding!!" But I just don't remember it being like this with Jackson. I don't recall it taking so long to regulate the appropriate amount of milk to produce.

Am I just extremely impatient?

Do you remember having to express after each feeding (still at 2 weeks) to make yourself comfortable?

Did you ever find yourself pumping off a little before the feedings?

After any initial nipple damage was healed and your baby was latching on appropriately, was the first few mins of nursing still extremely painful? I find that even when I'm not engorged, the first few mins of her proper latch on are painful - like "take my breath away" painful. This does subside and go away after a few mins. My nipples are NOT getting damaged, so I know her latch is correct.

Is your let down painful? I have read that some women don't even know their milk is letting down. I feel my let down all the time, it feels like my boobs are exploding from the inside out! It's even more painful when I am already really FULL -

I am on a prescription for vasospams. Know what that is? Blood constriction of the nipples - the nipples turn white and even blue when the blood can not flow back. Those symptoms of the condition isn't the problem. What's bad is the intense crushing sensation in my nipples. It feels like they are being pinched - OUCH! This comes after each feeding and after I take a shower - any time I feel cold. It's horrible! I dealt with this condition for about 5 weeks with Jackson because I didn't know it wasn't normal. This time I asked for the prescription while still in the hospital. The medicine doesn't stop the constriction or color change, but it does take the pain away... thank goodness something does. When I would breastfeed Jackson at night, I would crawl back into bed with a heating pad on my chest to keep me warm and help the pain.

I am a sad case! I am envious of mother's who are able to easily breastfeed their babies. I am jealous of those babies who just catch on so easily. I wish I was a graceful breastfeeding mom who would confidently nurse my baby whereever I wanted. I still need a third (maybe 4th) arm while I nurse.

I hate that it sounds like I am whining and complaining about these problems. Breastfeeding isn't easy for me!

I would really be encouraged if I could hear your stories. Can you share with me your troubles and how you solved them?

I need to hear that I am not the only mother who has troubles breastfeeding.

Jaelyn's Birth Story

2010-09-23T17:20:00.000-07:00

First off, I would like to congratulate my dear friend Holly, who gave birth to her daughter Lainey Iris yesterday afternoon. I am so excited for her!!

I suppose it's time for me to finally get Jaelyn's birth story down on paper. I haven't had much time for the computer lately, Jackson has been demanding a bit more of my attention since his sister arrived and I am trying to get a new routine to my day. He is alright with me holding her unless he wants something, "baby down" he says and has a hard time waiting for me to finish feeding her. And when I get on the laptop, he says "Mommy down," and tries to close the laptop or goes crazy pushing the buttons on me. Goody! Hence, I haven't gotten this post out in a week and half. This is my second day home alone with the two kids without help. My parents were just a wonderful support the past week, I was very grateful for their help.

As my friend Allison had posted, after my 2pm 39 week appt on Monday, Sept 13th - I was quite discouraged. I was told by my doctor that Jaelyn STILL wasn't engaged in the pelvis and so she wasn't going to strip my membranes again. Dr. K said if she accidently broke my waterbag while stripping, we would be running a risk of the umbillical cord slipping between the head and cervix which would result in immediate C- section. She said she was able to stick her entire index finger thru my cervix and that's how far the baby's head was floating away. My goodness!! So we pretty much assumed that my scheduled induction on Friday would be the day for Jaelyn's birth.

Then around 6pm, I started having contractions. They didn't seem to be anything special because during the past week I would contract in the evenings due to the day's activity. Around 7pm I thought I would start to count them because they were getting stronger and pretty regular. Well, just like Jackson's birth - after my 39 week appt, my contracts were 5 mins apart lasting 1 mins. It only took an hour before they were that close together. I was still doubting myself about whether to call the neighbor and head to the hospital. I knew with being GPS positive, I shouldn't wait long - but was still in the mindset that Friday would be the day because of the way my appt went.

By 8pm, we had taken Jax over to the neighbors house and we were on our way. The contractions were pretty intense at this point. I knew that since I was 4cm at my appt earlier that day, that it wouldn't take long to fully dialate. When we reached the hospital, we had to check in at the maternity ward desk - which took forever! The desk lady kept on answering the phone while trying to hand us all the papers to fill out. She would repeatedly say, "Are you alright, how are you doing?" as I was braced up against the wall heaving thru the contraction while Paul was pushing on my back (yup - more back labor with this delivery too). I wanted to grab the phone from her and hit her over the head with it! Do I look alright??

When the nursed checked me, she said I was 7cm. I had gone from 4cm-7cm in 2.5 hours (6pm-8:30pm). I knew that the quickest part of labor was the transition from 7cm-10cm, so when the nurse told me that the anesthesiologist and on call anesthesiologist wouldn't be available for 20 mins - 1 hr because they were in surgeries - I started to panic. I told the nurse how I had torn during my first delivery (if you haven't read Jackson's birth story - I tore from the top of the vagina all the up to the clitoris... yes, apparently that IS possible!) I told her if I had to push without an epidural and I tore like that again, I would die in the hospital bed. :P Needless to say, the anesthesiologist took it upon himself to call in a 3rd dr. who came from home to administer my epidural. I ended up getting it at 9cm. Those contractions were so heavy, I had my epidural during jackson's labor at 4cm... so I hadn't experienced those intense ones before.

I started to feel a bit more of the baby decending and was getting worried that the meds wouldn't hold out until after I pushed. My doctor came in at 11:50pm to break my water and with 3 contractions had delivered Jaelyn at exactly 12am Sept. 14th. She weighed in 6 lbs 9oz, 20 inches long. I had definitely felt a whole lot more of the pushing than I had with Jackson. And low and behold - I tore the same way again! Literally, right along the same path. Thankfully the tearing wasn't as severe as before so I didn't require as many stitches, but it still took her about 25 mins. I had started to feel the stitching, so she injected me with a local anesthetic - ouch! That area is super sensitive because of all the nerve ending collected in the clitoris. I just crinch everytime I think about that.

Because I only had 1 dose of the antibiotic for GPS - Jaelyn was placed on a 48 hour vital watch, just like Jackson was. She also had blood taken from her hand for a culture to see if the bacteria had been transfered to her during delivery. Thank goodness that came back negative. I felt terrible for her though because not only did she get the Vitamin K shot and Hep A (or B?) shot, she was also poked in the heel a number of times to check her bilirubin count. Poor thing didn't go a day without getting pricked at least twice.

I was extremely surprised that my bottom wasn't nearly as swollen as it was with Jackson's delivery. That had been my only experience so I assumed that every delivery would be like that. But this

time I up walking the same day. As the swelling did go down, I felt less of the stitching too. I remember feeling those pull everytime I moved after I had Jax. So over all, my recovery with the first pregnancy was worse than the actually delivery... this time, the delivery was more painful but the recovery was alot easier for me.

Jaelyn was awake for 3 hours after her delivery and nursed perfectly! Here I thought that she was an automatic pro at breastfeeding, but that turned out to be false :) More on that later because I need your advice on a few things! I was admitted into the hospital on Monday evening, but because I had her on Tuesday at 12am, Tuesday was considered our delivery date - so we were in the hospital until Thursday afternoon. The food wasn't great, but my husband and I were thrilled to watch cable in the evenings during our stay. HA!

I will share more on how our time has been since bringing Jaelyn home in the next post. Thanks for reading!!

Wow - it feels good to be home!

2010-09-19T15:48:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much to my friend Allison who stepped in to keep everyone updated while I away. I appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers for our family. This past week has been a whirl wind and this is finally the first opportunity to write on my blog. I was so thankful to get a 3 hour nap today, which is the longest stretch of sleep I have gotten since Sunday night last week.

I plan to share Jaelyn's birth story in the posts to follow. But for now I am happy to share that she was taken off of the bili-bed today which she has been on since Wednesday night. That cursed bed has made it hard for her to sleep at night because we can't swaddle her - we all know how newborns LOVE to be swaddled (and I am a huge fan of it too!) The bilirubin still has her sleeping most of the day, although she seems to have trouble sleeping at night (hence the less than 3 hour sleep stretches for me and my husband).

My parents have been here since we came home from the hospital. They have been a God sent to help out so much, mainly with Jackson. He has gotten so much Deedee and Papa time and just eats up the attention. My mom will be here until Tuesday night, so that means Wed. will the first day on the job for me - a stay at home mother of TWO. Jackson seems to be getting more interested in Jaelyn with each day, although for the most part he is quite indifferent. When he has someone to play with him all day long, what's so interesting about a sleeping baby, right? ;)

Nursing has been a huge hurdle for miss Jae and I. I have been through this difficult time with Jackson once already when he was born and I was hoping that Jaelyn and I would catch on faster. Unfortunately that isn't the case. Currently, I am expressing every 3 hours and bottle feeding her. My nipples were so damaged from 4 days of improper latching, that even when she does properly latch - the pain is still so great that I can't tell the difference. I wasn't too keen on bottle feeding a 5 day old baby running a risk of her not breast feeding again, but when the lactationist explained that she will mostly likely go back to the breast without problem and in order to solve our latch on problems - I need healed nipples... I really don't have a choice. They are healing now however I don't like taking twice as long to first - express and second - feeding her the bottle. But she's taking about 2-2.5 oz. every 3-4 hours and she is gaining weight really nicely so I can't complain when the plan is working. :)

I will be back soon to share more pictures. Thanks again for your thoughts and lovely comments.

They're Home!

2010-09-16T15:23:00.000-07:00

I think I will sign off now as guest blogger! April posted this around 3:30pm today on Facebook:

We are able to go home today. Jaelyn's bilirubin is coming down, but they still sent us home with the bili-bed. Unfortuantely that means when she isn't eating, she needs to be on that light bed - so no snuggle time :( She seems happy enough and still sleeps alot because of her jaundice. Hopefully her blood test tomorrow will tell us she doesn't need the lights anymore!

Dealin' with the Jaundice

2010-09-15T19:39:00.001-07:00

Posted by April on Facebook at 9:00pm this evening:

Poor jaelyn is in high risk category of bilirubin. She is in the lightbed tonight and maybe staying another day at Children's hospital if her count continues to rise. Apparently her blood and my blood are not "mixing" that well, which makes her jaundice worse. Sadly, she is poked alot these 2 days.

Good Morning!

2010-09-15T10:10:00.001-07:00

Posted by April on Facebook this morning:

First Family Pics

2010-09-14T20:29:00.000-07:00

It's still Allison, taking over April's blog for the time being. I snagged these photos off of Facebook from April's mom. What a beautiful family!

She's Here!

2010-09-14T06:12:00.000-07:00

Good morning everyone! This is Allison, a friend of April's. I have wonderful news! Jaelyn Kathryn was born this morning at 12:00am, weighing 6 lbs 9oz.and measuring 20 inches long!

Just 15 hours ago, April posted this on Facebook after her 39 week appointment:

Totally disappointed. I am a miserable 4cm and Jaelyn is STILL not engaged! How is that possible?!? Nothing will happen until I am induced on Friday. It's going to be a long week and my poor family has to put up with my crabby self pity until then.

Then just a few hours later, April posted this: (around 10:30pm on 9/13)

Jaelyn likes to pull fast ones on her mommy.... just got my epidural and am ready to meet my little girly. Won't be long now!

And at 12:00am on 9/14/10, this beautiful little girl was born!

I don't have any other details at this point, but will continue to update until April can take over. Congratulations to April, Paul, and big brother Jax!

38 week discouragement

2010-09-08T12:37:00.000-07:00

Describe myself right now?

Sour Puss!

Just had my 38 week appt and I had several "fanasties" doing into this appointment. Aside from being terrified about having my membranes stripped - I had envisioned my doctor accidentally breaking my water while stripping and sending me right upstairs to L and D. I had everything all packed at home, secretly hoping I would have to call my husband and have him bring everything up to the hospital.

What a let down!

I have dialated from 2/3 cms last week to now a full 3 cm. But she is still at a station of -2! How can a baby who has been head down since 30 weeks not be engaged yet?? Because she wasn't engaged, the stripping wasn't as successful. When the head is snuggly fitting in the cervix, my dr is able to "run" her finger along the inside of the cervix to separate it from the waterbag and baby's head. If the head isn't engaged, then it begins to float away from the cervix as she presses her fingers there - leaving very little for counter pressure to be a successful stripping. Her fingers came out mucousy, but not bloody like I had expected them to. What a bummer! It still hurt like the devil - and all for nothing!

She basically told me in so many nicer words that this probably wouldn't be enough for my body to respond to. She said that once Jaelyn's head is engaged, it wouldn't take long. She explained Jaelyn's head most likely hasn't engaged yet because I have experience many real- labor inducing contractions yet. Honestly - the first I felt of those was just last night. I have had my fair share of the useless, waste of time braxton hick contractions - but those do nothing for me. Of course my water bag is really thick (like it was with Jax) so I can't really count on that breaking on its own either.

So, from here - I have my 39 week on Monday. If her head is engaged - I will choose to have her strip me again. I would like my body to naturally start labor on its own. If she's not engaged by then, forget the stripping. It's too painful if it just isn't going to be effective. Either way - if all else fails, I have an induction scheduled for Friday Sept. 17th at 7am. I would really really like to believe I won't be pregnant for another 10 days... it's just too long!! I need to grab on to the hope that my body can do it on its own - sometime before then!

