Stroller Review

I finally broke down and bought a double stroller.

Although, technically it's not a double stroller. It's a tandem stroller.

It's very versatile and so far I like it.

(I haven't actually used it yet)

The front seat is for the new baby, as demonstrated below by Preston.

My new car seat snaps into the front (and matches perfectly even though they are different brands) for when he is still little.

As he grows he can ride in the regular stroller seat.

The back seat is for Preston.

He has the option to sit in the removable regular stroller seat (not shown)

or sit on a small bench when the seat is removed (see below)

or stand on the platform.

There are several things about this stroller that I'm not in love with,

(the tires aren't rubber, it's not ultra-lite, it's going to take some practice to get the back seat in and out quickly, etc.)

but I think it will meet our changing needs.

Scripture Power

"Look Mom, I'm Nephi!"

"Take another picture with me holding the Liahona."

Can you tell we've been reading our scriptures? :)

Will Work for Food

Tyson has had a loose tooth for weeks now. I've been encouraging him to wiggle it because it had a chip in it, was turning grey, and was making his smile lopsided. Anytime he wiggled it he would complain that it hurt and stop.

Last night, we were at my parent house for dinner. Tyson had already finished his dinner and had eaten seconds.

He asked me if he could have another piece of ham.

Jokingly I told him that he could have the ham if he pulled his tooth out.

He immediately went to work on that tooth.

I was amazed.

He pulled and wiggled and twisted it very intently.

His gums started to bleed, but he was not deterred.

A few moments later his tooth popped out.

After a quick drink of water he claimed his prize:

That must have been some good ham!

Don't Let 'em See You Smile

Tyson brought home his school pictures this week.

I only ordered a class picture because I had Tammy take his school pictures earlier this year.

I am so glad I did!

Tammy saved me from having this mug shot framed in my living room for a year:

Thanks to Tammy I have this instead:

I seriously wonder if the school's photographer even asked the kids to smile.

Tyson was only one of five boys in his class that isn't smiling.

I'm Still Baffled

Tyson: Gravity is the force that pulls things down, right?
Me: Yeah that's right.
Tyson: Except worms.
Me: Worms?
Tyson: Yeah, worms.
Me: Then how do worms stay on the ground?
Tyson: Multiplication?

I Was Just Kidding

Apparently my little baby has taken this Eviction Notice a little too seriously.

Apparently he doesn't yet appreciate his mother's sense of humor.

And apparently, he reads my blog :P

Friday was a regular day. I did the normal "mom" things.

I also had a fun maternity photo shoot with Tammy and attended a wedding reception.

Normal, right?

By that evening I started feeling more uncomfortable than usual. By the time we got home from the wedding, I was having contractions. That isn't too unusual for me. I've been having sporadic, contractions for months now. Although lately they've become slightly more painful. Still, they weren't regular enough to worry about, just something I deal with.

Friday night was different.

Dan put the boys to bed while I dutifully laid in bed, on my left side, chugging water.

Normally, this would settle my contractions.

But not this time.

They stayed.

Not only did they stay, they got closer together and became more uncomfortable.

I asked Dan to call Labor & Delivery to see if they thought I should come in to be monitored. unfortunately, the nurse said that legally she couldn't tell us what to do. That we needed to talk to my doctor about it. Dan called my OB's office and talked to someone.

(I'm not really sure who, someone on call at midnight.)

She said that it was up to us and it never hurt to be on the safe side. By the time they were about five minutes apart I asked Dan to call his brother because I needed a blessing. Rob came right over.

After the blessing I started to feel very tired.

So I fell asleep.

I woke about an hour later, still contracting, they were every 6-10 minutes. I tried walking around, I tried drinking more water. I tried Googling things. I started to worry.

Not because they were painful, but because I couldn't get them to stop.

I couldn't sleep. So at 3am I decided to go to the hospital just in case. I really didn't want to bother any one at 3am so I left Dan home with the boys and I went by myself. I promised Dan that if I needed him to come I would call, and he could get a babysitter then

(For some reason the prospect of waking someone up at 4am was better than at 3am.)

Since we only live 5 minutes from the hospital he agreed.

When I arrived I told the nurses that I was only 35 weeks and was not ready to have this baby. I wanted him to bake a little longer. They checked me, I was 2+cm and 85% effaced. Only a minimal change from my doctor's visit three days before. They decided to monitor me for an hour to see what was going on. Once hooked up to the monitors we discovered that the contractions were now 3 1/2 minutes apart. They weren't very painful. They were highly uncomfortable - bordering on mildly painful.

An hour later they checked me again. 2+cm and 90%. Not much of a change but enough that they had to check with the on-call doctor before they could do anything. Because I insisted that I wasn't having a 35 week baby they gave me a shot of Terbutaline to stop the contractions.

It worked instantly.

They monitored me for another hour. When they were satisfied that I was no longer progressing, even minimally, and the baby was doing fine they sent me home.

That's when Warden Dan put me on bed rest.

I spent the weekend in bed reading, watching movies, resting, etc.

