I have to get better at this!

Gosh! I have been busy! Really! So, over the last two weeks what have we been doing? Well, Mavrick turned 7! Yes, he is 7! I can’t believe it either. We had a Webkinz party for Mav, which was interesting because we did it here at the house and invited neighborhood kids and school kids and we played games. We have never done the party game thing before. We guessed how many gumballs were in a jar, Operation Gumball. Then we played pin the tail on the donkey, had a water balloon toss, had a piñata and wrapped it up with a water balloon toss. The prizes for the winners and runners up were webkinz items. That part got a little expensive, but I justified it in my mind with “we took Michael to Disney World for his 7th birthday.” I think fun was had by all, so it was well worth the expense.

Julie and Stuart Birdseye came to the party and she (aka JeJe) brought the CD with the pics from the sitting with Major and the rest of us. They are amazing. I am so glad that we had them done early. The one of all 5 of us at the top of my blog are one of them. There were 165-ish in all. We are going to do his birth announcements with one as well. She even has one of their pictures on her new business cards. www.juliebirdseye.com

The boys got out of school for the summer on the 21st. It has been interesting getting used to having three kids at home. They are bored out of their heads because their friends don’t get out of school till the 5th. They are going to start staying at my mom & dad’s on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and I am going to try to get my life in order and decide what I want to be when I grow up. We may leave Major with Mom and Dad on Fridays and go to the water park. I am due back at work on July the 11th and I am having a hard time warming up to that idea, but the backup plan isn’t coming together too quickly, and COBRA will cost half of one of Marks paychecks… Last week I was telling Mark about my fears and hesitations and he said to me “God left you hear for something special. He as something wonderful waiting for you.” It briefly occurred to me that he was probably right, and something special and wonderful probably didn’t entail sitting behind a desk at the Town for 40 hours each week…

On Memorial Day, we went to my sister’s house. They had our family and Brian’s family over. They do that a lot and it is always fun. We took the kids to the neighborhood “splash pad” and then took the bigger kids to the pool. Major stayed at the house with my parents, and Mark had to work. We got sunburned, but we all are looking a little tan now. I have not bought a new swim suit this season and wasn’t going to swim. Christy had a swim suit that she never wore and talked me into going. The suit was a bit small. I felt like my butt was hanging out in the back and I had muffin boobs (you know when they hang out over the edge of your suit or bra), but it covered the important parts. Thing is that I now have tan lines, so I have to do some toning up so I can wear it this summer! How is that for motivation!
Major turned 6 weeks old on Wednesday. He is growing like crazy. He has decided that nursing isn’t really his thing, and my boobs have decided that they are going to dry up. Nuthin’ but dust in there now. Really. I try to pump and get about 2 oz a day! Yes, a DAY! Anyway, that child has the worst gas. He does really good some days, and some days, just to take a nap he needs to be held and patted the entire time. Who am I to tell him “no.” My mom has been after me about holding him too much and spoiling him…WHATEVER! My thought is that he is a miracle. All children are miracles, but this little man was conceived while I was on the pill. He is that 1 in 99% chance. And I could have died after I had him and never had the chance to hold him all day, so if I want to hold him till he is 7, I will.
On Wednesday, I had my 6 week check up and my Dr said everything was great. I look great. My blood pressure is great. My weight is great. It’s all great. So she released me back to my life. I really am feeling good now. Like a new mom. I am remembering how over rated sleep is, for more than 2 hours at a time anyway. This time I am really able to keep it in perspective how short this time really is. Major will be sleeping through the night soon enough… and rolling over, and sitting up, and walking, and talking, and potty trained, and turning 7!

On Thursday, Mark had a consultation for his vasectomy. It is scheduled for the 13th. The brought home this literature and it talks about how permanent it is. I know that we don’t need any more kids, but it still makes me kind of sad thinking that we will NOT be having anymore kids. We both agree that there are thousands of children that need to be adopted by a good family, and we could get the little girl we don’t have. So, Mark is getting spayed in a few weeks.

Tonight, Mark and I are going on a date. The first one in a long time. I am excited. My mom and dad have offered to let all the kids spend the night. I don’t know if she knows what she is volunteering for. Major really wakes and eats every two hours the last few days, but I guess that is even more reason to let him stay. I would probably be a new woman with 7 or 8 hours of sleep IN A ROW!

Another Week Has Flown By!

Four weeks old! Yesterday, Major was four weeks old! Time is flying! And he is growing so fast! Tuesday we had to move to size one diapers – no more new borns!


Julie Birdseye came last weekend and took pictures of the kids, and us. She has a few of them posted on her blog at http://birdseyephotography.blogspot.com/ on May the 6th, and they are awesome. She does fabulous work. Of course, her subjects weren’t too shabby!
It’s been a good week. I am finally feeling good. My blood pressure seems to be under control. I am getting up and staying up about 8-ish and I have been picking up the boys from school. It has been nice to feel like I will be myself again soon! But I have realized that I don’t have any pics of me with the baby boy, so here is one that I took myself!

Last weekend was mother’s day. Mom had us all over for lunch and wanted a picture with her kids and grandkids. For not being at all planned, it turned out pretty good. I can't believe I am a "NEW Mom" again!

This Week...

Over the weekend, Christy, Cooper and Isabella came over and stayed with Mom and Dad. They were able to come down to our house a few times and Mom finally got the two boys together. She and my dad have been playing nurse maid to me and Christy since we came home. Bless their hearts, they have been separated really every day since I came home, except for the day I found about my blood pressure. It was nice to have everyone in the same neighborhood for a while.

On Monday afternoon, Michael learned to ride his bike. It took about five minutes. He was obviously ready. And he has been getting after it ever since. We definitely have something new to restrict him from when he doesn’t behave. He is doing really good and now Mavrick has a new determination to be able to ride his bike by the end of the weekend.

Tuesday, I went back to my Dr. My blood pressure was really good, but I was so weak! My dad is still carting me around town and carrying the baby for me. Anyway, my Dr said to keep taking the meds and come back on Friday.

Wednesday, we went to Major’s 2 week check up. They said he looks perfect, when they weighed him he had only gotten back up to 7.10 from the 7.15 he was born at. The Dr told me to start feeding him every two hours! Really! Do I not look tired enough already? Daddy had to carry Major to be weighed because I was so weak I thought I would drop to the floor any second. So, we have started supplementing with a bottle. Major is doing fine and has not refused the breast yet. We just switch out every other feeding. He wanted us to come back on Friday.

On Thursday, we all (me, Major, Mom & Dad) went down to Medical City to see my GP. He ordered all types of blood work to be done as well as for me to have an echocardiogram done next week. He agreed with everything my OBGYN has me doing, but wanted to check a few things. He wasn’t concerned that I had lost 40 pounds, but is concerned as to WHY I have lost so much so fast. We discussed the blood transfusions and what that does and does not do to the body and when my own blood should replace what I lost. Anyway, he wants to be very through and check everything. My mom was very pleased, as was Mark when she relayed all the info to him.
Today is finally Friday! We saw my OBGYN this morning at 11:00. My BP was good and she wants me to cut back to taking 1 pill in the morning, 2 in the afternoon, and 1 in the evening. She is going to get in contact with my GP and has ok’ed me to drive. She wants me to take my BP next week and call it in to her and come back at 6 weeks postpartum. After my Dr, we went to IHOP to eat lunch. I had the Viva La French Toast! Loved It! We had Mavrick’s Reader’s Theater at 1:45 at his school. Daddy and Major stayed in the car and took a nap. After school we took Major to his Dr appointment to be weighed. He was 8.1 ½ , so he had gained 7.5 ounces. YEA!