37 weeks pregnant with Jaelyn

taken after Jackson's 2nd birthday party.

If I were to post an updated photo - you would see the sour puss on my face :P

37 weeks and thoughts

2010-09-02T18:11:00.000-07:00

37 weeks 4 days *sigh*

One word: uncomfortable

My appointment went well today.
2-3 cm dialated
70% effaced
-2 station

So she isn't engaged yet, and hasn't moved down since last week. I have gained a pound and half since last week, probably all of the tootsie rolls I have been snacking on. I bought a huge variety bag from Sams Club to fill Jax's pinata - and I shouldn't have opened it already :P

I tested positive again for GBS. No surprise there, I figured I would. Basically that means that I need to be at the hospital within 30-45 mins if my water breaks OR need to be there early enough during active labor to get 2 doses (4 hours apart) of antibiotics to prevent transmission to the baby. Well, with Jackson - I only received 1 full dose and they started the 2nd dose early because I was already 9cm by then.

With him:
5pm - started contractions after being stripped for the 2nd time at my 39 week appt.
8pm - omitted into the hospital
1am - delivered Jax

So my labor and delivery was pretty fast. I pushed for only 40 mins and that was delayed because my doctor wasn't there yet. I have concerns this time around because my doctor said that second deliveries almost always go much faster. How am I suppose to get to hospital with at least 4-5 hours of laboring time to ensure I get the 2 full doses of antibiotics... if this delivery is going to go faster than my first? I am worried that I won't have enough time to administer the antibiotics. Basically - if I even THINK that I am in labor - I need to get in the car. At 38 weeks with Jackson, when I was stripped the 1st time I went into laboring contractions 2 days later. I went to the hospital to be checked out, spent 3 hours there before being sent home. While it was a pain (and truthfully sad to be sent home) - I can't take the chance this time to either "wait it out at home" to determine if the contractions are the real deal or not.

I am such a planner, list writer, note taker, list REwriter.... having every detail of this event completely at random and not planned ahead .... drives me crazy! I know that in the moment, I go with the flow very well. But it's all the time proceeding that moment where I drive myself nuts making up scernarios just so I can "create a solution" for them and make myself feel like I have a good handle on things.

*sigh*

She'll be here soon.

I am struggling a little bit with knowing that the time is fast approaching when I will say goodbye to my son, kiss his lips and tell him mommy will be home soon. I will climb into the passenger seat of my car, heaving through contractions - thinking that it will be the last time I was with my son - just us 2. I will soon be bringing home a baby and no longer be able to give him my 200% attention. That makes me kinda sad. I have been taking extra long hugs, extra long looks at him lately. He's my little boy, all I have ever known of being a mother. Soon our time will all change and life will be hectic for a while, but I hope that he will know just how much I love him and that my love will never change.

Updates, Projects and 36 week check up

2010-08-27T17:53:00.000-07:00

Wow, I feel like I have seriously fallen out of BlogLand! My life has been so hectic trying to tie up all the loose ends before Jaelyn makes her arrival. I still have an extensive "grocery / to do list" to accomplish. I am able to cross a few tasks off, only to tack a few more on. It's never ending really!

We are going to be throwing Jackson's 2nd birthday party a month early because we really want him to have the party he deserves. I was afraid that by holding a party on his birthday, having a brand new baby girl in the house - everyone would be so interested in meeting her for the first time, that Jackson wouldn't get the attention he should on his birthday. Not to mention that last year, 4 out of the 5 little kids had terrible colds (end of October) and I don't want to expose a 4 week old baby to all of that. So I have begun planning Jax's 2nd birthday, the theme will be "Trains". I certainly won't be taking it to the level as I did for his 1st birthday, so I still have plenty of things to gather and plan.

I had my 36 week check up today. First exam and I was quite thrilled to see the progress I have made already.

1-2 cm dialated

60% effaced
Position -2

Way more progress than I expected. At the same time, I have this inkling that I will be at this stage for about 3 weeks :P But to try my best so that doesn't happen, I plan to be sitting/bouncing on the ball a lot in the next few weeks and continue our evening walks around the block. I haven't gained anymore weight since my 34 week appt (which is perfectly alright by me). Baby's HR = 150s.

Here are a few things that I have been working on. I made a few flower clips (for myself) by burning the edges of chiffon and organza fabric. I literally searched the clearance/discount table at Joann's and grabbed a bunch of different colors. I ended up getting roughly 4" from each color at $0.22 a strip. I spent a total of $2.10 and have been making beautiful flowers for bobby pins and headbands.

I also have started to make a few props for a friend of mine who has her own photography business. I have been making a few different crochet hats for newborn/infant photos. I am about to start on a stork/cocoon sling that you can place the baby in and gently hang for an adorable photo opt. Visit this Etsy site to see the creations I plan to make. I purchased 3 patterns from the seller at $9 total.

We had a wonderful visit last weekend. My good friend Allison and her family came up to spend part of the weekend at our house. It's so fun seeing how the kids interact with each other as time goes by. I also love posting older photos of them all together!

This Past weekend - Summer 2010

New Year's Eve 2009

2009 - March

And just to add a few of my darling little man who will soon be a big brother....

Project Nursery - COMPLETE!

2010-08-13T16:00:00.000-07:00

Peek a Boo! 33 week pregnant with Jaelyn (left) 33 weeks pregnant with Jackson (right). You can see I am carrying more forward, maybe just because I show faster with this second pregnancy. Maybe that is the culprit of these awful stretch marks! Yes ladies - I have been marked! I have a few nasty ones on the underside of my belly below the belly button. Not cool!

I am definitely a bit meatier in the arms and face this time around. And curse this devilish humidity, otherwise I would have a nice dark tan like I did with Jackson.

-------------------------------------------------------------

And now... PROJECT NURSERY shows its completion!

We ordered the changing table/dresser unit from Walmart.com (free shipping to home). I used this tutorial to handsew the raspberry colored minkie changing pad cover.

I bought these three baskets from JoAnn Fabrics at a 50% off sale. Then used the same concept from the changing pad cover tutorial to create the sage green basket liners. One for socks, one for hats, one for diapers.

Does this piece look familiar? I had purchased this shelving unit from Michael's when I put together Jackson's nursery and initially used it as a place to nurse in the rocking chair (it is now his book shelf). So I treked myself back to the store (50% off coupon in hand) and purchased another one. Took me three coats of white acrylic paint to cover the unfinished wood. I didn't want to purchase new paint, so I just put up with the numerous coats. Then I lined the shelves with scrapbook paper and Mod Podged them.

I ordered fabric from Fabric.com (thanks Paige for the suggestion) and created this valance from scratch. I purchased the curtains from walmart because I truly believe that having heavy darker drapes helps babies/toddlers sleep longer for naps as it keeps more light out. (We do have honeycomb double fabric blinds, but it wasn't enough for light concealment.)

We installed these floating shelves on both sides of the window. $10 from Target, you get what you pay for - one of the anchors broke into pieces as we screwed it into the wall - had to hammer it in. Oh well, they look pretty good.

Jaelyn's wood letters were nailed above her crib.

This isn't a great photo of the bed skirt, but I sewed that as well. I used the valance fabric to tie the pieces together. I am waiting on her mattress from Babies R Us, had to order it. I also have a breathable bumper from Walmart and I used the same tutorial for the changing pad cover to sew a fitted crib sheet. $4 of 2 yrds cotton fabric + $4 worth of elastic - $8 total. Try to find a fitted crib sheet in the stores for $8!

Jaelyn's bow holder with all my little creations hanging.

And 3 square paintings I did with acrylic paint. The wall above the changing table still needs something, probably another painting - but I'm ok with a blank wall for now :)

Hope you like the room as much as I do!!

34 week update

2010-08-12T14:05:00.000-07:00

How far? 34 weeks and a couple of days :P

Weight Gain? A whopping 21 lbs already!! That was my total weight gain with Jackson's pregnancy, guess I am surpassing that one with 6 more weeks to go!

How am I feeling? Decently well. I still sleep pretty well but get fairly tired during the day. Especially with Jackson being cooped in the house all day. The humidity is unbearable here with a steady 92 degrees. It just isn't practical to be outside playing, even in the kiddie pool in this heat.

Labor Signs? Still having several Braxton Hicks each day. Nothing painful, although I am getting a bit of dull back pain when they occur.

Doctor says that Jaelyn is still head down (as been since 30 weeks), so measuring 33 cms at 34 weeks could be explained by her having dropped down a little. I carried Jax at -1 for the last month (thanks to the exercise ball) and wouldn't mind that again :) Made pushing during delivery go faster.

Last week Jackson was struck with Roseola. We didn't know that was the fever culprit until the 103 fever broke after 3.5 days and that terrible rash delevoped all over his body. The fever subsided on Thursday morning and we kept with our original plans to have him visit my parents for a few nights. This sickness effected him the most out of anything he's encountered so far. He was all out of sorts for quite along time after the rash started to dissipate. He was extremely needy, short tempered and demanding, didn't know what he wanted and fussed repeatedly (all of this began after the fever passed). My parents were a huge help in returning to me the little boy I used to know. It was a trying week last week. Now he has another Eye Tooth coming in and that has brought forth a truck load of diarreah that won't quit! I would love to take him to the local outdoor pool - but not with that I won't! Hopefully that will eleviate soon. Until then - no milk (which he's been off for over a week now anyways), no raw fruits (his favorite), no yogurt (another favorite) and just pounding as much Pedialyte as he will tolerate. Poor little man really wants his milk back!

We are going to finally get all of the wall decor up in the nursery tonight so I can NOT wait to post Jaelyn's finished room. I am just waiting on the her crib mattress which I had to order from Babies R Us. I have all the other projects finished!! I believe I have exhausted my sewing machine :)

Stay tuned, can't wait to show you!!

2010-07-30T12:20:00.000-07:00

Most of you know that we had to change our home office into the nursery. We have a three bedroom house with no finished basement at this time and it was more inportant to us that the children have their own rooms, than it was for us to have a full on office space. So in making the room, we have taken down our main computer in the house. A few months back, we got rid of Time Warner Cable's cable service. We couldn't justify spending $70+ a month on cable that we hardly watched. All of the main broadcasted channels are free over the airways (and are in HD with an HD antenna). Plus, with television access to Netflix and so many channels airing their shows online (and lets not forget HuLu)... what's the point of having cable?

We have mounted our 32 in flat screen above the fireplace and hidden the cords within the wall. Paul then set us up with Windows Media Center, an interactive database of all the broadcasted AND online shows nicely put together in one program system. The cost to set this program up (a video card for your computer) was about $200. When saving $70 a month on a cable bill - it was paid off in a matter of three months! We can watch the normal main channels (ABC< CBS< FOX etc.) in HD, along with the online shows of HBO and HuLu, listen to the radio, play DVDs and access our Netflix from this program.

Now, since our computer was taken down from the office, Paul went a step further to hook up our PCs out in the living room as well... and we use the 32 inch flat screen tv as our monitor for the computers. We are able to easily switch from his PC to mine with a click of a button. We can also watch the BluRays from the player and allow Jax to use his V-Tech video system from the tv as well. I do prefer to use the laptop (and wirelessly remote to my PC through our network system) to do my blogging/surfing because sitting back on the couch with a wireless keyboard and mouse puts me too far away from the screen to see as clearly as I would like.

Anyways.....

Here are the latest projects I have been working on:

Unfinished wooden stool from JoAnns - 40% off $14.99

Two coats of white spray paint

medium pink acrylic paint

scrapbook paper for the flower

Mod Podge to adhere

Polyurathane/Varnish to finish, protect and add gloss

Three frames that were chipped and on clearance for $1.50 each! Great find from my mother in law. I spray painted them all white then decided to only use 2 of them (will show them finished later).

I had this basket (sans fabric) in the bathroom holding guest towel. I took a large scrap of the left over fabric I used for Jaelyn's window treatments/ bedding to make an elastic lining for the basket. This will go in her room as well. Wait until I show you what I put in the bathroom - it place of the basket!!

Here's my monkey man! Please excuse the complete misuse of White Balance and the horrendous flash effect. Sometimes you just don't have the time to change the settings on the camera when you're literally RUNNING after a toddler to get a photo of his silliness!

Problem Solved... hopefully!

2010-07-27T15:42:00.000-07:00

Or at least I am crossing my fingers! You remember my previous compliant about how many asian character comments I receive on my posts? It was getting ridiculous! About 1/3 of all my comments were unreadable foreign characters.

A few days ago, one of my husband's accounts was shut down by the company due to "unusual activity", which basically means it was hacked into. Then yesterday, my email was hijacked! A large portion of my contacts had received spam from me with possible viral links. This was actually semi good news to my husband because it made him figure out the problem. My laptop (which I have only started using regularly because of dismantling our office/computer room for the nursery) had a trojan or key logger virus installed by a hacker. So all my accounts were in jeopardy. Paul said that could also be the reason why I was receiving so many "spam / asian character" comments. So, he wiped the laptop clean and reinstalled our software - including anti virus protection. I spent about 2 hours last night changing ALL of my passwords to my accounts. So, hopefully - my problem is solved :)

Can't wait to show you Jaelyn's room soon. It's slowly coming together, and I have still been hard at work with all my project.

