It's been a long week...

Monday came in like a lion,  and stayed that way. I arose before the kids Monday morning, and it was a rather easy day. Until 11am hit. Starting then I was getting regular contractions and within the hour after taking a shower, drinking water, and laying down they only seemed to get worse and I could feel our little girl pushing down. With that I knew something was up, by 1 I had called the doctor and Caleb and I loaded up the kids to head to the doctor's office.

My CNM checked me, and although what mattered the most was closed she could feel the baby's head and that it was indeed engaged. They hooked me up to the monitor in the office for a non-stress test, but laid me on my left side. Her heart traced beautifully, but they weren't picking up the contractions I was having so they moved me onto my back and sure enough I was indeed contracting about every 3-4 minutes. So off to the hospital we went.

Since Caleb and I had the girls with us, once he dropped me off at the hospital I sent him on home with the girls and went on in by myself. Once I got up to Labor and Delivery they hooked me up to the monitors and within the first hour I was freaking out.

What I did not expect after being hooked up the the monitors was a second nurse rushing in to tell my nurse that our little girl was having heart beat decelerations, and this one lasted for three minutes. They moved me onto my left side, placed me on oxygen for about 45 minutes, and decided to lay off on watching the contractions for a bit.

After that fiasco I was put on IV fluids, given a first steroid shot to boost the baby's lung development as a precaution, and had blood drawn for labs(only to find out I was anemic - boo!). They laid me back on my back again and monitored me throughout the night, and due to the most active baby in the world they kept having to move the monitor ever 5 to 30 minutes(makes it awfully hard to sleep!) The little lady ended up having two other one minute decelerations, one before I ate supper(about 7pm) and one while I was sleeping(about 4 am). Those two didn't require oxygen, but it sure was startling to wake up to two nurses I hadn't met yet moving my monitor at four in the morning. The hefty contractions eventually dwindled out on their own about 11 pm, and only showed up from then on out as irritation.

Tuesday morning about 5 I was finally able to catch some much needed zzzz's when the nurse finally just took me off the monitor. Then until 7:30 I was asleep, until my day nurse woke me up for breakfast, to say that I was going to be put on the monitor again, and that the on-call doctor would be in shortly to check me. There wasn't any change from the previous day, luckily, so they only required that I be on the monitor for about 20 minutes every 4 hours. Which that 20 minutes turned into about an hour and a half because the little one kept moving. So it came down to me holding the monitor onto her for about half an hour, and they finally had a good enough of a trace to take it off. I was lucky to have a friend in the hospital that came to talk to me during lunch. :) It got lonely in that quiet room.

Throughout that afternoon it became more of a sit and wait, nap, watch incredibly boring TV, nap some more, and eventually I was coming up on my time to be released. I was also lucky to have my mom come to get me and bring me home. When mom walked in, I was just getting my second round of the steroid shot(which hurt like crazy! Both did!).  And after waiting on my discharge papers for a bit, I was allowed to leave. I was tired, and ready to be with my little family again.

Once I got home, settled down, and got a chance to watch a movie with Caleb, as I was getting ready for bed I noticed that my cheeks were red and warm. Fun. Turns out that it was a reaction to something I was given at the hospital, likely the steroid shot. Right now, I'm feeling pretty good, tired, but good. I start Fall classes next week and hopefully it'll be a good semester. A quiet semester after this stint in the hospital. I'd like for this whole scenario not to happen again. I want very much to hold in this little girl until her due date. As much as I would love to hold my beautiful little girl, I would love to hold her a LOT closer to her due date.

Here's hoping that this week only gets better. :) We hit 25 weeks today! 15 to go!

Hello Again, Mr. Blog!

Why, hello!

So much has changed, golly gee! I don't even know where to start, maybe a list?


Mr. Fishy - Back in May, the family acquired a family pet. Of which Evalyn aptly named Fishy.  He's rather beautiful, if you can call a male fish beautiful. Caleb and I being the Marvel buffs we are, wanted to name him Steve, seeing as how his coloring reminded us of Captain America. But Evalyn insisted on just good ol' Fishy.

There's a Little Sister on the way - As of today, I am 23 weeks along with our newest addition to the family. Big(gest) sister excited, and soon-to-be middle sister Mia just isn't sure what to think yet.

School - This Summer I enrolled in Summer classes and I'm in my last week of the semester. It's been a tiny struggle to keep up with the acceleration that Summer classes pose, but since I had the New Student Seminar and Art History online it helped out bunches! I'm ready for Fall classes, but it sure will be fun being due the day before Thanksgiving with our little one.

Preschool - Evalyn is looking to start preschool soon, and she's excited to grow and learn. We've played around a little with ABCmouse and she loves the thought of going to school. We're in final stages of getting everything set up, and I think I'm just as excited as she is for school. I'll miss her during the day, but I'm excited for her to learn. Amelia will miss her buddy, too.

As you can see, we've got a lot going on. I'm happy to be healthy again. I spent some time in the hospital a couple weeks ago for kidney stones, severe dehydration, and when admitted I was contracting every 2-3 minutes. It was quite a weekend, but I'm glad that's all over! As of the last couple weeks, water has been my friend, rather or not I'm overly excited to drink it. I'll treat myself here and there to a Coca-cola or a Pepsi if I've been good on my water drinking. Mostly to keep me going through the day on the little amount of caffeine.

I'm excited for what is to come this fall.

Happy Monday everyone!

-Elizabeth

$5 Craft Swap

About two months ago, I signed up for a $5 craft swap that the lovely April had set up, proving a great way to make a new friend from miles away!

