More changes for the Beers household

We have some big news. It's REALLY good news, yet it's also sad. We are moving to Texas. I'm SO incredibly sad to leave here. This has been "home" for the past 2 years and could NEVER see us leaving. It's the first place we found that I can honestly say is "home" for us. But as you know Ryan has been traveling for work for quite some time now. (for those that don't know, he's an insurance adjuster). It's been super hard on us as a family. He misses us and really hates missing out on so much with the kids. The kids miss him terribly. I miss him having him here just to talk to him. It's hard to talk on the phone when you have 4 kids running around so I feel like we don't get any time to just talk. It's just hard on all of us. Ryan was offered a job working in Waco, Texas (where his company is located) which would mean he wouldn't have to travel. He would be home every night. The first time it was mentioned our response was "no". We didn't want to leave here but after much prayer and consideration we have decided it's best for our family. For us to be together. Ryan loves his job and it's a job that allows me to be able to stay at home with the kids so we came to the conclusion that the move is what we need to do. I have such a peace about it and know God gave us this opportunity. Like I said, I'm SO sad to leave here yet I'm SO happy and excited for my family to be together again. It's going to be so good for us. Ryan has been down in TX for over a week now. He has also found us a house!!! I totally trust him to pick one out. I have only seen the picture of the outside so I can't wait to see the inside! (i know, i'm brave..letting my husband get a house for us without me seeing it! but he totally knows what I like so I trust him COMPLETELY) It's going to be a quick move down there only because Jordan will be starting school in August and we want to be settled before he starts. I know it seems like this has happened so fast and it has yet at the same time it's been something we've been thinking about for awhile but it wasn't until just recently that we have made the decsion to go. So there you go...our "big news!". On another note, i'm actually having a good time packing. I have been able to really go thru stuff and clean stuff out. It's nice packing when you can do that. Now when I unpack it will only be the stuff i need and it will be all organized! YAY! The picture is of our new house.

My 1st month with Gracie

WOW! I can't believe Gracie Ann is 1 month old today. She has been such a sweet blessing in my life. She is such a good baby. Sleeps almost all night long. Of course gets up 2 times to eat but after I nurse her she just falls right back to sleep. For about 4 days she was having a real fussy time from 10pm till about 11pm where she would just cry and nothing seemed to help but the past 2 nights she's stopped doing that. She is just so precious and I still just stare at her in amazement just like I did that night she was born.

The other kids have adjusted to having a new baby sister really well. Jordan loves being the "big" brother to all his younger siblings. He's very good with Gracie. Mya is a little Mommy. She LOVES helping me take care of Gracie. Mason definetly loves his sister. He is always concerned about her and wonders where she is at when I'm not holding her. He calls her "AC". It's SO cute! He is still a little rough with her so we have to watch him very closely. He just doesn't realize he's being rough. But I know it just has to do with his age. He doesn't seem to show any signs of jealousy which is good.

This past month has been a WONDERFUL one. I absolutely LOVE being the mother of four. Yes, it's difficult at times but I wouldn't change it for ANYTHING. It's been a little more difficult with Ryan out of town for work but we have kept ourselves very busy with going to the playgrounds, pool and of course walmart! I feel pretty good getting out with all 4 by myself as well. So this past month has been GREAT!

Happy one month birthday to my precious Gracie Ann. I love you my beautiful baby girl!

Gracie's arrival...still to come

Just wanted to say....I'm STILL working on writing up her delivery story. But don't worry, for those of you who want the whole story...you'll be getting it in a few days! Here's a pic of her though :)

The story of Gracie's Arrival

The Events leading up to Gracie's Arrival:

On Monday, June 22, 2009 I woke up like any other day. Didn't notice anything unusal. I was excited because I knew that by the end of this week, I should have Gracie in my arms. I really didn't think anything was going to happen until at least Thursday when I had my appointment at the hospital. So that morning I talked to Ryan on the phone. He was still in Memphis. Since his truck's transmission went out the day before, he was behind a day so instead of coming home that morning, he was coming home Tuesday morning. We kinda debated on that. Should he just come home later on that day after he seen his claims or just come home Tuesday morning. We both figured it would be best for him to come home tuesday since he would have to drive 5 hrs home AFTER working all morning seeing claims. He would be tired and I didn't want him driving being that tired. Plus, I was feeling just fine. So we both went on with our day. I went to walmart before lunch to get a few things. Then came home, made the kids lunch, then later on that afternoon sat outside and watched the kids play in the sprinkler. All this time, I was feeling great really. No contractions, nothing. At 4:35pm I got a contraction. At first it didn't phase me. I've had them for about 3 weeks now...but it sort of felt slightly different...BUT i figured it was my mind playing tricks on me. I made the kids their dinner. Jordan had t-ball practice that night so we had an early dinner. Then 20 minutes later, another contraction. It was DEFINETLY noticable. BUt again, didn't think a whole lot of it. I decided to write down the time. WOW..then 20 minutes later...on the dot...another one. Okay, seriously, 20 min apart...all were painful...hmmm...no way..this isn't it?!?! is it?? i convinced myself they weren't. Jordan's coach's wife picked him up for T-ball. I talked to her for a second. She asked about when I was due. I said that I was going in on Thursday. After they left I kept having more and more contractions. They were anywhere from 20 min apart to 7 min apart. I layed down for awhile...by this time I was getting nervous and had been on the phone a number of times with Ryan. We were still both convinced this wasn't the real thing. I mean, i've been having contractions for weeks now. Then I got up to get Mason some milk and "uh oh!". Okay, I think my water just broke! Not like a huge gush but it was definetly something...and I KNOW didn't pee in my pants. I got on the phone with Ryan right away and said "I think my water just broke!!". He just said, "Okay, I'm coming home NOW!!! and I'll call my mom!" that was the end of that conversation. There was definetly panic in his voice. I couldn't believe this was happening. Still, I thought the birth would at least wait 5 hrs for Ryan to get here. I mean, I had only been in REAL labor for a few hours, right?!?!?! So I start scrambling around. Luckily I had my bags already packed, but STILL I wasn't prepared. There was a huge load of laundry on the couch that still needed to be folded and put away, dinner still needed to be cleaned up...I just wasn't ready. I kept saying in my head, "THIS CAN NOT BE HAPPENING NOW...I'M SO NOT READY!" So, Ryan's mom got here and we were getting all ready to go. Oh and while this was happening Mason was SCREAMING....he had just woke up and for some reason had been only wanting me to hold him and he was screaming. Then Mya ran in her room and was crying because she was scared. It was quite the scene! As we were getting ready to head out the door, we realized "oh wait, Jordan isn't here!!!" DUH...he was gone to baseball practice. I then tried calling his coach but couldn't get a hold of them. He was going to be home pretty soon (by this time it was 8pm). We called Ryan's grandparents and had them come to the house to wait on Jordan and then bring him to the hosptial. So we left around 8:10pm for the hosptial. It's about 35 minutes from our house. When I left they were about 10 min apart but by the time we got out of Bella Vista (about 10 min from the hospital) they were down to 3 min apart. And i was in SERIOUS pain with each contraction. I knew this was going to happen very soon. (still in my mind though, I thought it could be stalled for at least 5 hours to hold off till Ryan got there).

Gracie's surprise and QUICK arrival:

By the time I got in the ER they were 2 min apart and SUPER painful. By this time it was after 8:30pm and I was in the hospital room with contractions 1 min apart and I was in EXCRUCIATING pain. I was dialated to 7cm when I first got in there. They were trying to ask me questions, having me sign papers, putting an IV in my arm, taking blood out of my other arm. It was completely chaotic. I was screaming in pain..the nurse was SO good though, she was trying to calm me down and having me breathe...something I had NEVER had to do in labor. I was induced with the other 3...had epirdurals and had plenty of time to prepare and actually was smiling while pushing. There were NO smiles on my face this time around. I kept asking for an epidural and she said, "I don't think you will have time." Then I said, You have to give me something. I was one that would ONLY get an epidural..never other pain meds yet this time I didn't care, i was desperate for some relief. But she said I was too close to delivery and it would make the baby sleepy and could slow her breathing. By this time I was dialated to 10cm. I hadn't even been in there 30 min and I went from a 7 to a 10. The nurse told me not to push until the dr got there. I asked if the dr was in the building and she said, "No, but she isn't far away". Then I said, Well, I don't think I can keep her in any longer. The nurse calmly said, "I've delivered babies before so I can do this, BUT i would much rather you wait until the dr gets here. With every contraction I did ALL i could not to push but this baby was coming out whether I pushed or not. I just remember saying "Okay, guys, I swear I'm NOT pushing but she's coming out!" Sure enough, out she came. Well, her head anyway and then that contraction was over. Now the nurse said very calmly, "okay, we HAVE to deliver the rest of this baby, NOW" so you HAVE to push. With one more push, she was out and laying on my chest. I couldn't believe she was here. It was SO fast. She was born at 9:38pm and I got into the hosptial room around 8:35pm. Then it hit me, Ryan wasn't there. I was SO sad. I wanted him to get that moment again. I know it's our 4th and we've been thru this all before but still each birth is so special and I was heartbroken that he wasn't there to experience it with me. I got on the phone with him just seconds after she was born and said, "I had her!" then he said, "What?!?!" I repeated myself and the sound in his voice is one I'll never forget. He sounded SO heartbroken that he wasn't there. I felt horrible. I kept apologizing for having her without him. Of course he told me I was being silly since it's nothing I could control. So anyways...I did it. I had her BY MYSELF, with NO pain relief (I still don't understand how people can go into this and say they don't want an epidural. I mean, it totally changes the mood in labor...I definetly enjoyed not feeling pain. I could actually think about what was happening instead of the pain but not this time. I'm just glad it only lasted as long as it did, any longer and I don't think I could have survived! ). After she was born, I cut the cord myself and they took her and weighed her. She was 9lbs 2oz and 21 inches long. She looked IDENTICAL to her Big sister Mya. I mean, identical. Same chubby cheeks, same mouth, everything! The Dr came in the room in time to deliver the placenta (I know, too much info....oh well, it's part of giving birth! ) She couldn't believe how fast I delivered her. After all that was done they gave me Gracie to me and left the room. It was the strangest moment. I was alone with my new daughter. The room was completely silent and just moments before there was so much hustle and bustle going on. It was just me and Gracie. I looked at her in amazement. But at the same time it was a blur to me as to how she arrived. I STILL couldn't believe that this just happened. I went into labor on my own, like I wanted (now i regret wanting that...being induced is MUCH more my style...lol) and my worst fear also happened, that Ryan would miss her birth. Everything that happened that night was just a blur to me. I called Ryan again and talked to him while I nursed Gracie. I kept crying because I was SO happy she was here but I was also SO sad that Ryan wasn't there with me. I still get a lump in my throat when I think about that.

The Events AFTER her birth:

Ryan's mom brought the kids in to meet their baby sister about 30 min after she was born. They were SO excited. Mya was just thrilled that her baby sissy was finally here. Mason knew right away that she was baby Gracie. Jordan couldn't wait to give her a kiss. The kids left the hosptial around 11pm. Once again I was all alone waiting on Ryan to get there. He got there at 12am. He has a story too. He got pulled over for speeding (this was within the first hour he was driving, it was actually as I was getting admitted to the hosptial). He told them that I was labor and they didn't believe him and made him sit in the police car. Then they called the hospital to verify that I was really there. Of course I was and they let him go with just a warning. But that 20 minutes of them pulling him over didn't make a difference as far as him making it in time. He was 5 hrs away. I still hadn't taken a picture of Gracie (and those of you that know me well, i'm all about capturing the moment...and couldn't believe I didn't have a picture of her just seconds after she was born). My first picture I took of Gracie was of Ryan holding her. That was such a precious moment to me. Watching him look at her. He was already so in love with her just seconds after seeing her for the first time. It was so sweet. So finally by 2am, Ryan decided to try to get some sleep. I just sat there awake ALL NIGHT LONG. I couldn't sleep. I just kept replaying all the events of her birth in my head. I was still in a haze as to that it really happened. Finally by 5am I got about an hour of sleep. Thanks to some pain killers they gave me for the cramping. I do have to say though, I felt SUPER great after delivery. Hardly any pain. And without the epidural I had no backache. Last time I did have a horrible backache from where they put the epirdural in. So that was nice but I still would have much rather had the epidural. By the next morning I was walking around and felt great really. Not like I just gave birth. Maybe it just gets easier the more kids you have, I don't know. We'll see how it is when I have my 12th child. KIDDING! LOL! No, we are done. Although, I look at Gracie and can't imagine her being my last one. She is just so precious and I can't imagine not having a newborn baby around again. Am I the only one that is ready to do it all over again within hours of giving birth?!?! I swear I think about this all the time after having one baby! But anwyays...SO that is my story of Gracie's birth. I can't believe she's 1 week and 2 days old already. She is SUCH a good baby. Hardly any crying. She sleeps pretty good. Of course she's up every few hours to eat but falls right back to sleep. She does like being wide awake at 4am though. Usually we are up for an hour or so. But it's okay, I love just staring at her. It's a very relaxing time for me, so I don't mind missing my sleep.

oh to be a child again....