31 week update

2010-07-22T20:09:00.000-07:00

I have been out of town since Sunday morning, so I apologize if I haven't made it around to your blogs lately - but I plan to spend some time doing that tonight and tomorrow. Here's a little update:

How Far: 31 weeks 5 days, still measuring 1 week ahead

Weight Gain: As of my appt. last week Friday, I have gained 17 lbs. When I was pregnant with Jackson, I gained a total of 23 lbs. Ideally, I would like to stay within that range this time too. After deliverying him, I had lost 17 lbs. the first week and the remaining 6 lbs within the following 3 weeks. I then lost an additional 15 lbs over the next 6 months (thanks to breastfeeding) Gotta love burnin 500 calories a day just for nursing your baby! I don't anticipate having that same luck after having Jaelyn, but I won't lie - it would be nice ;)

Labor Signs: Like I have posted before, I have been having frequent Braxton Hicks contractions. As many as 6-8+ a day. The tighting isn't painful, but for some reason they are much more uncomfortable than I remember before. It must have to do with the way she is positioned. My tail bone still is causing the same pain everytime I sit and stand. I think I am just stubborn with myself by not seeing a PT about it. I just hope that it doesn't cause "pushing" issues when it comes to the way I have to position myself. And I really hope they go away AFTER delivering. I remember needing to sit alittle more on my tailbone after having Jax because of my extensive reconstructive work down there - so sitting directly on the perinieum was unthinkable. So if history repeats itself, I will be in trouble because this time I can't sit back on the tailbone either - I have no other options for sitting.... I sat on that doughnut ring for 3 weeks after delivering last time. Not Fun!!

I have also been feeling alot more stretching in my pelvis already. That pulling "sensation" comes on suddenly and only lasts for a few moment, but it's quite intense at times. At 30 weeks Jaelyn is already head down, let's hope she stays there!

The home office/spare room is almost all cleared out. We will be able to start on the nursery real soon. The crib and dresser/changing table unit were delivered last week and are now waiting to be assembled. I hope to have the room painted this weekend. Once that is done - the rest will come together nicely. Clearing out the closet of all of Paul's electronic devices, cabling, computer parts will be the time consuming part.

Project #8 - Nursing Cover / Nursing in Public

2010-07-16T19:36:00.000-07:00

My next project was the nursing cover. I followed this tutorial, very simple instructions by the way, and it turned out great, but this was a whole new concept for me.

With Jackson, I never nursed in public. I was never comfortable breastfeeding where others would see me. A big reason for this was because I never became a "graceful nurser". I always felt clumsy when I "pulled it out" and put him to my breast. Plus, when I was at home with my husband I would never wear anything that would conceal the feeding. So attempting to fumble around beneath a cloth just didn't appeal to me. So, never the less - I would also bring an expressed bottle if we in public, or would excuse myself to an empty room if we were at someone else's house.

I began thinking lately about how it always seemed to take me an hour and half just to get ready to leave the house, no matter where I was going. When Jax was an infant, my preparation for a trip out would begin with breastfeeding him at home, then taking another 30+ mins to hand pump for a full bottle to take along. Then I had to restock the diaper bag with fresh burp cloths, bibs, diapers etc. Then I would change him and finally we would leave the house. So this lead me to think - is it really going to be like that again with our daughter? Only this time - I will have an impatient toddler begging for us to JUST LEAVE ALREADY!

When I wasn't feeding or holding Jackson (infancy again here), it was an opportunity for me to pump and store milk. Whether that milk would be used for a trip out of the house, to be used with cereal/baby food or just stored in the freezer, it didn't matter. I spent way too much time HAND pumping with my son. Remember this photo?

My reasoning behind that was I wanted my milk to carry him along until he could take whole milk. I didn't want to first breastfeed, then convert to formula, and finally transition to whole milk. But I had never breastfed before and I didn't know how long I would handle doing it or how long my supple would last. So I pumped as much as possible while I knew my supply was good and strong.

Well, this time I am armed with a good 10 months of experience. I had conquered the initial 2 weeks of cracked and bleeding nipples, lots of tears from feelings of failed mothering and countless clogged ducts included one bout with mastitis. So this time I know what I am capable of. I was thankful that I had pumped and stored all that milk, but I also realize now that I don't need to be that obsessive about it. With this new baby, I don't want to take EVERY opportunity I have to pump and store - rather I want to take EVERY opportunity I have to play with my son.

And so comes the need for - the nursing cover. I feel as though I will be more comfortable to nurse in public this time around. This way I won't have to spend so much time pumping for a bottle just to leave the house. Don't get me wrong - I will still be pumping and storing, just not to the extent as I did with my son.

Then I took a little bit fo the extra fabric and make a newborn head band.

She Has A Name...

2010-07-13T20:05:00.000-07:00

That's right. We have had a name picked out for a while (as many of you pieced together on my Wooden Letters project. I came across this name in a baby name book and really liked it. It wasn't at all what I thought I was looking for, so I was quite surprised at how much the name stuck out to me. I like girl names that start and/or end with A, L and have Y instead of I in the spelling. But once I saw this one, I pretty much stopped searching further.

I have been reluctant to share her name because of its sense of permnant-ness once everyone knows. I do feel pretty confident that her name won't be changed, but we didn't decided Jackson's name until I needed to fill out the birth certificate after delivering. I suppose I wanted to hold onto a "little surprise" at his birth. Since we already knew he was a boy, I still wanted to have a moment to look at his little face and see which name fit him best. With this pregnancy, we don't even have another name still in the running.

Jaelyn will have her paternal grandmother's name - for her middle name. We honored my little brother by naming our son Jackson Adam, and so it was only fitting to honor another family member when naming Jaelyn.

I also thought that by sharing her name here on my blog, I may actually begin to use her name before she arrives. It's a different feeling to hear myself USE her name already, before she's even here. I still call her "Baby Girl" and refer to her as "our daughter", rather than call her Jaelyn. Possibly that's because I never had a name to call Jackson before he was born. Regardless, I think it might be good for Jax to get acquainted with her name before she comes - maybe that will help him a tiny little bit as we attempt to prepare him.

Project #7 - Toddler Dress

2010-07-09T10:48:00.000-07:00

I was a bit nervous when I was creating this dress. It was my first time following a cut out pattern and I just couldn't visualize the end product. But I think it turned out adorabley and she will be able to wear it next summer at 9-12 mos. I have picked out another fabric to make one more just like it. I will probably incorperate a ribbon border at the bottom instead of the flower pin.

Here is a shot of my two favorite boys in the whole world!

Thank you to everyone who left me encouraging comments on my last post. I am still nervous about how he will adjust. My trend of life seems to be "over worry and I am always pleasantly surprised when things go better than I anticipated." I just love this little man with all my heart and I don't want him to feel "replaced" or "rejected" even for a minute.

But my sister in law said the most meaningful thing to me,

that the best gift a parent can give their child, is a sibling.

PS. anyone else constantly getting comments with the asian letter/characters? I thought the word verification weeded out those annoying comments!

Balancing Act

2010-07-07T20:17:00.000-07:00

As I am about to venture within the remaining 10 weeks of my pregnancy, I have become consumed with thoughts about my son. It really worries me to think about how he will react to the new baby. He will point to my belly when I ask him, "Where is your baby sister?". He will even want to kiss my belly sometimes. But he can't possibley understand the inevitable truth about what it means when baby comes out.

For almost 2 years, he has been my only child. Attending to him and raising him has been the only job description I have held since he was born. That is all he knows of how this mother/child relationship works. He has my full on sole attention throughout the day. When he asks for my help, he needn't wait more than a few minutes until I complete my task at hand. He is used to being the only occupant of my lap. The relationship and trust that has been established means everything to him AND I.

How is that going to change when I bring home our daughter?

From his point of view, he will say goodbye to mommy and daddy for a day or two and they will come back with a little noisy, attention hogging baby. Another child. Another little being that will be sharing mommy's lap. Will he resent me? Will he demand ALL of my attention? Will he be completely indifferent? My biggest fear is the first reaction. When he stays by his grandparents for a few days, it takes him a while to be affectionate with me again. He will greet me upon pick up, but than continue on playing as if I weren't there at all. If he begins to resent me for bring home a baby sister, and turns from me only to land within his father's arms - I will be heart broken. Thankful that he finds trust and comfort in his daddy, but saddened that he won't want anything to do with me. How long will that take to go away? We will have family here to help make the initial transition smoother - by giving him the same amount of attention that he is used to receiving (if only as a distraction at first to the new baby). They will also attend to the baby in ways they can, so that I can have free time to play with Jax. But when everyone leaves and it's just him, me and baby sister - will he feel adjusted yet? He will have to learn to wait a whole lot longer for my one on one attention. How do I keep it fair to him and have the baby "wait" while I am busy with him?

Demanding my sole attention and rejecting the baby's presence will be just as hard to deal with. Jackson will be just shy of 2, not yet in control of all his body movements - how hard and rough he can be. He knows what "nice touches and gentle means" but babies are extra sensitive. How do I handle nursing the baby when he wants to sit on my lap? Will I be constantly saying, "You can't sit here now, sweetheart. I have to feed your baby sister, we will play after she's all done." Will he feel like I am constantly rejecting him? Already he is being forced to give up over half his time with me and I couldn't bare to think that I would make him feel even more rejected.
From my point of view, I will be saying goodbye to my son on the eve of delivery after spending all my waking moments with only him - and bring back another child who demands all of my attention in a different way - but the only thing that will give, is my time with my son.

Have any of you had this obsessing thought before your second child arrived? I have been reading up on ways to help "prepare" the older sibling and help get them adjusted easily. But in the end - all those suggestions are for older children (3+) There is little references out there for the older siblings who are only 2.

Please give me your encouraging thoughts and experiences on this topic. I could use some good thoughts!

Project #6 Baby Booties

2010-07-05T12:52:00.000-07:00

I made these booties a couple of nights ago from a pattern in a book I purchased. I was not entirely thrilled with the way they turned out. They are definitely cute, but the shape of the toes are a bit non symmetrical. Kinda looks like two left shoes to me :) Also, because of that... the buttons appear to be on the wrong sides because of the orientation of the shoes. I just am not skilled enough sewing in tight curves with such small pieces. All the projects I have done so far have been made of strictly straight lines, so this was a challenge. I will probably only have the patience to make one more pair. These are 0-3 mos, and the new ones will be 3-9 mos.

I have been making alot of these flowers (like the ones from mobile). I have turned them into hair clips and brooches. You can follow Heather Bailey's tutorial here.

29 weeks along

2010-07-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

How far along? 29 weeks PHEW! Chugga Chugga. At 28w 3d I measured at 29 weeks. SO I am still measuring a bit ahead. Due date is still Sept. 20th.

Total weight gain/loss: 15 lbs. gained at this point. Almost exactly the weight I gained with Jax at 28 weeks. Although, I was 5 lbs. heavier to start with his pregnancy.

Maternity clothes? Definitely. I wear Paul's t shirts to bed because I don't like the feeling of tight tanktops while sleeping. I wear either normal shorts/capris that have a drawstrip or elastic waist (although the thighs are getting tighter now :P) But wear maternity clothes the rest of the time.

Stretch marks? Nothing new yet. I used "Revitol" with Jackson and only get 2 tiny marks on my side at the 37 weeks mark. I noticed that I got a few more stretch marks AFTER having Jax because I lost the weight SO fast. This pregnancy I haven't bought any Revitol yet, but need to!

Best moment this week? I just enjoy feeling her move around. It felt like she was trying to come out my belly button earlier today :P

Gender: GIRLY GIRL! Yes, we have chosen a name, but will wait to share it for a little while yet.

Labor Signs: Braxton Hicks come and go. For a week, I will feel them about twice day, then nothing for a few days straight - repeat. I can feel her sitting lower in my belly, which is evident between my 23week and 29weeks photos.

Belly Button in or out? Half out

What I miss:
Not having to hold my breath when I bend over to pick up something.
Not having to remember to take acid reducer meds before a risky meal (heart burn issues).
Not having siactic nerve spams...
Not having excurciating tail bone pain everytime I sit down and stand up. May see a PT about it...

What I am looking forward to: Completing the nursery.
Done:
curtains
bed skirt
crib mobile
various wall decor

To do:
Paint the walls
Order crib
order dresser/changing table unit
order bumper
purchase fitted crib sheets
a million other non nursery related, BUT baby related things...

Project #5 - Recycling an old Crib Mobile

2010-06-30T08:16:00.000-07:00

I created This Mobile...

From This One!!

That's right - I recycled Jackson's crib mobile!

I took apart Jax's old crib mobile and looked at how the canopy was sewn together. I rolled up my sleeves and designed my own for our baby girl using the hardware from his. Thanks to Paige for tipping me off to Fabric.com. I found some fabric I liked and ordered enough for making curtains, a bed skirt and this mobile. I have some left over too for small projects... all for less than $40! I will be purchasing a couple fitted crib sheets and the breathable bumper from Walmart.com. When all is said and done, I will have spent about $80 on her whole bedding and window treatment set. Compare that to Jackson's store bought $150 set.

