Parker Grey's Birth

My sweet boy is two months old today...sniff...and I'm just now getting around to writing his birth story. 

His due date was September 20th... But I really wanted to have him the 5th or 6th... Those dates came and went ...even though I begged my Dr., he wouldn't strip my membranes that early.....doing so has always started my labor.

 Finally ....September 10th he did strip my membranes and told me he doubted anything would happen because I was only 2cm and my cervix was still pretty thick.  I went home and was slightly uncomfortable the rest of the day and didn't sleep well that night.

I woke up the morning of September 11th.. Not the day I would choose for my child's birthday... Only because there is so much sadness associated with this date. I was awake at 6am and was having contractions 10 min apart, I timed them for and hour and then called my husband who was 3 hours from home on business. He of course got stuck in bay area traffic coming home ....which made us both nervous because my labors go pretty quick.  I sent my Dr. a text and let him know I was in labor...he called me and said don't wait too long to go to the hospital.   Chad finaly arrived home about 10:30 and he said "you are not in enough pain" meaning: are you sure about this?  

We got to the hospital around 11am and ran into my BFF Tiffanie who had just had Parkers bff  Kohen three days before.   The nurses checked me and I was still only 2cm... They had me walk for an hour to see if I would make any progress... So we got back to the room about 12:15 and had only made a tiny bit of progress so they were going to send us home... But they had to monitor the baby for 30 minutes first to make sure he was ok.  During that time Tiffanie and Kohen were discharged and thought we were going home too... 

I said to the Dr. " these contractions are hurting  and you want me to go home"?Over the course of the 30 minutes of monitoring the Dr. Realized that I was my contractions were getting serious and decided I could stay... 12:45 at that point. 

 It took them 4 tries and almost an hour and finally the Dr. had to start my iv... In between really strong contractions. This was miserable and  I was bruised for over a week in 3 places... Apparently my veins are hard to find.... Which I knew from previous labors but this time was the worst.   

Once that problem, was resolved he broke my water which always turns up the conrtactions and pain for me. Pretty much from then on I felt the need to push but wasnt fully dilated so they kept telling me not to... So I was literally squeezing my knees together trying to hold him in!  

My hubby was so great and was my rock... He really helped me remain calm and breathe through the PAIN! Yes, he has been there 4 other times but this time seemed different to me.  We were both nervous for me and the baby since I am in the lovely advanced maternal age category.😖such a hideous title.

 Finally it was time to push and push i did... He came flying out in one push and according to my mom and Chad the Dr. almost dropped him because he was not expecting him to  fly out in one push.  

Thank goodness I didn't go home because he was born at 3:15pm.

He was my biggest baby at 8 lbs 6 oz 21" long.  Thank goodness he was early or he would have been gigantic!!!! Yikes!!

My claim to fame....... I have had 5 babies with out an epidural!

Me and my precious family minus my Gabby girl... She was there but was grouchy and didnt want to be in the photo.  😞

She made up for it later that evening with this:

I took a snap shot of it so I would have it to look back on.. Because moments like that are rare and special. 

The next day after school .. All of my babies together!  

Kohen and Parker meet for the first time! 

Time to go home!!!! 

Today on his two month birthday at his two month check up... Fat and happy.

This boy is getting huge fast... He weighed in at 13 pounds 6.5oz. And 24.5inches long.  He is now in the 95th% for weight and 90th% for height! Funny thing is he is a pound lighter at this age than Graham was! 

We love him to pieces and can't imagine life without him! 

"What I do all day"

*i started Parker's birth story post and will post that in the next day or so. But this just had to be done. 

My eldest daughter had the nerve to ask me ... In the worlds snottiest voice " what do you even do all day."

I was really offended, upset and hurt.... Basically she thinks I am a lazy slob. So I said." I am going to write down what I do all day, as I do it so you can see . 

So here is what I did all day today...

