A new day

Yesterday my mom, Abby(Jon's girlfriend),my kids and I drove to O'hare airport to pick up Jon. I was nervous that construction traffic would be horrible so we left 2.5 hours before his flight was to land. We were just about to get off at the O'hare oasis to kill some time when Abby got a phone call from a pay phone. It was Jon! He was able to catch an earlier flight and was already at baggage claim. So we continued up the road to O'hare. Anyone that knows me know's that I am horrible with congested traffic. I asked my mom to please pay attention to the signs so I knew where to go. It is hard to keep my eye on my lane, the millions of jerk taxi drivers and limos and read signs! Of course mom was far to excited to hear me or to even understand that I had just looped around the damn airport 3 times! Some how we ended up where the freight goes into the gates... Anyway we finally found hourly parking. We got a close spot to the terminal too! We get to baggage claim where Jon was suppose to be waiting. Oh back track a bit.. Jon gave both my mom and Abby very specific instructions as to where he would be, they could not remember all they got was US airways terminal 1. So we walk all the way down the one end...no Jon... I suggest calling him but he had called from a pay phone, so we started to walk down the other end when Piper spotted Jon... It was a very sweet moment. After he gave all of us big hugs he realized I had the baby with me. He could not get Austin out of his car seat quick enough!! We finally get out of O'hare and on our way back to Minooka. Jon was getting hungry so we stopped in Channahon at Lonestar. Too be honest I don't think he was hungry as much as he was THIRSTY. He ordered 2 Miller lites and his dinner.

We got back to mom's and of course he had to show us pics. Some really nice pics, some very goury pics. He gave us our gifts. Mostly jewlery and perfume. It was very nice. He oogled over Austin and for the first time in a LONG time my brother looked happy and relaxed.




He will leave July 3rd to go back to Afghanistan for a month. His time home I am sure will be very busy and bitter sweet. HOpefully he is able to spend a lot of time with his daughter Piper

oh good grief

This is not going to be a happy go lucky post. Please don't get me wrong, I have a great life, 2 great kids and a wonderful husband.

While I was pregnant I was diagnosed with depression and put on an anti depressant. I took it for 3 months and weaned off so that Austin would not go through withdrawls. I thought "ok, I will have to obviously have to go back on after he is born". I didn't cause I was ok. I was handling having a newborn,a 4 year old, a household,a husband, and was handling the sleep deprevation quite well.
With in the past 2 weeks my depression has crept back and with a vengance. I have anxiety as it is, and couple that with irrational thoughts and feelings I am a NUT CASE! Post Partum Depression is a serious illness and I thought I would never experience it. I always thought that I could handle whatever life threw at me. Boy was I wrong. I have a defiant 4 year old, of course I have bad days, but lately my bad days are everyday. So I have decided that although I am still breastfeeding I will go back on meds. Oh and Chris got laid off too... I think that is what may have caused some of the feelings I am having. So if anyone needs a plumber let me know!lol

On a happier note, my brother is flying in tomorrow from Afghanistan and I am so glad he is coming home if even for 2 weeks.

oh how time flies

It seems like yesterday that I had Austin. Almost 7 weeks has gone by and I am loving every single minute of it. He is growing like crazy, although most people comment on how "small" he is, until they pick him up! He had the newborn look for a nanosecond and now looks like a little man, bald spots and all!
He has started to hold his head up more and have control of it. He has started laughing,smiling,and cooing. Our nieces, Emily and Katelyn are completely enamored with him, it's so very sweet. Katelyn, my little helper, has taken to him as her own. She has even named her baby doll, Baby Austin.
Elizabeth is doing well... as well as a 4 year old with sass can adjust. Yesterday was her last day of school and once I get my scanner out I will scan some pictures. Chris has been off work for almost 2 weeks so that has helped. Right now we are gearing up for Austin's Baptism. My brother will be home so we have a short amount of time to plan it. Hopefully the weather cooperates as my FIL is unable to get the party tent that he partly owns. So we won't have a tent or the tables and chairs. So now I am in a pickle with seating for 60 people!!! Hopefully something comes through for us as our budget is kind of tight. We are having 2 inflatable bouncers, one for the "big" kids and one for the little ones. It should be fun! If it does rain I will just have to deal with wall to wall people in my 1200sq foot house! UGH!!! NIGHTMARE!!!