HA! Oh how we learn with our second child :)

Here's how I did it! It took some time and patience, but was pretty simple.

First I looked at how the old one was put together.

1 piece of fabric at 11x11

4 folded flap sides at 11x6

4 corner triangle pieces to support the canopy arms

I wanted to add a little flair to the folded flaps on the sides, so I purchased this ruffled ribbon. I cut them to the same length of the side pieces.

Using Crafter's Pick Fabric Glue...

I draw a line down the center of the ribbon and attached it to the unfolded flap piece. I placed it about 2/3 the way down the piece because I will need to fold it before attaching it to my 11x11 square.

I did that to all 4 flaps.

Then, I pinned the 6" sides to give the flap pieces a finished edge and hide the end of the ribbon.

Once the edges were sewn, I then folded the flap leaving more green fabric to one side to allow for a 1/4 seam allowance.

Then I placed it face down on top of the 11x11 square (like sides together).

And pinned on all 4 finished ribbon sewn folded flaps.

Remember that corner piece to support the canopy arms?

Here's how you do it. Cut out 4 squares roughly 3.5"x3.5".

Fold them in half to form a triangle and pin the open sides to the corner of the 11x11 square. This pieces NEEDS to be places on TOP of the flaps.

Here, al the corners are pinned.

SPECIAL NOTE: I forgot this step at this point so I had to improvise later. *Now is also the time you would attach the strings to your dangling mobile pieces. Insert the string between the corner triangles and the 11x11 square.

Here are my dangling flowers. I used Heather Bailey's tutorial to make these adorable fabric ruffled flowers. I made 6 flowers. 5 to dangle (1 being larger for the center) and 1 for the music box.

On the back of the flowers, I used fabric glue to attach a strip of felt. Allow this to dry for a few minutes.

Then I knotted my string through the felt strip.

Then I cut out a circle from the same felt and cut a tiny hole in the center. I wanted to cover the strip of felt with a more pleasing circular patch.

Then I glued this down. See how that looks more like the back of a flower?

Here's my dandling flower. Repeat this for all your flowers (except the 6th one for the music box)

*These are the strings that you will insert between the corner triangles and the square 11x11 piece.

This is your mobile after you have sewn the corners (imagine the dangling pieces are sewn in too)

Turned right side out

The underside:

Now sew in a button hole, or using your zigzag stitch to create the hole for the top of the canopy holder.

I used the zigzag technique, so I had to do was carefully cut the fabric between the sewn lines.

THen I cut a separate long (40 " x 5") piece of fabric to cover the stem of the mobile. I pinned the ends and stitched a finished edge. Then folded the piece like a skinner hotdog and stitched all the way down.

Flipped it right side out and this will ruffle to cover your stem completely.

Covering the music box. I cut out a felt circle the size of my music box face. I hot glued that one to cover the moon completely.

Then I hot glued my last flower to the over the felt circle. That's finished!

Then I attached the all the hardware back together and set up my baby girl's mobile!

Her view.... (alittle dark, sorry!)

Project #4 Bow Holder

2010-06-29T18:04:00.000-07:00

No Secret - I am all about the bows for this little girl! I saw a bow holder at Hobby Lobby that was made up of a wooden base in the shape of the bodice from a dress. Tulling was attached to take the shape of the skirt and bold ribbon came over the top where you would clip on your bows. Very cute - wasn't going to spend $30 on it though. SO I made a simpler one and painted it the room colors.

Mod Podge Summer Shoes

2010-06-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I spent naptime creating these fun slip ons...

From this....

An unflattering pair of cheap shoes from Target and a 1/2 yrd of fabric from Hobby Lobby. I followed this tutorial from a blog that I just LOVE!

They are pretty simple to do, a cheap personalized alternative to spending more money on seasonal shoes that may be out of style next year. Plus, you can completely tailor the shoes to a specific outfit!

Down Side?

Unfortunately, there are two. I have to say, it was a bit more tedious than I initially thought it would be. I think they are adorable, but I spent just as much time picking off all the Mod Podge from my fingers than I did on the whole project. Definitely the messiest encounter I have had with the glue yet!

Another thing that isn't the greatest - because the fabric dries hard with a good secure coating of Mod Podge, the inside (where you adhere the flap under the rim) is very rough and will probably hurt my feet within minutes of actually wearing them. So, that means a boat load of bandaids for protecive barrier, or I need to figure out some sort of inner lining I can attach to prevent my feet from rubbed raw on the roughness.

Any thoughts on that?

My Toddler's Reading Corner

2010-06-24T11:11:00.000-07:00

That last detail of Jackson's room transformation is complete :)

We removed the rocking chair from his room and put it out in the living room until it can be put in the nursey. What I didn't want, was Jax to feel like we were taking it away from him and giving it to the new baby. So we decided to remove it early.

In it's place.... is his new reading corner! And I have to say that he loves it! The soft suedo shag rug was from walmart ($19.99) and the body pillow cover was $5. I had a body pillow stored in my closet that I used while I pregnant with him, but don't want to use it this pregnancy.

That smile is its own reward

And the two orange pillows I made from scratch. I had a bunch of orange fleece left over from an older project and I used the left over checkered orange fabric from the windows/bedskirt for the back of the pillows. Then I used scraps of various textured fabrics to embellish the pillow, even sewed on a few buttons. This was the first time I ever did patchwork with his name. Turned out better than I thought it would.

Now his room is DONE!

Happy Birthday Sweet Kayleigh girl

2010-06-23T06:49:00.000-07:00

My heart broke the day I read Adam's blog to learn that Kayleigh had passed on. But seeing the overflow of photographs that he posted in loving memory made me smile.

Happy Birthday, Kayleigh!

Below was the post that Adam published on his blog last year when Kayleigh died.

5/11/09 - Goodbye Sweetheart...for now.

Time is going so slow as if people are flying by us, but our world is standing still. The pain in our hearts burn and the tears flow freely like a never ending waterfall. Our eyes try to close as our bodies are fatigued, but our minds are racing with the thoughts of the memories we shared with Kayleigh through these past 11 months. Our souls are screaming with pain as this story was supposed to have a different, dream come true ending. We hold each other close, squeezing tightly, praying this sense of emptiness will fade away.

We never thought we'd finally leave the hospital one last time with an empty car seat and an empty crib to bring our precious daughter home in. The house is cold, it is dark and it is lonely. Our arms that once held this precious miracle will never hold her again anytime soon. We will lay our heads to rest tonight, we will soon wake, but we won't be returning to the hospital. We said our last goodbye only to say hello again one day in the distant future.

Kayleigh rests peacefully, in no more discomfort, and in no more pain. She looked so beautiful tonight as she took her last and final breath, and her beating heart took one last and final beat. Her sparkling brown eyes are now closed and her body now remains still. She is now in the presence of our Lord, her broken body made new, surrounded in the comforting arms of those we've loved who greeted her in the glorious Heaven we know.

Time now stands still for all of us who will miss her dearly, who have been touched by her miraculous journey, and who will never forget her soft sweet smell. Kayleigh will forever be our one pound miracle from God and we certainly will all look forward to seeing her again, holding her in our arms and dancing in circles until we can't dance anymore. No words can describe how amazing and beautiful Kayleigh is, but we all know too well that this is only goodbye, for now.

May this day be remembered for the rest of our lives. May Kayleigh's story continue to teach us about faith and the miracles our Lord can create when we all pray together as a whole. May Kayleigh's story continue to give us hope in our own personal journeys and give us the strength to never give up the fight. May Kayleigh's story continue to fill our hearts with love so that we may hold each other tight and support those in need.

When you tuck your children in bed or kiss your loved one goodnight, please say a prayer for our family. Please pray that we will have strength to get through this difficult time and we will grow in our faith so much more for having experienced the work of God through Kayleigh. Pray we will be there for each other and hold one another tight, as Kayleigh was and will forever hold a special place in our hearts.

We plan to have a memorial next weekend (most likely Sunday) for our sweet Kayleigh and EVERYONE who can come, is invited. We will be posting further details shortly so everyone has time to prepare. We will cry together, laugh together and remember what a precious blessing God has given us all through Kayleigh. May we come together and praise God for the love he has bestowed in all of us.

"Kayleigh, we know our life on earth is just a spec of time compared to the life we have in eternity with you and our Lord. We look forward to the day that we can pick you up and swing you around, dancing, singing and worshipping together. I am sure that your journey to Heaven was greeted with many open arms.

We are so very proud of you for everything you have done in such a short period of time. You've showed us what strength truly is, what determination truly is and what love truly is. There will not be a day that passes that we won't look at your photos and remember how awesome you felt in our arms. Your soft skin that brushes our lips and your tiny little hands that grip our fingers for comfort will always be missed.

We will never get to tuck you in your own bed at night and we will never get to pick you up when you fall. We will never get to hold your hand while you cross the street and I will never get to walk you down the aisle, but please know that your Mommy and I are so blessed that God gifted us with your love, even if it was only for a very short period of time. You will always be in our hearts and we can't wait until we meet again. We love you endlessly and we already miss you so very much! Goodbye Sweetheart...for now."

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Our wishes were granted and Kayleigh finally felt the cool breeze on her face.

Please visit Kayleigh's blog to
read her father's birthday post today.

What's Going On?!?

2010-06-21T17:47:00.000-07:00

Been a long time since I have let everyone know what is UP lately! I have been busy! You have seen some of the work I have done with the children's bedrooms, but I have also been pretty busy spending time creating a new scheduling system for our church children's ministry teachers (Carnival (birth - 4K) program). It's been alot of tedious computer work so I haven't been blogging much because I'm not a huge computer person to begin with.

Jackson has become a crazy ACTIVE toddler! I have been reading a few books (one I reviewed here) and have concluded that my son has an "easy going" temperament, but most of the time is an "active toddler". And that is a whole other class of toddlerhood. There's curious and energized... than there's active and unstoppable. My son is the latter! My energy level on the other hand has taken an enormous downhill slide in the last few weeks as I approach the 3rd trimester, so this combination has become a challenge for me.

(Jax's first lawn mower ride)

Most toddlers will venture away from their "secure base" aka mom or dad; but stay within a safe distance in which they feel comfortable. It's a personal limitation set by the toddler that tells them that mom or dad is still near, but also that they are exploring at their own desire. My child has no such distance! Last night at my husband's softball game for example - Jackson constantly ran away from me with no desire to return back. It was not the "Come get me, Mommy" game, because he wasn't even turning around to see how far back I was. When he finally did turn around and saw me, I waved my arm in a "Come this way" motion and started to walk in the opposite direction. This not only showed him that Mommy going the other way, but also added involuntary distance to the gap between us. How did he react? I turned back within seconds to see him continue to run in his own direction. No fears?

I also had a very difficult time keeping him away from the fence where all the players would congregate. My husband specifically said he didn't want Jax touching the fence for a fear of stray balls, well that was a challenge. There were several children there Jax's age and I was the only one running my tail off the whole time. It wasn't the appropriate venue to allow him to explore. I was quite jealous at this other mother (from church) whose little boy sat quietly on her lap the whole time slowly and contently eating goldfish crackers. Twice, I was told "Wow, you have your hands full." from complete strangers. Don't really appreciate those comments. That's their "polite" way of saying that my son is hyper active or that I'm unable to control him.

He has little fear of strangers which makes other's say "He great with new people", but makes a mother lury to let him explore. I have to carry him in the parking lots every time because he will dart away from me so fast. The over powering urge to lay his hand on the tire of the red truck across the aisle is just too much for him to bare. What he struggles with, is that his mind is ahead of his body. He is so go go go - that he is constantly falling down, bumping into things and getting scrapped up. He gave himself his first bloody nose today by turning face first into the spare tire on the back of my suv. His knees are all scrapped up from falling outside. He has a light cut across his face which must have happened during his play.

(Do you notice the baby acne again?? I can't fingure out where that is coming from, but it has invading his chin and mouth for about 2 weeks now! Don't know how to treat it!)

His listening is better than most toddlers his age, I will give him that. He doesn't listen all the time, and that is usually followed with him continuing to do the wrong action faster or harder as I am on my way to stop him. He is still normally a great eater. Not so much on his variety, but the amount he eats to sustain his high evergy level is good. He doesn't care for veggies, and I will admit that I am not the best at attempting to get much in him anymore. Making three dishes for the same meal just to find something he will eat - isn't my idea of fun. Sometimes mealtimes consist of a glass of milk and a few pieces of fruit. You can't win everytime!

-------------------------------------------

I am having a very difficult time finding fabric to create the nursery's bedding and window treatment. I have searched JoAnn's twice and Hancock Fabrics once and Hobby Lobby has a poor selection. I did find one today at Hancocks, but the lady at the cutting counter told me (after along unnecessarily confusing explanation) that the fabric wasn't a regularly stocked item and therefore - I couldn't order more nor would they get more in. So when I realized the amount available would only yield a valance and none of the bedding... I was defeated again.

Can anyone help me with this?

Is there a good online seller of fabric or a great national retailer that I would find more luck at? I am not a picky person - I just want to find something that matches the color theme for her room.

Crib and Dresser/Changing Table unit = White

3 walls = light pink, 1 wall = soft green

Accenting colors through the room = deep pink and orange.