7am made sure you and Gwen were up.  740 got up helped g get ready for school Went back to bed at 8. Fed baby 830 went back to bed until 10. ( yes I went back to bed ...I'm tired... Baby wakes Up in middle of night and I went to bed at midnight). Let dog out. Fed sgs breakfast and ate now 1030. Check bank balance. Txt a couple people! 1035. Going to poop now!(tmi.. Sorry... Just keeping it real ) Answer txts. 10:41. Deal with txts for Gwen's schedule. Fold and put away some laundry. Try to get Matt to come sign off my tickets. 1052. Called your dad. Gather maternity clothes to give back to Jenny. Change diaper ..Gather other maternity clothes to sell. Feed baby. Txt you while feeding baby. 1132. Answer door, get mail. Open mail. Talk to Owens. Matt came by to fix tickets. (Fixit tickets)Still in my robe:-/12:25 make sgs lunch. Hard boiling eggs for lunches. Making grocery list 1235 go to bathroom. change diaper while bacon for my lunch is probably burning. Cut up strawberries otherwise no one eats and they go bad. 12:54 make myself a sandwich. Remove hard boiled eggs from stove into fridge... Try to eat lunch. Parker hates that plan. Eat lunch ...flip through magazine while bouncing Parker's seat with my foot. Stop to wipe sgs bottom ....finished sandwich while holding baby. 1:11 now feeding baby and talking to auntie. 1:35 tidy up a few things. Clean doll cabinet and put on porch for lady who is buying it. Took baby upstairs with me so I could do laundry and get ready .. He hates the plan of not being held. Trying to get him to sleep. Got him to sleep1:57. Look through cabinets for products for you and Gwen 2:04. Go down stairs to appreciate sgs puzzle she worked so hard on. Back upstairs to start a load of laundry. Not enough darks .. Back down stairs to grab littles darks .. Load started 2:13 try to make my self look human. Talk to you while doing makeup, talk to Tiffanie while trying to finish makeup... Answer txts about ballet clothes for Margaret's daughter. Go potty. 2:41. Finally brush teeth(Gross I know)😝run downstairs to get dance stuff together for Margaret and bag up Jenny's maternity stuff. 2:51. Start bath water... Back to makeup ... Done finally. 2:55. Left to get Gwen 3:01 back at 3:27. Get in bath while eating a fiber bar ... Bath water is now cold ... Not fun 3:32 did get arm pits shaved at least. Help sgs with tooth paste.. Switch laundry. Get dressed. 3:41. Change diaper and load kids in car. 3:48 arrived at studio and visited with my friends while sgs danced.(yes, I spent an hour with my friends instead of doing stuff around the house) Now at gymnastics 5:24. Get home Change super poopy diaper & change baby's clothes. Get kids dinner 6:50. Grab crying baby so I can eat dinner in peace. Finished eating 704. Washed dinner plates picked up crying baby 7:09 hold grumpy baby while trying to drink glass of wine and read magazine. Try to get baby to sleep argue with Gwen 7:35. Put on sweat shirt and hold baby. Sit and hold baby while talking to you. Bathed, & dressed baby 8:27. Tucked your sibs in. Feeding baby. 842. Sold doll canbinet to lady for 20$ ...held baby in kitchen and ate nuts. 9:10Walked with your dad and Parker ...Back from walk at 10:25. Fold baby's laundry .. Make hot chocolate ...drink while folding rest of clothes ..put clothes away... pick up a few things make lunches .. Stuff some more dishes in all ready full dishwasher and run it .. Cut flat of strawberries up because first batch is all ready gone. 11:50. Wash face brush teeth get pj's on. 12:04am. Read this in bed.... Does that answer your question of what I do all day?!?!

Now I shall sleep... 12:36am 

Oh and baby woke to eat at 2:40am .. Changed his diaper and fed him and for some reason is still awake at almost 4am.  (Which is weird because he usually goes back to sleep easily)

And Scarlette has joined the party.,, woke up scared! 

I do not like being awake at 4am!!!!!!

Maternity Photos

I decided it was a must to do Maternity photos this time ... being that it is #5 (& LAST) and I have never  done professional photos during pregnancy! So here they are.. I am very happy we did them!

This is my FAVE... me and all my babies!

Parker is the name we finally decided on! Not an S or G name but his middle name will be Grey... so he will still have a "G" name in there.