The following blog post was actually written on 6/21/09. I was working on my blog and labeling some old blog posts and I came across this blog post saved as a draft. I never got it posted. This was written the evening before Gracie was born. I was planning on posting it but I guess I forgot to! Just thought I would post it. It's funny to read something talking about the baby being born soon and NOW that baby is almost 1 yr old! Crazy how fast times flies!

Today has been PRETTY stressful so far. Ryan's truck broke down in Tennessee. He's there working some insurance claims. He planned on coming home tomorrow morning after seeing his last claim. Then staying home until after the baby is born. Well, his truck had other plans. Completely broke down while he was in the middle of NO WHERE (atoka, tn i believe). Got it to a shop and was able to get a ride back to his sister's apartment (where he was staying). They are going to look at his truck 1st thing tomorrow morning. BUT they are pretty sure it's the transmission (again...we've already had a new transmission put in last year). So not only a major thing to fix, but REALLY costly. So it's most likely not going to be done by Thursday (when i go to the hospital to most likely have the baby) so he HAD to get home early this week. As far as me driving there to pick him up....probably not the easiest thing for me to do...drive 5 1/2 hrs with 3 kids and one about to pop out. So he rented a car (another BIG expense that we weren't expecting) so he can finish seeing his claims and get home as soon as possible early this week. BUT he has to have the car back next Sunday. Hopefully his truck is done by then and hopefully i have the baby on Thursday. boy oh boy. So much to think about!!! So, i was talking to Ryan on the phone about all this. I was starting to cry cuz I was stressed and I was feeling bad for him cuz he was so stressed. When I got off the phone Mya asked me what was wrong. I said, "oh, it's nothing you have to worry about it. Mommy & Daddy are just stressed out becuase his truck is broken and we had to spend lots of money to get it fixed and lots of money for him to rent a car". Then she said, YAY....what kind of car??? what color???? see mommy...it's all gonna be okay, he gets a NEW car. Then I said, well, it's going to cost lots of money and then she said, "That is good cuz Daddy is working to make lots of money!" Then she told me to smile because Daddy got a new car and is making lots of money!!!! Oh if only life were as simple as a child sees it. She did make me smile for a moment!

some more prego pics...

I was trying to get creative and take some pregnancy photos...but it was hard taking them of myself and trying to set up the camara and stuff.Then i tried some photoshop stuff on them. They did not turn out at all like i had pictured in my mind. But it was something to do to keep me occupied while I wait for this little one to arrive!

Another day of being pregnant

Last night was pretty stressful. From about 7:30pm till 11pm I was having contractions constantly...but again, some real painful, some no pain just really tight. There was no pattern and no consistacy to them. But I was having lots so it had me nervous. I really didn't want to go into labor last night. Ryan probably wouldn't have made it home if I did. Luckily though, I got a good nights sleep and now the contractions have subsided almost completely. Once again, it wasn't the real deal. Which right now I am glad because I want Ryan to be here for the birth. And if I went into full blown labor I am not too sure he can make it in 5 hrs before I would have her. I just need to hold off until Monday then he'll come home and I won't have to stress about him making it here. I've been taking it REAL easy today. Just trying to keep things calmed down. Seems that the more active I am, the more the contractions come. SO that is my update for right now.

Baby update

I had my dr appointment this morning. I'll be 39 weeks tomorrow! I am bascially dilatated to 3cm (she said she could stretch it to a 3 so it wasn't completely a 3 but pretty close--sorry if it's too much information but when you are pregnant this is just normal conversation!!). The baby has come down to a -1 station which is quite a bit down from last week so that was good. I'm making progress but still not enough to say i'm in actual labor. I do have an appointment at the hospital next thursday June 25th which is my actual due date. They are going to hook me up to the monitor to check my contractions and also do a Non-stress test on the baby. They may keep me and go ahead and induce me or they may just send me home depending on the results. So we'll see what goes on this week. Hopefully I just go into labor on my own..that would be fun to experience as long as it gives me plenty of warning and I can get to the hosptial on time AND Ryan is either back in town or can make it back in time. He left this afternoon for Tennessee again to work. He'll be back Saturday or Sunday. But of course I'll let him know the second my contractions get worse or intensify....So that is the scoop on this baby. She just doesn't want to make an appearance it seems like. Although, I don't blame her..it's pretty crazy and loud around here. She's probably nervous to come out into the chaotic life with her brothers and sister!

Ready to bust! 38 weeks!