Paulina was my assigned partner and she sent me a beautiful craft. I truly have enjoyed getting to know her. Paulina has some beautiful items in her shop, and she blessed me with a few little extras from her shop that I can't get enough of! Once she posts about her craft to me I will link it here, but here is a picture of my gift to her:

 

Sorry for the bad phone photo :-/ All in all, I really loved being a part of the swap, and I look forward to doing another. It definitely made me use more of my creative side in the days it took me to think this up.. I loved playing with the layers of fabric and then taking the time to make a crocheted flower. Tons of fun for this yarn lover! :) Have a great weekend, everyone! 

Putting The Year in Gear

Over the last few weeks, probably since the start of 2013, I've been trying my best to pull my life together. January brought several changes for our little family. I actually sat down and made a meal plan and I couldn't believe how amazing it felt to know what I was making. Most of all, I raided Pinterest and found almost all new recipes that I had never used before for most January's meal.

This year, I plan to start a business. A wonderful 'business baby' that I hope to love, nurture, and watch grow over the course of 2013. I have to make this THE year! To expand, I would love to get myself a studio space where I can do newborn to toddler portraits and much more. I've found a location I love, and hope to gain enough revenue to set up shop! I'm setting so many goals for myself and my business. I'm in love with photography. It inspires me to slow down and pay more attention to life and watch my littles grow much more than I used to. January brought on a lot of fear of missed moments when things 'health-wise' started looking grim. Since February has started this family member is gaining back strength and health in leaps and bounds and it still shows inspiration to capture life and all its ups and downs. This one precious life that we get needs to be captured.

Life needs to be captured, preserved. I have so many pictures of my girls on my computer, but what I loved the most was having favorite images of my girls printed. The captured wonder and beauty that comes with childhood sets my heart into overload in the happy department! I know how often we all go through just the daily rigamarole of just trying to make it through the day in one piece, but when I stop to turn my camera on and take even just a few pictures of my girls, it brings be back and allows me to slow down and take it in.

Thanks for reading. I promise the next post will hold several pictures :)

Happy Weekend!

Celebrate.

 That's what we did! The hubs had asked for a feast, and a feast is what he got! His mother and grandmother prepared a wonderful meal. All made with love and there was plenty to go around. He was so happy to sit down to a wonderful family meal. See :

After dinner, we settled down and had a heartwarming time of fun and fellowship. I got the chance to snap some sweet pictures of Baby H, and shortly after Caleb and his "bothers from other mothers" grabbed the guitars. Afterwards we grabbed a few bites of the Oreo Pudding poke cake I brought. Caleb's favorite has always been anything to do with an Oreo cookie. 

Here's some more images from our night:

 

Poor Amelia had a bit of a rough ending to the night that started with a slight fever. She went to sleep very quickly. The girl can't help but fall asleep when she snuggles with daddy.

 All in all, our night was pretty amazing. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that this night of fun, fellowship, and togetherness was needed and so very worth it!  Again, a very happy 27th birthday to my love!

 

My Man.

So there's this guy. I met him over 4 years ago, and since then it has been a whirlwind! He's a handsome fellow. A wonderful man, husband and father. To add to the list he's a son, a brother, a nephew, a grandson. The list goes on and on. But I am so glad to call him mine. And since he's mine, I'll give my view of my man :)

It's been an absolutely wonderful 4 years and I've watched him turn from just a boyfriend, to my husband, the father of our precious girls. He is an over-abundantly protective father, he's strong man of spirit, heart, mind, and love. He's gentle but gives tough love when needed. He is surprisingly silly in his cunning comedic timing. The man I know is a doting father who got so jumbled from happiness and excitement that he couldn't remember the birth stats of our first born just mere moments after her birth. He sang "You are My Sunshine" to her in her first few hours outside of the womb. Precious Evalyn.

23 months later, we did it all over again. Welcoming another bubbly little girl.

My lovely man is the glue that holds me together. He is what keeps me calm and sometimes what drives me crazy. But I wouldn't have it any other way. He is  the guy who brightens our daughters' days when they just aren't have a good day. He brightens my day too...

He'll drum on the stairs, play horsey, and still have enough energy to go on about his day. He's a guiding force in what seems like a hectic life. He knows just what I'm thinking sometimes and is always there to listen. I am beyond blessed to have met the man I call my own. I know how cliche all of this sounds, but it's all very true. He is mine, he is my love, my heart, my best friend, and I just when I think I can't possibly love him any more, I do.

Happy Birthday, honey.

I love you! 

loved you then, love you still, always have, always will

I'm Back!

After a Winter hiatus, I'm back! 

I took the time to get my business lined up, and while I've still got a few things to work on, I'm excited to be back. Fresh. Inspired. And ready to hit the ground running! 

On another note, Happy Valentine's Day to any and all lovelies that ready this blog. 

Currently, I'm working on knitting a beautiful slightly off white newborn hat. It will be beautiful when it's finished. I'm excited about it. Yarn keeps me sane :) Caleb would say otherwise, though. He would tell everyone that I'm addicted, but I digress. 

And about things that are insane{ly cute}, here's my big girl, being her goofy self! I love her silly faces!

A short but sweet post for tonight, but I'll be back Monday if not before for a special post for the hubs. That handsome man got me flowers and Nutella for Valentine's Day. He sure does know that the way to my heart is through a jar of Nutella. I love him!

Alright, one more picture. Of my sweet Mia, before {her favorite} cheesy {kernel free} popcorn.

Happy Valentine's Day, from my little family to yours!