I want to find something that accents with the pink and oranges, but also has a bit of the green tone to tie it all together.

I appreciate any direction that I can receive!!

Project #3 - Wooden Letters

2010-06-17T20:08:00.000-07:00

I absolutely LOVE this project because I completed it in about 30 mins and it was super simple!

Supplies:

1. Wooden letters for your child's name. I went to Hobby Lobby today and got these letters. Originally $2.99 ea, marked 50% off down to $1.50 ea. (Sale good thru Sat.)

2. Scrap Book pages of your desired color theme. I stopped at JoAnn Fabrics for their FireFly Frenzy sale where they were featuring 5 pages for $1.00. So I walked out with 10 designer pages for $2.10 incl. tx. (Sale good thru Sat.)

3. Some good ol fashion Mod Podge Matte and a cheap sponge applicator.

(No charge, had on hand at home)

First step is to paint a thin layer of Mod Podge directly onto the front face of the letter. Do one at a time and work quickly because this adhesive does dry rapidly.

Then lay the wooden letter face down onto the back of your chosen scrap page. Press firmly and wiggle it a bit to make sure the fit is secure. Allow the letters to sit there and dry while you complete the rest of your child's name.

Using an exacto knife with a fresh - brand new blade, place the adhered page face down on a scrapbooking matte. Process to cut out around each letter to remove the access paper. Be careful on this step because it is easy to shave a little wood off of your letter since the knife is so sharp.

When you have completed that - apply another thin coat of Mod Podge (with a new sponge applicator if the first one is now hard and crusty) for the front of the letter to finalize the security of the paper. This glue always dries clear, but needs to be applied thinly. Too much can saturate the paper and cause it to ripple. Try to make the layer as thin as possible to avoid creating lines from your sponge. (Step not photoed)

Once they have dried - your child's name is fashionabley displayed with an affordable, designer look.

Project #4.... what will that be?!?

Project #2 for Baby Girl

2010-06-16T17:29:00.000-07:00

Haven't been spending much time lately on the computer, because I have been using what limited free time I have getting the children's room in order. I have almost completed the very last touch on Jackson's room. I don't have a photo of it yet - but will show you when that is finished.

Here was my latest project for Baby Girl:

I wanted to make her a baby blanket. I had made one for Jackson, but unfortuantely he took more fondly to the soft store bought blanket that I received at my baby shower. So - the blanket I made for him remains folded in his closet :(

My materials:

1 yrd. of cotton fabric

1 yrd of minkie fabric

(I actually had the material cut to 1 yrd and 2 inches as a fail safe)

1 package of 4 3/4 yrd satin blanket binding

Prewashed my fabrics in the washing machine in cold water. However, beforehand I sewed the unfinished edges of the cotton material with a wide zigzag stitch to prevent it from unraveling.

Then I cut my pieces to the desired blanket size. I used 36.5" x 42".

I pinned the fabrics together along the edges right sides face OUT. Because I would be sewing on the blanket binding, I didn't need to sew them inside out.

This was my first time ever using blanket bindings, so it was a bit tricky at first. Satin is slippery fabric so it takes patience and can be a bit tedious until you get the hang of it. The binding comes as a folded border piece with one side of the border a titch longer than the other. You use the shorter side as your sewing guide because you know for sure that the underside is catching (because it's a titch longer). I cut the initial piece on an angle and began to pin it down in the middle of one side of the blanket.

You need to miter the corners. Here is a great example of how to miter the corners. Again, this was a first time for me using this technique, but it seemed to work pretty good. I followed the linked tutorial for the whole blanket project.

When you have come finished your pinning all the way around and mitered the corners... insert your end piece under neath that initial angled piece for a finished look.

Next, begin sewing on the binding as you move along the blanket, traveling up your diagonal fold of the mitered corners.

Once you have completed that - you're finished!

What will Project #3 be? You'll have to come back soon to find out!

The Man's New Do!

2010-06-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

It was a BIG event for us yesterday!! Coming from a hair stylist who has patiently waited while my son's hair grew painfully slow over the past 19 months. I had given him two "mini" trims that only cut the perimeter so he didn't have a mullet :) But this time was different!

Look how stylish and grown up he seems! I will admit that cutting his hair shorter must have made him taller ;) More of a big boy and less of a toddler! He sat SO well for me, much better than I ever imagined. I played his Praise Baby video (the only thing he will sit and watch on tv - but wants to do so about 4 times a day!) I only allow twice a day ;) And he sat watching the whole thing while mommy "combed" his hair. I used my big barbering clipper comb and motorized clippers. With the technique I use, the clippers never had to touch to his head - so he did great with that!

He kept trying to cover my lens with the lens cap...

Little Stinker! - this is my favorite!

Book Recommendation!!

2010-06-07T12:22:00.000-07:00

A recommendation from my brother, a preschool teacher at Burley Elementary Chicago... and one that I couldn't wait to share with all of you! I couldn't have picked this book up at a better point in my life. My son is 19 months old, a "junior toddler" as the book would stage him.

The Emotional Life of the Toddler

by: Alicia F. Lieberman, Ph.D.

This book explains with comforting detail everything that your toddler is unable to communicate at this age. The cover of the book is what intrigued me right away.

"WHY "No" is every toddler's favorite work. WHY your toddler clings to you one minute and rejects you the next. HOW to undersand your child's sudden fear of familiar things like the bathtub." That grabbed my attention because it is exactly what we are experiencing as a family right now.

The book begins by explaining what drives a toddler to do what they do and how they treat their "secure base" as a result of their temperament and parental response. " [A Secure Base will] show that the balance between attachment and exploration in the child is mirrored by the balance beween protectiveness and encouragement of exploration in the parent. When things go well enough, the parent serves as a secure base from which the child sets forth to explore and to which he can trustingly return for solace before moving off yet again." pg. 10

I could talk forever about this book and 100 different ways of why I think every parent should read it, but I will just highlight a few key ideas that struck me the most.

-Temper Tantrums
"Tantrums take a child to the very bottom of his being, helping him to learn that anger and despair are part of the human experience and need not lead to lasting emotional collapse. If the parents can remain emotionally available even while firm in their position of denying something, tantrums also teach a child that he will not be left alone in his "dark night of soul." " pg.39

Anger is a rightful emotion that children need to understand is ok to feel. An older toddler may respond to the parents saying, "I understand that you are upset over not getting the cookie, but you can not have the cookie right before dinner. You can have the cookie after dinner." This was how I understood being "emotionally available" for your child.

-Temperament

"Temperament is defined as the "how" of behavior: in looking at children's temperament, we try to describe how intense, moody, adaptable, and predictable they tend to be. The focus is behavorial style, not ability (the content or "what" of behavior) or motivation (its reason or "why")." pg.56

Describes in Detail the Types:
1. Easy Children
2. Slow to Warm Up
3. Difficult Children
4. Active Children

With every type of temperament, how the parent can respond in such a way that the child will respond. Each child's needs are different, but allowing your eyes to see what your child's needs are - is key. Then your response will follow either helping your child or possibley making the situation worse.

My favorite quote from the book:

"When a child's behavior irritates or emarrasses us, we often respond by seeing murky motives behind it. In a way, we are trying to justify our negative reastion by looking for equally negative motives in the child. This is very human, but it is neither hair nor helpful to the parent-child relationship or the child's development. Temperament describes HOW children react the way they do, not WHY he is responding that way." pg.64

IS THAT EVER TRUE, OR WHAT?!?

- How parental styles and secure base behavior coinside or conflict.

For instance, the scenarios described where three different child have the same temperament (active), however each of their parents have DIFFERENT parenting styles. You begin to see how the child's behavior and inner balance adapt to their parents' reaction of their high level of activity. Not all of them were good results for the children...

-Anxieties in young children

-Separation, Sleeping Irregularities, Night Terrors, Siblings Rivalries

-Divorce (it's own full length chapter)

-Transition to childcare (relationships involved)

If you find yourself needing more insight into the mind of your toddler and would like to find ways to help your child cope with their neverending contradictive nature to explore the world and stay close to mom and dad... please pick up this book! It's been the biggest help I have found into understanding my little guy more and aiding me in how I respond to his needs.

Beginning to create my little girl's room

2010-06-01T18:54:00.000-07:00

This project is only the 1st of many - for my soon to be - new arrival :) I am 24 weeks along and getting a head start!

I was browsing Michael's today for something specific and of course I was totally bombarded by other ideas for my baby girl's room. I have the color palette chosen and the paints chosen, so now the little detailing matters have been consuming my thoughts.

I came across a small handheld bouquet for $4.99. There were a bunch of gerbera colors to choose from and if they had orange - I would have gotten it, but instead I got to improvise! I grabbed the green gerberas and a stock of orange flowers (40% off of $9.99). Here was my project:

To replace a few gerberas with the orange flowers by using my wire cutters and sticking the new flowers into the oasis ball. I removed the unflattering lighter green flowers and kept the bright green ones. Then my thoughts expanded when I pulled out some pink ribbon to wrap around the base...

I created double loops of ribbon to insert through the bouquet to give a splash of pink.

Here were the materials: my pink ribbon, scissors and sticks with light weight wire attached (found at your local craft store in the floral department) I have a bunch of these left over from my floral shoppe days.

Create the loops

Place the stick with the wire end up, in the middle of the loop base. Begin to wrap the wire around the ribbon, holding the whole thing tightly to secure the wrap.

Your finished loops

Holding the bouquet firmly, insert the stick into the oasis foam in the desires areas. I added 6 double ribbon accents to the arrangement.

Using a hot glue gun, I attached more of the pink ribbon around the base of flower stems to cover the arrangement's unsightly floral tape.

And there is the first of many projects completed for my baby girl's room!

On The Home Front

2010-05-27T14:35:00.000-07:00

My current project is to alter Jackson's bedroom so that it becomes more little boyish and less baby boyish. This photo of his nursery was taken before he was born, so naturally we have moved a bit of furniture around and please ignore the skimpy window treatment, that was completed after this photo was taken in July 2008.

What I have decided to do was eliminate all the yellow in the room and replace it with orange. I still have to swap out the wooden stars with something else orange... I am thinking I will paint a few photo frames and put up some 5x7s of him.

I had a very difficult time finding an orange fitted crib sheet. I had to scrap the idea because I wasn't willing to spend $20 on one crib sheet. So, I decided to change the bed skirt instead. I found some orange blocked patterned fabric at Hancocks Fabric Store marked 40% off. To save more money, I only replaced the two exposing sides of the skirt with the new fabric. The crib will always be in the corner of the room to allow for the more utilized space, so I just left the old material attached that faces both walls.

Next, I painted over the yellow on this lamp with orange. I had initially purchased this plain white lamp and white shade separately and painted on the accenting detail with acrylic paint to match the decor of the nursery.

Then onto the window treatment. Because the yellowish theme carried over into the valance, I covered over just the yellow stars with cutout pieces of orange fabric. I used the left over fabric from the bed skirt. The remaining colors of the valance, still fit my color theme so I didn't change anymore than that. I had also added a border of this orange fabric to the bottom of the window curtains. These thick panelled curtains were purchased from Walmart on the clearance stand for $7 when Jackson was 4 months old. At that point, he started waking from his naps after only 45 mins and would not go back to sleep. I thought it would help to darken his room for naptime (the honeycomb fabric blinds did block out the light, but the room was still lightly casted with sunlight). And the curtains actually did wonders for his sleeptime. So, they never left :P

I also was looking for a way to condense the diaperbag. Figuring when this little girl comes along, I will be needing to pack a LOT more essential items again (wasn't that a great day when you were able to lighten your load with the toddler??). So I created a organizer insert that I roll up and stick right into the diaperbag. I love it and I can see EVERYTHING when I open the bag!

And Jax's (mandatory) sippy cups fits nice and snug in the middle of the rolled up insert! I have seen other woman with these for their purse - but I needed a larger one for the diaper bag materials. And to organize my wallet, check book and cell phone - I created a small pocket that I can easily take out of the bag when I need to leave the bag with the kids. How cool is that?!?

And lastly, I made a few belts for Jax! They were so simple to make, took about 5 mins and he seems to be quite fond of it! These shorts for summer - are just so long and slide right off his little butt! Can you believe those shorts he is wearing in the photo are 6-9 months? Crazy I KNOW! Sonoma brand.

-------------------------------------------------------

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers for my Grandma. We are thrilled to report that by the grace of God, she pulled through the serious complications of her operation and had her breathing tube removed earlier this week. Within a day, she no longer was hooked up to any machines and was moved out of ICU. Today, she was released into my mom's care where she will continue her recovery process from home. We are so very thankful that she fought through it and that her body is gaining its strength back.

We ask that you continue your prayers as she will soon begin to evaluate what treatment plan is best for her from here on out.

Memorial Day WEEKEND Give Away Party

2010-05-25T12:46:00.000-07:00

Getting Geared Up
for my good friend Jamie's (The Riplet's Mommy)

Memorial Day Blog Party starting Friday May 27th.
This is a great chance to win awesome products AND link up your very own give aways too! Get more exposure to your blog by offering a give away this weekend!

Keep your eyes open for the new products that AprilAccents has to offer! My blog will be featured on the Riplets Reviews & GiveAways this weekend!