Today is not "birth" day

So, I went to my Dr appointment today. I was definetly dialated to 2cm (last week I was ALMOST a 2) so I've made a tiny bit of progress. But with all the contractions I've been having you would think I would have made more progress than that! So now I have another long rest of the week to deal with these contractions and just being uncomfortable. But now I'm nervous and DON"T want to go into labor until late in the day on Saturday since Ryan will be out of town until then. I'm scared that if I DO go into real labor, he wouldn't make it back in time. So now i need to pray and hope that she holds off until this weekend at least. Hopefully I don't make it to my next dr appt which is next wednesday. It's going to be one long rest of the week though. I don't know what to do to keep my mind off of it. It's all I think about.

Getting anxious

I can't believe that it's getting SO close to having this baby. I do have to say i'm SO ready. I don't recall feeling this ready with the other three. I just can't imagine being pregnant much longer. I don't know how I can go all the way to my due date (June 25th) feeling like this. I'm really just miserable walking around. It's not that I'm SO big or anything, it's just that I'm feeling contractions and half the time it feels like she's going to fall out!! Which I know that won't happen...but it's still very uncomfortable. Now that she is head down though and no longer breech I'm SO excited about having another great birth. With an epirdural of course. I love those things! They make the whole birth experience WONDERFUL! I'm not a big fan of pain and I've had GREAT success with epidurals. With the exception of giving birth to Jordan. The epirdural didn't work and I felt everything, that was NOT relaxing or enjoyable. But with Mya and Mason, I was able to enjoy every minute. Definetly the way to go. for me at least. But anyways, so tomorrow morning I go to the Dr again. I'm hoping that I'm dialated a lot more and she just sends me to the hospital. It would make everything so much easier. If she doesn't Ryan has to head to Tennessee for work tomorrow afternoon. And he'll be gone till Friday. SO if that does happen, hopefully I don't go into labor without him here! I think tomorrow would be a GREAT birthday for this baby girl (who does have a name but I'll keep you all in suspense now since you've all waited this long! LOL)

She's head down!!!!

This is going to be real quick...but i had my ultrasound today. Baby girl beers has FLIPPED! YAY!!!! She is head down and real low. Now if only the contractions would pick up and we can get things rolling. i'm SOOOO ready now...everything is ready..everything is in place. Come on BABY!!!!! I've never felt so prepared for a baby to arrive as I do now. Even for the ones that were scheduled inductions. So hopefully this baby comes in the next few days. I almost went to the hospital the past few nights...i was having bad contractions and just didn't feel right..but I was worried they would just send me home so I waited it out at home...and guess that was the right thing cuz here I am...STILL pregnant and not in active labor yet. So that is the update on baby girl beers (name to be announced after she's born!)

I hope she's a gymnast

I had a Dr appointment this morning. I'm almost 37 weeks. Wow it's coming SO fast. I did find out that I'm almost 2 cm dialated and 50% effaced so that is good that is making progress BUT this little girl (still nameless) is STILL breech. I'm hoping she's a gymnast and can manage to flip her way around before I go into labor. I have an ultrasound scheduled for Monday to double check. I have a few exercises I need to do 3 times a day from now until then to try to make her flip around. They only have a 25% chance of working...so we'll see. If not when I go into labor they will automatically do a c-section. I've never been this close to having one before. I was really looking forward to having another great birth. I figured the 4th would SUPER easy since the 3rd was really easy even though he was 10lbs 2oz!!!! I'm worried about the recovery time with a c-section. I don't know anything about c-sections just because I never had one and never thought I would unless it turned out to be an emergency but it never has so I had no real need to research it. I know it sounds so routine but at the same time, it's major abdominal surgery so it's scary. On a positive note I don't think I'm going to be pregnant for much longer. I know the dr's don't know for sure and they have no way of really knowing, she did say that she is not sure that I'll even make it to my next appointment with is Wed. June 10th. But I'm not getting my hopes up just because like i said, they really have no way of knowing. I'm just hoping and praying that on Monday when they do the ultrasound that she has flipped and stays in the head down position.