Austin Phillip has made his debut

In the wee hours of the morning on April 17th, Chris and I made our way to Morris hospital. We checked in at 530a.m. The time flew by and by 730a.m. I was walking my way to the O.R. I was a bit nervous to have the spinal, but it went in with out a hitch. It was such a bizarre feeling. My butt went numb before my legs did... it was weird! By the time Chris made his way into the O.R. the doctors had already started the C-section. Next thing I knew the 2 doctors were "violently" pushing on my upper abdomen in effort to get Austin's head out! It was an odd feeling to not feel but know that my entire body was being shook around. I laughed so hard I cried when they did this. I didn't know any other way to express my emotion... So I laughed! Dr. E and T said that was a first! Next thing you know, here came Austin. He came out screaming, my reaction..." OH HE IS PISSED!" the doctors then replied ... " YES HE IS PISSING!" such a great visual I suppose. His apgar was 8 and 9. I am not sure how much time had passed before a nurse came in to tell me how much he weighed.... 9 LBS 7 OZ and was 20 inches long. If I could have felt my legs I would have fallen off the table! I was still having my tubes tied when they came in.

He is such a good baby and my recovery has been great! This time they did not use staples or any stitches on the outside of the incision. So I did not have that discomfort. Well he is starting to stir. I will leave you with one more picture of my beautiful baby boy. Thanks to Jan to made his great hat. I will have to post the link to her Etsy site when I have more time.

what a great baby sprinkle

Today my dear friends Kelly and Ryan threw me a baby sprinkle. I was quite excited about seeing some friends I had not seen in some time. I got ready and out the door Elizabeth and I went. We get to Ryan's and I try to do a 3 pt. turn to back into a parking spot. To my surprise ( and baby brain) the field that I was attempting to do my 3 Pt. turn was very mushy to say the least and my van started to sink... I was STUCK! I called Ryan and her brother came out to see if he could get it out. NO LUCK! If anything he got it stuck worse. I ended up calling a tow truck! Anyway... aside from that the day was great! I am so blessed to have great friends and great family!

We started out by eating, my favorite thing to do these days although eating does not agree with me most days. Followed by the guess the candy in the diaper game. This was hilarious!!! The candy was still warm and mushy and just added to the gross factor! The only request I made when the girls started planning games was no "guess the size of Andrea" game... Guess what, they did it! It was not nearly as bad as I anticipated. The winner of that game.... Elizabeth! But paybacks are a witch! I will post pictures once I get them emailed to me.

It was now time to open gifts! Again I am blessed to have such generous friends and family! Austin is set with summer clothes! YEAH! We now have over 540 size 1 diapers and about 100 Newborn diapers. And my favorite baby item... super soft blankets!!! I also got 2 umbrella strollers. I have a few items that are a need more than a want to purchase, but they are small items. I think it is safe to say that if Austin were born tomorrow we would be prepared. Sure his room is still a mess, the crib is still in the garage, spackle still on the walls, and crap everywhere. But he is rooming in with us until I heal from my section, so I guess it would be ok.

Elizabeth seems to be getting excited about Austin's arrival. She is now interacting with my belly and talking to him. But it could be she saw all the lovely ladies talking to my belly today too...
We are now counting the days til we meet our son. We are very excited and truely blessed.

Sleeping beauty!