PS. Thanks to everyone for your thoughts for my family. I will be giving an update on what has progressed soon. We appreciate your prayers!

I Saw Her Today

2010-05-21T19:25:00.000-07:00

In the ICU bed at Froedtert Memorial Hospital. She was as my mother had described, hooked up to everything and anything possible. She couldn't open her eyes, but was able to respond by head nods. The ventilator that supports 40% of her breathing, completely enables for verbal communication. Watching her struggle to force out painful silent coughs through dried lips was heart breaking. Most of her pain right now is concentrated in her throat from the thick, obstructing breathing tube. Can you image having to synchorinze your coughs with the rhythm of air being forced into your lungs?

Besides the breathing issues, her organs have failed to "wake up" from the sidation of her operation. Her stomach is refusing to process food. She has only received saline fluids and her stomach is emptied every few minutes by a tube through her nose. Is that even enough time for her body to retrieve the vital nurtients it needs to help her immune system fight back?

The cause of her excessive fidgetting isn't quite nailed down yet. The medication combo perhaps? Whatever the cause, it's just miserable to witness her twitching, much less be personally experiencing it. It's amazing she can even fall asleep when her body refuses to settle down. It was a relief to watch her body in peace after another dose of pain meds. She is currently on antibiotics for the pnuemonia. That is still undetermined as to whether it is staph or bacterial. Once it starts to clear - the breathing tube can start to be cut back to allow Grandma to start breathing more on her own.

What must she be thinking right now? Being unable to ask questions, and yet at the same time - being just aware enough to be able to register her pain and answer a few questions with a "yes or no". Have these past few days dragged on for an eternity for her? Or have they passed by in a blurs of confusion and twitching consciousness?

Several times during my visit, I opened by mouth to tell her about my morning with Jackson. We had made plans a few months prior to meet our friends at the Milwaukee Co. Zoo. It was Jax's first time seeing all the animals. I conducted an inward battle between wanting to describe to her the morning I shared with my son that included lots of laughs and animals sounds; how his favorite animals were the monkeys and how he kept pointing at them yelling "Ah ah ah ah ".... and not wanting to make her sad about good times she wasn't able to have. I didn't want to depress her. I didn't want her to think "I can't listen to her story through this pain." So, I bit my tongue - bowed my head and prayed whil I held her hand.
I pray for strength for my grandma.
I pray for hope for my mom.
I pray for positivity for me.

I know the posts that follow will be more uplifting with good thoughts and praises for God's glory, because he makes all things new - and uses everything for good.

... but right now,
... in this moment,
... positivity is hard to come by.

Because the reality of it is, if her body, a body that wasn't too healthy to begin with, is able to conquer these complications... her next battle will be going head to head with Stage 3 Lung Cancer. Which in and of itself, is a life taker for a healthy body.

This Journey Continues

2010-05-20T19:46:00.000-07:00

Many of you know and offered support when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer just before christmas. She under went extensive procedures in a very short period of time, although I am sure that December and January were the longest months of her life. But we are proud to report that she just completed her final step a couple weeks ago. She had tattooing done to shade in the illusion of an aerola on the breast that was initially removed, then reconstructed. And thus - she was ready to sign her name on the last page and close this book of her life.

But now HER mother must begin writing her own novel. The doctors had suspected a cancerous mass on her left lung a few weeks back. Grandma had several tests that confirmed she would need the infected lobe of her lung removed. That operation proceeded Monday. But we were more than surprised when the surgeon came to tell us - she has Stage 3A Lung Cancer... a FAR more advanced form of the cancer than we were initially led to believe.

And so it starts again...

Only this time, Grandma has been experiencing serious complications from her operation. Not only have her fatal organs failed to "wake up" from the anesthia, but she has also contracted pnuemonia. We are not yet aware if the infection is bacterial or staph. She has had a main port put in today while she was incubated due to several failed attempts to raise her blood oxygen levels. The doctors are working to concoct the appropriate medication combination for her, but in the meantime - she has been hallucinating and physically fidgety... a miserable state.

Please give a moment or two to ask God to bring peace to this family. Peace in any and every sense of the word. My grandmother is very uncomfortable and quite confused - and my mom maybe faced again with witnessing her parent struggle to live, only two short year from her father's passing. I don't believe I myself, have really begun to process what this could mean and how serious this may become.

I am not going to question why. I know very well that the Lord has his reasons for his plans. We have truly seen that materialize for my mother since her battle, we are grateful for his reasons.

But since December 2009,

My Mother
My Aunt
My Grandma

all have been faced with the fight of cancer.

What is so hard to swallow - is our complete inablity to understand why. But what I can accept, is that we just aren't meant to understand now.

But someday we will.

The Winner

2010-05-18T06:43:00.000-07:00

AMBER

Amber has a little 4 month old baby boy named Jax. So naturally I give this woman kudos for a brilliant mind ;)

Amber guessed $40. I spent $42 on everything you saw in the photos. I know most of you guessed about half of that, but $42 was a rockin deal for ALL that stuff.

Thanks for participating!

Congratulations, Amber. Please email me at aprilaccents@gmail.com.

A New View / A GIVEAWAY

2010-05-14T11:13:00.000-07:00

So we finally decided to just get rid of all the trees in our back yard. Neighbors told us they were jealous of the shade we have, living in a new subdivision - mature trees are pretty scarce. However! Our trees were the byproduct of an old farm field's tree line. So not only were they messy and mangey - half of them were dying and dropping huge branches every time the rain came. The other half the trees were Box Elder Maple and with those - come the box elder bugs... horribly ugly - juicy red colonizing pests that infested our backyard. We don't have a deck built yet and I knew we never would if it meant we were sharing our relaxation time with the bugs. No Thanks!

So we finally got them torn down. Our neighbors will be taking their share of firewood and I am pretty share they will be set for about 5 years!

I love the openness of our yard now! These trees literally cut our yard in half (our lot line extends to the electrical box) which made the it very difficult for us to visualize how we were going to design our deck and landscaping.

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Yes and Yes - Rummage Saleing AGAIN!

Here's the GIVEAWAY

(finally, another one right?!)

Here are my deals/finds from the citywide sale

then guess how much I spent!! I will give a few helpful hints...

I am pretty set for Jackson on summer clothes this year and am collecting some clearance items for fall already. So today I decided on our new comer.

... what can I say? The two on the left = $1.00. The tennies have never been worn = $3.00

Guess who will be a LADYBUG this Halloween?!? - $2.00

A MaryKay consultant was getting rid of her old packaging and discontinued products. Each for $1.00

Yes, it is in serious need of ironing :)

So, can you guess who much I spent?

5 - 2 or 3 piece outfits

2 - blanket sleepers

5 - play and sleepers

3 - sweater / zip ups

1 - Baby Gap jacket

1 - demin skirt jumper with bloomers

3 - pair of tights

1 - pair of jeans

3 - pairs of shorts

2 - tops

3 - pairs of shoes

1 - Halloween Costume

1 - mascara

2 - eye shadows

1 - maternity top

The person who guesses the closest to my total

will receive this!

Beaded and linking chained necklace with a aqua marble/stone pendant.

Good Luck!! I will be in Chicago visiting my brother and sister in law - baby free! So you have until Monday evening to place your guesses!

Side Note: It's my goal to have April Accents back open for business by the END OF MAY!

Baby Girl Names

2010-05-11T19:25:00.000-07:00

This is the hardest part for us! We didn't decide Jackson's name until the nurse literally filled out the birth certificate. sure, we had a couple choices narrowed down. But here's my dilemma...

I can be indecisive when permanent matters are at stake. I could easily say "We have made our final decision on a little girl's name." today... but there would really be nothing holding me to it. I could still change it at any moment before that birth cert. is signed. If I chose a name today - I know I would be second guessing my decision all the way until the baby is born. At least with Jax, once we made the final decision - it was literally written in stone. Believe me, if drove my parents crazy that we hadn't chosen a name... they seriously thought we just didn't want to give it away. (Not true!)

I want to hear YOUR favorite baby girl names. Please, help me out. Searching through online baby name sites is so mind boggling when I don't know where to start. I will say one thing, though. I do like the letters, A and L in a name. I also think names that end with an A are really adorable for girls.

Please help me :)

For Kayleigh

2010-05-11T10:50:00.000-07:00

Sweet Miss Kayleigh Anne Freeman went to meet Jesus one year ago today. I will always be thankful of the truth her story brought to life. May her family be lifted in prayer today and I hope they find peace in the memories of their sweet baby girl.

Photo taken from Kayleigh's Blog.

2010-05-10T07:14:00.000-07:00

Wow, I have been so busy, it's not even funny! For a stay at mom - you would never guess that my calendar is full with events/meetings/plans every day of the week. The weekends fly by with family and church events and before I know it - it's monday again!

I have to admit my addiction lately is rummage sale-ing! Love it! I have gotten such good GOOD deals and I find myself getting excited for Thursday when I can go out again. Of course I picked up a few 3 mos. girly outfits on Friday after my ultrasound :)

Unfortuantely, April Accents isn't coming along as fast as I had hoped. I have just been occupied else where. I do plan to get the site up again with the items I have been able to create - by the end of the month.

I apologize for not making it around to everyone's blogs lately either. I don't want to give up on my wonderful blog community - but I think we can all agree that as summer approaches - we are pulled away from the computer alittle more.

I hope everyones Mother's Day was a beautiful memoral day.

MOMMA'S HAVING A LITTLE BABY...

2010-05-06T14:08:00.000-07:00

GIRL

Can't even begin to express my excitement. I think I am still processing that, yes - in fact this baby really is a little girl!

The U/S technican couldn't stop raving about how healthy she looks and how beautifully she posed for all the photos that needed to be taken.

Our little 14 ounce baby girl had her hands behind her head for a good portion of the scan, sitting back relaxing. She had her tiny feet crossed at the ankles. Her growth charted me ahead of that scan, moving my due date ahead again - to September 16th. One day after our 3rd wedding anniversary.

Everything looks really really good and we couldn't be more smitten!

20 week Pregnancy Progress

2010-05-05T06:33:00.000-07:00

How far along? 20 weeks 4 days (sad that I had to check with my blog baby ticker :P ).

Total weight gain/loss: According to my scale at home (which is always different than the clinic's), I have gained 6 lbs. I thought that seemed like a bit much, but I looked back to my records with Jackson and I had gained 8 lbs. by 20 weeks. I think I'm entering the biggest increase of weight this next month (with Jackson I gained a total of 14 lbs. by 24 weeks, so that was 6 lbs. in 1 month alone) :P

Maternity clothes? Depends on the day. I wear alot of sweats and gouchos at home. But when I go out, I wear nicer maternity clothes. I am proud that I actually fit into a pair of non maternity capri jeans today :)
Stretch marks? Nothing new at this point. I have a few nice ones from my pregnancy on my sides. Nothing over the belly however.

Best moment this week? STILL TO COME! Tomorrow (thursday the 6th) is my 20 week ultrasound!! You can bet Holly and I will be sharing stories LOL

Movement: Began feeling movement at 19 weeks (not as early as I thought I would). It's more tumbling around than anything. I haven't had alot of kicking at this point, but have felt a few :)

Food cravings: This one hit me harder than the first pregnancy! I have the biggest sweet tooth, it's killing me! candy, candy candy!!

Gender: Well, the blog Poll shows the GIRLS are in a slammin lead with 10 to 3 votes :) What do I feel? I suppose I would be surprised if it isn't a girl.... but at the same time I would be really surprised if it is a girl. Does that make any sense?

Labor Signs: Goodness NO!

Belly Button in or out? Still a good inny - but sometimes (like after a good full meal), half of it will be poking out

What I miss: Nothing - at this point I am feeling great. Haven't felt sick in a few weeks and physically I am still able to do everything I was before.

What I am looking forward to: To hear that everything is going well with the pregnancy. That baby is growing as it should be and he/she is healthy :) and of course - it find out the gender

Come back for a follow tomorrow after my ultrasound!!
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Please keep a friend of mine in your thoughts and prayers. Shortly after she told her husband they were expecting their second child, they lost their baby. I know she would appreciate being lifted up in prayer. Thank you.

18 months old

2010-05-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

WOW - A year and half old already. My My!

Jackson has certainly taken over this household! His curiosity (especially at new places) is exhausting for Paul and I. He gets into everything. That can make visiting with other people in new settings a challenge when one of us needs to be following Jax around. But what he understands is just amazing! Even though he can't always communicate what he wants to - he gets alot!

Jackson Adam

                         At 15 months:      At 18 months:

Weight:                21.3 lbs.   (8%)                  23.4 lbs     (17%)
Height:                 31 inches  (48%)                32.5 inches (54%)

Biggest achievement is the increase in weight percentile. Remember Project PUJ? Finally!! We are in double digits for his weight percentile! HURRAY! 17% may not seem like alot for most of you, but when Jackson was 9 months old - he was in the 5%. And so ended my breastfeeding era.

Jackson Currently...