My BFF and I ended up being pregnant together and our babies are due 11 days apart.. and she is having a boy also... so we needed to have a double belly photo.

 My belly looks sooo much bigger but she is due first!  

I'm happy to have these!  

I have gained a TON of weight.... a ton!   more than any other time GULP... Lots of hard work in the near future but I've done it a few times before so I think I will be ok! 

Hopefully it will not be much longer.. I'm ready for this little man.

In the mean time I am enjoying some one on one time with my current baby Scarlette Grace.

Some things I've made and baby update

Baby will be here before we know it, and the kids start school in 13 days. And I'm not really ready for either.  But I have made a few fun things lately, not as many as I would like....but better than nothing at all. 

Whipped up this hat last night for our soon to be little pumpkin. Who btw still has no name! It's crochet and was super fast to make .. The pattern can be found on my pinterest board titled crochet. 

I am now selling these darling laser cut wooden necklaces and magnets in my shop!  

I whipped up this vintage sheet bunting a week ago.. Love how it looks in my shop window.   Thinking about making some for fall.   

The beginning stages of the nursery makeover.  It's still in progress.. Which is making me nervous with only 7 weeks until my due date. 

I will try to post more nursery photos as soon as we get it done.  

And here's a belly shot from a few weeks ago. 

I've been wanting to do a post for such a long long time. I finally just made my self do a quick one with whatever photos I have on my phone. 

 

Graham celebrates the end of kindergarten

Today was Graham's kindergarten celebration...he's ready for First grade! 

Baby #5 Update

Today was my first ob appointment... Happy to report that there is just one tiny little baby in there! My due date is September 20th... Which makes me 9 weeks and 4 days pregnant. I saw the heart beat and the Dr. said everything looks wonderful.

We are all excited ... Even Gabby .. Who said to me today "I'm excited to have another one" she said this while she was looking at her current littlest sibling... Who fell asleep in the car after dance class. Like my Grandma said.... it is all going to work out:)

Still crazy to think we are going to have 5 children ... That's a whole lot of kids!

Our family is expanding...

I know I haven't blogged in eons...it's not because I haven't had tons to blog about. It's a technology problem... My lap top and desk top both died. So my phone is the only option at the moment which takes forever. I'm getting a new laptop next month and hope to get back to blogging! On to the subject at hand....

The big news is I am expecting baby number 5! It was a giant surprise to both of us. Yes, we know how it happens and yes we were using protection.... We just happened to fall into the 1% who conceive despite the contraception. Sorry if this is TMI!

I'm not sure of my exact due date it could be mid Sept-early Oct depending on my last period which if I knew when that was it would be helpful... I have an appointment on the 19th and they will give me an exact due date.

A few weeks ago I realized it had been awhile since my laat period... So I started asking different friends that I talk to daily if they remember if I had mentioned when my last period was and no one remembered... Including myself. My best guess was shortly before Christmas. I was in a bit of denial... I told myself I was really tired because I was getting ready to start and we had been sooo busy, my boobs were sore because I was going to start...I was nauseous because I had a touch of the flu ... I was late because I just lost ten lbs so my cycle was off ... Basically I had a good reason for every symptom.

Last week my sis was asking if I ever started and when I said no she started asking about symptoms and when I answered yes to so many of the questions she said go get a test! Even up to the second right before the + popped up on the test I was sure it was going to be negative ... So when the + popped up I was so shocked I almost fell of the potty!

My hubby was shocked as well... But we are both excited now that we have had a chance to absorb it. Gabby was appalled and said we were to old to be "doing it"... Which cracked me up! Gwen was mad ...they both have come around though.
Graham was funny... He said. "i want a brother so I'm not the only boy...except old dad!" Scarlette is excited to be a big sis and wants it to be a girl.

I literally got rid of every baby and maternity item except the high chair and pack n play. So we are starting from scratch.. I would love any recommendations on the latest and greatest baby gear!