What a beautiful day to spend with family! We started out the day with homemade pancakes,a shower, and a little bit of cuddling. We finally got our act together and got out the door. We took 2 cars because Chris wanted to take his truck to get new tires, and instead of waiting he figured we could go out to Menards to get the ceiling fan and blinds for Austin's room. Well... we got to sears and got that all set up and walked around the mall for a bit. I was feeling up to walking around and hell at this point it can't hurt much other than my back! Any how... We came up to the Disney Store, Elizabeth went NUTS! Good thing they had rockin sale! So daddy felt like spoiling her a little bit... she got new Arial flip flops,sunglasses, and a Hannah Montana stationary type kit. It came with all of Elizabeth's favorites, markers, colored pencils,a pad of paper, ruler,pen and pencil sharpener. She was on cloud 9. We then set out to find the Easter Bunny... we finally found him in front of Macy's. There was No line, no kids, no nothing around the darn bunny. We get up there and she says to me..." I don't think I want to sit on it's lap..." so we tried to get her in there to take a picture, no way! I really don't blame her either. He is kind of scary looking. By the time we made it back to Sears the truck was done.Needless to say we never made it to Menards... We then went to his mom's house. Everyone was there, which was nice. All the kids were able to play together and they even were able to go to the park. I stayed back to help with diner. By 6pm, my pant leg was getting tight! holy hell are my legs and feet swollen! It looks like I have elephantitis! We got home around 8 pm and got Elizabeth into bed. I just went in to check on her and could not resist snapping this pic. Don't mind the "rug burn" looking scab on her head. She took a tumble over her handle bars a few days ago....


On that note, I am going to bed as well.

a quick update

I had my 35 week appt today... Had my GBS test done and an internal check as I have been experiencing some not so pleasant aches and pains lately. I am not dilated at all... I do have a lot of edema and lots of sugar in my urine. GO figure! I would have 4 weeks left and now I have to really watch my sugar/carb intake. They want me to go to physical theropy for the sciatica and pelvis pain. That's all well and fine and I am sure it would do wonders, however it's finding the time to be able to go without Elizabeth.Chris is working double shifts and not home much maybe 2 hours at the most. Crazy! I figure if I have dealt with the pain and popping for this long I can surely handle 4 more weeks. Austin is still breach/transverse and still measuring 2 weeks a head. I sure wish I was 37 weeks at this point! There is more, but I am very tired and going to bed. Will update more later.

Taking advantage of the beautiful weather!

This morning Elizabeth got up super early and was ready to go and conquer the world! We laid in my bed for about an hour, I was NOT ready to get up at 6 a.m. Anyway.. So we got out of bed and waited for the first kid to arrive. Abbey got here about 8 am. They played for a bit and both got baths. I started a load of bed linens so I could hang them on the line. Oh how I love the smell of line dried linens. That is one of my favorite things about spring! We decided to go outside and play for a bit. Chris has yet to get the outside toys out of the shed, so they made due with Elizabeth's bike and the kitchen set that needs to go in the shed. Our mid morning outing didn't last long as Elizabeth dumped her bike and hit her head pretty hard on the deck. I got her calmed down and promised her bubble gum. Here is the reaction to that bribe!





I brought the girls in and fed them lunch. Now we are waiting for the boys and Emi B to get here so we can go back outside and enjoy this beautiful day!

random ramblings of our weekend

Friday was such a beautiful day...too bad we were stuck in the house with the guys from Perma Seal... But I was able to open all the windows again and enjoy the breeze!

Saturday we had a wedding to attend. Elizabeth was so excited that she was able to wear her Easter dress early..


She was very well behaved at the wedding. Except when they were doing closing prayer and the whole church was quiet... the claps of thunder and flashes of lightning started , scared all the kids! I don't know about you but I think that might be a bad omen... So we then dropped Elizabeth off at her grandma Karen's and Papa Lens' so she could spend a fun filled night with her grandparents... that didn't work out so well. Chris and I were able to go to the reception and have diner when Chris realized he missed a call. It was his mom. Elizabeth had pooped 10 times in about an hour and half... anyone that knows' us knows that we have had nothing but issues with Elizabeth and her bowel movements since she was born, so for her to have the runs was very out of the ordinary.She was willing to keep Elizabeth over night but wanted to know if there was anything she could do. I told her we would come and pick her up, so we left. Once we got there, Elizabeth comes running..." My butt hurts momma!" and away she went again! Thankfully grandma still had some diapers in the house, cause there was no way Elizabeth was making it to the toliet every time. So we think all is ok and pack her up and leave. Foolishly I give her a couple sips of gaterade.. Mind you gaterade makes her poop, but I figured if she had gone that much she need the electrolytes. Wrong!!! We made it Lorenzo Rd and she was screaming. Poor kid! Get her home and change her, a dose of pepto and off to bed she went. She did wake up one time from the storm, so I gave her another dose of pepto and she fell back a sleep! I wish I could say the same. It was very bizzare to watch the clock jump an hour! Anyway... We got up this morning around 10 a.m. She comes in our room and says.. "mommy GET UP! I want mini corn dogs,french fries and cheese! (polkadot)" Of course it wasn't open yet so she settled for a peice of toast and some stale Sierra Mist. I did end up getting her some polkadot as she wanted to eat! She hadn't eaten since Saturday morning.