-loves to run run run
-loves to immitate faces and sounds
-can speak quite clearly on words he has mastered, other words are only partially spoken (Bus = Bu)
-loves slides and swingsets

-loves to go "bye bye". Enjoys short car rides and points out planes, trains and other vehicles.
-calls ALL other children "baby", no matter how old they are :)
-has gotten extremely attached to daddy and wants to be with him at all times
-is playing very well with other child, will still favor other children's toys to the one in his own hands... but doesn't always try to take it from them.
-has learned how to push himself along on his ride on toys
-loves to climb into and sit in his rocking chair (birthday present) that is kept in the living room
-would eat bread and crackers for breakfast, lunch and dinner if given the opportunity
-hates green beans and broccoli
-doesn't like chocolate, ice cream (too cold maybe?) or cake. Although he will eat a few bites from a cookie

Mommy and Daddy Love You, Munchkin!!

A Compelling Story

2010-04-29T11:57:00.000-07:00

This story was brought to my attention by a close friend of mine. Through the chain of friendship and power of support, I am convicted to pay it forward.

Please take a moment to read Jenn's compelling letter which introduces her cousin, Ashley. Ashley is a proactive hard working woman whom dispite her cystic fibrosis, has achieved a college education and earned herself a steady career. Through her struggles to live a reasonable level of normalcy in her life - Ashley has forfeited her Disablility and Social Security benefits which would have allowed her access to a much needed lung transplant. But because she was able to achieve a steady career - she is left with no help and was rejected from the donor list due to insurance restrictions. Apparently, your insurance companies can not dictate your life expectancy...

Please visit Ashley's blog "Gift of Breathing" and show her your support.
Keep Ashley Kennen Breathing is linked on her sidebar.

To make your contribution, please visit Ashley's National Transplant Assistant Fund page.

Please pray for Ashley and see if God lays anything on your heart that will help support her in her financial struggle to keep living.

Spring Deals and More

2010-04-23T12:27:00.000-07:00

This morning, my neighbor and I strapped the kids in the car and ventured out for our first rummage sale scavange of the season. I was so proud of the children! Jackson and his friend Breanna (13 mos) did amazingly well being pulled in and out of the car for 4 hours :) As long as we had juice and snacks on hand - the kiddos were happy.

I was pretty satisified with my findings. I purchased all of these clothes for less than $12, most being Old Navy or Gap. Pretty Good huh? Notice the adorable little girly swimsuits? I can't believe I purchased them without even knowing what this little treasure IS yet. But that particular rummage sale had overstock items from Babies R Us, selling each brand new suit for $3.00 a pop (tag marked $12.99). I couldn't help myself. Of course it will be gut wrenching to have to give those away as a gift... if this little treasure proves to be more of masculine variety :)

My parents gave me a generous gift card to Kohl's for my birthday next week - under the condition that I only spend it on myself. Hard to do when the children's dept had such good sales this week. Most racks - 55% off!! Needless to say, I did purchase a few things for Jax (on my own Kohl's charge). These are the items I picked out for myself with the gift card.

A non maternity dress from the junior dept. I don't know how much longer I can keep shopping in that dept. The clothes just look a lot younger to me now. But this one will have great flexiblity for my ever growing belly. And two fitted knit tops that are also very stretchy, so I can wear them for a while yet.

I also picked out these converse shoes which I am can't wait to wear with a pair of capris.

And the last thing I picked out was a much needed wall clock for our vaulted ceiling. We had a regular size clock up there which looked so tiny compared to the size of the wall. These large wall clocks always run over $100, so I was thrille to get this one at 55% off.

And lastly, I have been spending my days watching my son from this angle as my belly has grown to the size I was at 24 weeks with my first pregnancy.

This little munchkin has been getting into all sort of mischief - hence the sly look as he types on my computer!

Over all, life has been busy. We are patiently waiting for the really nice weather to come our way. In the meantime - we will continue to wear our jackets and get outside to run off some bottled up energy!

March For Babies Ideas

2010-04-18T10:54:00.000-07:00

Last year was my first year walking and raising money for March For Babies. I joined my friend's small team and we raised a decent amount between three of us. This year, I decided to start my own team and our numbers have grown. It was great to be accompanied by more people. I am already brainstorming for next year because I want my team to grow and I want to keep this going.

My friend Holly and I both volunteer weekly at our church in the Children's & Family Ministry. Her little boy Cole is a month older than Jax. And we are both pregnant now, due Sept. 12th and Sept. 18th!

On top of raising donations through the website, next year I want to hold an online auction. I plan to use this blog as an avenue to hold an auction of wonderful gifts that will be bid upon and all the proceeds will benefit March for Babies. I would love to hear your feedback!

1. Would you help me advertise to all your followers next year that this auction is being held?

2. Would you be willing to donate a gift?
Possibly something home/handmade
A service that you could provide such as blog designing or personal monogramming.
Would you lump together a bunch of gently used children's clothes that someone could bid on?

3. Is this auction something you would be willing to participate in as a bidder? I would love for this to be a success next year - so please tell me if you feel I do not have a big enough audience to pull this off.

Thanks everyone!

And dont forget to vote for Boy OR Girl!!

Allergies, Moby Wrap and Outdoor Fun!

2010-04-14T17:19:00.000-07:00

My allergies have been ruthless! I just want to claw my eyes out and rip off my nose!! I have had seasonal allergies since I was eight years old. Living with them for almost 20 years, I have been on every medication out there. Each springtime you will see another new commerical on tv advertizing a new allergy medication because most people (and if you're like ME) will build a fast tolerance to the medicine. So what worked last year - doesn't work this year! Being pregnant - my options are very slim! I have been taking the generic brand of zrytec which is a preventive, meaning you have to get into your system before it starts doing its job. And when you have a bad attack - this isn't going to immediately fight it. (That's where you need a Benadryl). These meds needs to be taken every morning and every night. I don't like taking 2 pills a day for my allgeries when I am pregnant. But if you have never had them... you have NO idea!

Lately, even this medicine isn't cutting it. I don't know what's going on with the pollen/trees/grass, but it's horrible! That irritating itch behind your nose that feels like a sneeze is approaching... just lingers and lingers and is impossible scratch! That past few years haven't been that terrible (and believe me, I have a high tolerance to allergy irriatation) but this week has gotten me down! UGH!

Enough complaining....

A few days ago my new Moby Wrap arrived in the mail! Sweet Melinda sold me her gently used cream colored wrap and I can't wait to start practicing with it. The weight limit is 35 lbs, which is just crazy for me to think I could carry Jackson in it LOL Thanks Melinda!

More exciting things for us... I was in the market for hitting the rummages this spring for outdoor play toys for Jackson. This year will be quite a bit different than last year because he just sat on a blanket last summer. My neighbor had told me that I would really need to keep an eye out for those rummages advertising slides and sandboxes because those items are hot ticket. Low and behold - over Easter my mother in law gave us the outdoor play equipment that she had gotten from a rummage sale a few years prior. She had purchased them at an awesome deal for our nephews but they have out grown the toys. So this Sunday I spent a few mins cleaning them up. What's the point in purchasing these items at full price in the store when they just get beaten up and weathered? I am so happy to have something for Jackson to play with now!

17 weeks along and thoughts...

2010-04-09T09:01:00.000-07:00

I had my 16 week appt yesterday which was thankfully very uneventful. Baby's heart rate is in the steady 150s. Could that mean a girl? I seem to remember Jax's settling around 130-140 bpm. This photo was taken today, one day short of 17 weeks.

I have my diagnostic ultrasound scheduled for May 6th which I am just over the moon about. I am so jealous of my friend Holly was able to find out her baby is most likely a little girl. I am thrilled for her and her family as they now can start calling Rainbow by her name, Lainey Iris.

We haven't begun to think about names yet. I think I want to save myself the brain power of deciding on a name for the wrong gender. :) Right away when we found out we were pregnant, both Paul and I thought "boy", but at the 12 week ultrasound, I was feeling "girl". And now I have absolutely no idea. :)

If this baby is a girl I will be so excited for all the reasons I have expressed in a distant post of its own. My conflicting feelings would be that Paul and I discussed ideally wanting a family of 2 children. I hate the idea of limiting my family due to finances, but it also important to us to provide for our children with a great education and a safe home/community to grow up in. I remember a few years back I read the estimated cost for a child from birth to 18 years is $100,000. That number has most likely increased now. But getting back to my point, if this baby is a girl - am I able to settle with the fact that this is my last pregnancy. I know that God has his own plans for us and we could be surprised down the road with another child. But since we planned both of these pregnancies (1st try with Jackson and 2nd try with this baby), an "opps" just isn't something I see in our future. However, I won't say it couldn't happen. I am 17 weeks into this pregnancy and I haven't even begun to mentally prepare for what my life will be like with 2 children, how having a newborn will change everything again. I haven't really even gotten side tracked by the newborn clothing department at the store. My mind and energy has still so consumed with Jackson, I find myself still forgetting that I will soon be a mother to two kids :)

Now, if this baby is a boy we will also be excited. Jackson will love to have a little brother! I never saw myself to have two little boys, still dont really - but I am opening up to the idea that there is a good possibility this baby will be a boy. All the clothes we have for Jackson will fit this new baby (Jackson was born in October, new baby due in September). So that will really be nice! But onto the conflicting point, I can't say to myself I would be ok stopping our family at 2 children, because in my heart... I would still be longing for a little girl as well. I have already had that discussion on this blog, so I won't go there again. But how can I "argue" the point to my husband we could try again for a little girl - when there is no guarantee that the next child would be a girl :)

God knows what is best for me and I am thankful that He already has our family formed. I am just along for the ride to see it all unfold in front of me. No matter what this child is, he/she will add a greater degree of happiness, laughter and love to our family and we are welcoming that with arms wide open.

Updates

2010-04-07T12:08:00.000-07:00

So sharing photoshop secrets totally bombed. I guess not enough people use that program. Bummed out

I will be working alot on April Accents, getting it spruced up and adding more products.

I will probably be blogging less during that time, but check back here for updates on the status of the new site.

Photoshop Secrets Revealed

2010-04-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

PhotoShop Secrets Revealed

Come to share your tricks and tips for photo editing and photo enhancements. I have been trying to figure my way around PhotoShop CS2 and can easily get frustrated with how long the experimenting takes me. If you have a neat trick or a simpler way of achieving great photo editing in PhotoShop or PhotoShop Essentials or any similar program... please link up and show us!

Here's Mine

Water Color Designs

I transformed this photograph...

Into a Water Color Painting...

I followed this tutorial online, however I will highlight the steps here for you too.

1. Create 3 background copies of your original by clicking Cntl: J (PC) or Command: J (MAC) and label them Layer 1 - Layer 3. (The default will name them Layer, Layer copy 1, Layer copy 2) which may get confusing. You will have a total of 4 layers, including the self titled Background layer

2. Turn off Layer 2 & Layer 3 by clicking the Layer Visiblity icon, the eyeball to the left of the layer title.

3. Select Layer 1, which is the first of which we will work with. Then you will simplify this layer of your photo. From Filter menu, click Artistic > Cutout. You will change the Cutout Filter settings to the following:

Number of Levels = 4

Edge Simplicity = 4

Edge Fidelity = 2

4. Change the Blend Mode of Layer 1 from Normal to Luminosity

5. Turn on Layer 2 by activiting the eyeball icon so it is now visible and select this layer. You are going to add texture to the layer by going to the Filter Menu and clicking Artistic > Dry Brush. You will set the Dry Brush setting to the following:

Dry Brush = 10

Brush Detail = 10

Texture = 3

6. Change the Blend Mode of Layer 2 from Normal to Screen

Your photograph is now a watercolor painting!

Now post your photograph editing secrets and link them up here!!

Because of Him... I AM...

2010-04-02T09:17:00.000-07:00

Loved.Forgiven.Saved.Set Free.Grateful.

John 3:16

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."

A prayer from HeartLight

Father, I believe that you gave Jesus to save me from my sins. I confess that I cannot fully understand that love, but I thank you and praise you with all of my heart. Please forgive me when my life does not reflect your loving estimation of my worth. Give me strength to believe what you say about me. I place my full trust in your love to continue its transformational work of redemption in me. Thank you that you are making me better than I am right now. Thank you even more for ransoming me from my sin and giving me life with you. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Photoshop Secrets

2010-03-30T20:47:00.000-07:00

Let's share our Photo Shop secrets!

Over the last year I have spent several brain wrecking hours following tutorials online to help me navigate my way around the photo editing program. I haven't learned much but I can manage to adjust the color on a beginner's level. I can also add softness and isolate certain objects in a photo... but that's about it!

I love to see other bloggers edit their photos and I always find myself asking... "How did she DO that"?

Well, let's hear it LADIES! Spill the beans! Do you know how easily add a watermark to your photo? Do you know how to change the overall color to a smooth looking brownish tone? Do you know how to change eye color? Do you know how to isolate one object's color while turning the rest of the photo to black and white? TELL US!!

Next week Monday April 5th I will be hosting a
MckLinky PhotoShop Secret's Revealed
post. So spend some time this week creating your demonstrative/informative posts and come back here and LINK UP to tell us all!

Note: I currently have Photoshop CS2 - so if you could keep the editing capablities to that caliber or earlier versions, I would appreciate that :) Photoshop Elements is very similar to Photoshop, so I welcome those as well!

I Can't Wait to Learn YOUR Secrets!!