Baby Girl Beers Update

On Tuesday I had my dr appointment. Everything is going good. I was 35 1/2 weeks and but now i'm 36 weeks! WOW...it's going SOOO fast! (sometimes though, I feel it's not going fast enough). I'm dialated a little over 1cm already! I know that really isn't much, BUT to me it is because I normally don't dialate at all until at least 38 weeks. I have been having lots of braxton hicks contractions and some have been down right painful. BUT they are not consistant and tend to feel better as I move around so they are definetly just "practice" contractions and not the real thing. Each time though, I think "could this really be it?!?!". I've never experienced going into labor on my own. I've been induced with all 3 so far. I'm kinda looking forward to just going into labor on my own BUT it has to be at a convienent time for me. During the day, Ryan not out of town, etc. That isn't too much to ask is it?!?!?! LOL! But anyways, back to my dr appointment. My dr does think my baby is breech though. She thought she felt feet and then she pushed around on my stomach and said she was pretty sure her head was up at the top. She is running out of room to move around so it has me nervous that she won't get in the right position before birth. I REALLY don't want a c-section. But if she is breech I'm sure that is the route they will go considering the size of my babies. I go back on Tuesday and if she thinks she is still breech then they are going to do another ultrasound to make sure. So anyways, that is the update on baby girl beers. She still doesn't have a name. We have had 2 different names picked out and thought for sure that would be it, but we keep changing our minds. I'm sure we'll come up with one by the time she is born, if not..we'll just have to look at her and see what name fits her best!!!!

my day

Okay, so first of all, I am minus 2 kids for part of this week. Ryan had to go to Memphis, TN to work some insurance claims again this week and is staying with his sister. SO he took Jordan & Mya with him and she is watching them while he's working. I was so sad saying good bye to them this morning. This is the first time I've ever been away from them at night except for when I was in the hospital giving birth. I feel so lost that they aren't here with me. I can't stop thinking about them and can't stop worrying about them. But I know they will be fine but it's just SO hard for me. I have always just had a hard time ever thinking I would leave them over night. I do have Mason at home with me, but I just feel lost only having one kid to take care of. Although, Mason made sure that my day was anything but easy. The poor baby is sick. This morning I had to run to the bank around 8:30am. So we hopped in the Expedition and went on to the bank on the way home Mason started crying and saying "mommy, mommy" I looked in my rear view mirror to see what was wrong and then all of a sudden "Volcano Mason" erupted. Yes, he threw up all over!!!! Okay, that came out of NO WHERE! I was shocked. We were only 2 min from home so I continued to drive. After we got home I cleaned him up and he seemed to be better. But he wouldn't eat, other than though, he seemed just fine. I had a Dr appt at 11:15am today so we had to leave around 10:30am to get there in time. I got out another car seat (I hadn't had a chance to completely clean up the other car seat yet and some how we have 4 car seats that he could go into. Strange cuz we only have 2 kids--Mya & Mason that need just the regular forward facing car seats..but anyways). As we are driving to my appointment he started to cry and sure enough, "volcano Mason" erupted AGAIN!. I pulled over and cleaned him all up. Changed his clothes and everything. I really needed to go to my appt so I decided to just continue on. I prayed the rest of the way that he wouldn't puke again. He ended up falling asleep. When we got there, he was as happy as could be and acted completely fine. By 12:15am we were on our way home. Once again, he puked ALL OVER. I pulled over, took off his clothes, cleaned him up and tried getting him comfortable back in his seat. I couldn't believe this was happening!!! After I got home, I gave him a bath and he seemed just fine once again. He even asked for applesauce and some grapes. I let him eat what he wanted cuz I knew he needed something in him. He even had a little bit of milk in his bottle. Besides being a little extra clingy to me, he acted normal. He played outside and everything! I really needed to get a few things from walmart so at 6:30pm I decided to head out (crazy i know)I mean, he hadn't thrown up since 12:30pm. Wouldn't you know though, 5 minutes down the road, he puked ALL OVER. This time it was BAD. Since he had eaten earlier that was all over. I take this back way to walmart. It's literally over the river and through the woods and there really isn't anywhere to pull over. But it only takes 10 min to get to walmart so I continued on my way. I cleaned him up in the parking lot. changed his clothes and got him all clean. I figuredI had a little bit of time before he felt sick again. So we rushed thru walmart and I got everything I needed. Now it was time to go home. I did something I thought I would NEVER do. THere was no way he could sit in his car seat without getting all nasty again (it's a mess and going to require me taking off all of the seat cloth and washing it) SO I put him in Jordan's booster seat and just buckled him with the regular seat belt. I know, I'm a bad mom. I'm normally such a stickler when it comes to following the car seat rules. I WILL NOT put my kids in a booster car seat until they are over 40lbs and so many inches (i don't know the exact inches off the top of my head). That is definetly a safety rule I will stick to. Poor Mya won't be in a booster seat car seat until she's in 2nd grade at this rate...she doesn't even weigh 30lbs yet and she's just about 4!!! but anyways...so I put Mason in jordan's booster seat car seat. I prayed that God would protect us on our 10 min ride home and off I went. Luckily, like I said, Walmart is over the river and through the woods to our house...so there wasn't any traffic and I could go as slow as I wanted to. We made it home without another puking episode OR getting in a wreck. So anyways....now it's almost 11pm...Mason is sleeping and I really had planned on getting TONS of stuff done while Mason was in bed since I wouldn't have the other kiddos to put to bed. But now I'm thinking I will just head to bed myself. Tomorrow is another day and I can hopefully get stuff done and enjoy my day with just Mason a little more than i did today. I'm praying he's over this by morning. I do have to take our expedition in at 8am too to get new brakes so I'm really praying he doesn't puke again. Wow...what a day it was today!