All day I had been so occupied with her,laundry, cleaning,organizing Austin's clothes that I rarely paid any attention to the lake we had in our yard... It had subsided by the time I was able to get some pics but none the less it is flooded.



And by the looks of it, this week we should be able to invite people over to ice skate.... only in Illinois!

It's getting to be about that time....

At my last OB appointment, Dr. Sitrini sent over the paperwork for my section... So I knew it would be a matter of time before scheduling called. I got that call today. I will go on the 16th to meet with Dr.Feel Good..I can't spell the technical term... and have some blood work done. I then will have to check in to the hospital at 5:30a.m. Friday morning. They have the surgical suite reserved for me at 7:30a.m. So now there is no turning back(not that I would want to).

Chris get's home tonight and he is cooking burgers and I tell him that we have to be there so early... His response..." I'll meet you there!" nice huh?@? In all honesty I am hoping that no one shows up until well after noon that day. Is that horrible? I would like time to bond with Austin and Chris. I would like time to attempt breast feeding before all the family comes in. I did not have moments alone with Elizabeth and felt really weird about whipping out a boob with my inlaws in the room... I guess I will just have to play it by ear and roll with the punches.

haircuts

Last night Elizabeth came to me after her shower and asked if I could cut her hair....I have cut her hair in the past, which always resulted in her moving her head and me cutting more off than intended cause it was so uneven. Last night's adventure was no different. I normally just trim the ends and call it a day. Well, after family pressure to cut her hair maybe to her shoulders, I did so. It is uneven but not terribly noticeable. After all it is just hair and it will grow back. I will take her to a salon in a few months, when I can just say it grew uneven! Here are some photo's of her new do.

It's official!

As of today I am 32 weeks and 4 days... I had my OB appt this morning and it was uneventful. I gained 1 lb in 2 weeks, not too bad! The nurse practitioner came in did the doppler and measured me. My fundal height is 34!! Which I had a feeling I was bigger than what I am in weeks... Austin at last ultrasound was measuring a week and a half and a pound bigger. So then Dr. Sitrini comes in and has paper work all ready for me... I am scheduled to have my C-section April 17th. They will call me with a time to be there. I tried to get her to go earlier in the week, but that's a no go unless I go into labor on my own, which at this point I am very doubtful that I will. Unless of course they disturb something while doing an internal. It is also official unless I change my mind, in which I KNOW I will not, that my tubes will be cut,tied, and burnt. No more babies for us. I know a lot of my friends are wondering how I can be so sure about this, since afterall it is permanent. I have always said I will only have 2 children, that way there isn't the only child syndrome, the middle child syndrome, ext... Further more, in this day and age, with the economy the way it is, who can really afford to have more than 2 kids???? And finally, this pregnancy has been very trying, physically and emotionally. For my sanity it is for the best that I have no more. It is the right decision for us.

All work and no play

Chris,his brother,and Kevin worked very hard yesterday in our crawlspace(which literally is a crawl maybe 3 feet deep). They finished digging the trench... what a muddy mess! I wish I took photo's of what my kitchen looked like! They slid buckets around down there with Elizabeth's snow sled... Today they are going to put the peagravel in the trench and then lay the drain tile. Once that is done, we are good to go with PermaSeal! Then Chris can finally put the trim in the baby's room. I don't care about the closet door or the entry door... Granted he won't be able to put trim up around either until we get the new doors, but for now those are on hold until we get the Menards Card paid down a little bit and he is working a little bit more.
Today is suppose to be my cleaning and laundry day. I am hopeful that I am able to do this, but doubtful that it will happen fully. We shall see. Yesterday I had a wonderful surprise waiting for me in the mail box. Jen's mom finished a baby hat that I had asked her to make for Austin! It is adorable! Pictures will be posted once Austin is here. Well, I think that's it for now. I need to get busy.