He thought of US

2010-03-29T12:04:00.000-07:00

As Easter comes closer this year, I would have to admit this is probably the first year I am really convicted by what Easter represences. I don't even know exactly how to put my words down on paper. How do I spell out how grateful I am for the sacrifice that Jesus made? How can any words describe the magnitude of that event?

Pastor Brad spoke this past Sunday about how Christ had each one of us on his mind in those last few days of his earthly life. After Jesus has predicted his own death and has begun to prepare for that... he was thinking of us. Matthew 20:29 tells of the two blind men who shouted out to Jesus asking for mercy as He and the disciples were leaving Jericho. Jesus, the man who knows that he is about to ridiculed, betrayed, mocked, denied and nailed to a cross for a very painful, public death... stops to ask these two outcasted blind men, "What do you want me to do for you?" It says that "Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him." Jesus had performed many miracles by just speaking words or assigning tasks. But in these moments, when Jesus' heart is heavy with what He is being called to do... stops to physically lay his hands upon these men to heal their sight. He had God's people on his mind all the way to the cross.

He was thinking of me...

My Achievements!!

2010-03-27T16:02:00.000-07:00

On thursday afternoon, after the horrible allergist visit - my mom came to take Jackson for the whole weekend. I was confident by then that he was not reacting to the vaccine. It was a sad goodbye for me because I didn't have time to prepare myself that morning... my son will be gone for 3 days!

I had a whole list of spring cleaning/projects that I wanted to get done. Working on tedious projects around the house is just so much more practical without Jackson being counterproductive to my mission. Here was my list:

Clean / dust the whole house from top to bottom

Clean out / organize my craft closet

Clean out / organize the front hall coat and shoe closet

Run numberous errands

Finish Jax's wall painting

Make my friend's little girl her easter gift

(still need to iron it)

Figure out some decor for the top of our cabinets in the kitchen

Everything on top of these cabinets I found around my house. It helped to declutter other areas and bring height to my vaulted ceilings. The lanterns were still packed away in the basement from our wedding. They were part of our table centerpieces. The only thing I purchased was the stockings in the large vase,

Hobby Lobby.

And in case you were curious...

I totally POPPED this week!

Can you believe that is a 15 week belly??

ps. ignore the vacuum cleaner :) it (instead of Jackson) has followed me around for the last 3 days

Happy Birthday Carleigh

2010-03-27T10:05:00.000-07:00

Holly is celebrating Carleigh's 1st Birthday

today with her family and friends.

On this day Lord, please flood their hearts with the memories

of Carleigh so rich as though she had entered your Kingdom yesterday.

Our MMR vaccine diaster!

2010-03-26T08:37:00.000-07:00

On thursday morning, I took Jackson in to the allergist to have the MMR administered. Jax's ped wanted the allergist to supervise the vaccine injection because of Jackson's severe egg allergy. Apparently, MMR is also cultured in egg - but not nearly as much as the flu shot. I wasn't looking forward to the appt knowing very well my son would be poked mulitple times over a period of 2 hours. Not to mention desperately trying to keep his occupied during that time.

First he was given a scratch test or a prick test. This went over just fine - 4 tiny "scratches" on his back to determine if there was an allergy to the MMR vaccine, as well as retesting for the egg. Turns out his sensitivity to egg has decreased since October, which means his body is most likely already getting more tolerant of it. The MMR spot showed no reaction = good news. So the nurse went to the next step - a skin test where they place a small amount of the MMR vaccine right beneath the skin to form a bubble. I believe this is just the next step because more of the potential allergen is being introduced to the body (compared to the scratch test). That went horrible! The nurse even told me, "I don't work with little ones very often."... How is THAT suppose to make me feel, knowing you're coming at my son with a needle? Needless to say, Jackson screamed murder while this nurse failed to get the vaccine under the skin. There was MMR all over my hands from trying to hold Jackson's arm still (I repeat - ARM~ on a 1 yr old?) She said she thought she got enough in him for the test to take. My poor kid has 5 bloody pokes in the same spot from where she struggled to form a bubble right beneath the skin.

Thankfully, that didn't react either - so it was on to the full concentrated injection of the MMR. The nurse wanted to do it in the arm again and I refused. I said, "You need to do it in the leg and pin his leg against the table with your body so it doesn't move." So she agreed - the allergist dr. came in to help me hold him still, which I was glad for because the nurse didn't lean into his leg to hold it anyways. The MMR is intra-muscular so of course Jackson went wild again. I just bent over him while he screamed on the table and soothed him. When the nurse was done... I saw that she had poked him TWICE for the same shot. What the hell, lady? I just picked him up and calmed him down and promised him I would never taken him back to a clinic that didn't have experience working with children. Unfortunately in WI, the only Pediatrics Allergist Specialists are in Milwaukee and Madison. I would definitely drive to Milwaukee (almost 2 hours) for an appt. where someone knew how to help children.

After the tears were gone, he was happy as a clam - but I was still a wreck. Deep down I knew it was unnecessary to have the MMR vaccine given outside the pediatrics office because the Allergist said that children with egg allergies are REARLY allergic to the MMR vaccine. But I had taken my Peds advice to be on the safe side, and I felt it went terribley. No one should be taking a needle to a child if they aren't comfortable doing it!

And so the 2nd Trimester Begins....

2010-03-20T06:01:00.000-07:00

CRAZY! It completely snuck up on me. I have been feeling alittle more energized, thanks to the week of beautiful weather we had - but that's gone again. And I am left with the start of my seasonal allergies which kill me every year! The first few days are the worst when I need to give the preventative medication time to work in my system. Now that my son is feeling better and sleeping soundly through the night again - I am the one up blowing my nose struggling to breathe.

Jackson has been more like himself yesterday and the day before. I believe he got used to me putting all my chores away for the 4 days while he was really bad, and literally just laying on the couch with him. Because now, he demands my attentions all day! He whines and fusses at my feet if I am not sitting on the floor playing with him. I feel bad about that, but I also haven't done ANYTHING around the house in a week since he started feeling sick - so now I need to catch up a little. Yesterday was a bit of a struggle for me because he just whined out of boredom :)

He is beginning to speak more too. He can "Roar" like a lion, "Moo" like a cow. He has occasionally put two words together, "Bye, Dada" and "Mama On." (When he saw me turn on the lights in the living room). He says "Hot Dog, Kitty (very clearly), Juice" and a few others. I can tell that he is signing less - although I still am a stickler for "please" when he wants something. Never too early to start his manners :)
Today I am going to be spending the late morning by our neighbor - cutting their hair. Who knows what the rest of the weekend will bring! Cold weather, unfortuantely - that's a guarantee!

Baby Wearing Recap

2010-03-18T12:58:00.000-07:00

I really want to thank everyone for your great input about the baby wearing topic. I really like the idea, and I don't want to be over thinking it. I suppose if its something that I do, even just while baby is an infant - it would be worth the investment. Another thing I considered - baby will be born in September, so that will only leave me with about month of great weather to actually wear it outside. I know I would wear it inside too, but I just see myself in it more outdoors - at the park, lounging in the yard. I am not big on holding a baby around the house.

I watched a tutorial online on how to wrap the Moby and I just fell in love with it! I love the stretchy fabric and the security of it. Definitely something I am willing to give a try :) Now - if only I can find one at a discount ;)

WW - Poor Little Man

2010-03-17T07:19:00.000-07:00

Even though my busy little boy has felt like this since Sunday...

He can still muster a smile for mommy.

Taking him to the doctor this afternoon. Ear fection? Never had one.

Fever of 102.6? This is the first time.

Affect from teething? Never reacted like this before!

17 months before a sickness has really gotten him down... I would say that's pretty good. The cold he had at his birthday - was nothing compared to this!

UPDATE:

No Ear Infection, No Pneumonia

Just one nasty virus that has to run its course.

Needs to really push the liquids and keep him hydrated.

Poor guy! He took 2 naps today - am nap- 1.75 hrs / pm nap - 3hrs. Holy COW!

Is Babywearing For Me?

2010-03-13T19:37:00.000-08:00

I will first start off by mentioning that I did not haul Jackson around in a carrier very much at all when he was a baby. (Listen to me - when he was a baby... sadly, he's not one anymore!) This was mainly because the front carrier I have is so stressing to my upper back that after about 25-30 mins, I just couldn't stand it anymore. I have seen quite a few moms recently raving over the Mody Wrap and this has me reconsidering a few things.

I am considering babywearing with my second child. I know it's so much easier to get around especially when you have older children. It's a natural thing to hold your baby close. But here is my concern...

Am I going to be creating a baby who is dependant on motion sleeping?

I am not talking about infancy - newborns don't care much about where they are when they fall asleep. My experience with Jackson and his sleeping habits - was a successful tale. He started taking regular naps at 3 months which is when I started putting him in his crib for all naps. My soothing routine at that age [3 mos and for several months thereafter] was diaper change, swaddling and a song or two while I rocked him. He always went into his crib awake and fell asleep on his own - not motion dependant at all. He never liked the swing and after 2 months old - he never fell asleep in my arms again. While that made me sad to a degree - I was proud that my child was independant sleeper at such a young age. He was sleeping through the night at 2 months old.

If baby #2 gets used to falling asleep in the carrier - won't I be creating a hard habit to break? I understand that many moms will take their babes (again, not speaking about newborns here. Rather I am refering to 3 mos+) out of the carriers when they have fallen asleep so that the child can sleep with no motion and get better rest. But I know there some children out there who will wake up as soon as the motion stops. And this can cause much stress on both baby and mommy.

If I am mother who finds non motion sleep beneficial and regular nap schedules an important tool for child rearing - is babywearing not for me?

Because a 16 month old lives here...

2010-03-12T13:09:00.000-08:00

This might not look that perculiar from this angle....

But - THAT was the reason for the clanking noise while the washer was running!

Nice one Jax!

No More Concern

2010-03-11T12:12:00.000-08:00

So happy and relieved to announce that both the hemmorages have completely been absorbed and there was no trace of them at all! We are so thankful to be able to enjoy the remander of the pregnancy with only good and anticipating thoughts! Every time I have gone in, my due date has been moved ahead one day. Now it's Sept. 18th! Our 3rd wedding anniversary will be on Sept. 15th! Oh Boy!

Here are a few photos.

Heart Rate = 162

Baby's head was hidding - but look at those straight legs!!

The baby was actively kicking and swimming in all the free floating space. I told him/her to enjoy the space while it lasts :P

Lazy Sunday

2010-03-07T12:35:00.000-08:00

Wow, the days have gone by fast with this pregnancy! It wasn't until I logged on to my blog and that I realized I am 12 weeks today! What a trusty pregnancy ticker! Can't believe I am almost finished with my 1st trimester. I have my follow up ultrasound this week Wednesday. Hopefully that will shed some light on the Subchorionic Hemmorages concern. I will have not experienced any bleeding. I don't want to make assumptions, but I have a pretty good feeling that my body is absorbing the clots. Because of where the bleeding occured (so close to the cervix), my doctor said I will most likely have some bleeding. But we won't know for sure until Wednesday.

The past few days have been beautiful outside. And by that, I mean 40-50s degrees. I caved and let Jax have one of his baseball bats/ ball from his easter basket. I felt terrible that he doesn't have any outdoor toys. We went for a little walk in his wagon yesterday too. He is sleeping now, but we intend to go outside and play again this afternoon!

Jax didn't care much for getting his shows dirty... just wanted us to get the ball everytime it off-roaded!

Easter Goodies / Mom's Progress

2010-03-04T11:19:00.000-08:00

I have Jackson's Easter basket all ready! This little boy doesn't have a thing for chocolate candy, so I kept it light with only the Reese's Pieces. Everything you see here, save for the Children's Prayer Book ($8) and the Gerber utensils ($4), was only $1 each. I had taken Jackson outside yesterday to play in the driveway and enjoy the 40 degree weather... but realized we don't have any outside toys for him! I was thrilled to find the two bats/baseball sets and the big bouncy ball. Also, the egg shaped side walk chalk will be perfect for his little hands. He will love the bubbles and the squishy water balls when summer finally comes. I can't wait to see his face when he sees all the balls that the Easter Bunny brought him, those are his favorite right now :)

My mom came to visit for a few days this week. The first chance she has gotten since her last operation in mid Feb. The procedure went well as far as the results of her implants, however she experienced some nerve damage in her arms/neck that has persisted since she woke up from anesthesia. Mom has received a EMG test administered by a neuralogist which determined which nerve(s) were effected and confirmed that she has a buldging disk. It can be assumed that this damaged occured due to the several times she was hoisted to a sitting position during the operation to assess the progress of her implantation.

For the past three weeks, she has slowly started to get back the feeling and mobility of her right arm. But to compensate for the lack of control of her right arm, she has been needing to use her left arm alot more.... which has now begun to take it's toll on that pectoral muscle... which had just been lifted and had an implant inserted. So, this may be a slow process to recover from this unexpected event. We are still extremely fortunate for the results of her cancer having been contained where it was, and for no necessary need of further treatments. My parents are leaving for their long awaited, much deserved Mexican vacation this coming Saturday.

NEW TRICKS

2010-02-26T13:53:00.000-08:00

LOOK

WHAT

I CAN

MOM!