Jordan's graduation

WAY TO GO JORDAN! The big GRADUATE! On May 22, 2009 Jordan graduated from Kindergarten. I can't believe he's going to be a 1st grader now! He's growing into such a big boy. We are SOOO proud of him. He had a great graduation ceremony, then his class released balloons with their future dreams attached to them! After he was done we took him out to eat. Then when we got home he went off and did his own thing. To my surprise he had cleaned up his ENTIRE room (something he doesn't normally do on his own without me bascially forcing him to). I told him how surprised and proud of him I was and he said, "well, mommy, i'm a 1st grader now...so I have to do things like this!". That made me smile. My little boy has grown up!!!

Potty training is for the birds....

I don't even know what to do anymore. It's like every day I wake up and think "okay, TODAY is the day Mya will be potty trained". And then at the end of the day. Still in diapers and we made no progress whatsoever.

It's like I'm embarassed that she will be 4 next month and I'm still changing her diaper. She was wearing pull ups...but those at too expensive to wear when you know she's just going to wet in them. I was willing to pay the extra to have her wear them to make it easier to go potty, but to her..they were just diapers she could put on herself.

Her whole potty training experience started when she was about 1 1/2. She decided she wanted to use the big potty. I was shocked because she was so young..but they say they will let you know when they are ready. I was all excited. She went a few times. But then she was totally not into it anymore. So we stopped. No biggie. Afterall she was only 1 1/2. Then around 2 1/2 we bought her underwear and started the whole potty training process. She wasn't into it at all. She wore the underwear but wouldn't go for nothing. She held it all day long. No accidents which was good but she never went on the potty either. She waited until bedtime when she got her diaper back on. Since this was obviously not going anywhere...and I was about to have Mason. We stopped with the potty training. I thought she obviously wasn't ready.

Out of no where this past November she decided she was going to be potty trained. The whole week of Thanksgiving she wore underwear and went on the potty. I was SO excited. She did tell me however, that I wasn't allowed to be excited for her because going potty was no big deal. She would get upset if anyone made comments praising her. Then like the flip of a light switch she was back refusing to wear underwear and use the potty. I'm not just saying she acted scared or said no, she would have full blown fits that would last hours (no joke!) And now that is STILL where we are at if we even mention her wearing underwear or using the potty. It's SO stressful. I have asked her what the best thing ever would be that she wants. She wants a cupcake maker. I told her that if she would just put these underwear on, we would head to walmart right then and buy her that cupcake maker. I just suggested she put the underwear on...not even for a week or anything..just put them on at that moment. Then she said, "well, then i don't want a cupcake maker". I don't need it that bad if if means i have to potty train. So she obviously has a complete understanding of what is going on. One day she was talking that she might want to get her ears pierced. I said as soon as she is potty trained I would take her. Then she said, "okay, never mind..i'll just wait until I'm a grown up to get my ears pierced". She wanted to go to Pre-K next year. I told her I couldn't sign her up if she wasn't potty trained. THen she said, "that is fine, i just won't go...i don't care about it that much". This goes on for EVERYTHING she says she wants. She asks for candy...and i say, "go try to go potty first, then you can have a piece". Her response, "nevermind, i don't want any". A few weeks ago we had some issues with her diapers coming undone. She was at Jordan's baseball practice with Ryan and she was playing with her friend there and her diaper came undone and fell off. She was embarassed. She had a talk with Daddy and said the next week she would get rid of diapers since she was too big for them. That next Monday came...and the 1st thing she said to me in the morning was "I know i said i would potty train this week, but i changed my mind. I don't care if my diapers don't stay on". I didn't even remember at that moment that she was starting that day, SHE remembered though. So she definetly is "smart" enough to use the potty. It's that she doesn't want to.