Oh the joys

Let me first say that I had a great pregnancy with Elizabeth. Though stressful at times,ok most of the time, I felt GREAT! When I started having baby fever, I thought..." Oh how I miss having a baby belly!" I will admit that the first half of this pregnancy was great! The further along I got, the more painful it got. With Elizabeth I had severe sciatica,controlled with meds. So this time around I thought the pain I was having was the same,so they put me on the same meds. I was SOOOOO wrong! The pain I am having is far worse than anything I have ever experienced,even back labor. I know I am in the home stretch now with 7 weeks left. I actually broke down and cried today because I couldn't get out of the tub... it took me a good 10 minutes to find a way to manuever myself so my pelvis was stable enough to put pressure on it. If I wasn't 100% sure of no more kids after this one... I sure as hell am positive now. The doctor's keep telling me to use a heating pad,icy hot(which I do not recomend putting icy hot on your hips or anywhere close to your nether regions!) seeing a chiropractor,and hot baths... none of which work. Don't get me wrong, I am excited that we were blessed to get pregnant and that we are having a boy. I just am miserable. Not only do I have the physical pain I am also experiencing depression during pregnancy. Which was controlled with meds, but I am weaned off of them now to avoid the baby going through withdrawls after birth. I will then be put back on them to control any PPD I may get. I know it sounds like I am a bowl of complaints... I am... but like I said I am blessed in so many ways, these are just the shitty aspects of this pregnancy. Who knew my 2 pregnancies would be so different?! I am now starting to prepare myself for the range of emotions that will come from Elizabeth after Austin is home and she realizes he isn't going anywhere. I guess I need to surf Amazon for some books.

Ramblings

So much is going on lately. First, my brother Jon is in Afganastan with the National Guard. I cannot express enough how panic filled I get every time I see soldiers killed in Afganastan... I check his myspace page every few hours to see if he has been on. I don't dare call my mother... she would flip out! Then alas I get an email requesting items he is in need of. The fear subsides for the moment. Anyone who knows my brother knows how much a jokester he is... so when he asked for a new louffa,cause someone stole his(EWWW) I couldn't resist and am sending him a hot pink one! I don't think anyone will want to steal that. Here is a photo of Jon many years ago at a wedding....

Austin's room is just about completed. All that is left to do is, trim,get a new closet door,and a new solid entry door. The room is filled with baby stuff, of course it's not organized and it's driving me nuts! Chris has been off work going on 3 weeks now and he did acomplish a lot in there, it's still not done. Yes, I am aware he has 7 weeks til baby comes, but still. This week he is working on the crawlspace. We decided to go a head and spend $4000.00 on permaseal and have that done to control the moisture and mold issues were have had! In order for us to get that price(as it is usually around $6000.00) he is digging a trench and putting in the drain tile. Not sure how long it will take for him to dig said trench but he has until March 6th because the permaseal guys are coming that day to do their thing.

Elizabeth has started to become extremly clingly... especially at bed time. I feel bad for her and it breaks my heart when she says" but mom I need you, I want you". You see, I am not going to start that evil habit of laying with her until she goes to sleep... the only time she is allowed to sleep with us is when she is really sick, if we are at a hotel and sharing a room with others,or when she wants to cuddle. I am thinking she is sensing that something major is happening. I hope I can reassure her before Austin comes that she is so loved and wanted. I have a feeling that she will be a pistol for a while... par for the course I suppose.
I cannot express to anyone enough how badly I cannot wait until spring. I am tired of the furnace running... I am so HOT lately! I want to open the windows, air out the house and line dry my sheets. And Spring means new life. My grandmother is coming to stay with us for about a month after Austin is born. She will be a big help!


On a side note... I hate sweating, I really really do! The thermostat is set at 72, which normally I am cold at... I turned it down to 68! Chris is gonna be pissed... Ahhh the joys of pregnancy

I suppose I should update

We are having a boy! I am almost 32 weeks pregnant and the end can't come soon enough. He will be born April 17th pending any surprises. Elizabeth just turned 4 years old. I cannot believe that my BABY is 4! She is doing well in preschool and seems to be getting use to the fact that mommy is having another baby.