My niece came over Saturday and watched my kids all day.

Dan took over on Sunday.

I am feeling fine now. My contractions have gone back to "normal."

(Which means one every hour or so)

I was even tempted to go to an hour of church on Sunday except for the fact that I now have pink eye.

(Where the heck did that come from?)

I am anxious to get back to being a functioning person again. My calendar is pretty empty this week, thankfully.

Other than taking Tyson to school I don't even have to leave my house all week.

And that's not even until Tuesday thanks to this three day weekend.

It's only 10 days until I am 37 weeks, and my baby will be considered full-term rather than near-term. My plan is to take it really easy for the next 10 days.

Wish me luck.

Baby Eviction Notice - Repost

Eviction Notice:

I am issuing 30 day notice for EVICTION. Tenant will have 30 days in which he can either gather his belongings and promptly vacate the premises, or wait until the final day. After which, he will be physically removed from the property. He's being evicted due to breech of contract and destruction of property. Expansions only to the FRONT of the house, within reasonable limits, were discussed. Not only have these limits been exceeded, but additions to the back of the house were also made. Remodeling and gutting of the home was never approved, nor was changing the initial layout and base structure. And due to property damage, there are now leaks in both the upper and lower levels of the home. On top of which, the landlord has received numerous complaints about nightly disturbances. After 30 days from this day that he doesn't comply to the notice will result in immediate and forceful removal at my discretion.

Wordless Wednesday

It's Game Time!

I was going to wait until I was closer to my due date (Feb 17th) to start this game, but after visiting my doctor today, I think I will start it sooner rather than later.

Click on the icon in my right sidebar to go to ExpectNet.com and enter your guesses in our Baby Pool.

The winner will get something cool.

Here's some insider info so no one has an unfair advantage:

Last time:

Preston was 7lbs 8oz and 19.5" at birth. He was born four days after his due date thanks to an induction. I was dilated to a 4 without going into labor on my own.

This time:

So far this baby is measure a "few days" smaller than his dates and my belly is measuring one week smaller than my dates. I am currently 35 weeks along. My cervix is 2cm dilated and 80% effaced. I have an induction set for Feb 17th.

Clean Up After Yourself Month

A lady (whom I have never met in person, yet I stalk her blog) recently posted about her New Years Resolution Idea. Rather than having a resolution for the whole year, she would have a new goal for her family each month.

This month is "Clean up After Yourself" month.

Genius!

Here are the rules:

• We are going to remind each other to pick up after ourselves in a cheerful way. "Remember, It's clean up after yourself month!"
• If there is crying/whining/refusal to clean up that person gets a strike.
• Three strikes and you are out.
• Those who stay "in" get to go on a fun family date night at the end of the month.
• Those who get out will have to stay home with a babysitter (or, in Dan's case, an extra chore list).

So far it's working great!

Dan and Tyson are much more willing to pick up after themselves in a timely manner. We are still working on Preston, although we've seen improvement with him as well.

The only problems I've had so far are:

*Tyson has complained a few times about doing other chores because it wasn't "his mess." He quickly changed his tune when I told him that I was only going to wash my own dishes and my own clothes. Everyone else can wash their own.

*Tyson gets frustrated when Preston isn't held to the same standard he is. I've tried to explain that Preston is only 2 and is still learning.

So far my house has been less messy and cluttered, and there has been less whining on their part and less nagging on mine.

Genius I tell you, simply genius!

Wordless Wednesday

Preston's Pictures

Like all my favorite professional pictures, these pictures were taken by my dear friend Tammy.

I just realized I never posted them.

They were obviously taken in the fall.

Aren't they wonderful?!

New Years Resolutions

Another year, another resolution. . . .

I am really bad at New Year's Resolutions.

Really Bad.

Last year I chose a word for the year, Organization.

Yeah, that lasted half way through January. Then I was too overwhelmed.

I quit.

My life might be a little more organized than it was in 2008 but it isn't anywhere near where I want it.

I am struggling to come up with a new word for 2010.

I just can't think of anything that speaks to me.

I thought maybe my word would be growth.

We will all be doing a lot of that this year.

(I only plan on growing for another month or two, at least physically, then I plan to shrink.)

The boys will be doing a lot of growing this year.

Tyson will be going to first grade this fall.

Preston will be potty training this summer.

The new baby will be doing lots of growing and should be crawling by the end of the year.

Dan wants to grow his Real Estate career.

(Shameless Plug: He's always looking for more clients)

We, as a family, will be growing spiritually. We've been challenged by our Stake President to read the Book of Mormon as a family this year. Tyson is really excited about it. We've read a couple different children's versions of the BOM to him, but we've never actually read the real thing as a family. We need to read 18 verses a day to finish by the end of the year.

We've also been challenged by our Bishop to do one nice thing a day for a member of our family. As parents, we get to do two nice things: one for a child and one for our spouse. He has challenged us to think "outside the box" and do things we wouldn't normally do. Which means washing the dishes and the laundry today does not count. The idea behind this challenge is to grow the love within our own families.