I turn Gulp... 39 next month and now I'm having a baby! Chads company is going to Puerto Rico in Jan and we were planning on my in laws coming to stay with kids and me going with.... Looks like we will be taking the baby with us on the trip... Which will still be a vacation for me:). Chances of twins increase as uou age ... cant wait for my Dr. appt so i can know there is just one baby! These are the things that run through my head. I will be raising kids from the age of 23-57... That's a long time!

I don't want anyone to think I am complaining .. Because I love my kids and am so lucky to have 4 and hopefully 5 healthy kidos!!! I hope this pregnancy/labor is as uncomplicated as the others.
And we need S name ideas!!

I love this lunch box... YUBO

Totally random post I know... Who knows if I have any readers left since I never actually blog... If you have kids this is the best lunchbox ever!

It's called YUBO..
I got it for Scarlette at the beginning of the school year and just bought Graham one because I love it soooo much..

It's a tad pricy but well worth it. Here is why I love it:

It comes completely apart and can go in the dishwasher... I have not had to put it in the dishwasher yet....because it is soo easy to clean.

You can get personalized face plates for it, and get a new set each year and you have a whole new lunch box ... bonus, they are only $4.99.

It has a thin ice pack that fits perfectly in it.. And you can purchase their containers or use your own. The ones that come with it fit perfectly though

I chose to buy the attachable drink holder.. It seems to hold any reusable container or you can slide a juice pouch/box in it.

The only con is it can be a bit heavy for a tiny three year old when full... Which doesn't matter at all because I love so much.


Graham chose the orange body with dinosaur face plates. Can't wait for it to arrive so I can get rid of the other hard to clean lunch boxes!!!

First day of school -2012

Clearly I wrote this months ago but am going to post it as is... so I can maybe get another post or two done since I have not posted anything since JULY!


School has unfortunately started...we are actually over a week into the school year... Which is lame... I want school to start after labor day like it use to be in the good old days. Summer was way to short. A lot of parents are happy for their kids to go back to school.... I however am not. I like the relaxed schedule and the extra time with the kids.

The first day of school was the August 15th, I had to attend with Graham for kinder orientation... Which in my opinion should have been before school started ... Not the first day of school! I consider the 16th his real first day of school... Being that he stood in line and went into class without me. He did great... That being said I'm pretty sure he is the little boy who can't sit still and pesters all the little girls.

How to get more wear out of your Toms.

I bought all three girls Toms about a month ago and Gabby's are the only ones that still looked good...which did not make me happy because they are not cheap! Gwen's are they grey pair and she wore holes in the toes and Scarlette has the pinkish pair and they got FILTHY in a week!!

One of our friends had the same problem as Gwen and sewed patches over the toes and threw on a few extra patches for effect... I thought what a great idea.. And a week later when Gwen's toe popped through we knew what had to be done. We grabbed some fabric from the stash and Gwen sewed the side patches and I did the toes.. I think they look super cute.

Scarlette's were a whole different matter until I realized they are fabric and I could dye them!!! I used RIT dye in the fittingly named color Scarlet... I actually love the new color more than the old color!

I'm happy to be able to get more wear out of these shoes with a couple fairly easy fixes.

Vintage Grad Party

My friends daughter asked me to help with her graduation party because she liked Scarlette's Pink Party..We put it all together in one week.... it turned out really pretty and was a super fun party.

They rented tables and chairs and I used vintage sheets which I have a ton of :) for the table cloths. I brought over all my canning jars tied with vintage sheet scraps for the  drinking glasses. 

We used vintage sheets as back drops..

More vintage sheet table cloths, and bunting I had made for Scarlette's pink party... my big galvanized tub is a perfect drink bucket.

The streamers I had made for Scarlette's beach party last year.

They had a fire pit out and we roasted marshmallows and made smores after dark. We also had a henna station for doing henna tattoo's  

The food table.

Close up of the center pieces.. I brought all my vintage books and we stacked a few on each table and some  simple daisys in vases were the perfect touch.

Another table shot

We set up an outdoor photo booth, with lots of fun props and put my camera on a tripod and let everyone have fun.  Here are a few of the many photo booth shots.

Alicia the graduate and Tatum

Alicia and her friends.

There are a ton more pics here.

Thanks for letting me help make your party special Alicia!!!