I have looked at many books and read many articles online. It's like I laugh at their suggestions. they sound SO simple. But they've all been tried with Mya and they just don't work. I don't know what to do. Sometimes I feel like it's my fault. But I have tried everything. I don't know what to do. this has been the hardest parenting thing I've ever dealt with. I laugh at those that say girls are easier to potty train. Jordan was difficult but still 100 times easier. At least he would put the underwear on at least try to use the potty. I can't even get that out of her. In a month an a half, I'm going to have 3 kids in diapers. I don't know what to do. I did talk to the dr about 3 months ago about her issues. He said then that if she wasn't trained within the next month not to do anything till after the baby is born because it would be too much on her. But that makes her OVER 4 yrs old. I mean, who has a 4 yr old girl still in diapers? Not that I care what everyone else is doing, but it's just like what is wrong with me that she isn't potty trained yet. She is such a smart, beautiful girl. I don't get why this is so hard for her. I just think of how hard this is right now to deal with, I can't imagine what it's going to be like in a couple of months once I have the baby. I'm going to be so much more busy. How am I going to deal with this then? I'm will to take suggestions. I'm to the point where I don't even know what else to try. I pray and pray that she will come around.

My Pet Peeves of Motherhood

I kinda got this idea from a friend's blog. But some days..i just want to SCREAM...Here are some things that make me want to do that.

1. Picking up the couch pillows for the 100th time and it's only noon!

2. Getting dinner ALL cleaned up and the kids are already hungry again.

3. Stepping on crackers or cereal.

4. FINDING crackers or cereal on the floor right after vacuuming.

5. My kids tattle tailing on each other

6. when the kids ask for something and I say "ok, just one minute" and they ask the same thing OVER AND OVER for the one minute.

7. Getting Jordan all tucked in bed only to have him get up 2 min later to go to the bathroom (he JUST went!)

8. Reading stories to my kids and having them ask me what is going on in each picture as I'm trying to read it to find out what is going on in the story. I don't mind discussing it..but let me read the page 1st!!! lol

9. Cleaning up one room, only to walk into the next and realize it was getting trashed while i was cleaning the other room.

10. Searching for binkys. How do they get lost SO fast! And why is it that I can only find one even though we have like 10!!

11. Mason throwing food on the floor because he is "done" and i couldn't get it cleared off his tray fast enough!

Okay, so those are some of my pet peeves..but you know what...I don't mind...cuz it means that my house is full of precious little blessings that I could NOT live without! :)

take me out to the ball game...

Jordan has started t-ball again. he's had one game so far. He loves it! Here are some pics from his 1st game.

Oh be careful little eyes what you see...

It was SO funny. Today as we were driving home from Walmart the song "Slow Fade" by Casting Crowns was on the radio. Mya loves that song because at the end they have a little kid singing "oh be careful little eyes what you see". So when that was over, she wanted to sing the whole song. So we sang, "oh be careful little feet where you go, oh be careful little feet where you go, for the Father up above is looking down with love, Oh be careful little feet where you go". We went thru each verse, feet, hands, eyes, mouths etc. After each one I asked them what you thought it ment. When we went to discuss "oh be careful little eyes what you see" Mya said, "I know what that means...that means if you see someone robbing a bank to cover your eyes so you don't see them doing something bad!". I had to just laugh. So cute! The stuff kids think of!

Sweet Bliss.....

After Mason's dr appt today at 3:30pm, I took the kids to eat dinner then I needed to run to JcPenny's. By the time we started our trek for home it was starting to get dark out. The 40 min drive home was WONDERFUL! All 3 kids fell asleep, the radio was playing great music, it was my favorite time of night (right as it's getting dark and there are silloutes--not sure how to spell that??). The quietest, most peaceful drive home. Sweet sweet bliss!

What a night...what a morning...

SO last night I put Mason to bed at 7:00pm. He didn't nap well, so I thought, okay, get him to bed early and my night just might be relaxing. I'm going to do a timeline of my night last night. And as a side note, Mya hardly EVER falls asleep or goes into bed before me. Usually she goes to bed with me (yes, it's an issue we need to deal with...but for now..that is our routine) Okay, so here's my timeline:

7pm - Mason in bed
7:15pm- Mason wakes up screaming...I went in to get him and see what is wrong.
7:30pm - get mason back in bed and he's sound asleep
8:30pm - put Jordan to bed
9:00 pm - start rocking Mya because she's super tired & took allergy meds so I knew she would fall asleep with a little rocking. (my thoughts were to get her to bed and actually get to watch a movie with Ryan)
9:01pm - Mason wakes up...Ryan goes and gets him and tries rocking him to sleep while i still rock Mya
9:45pm - Mya FINALLY falls asleep so I put her to bed.
9:46pm - Mason wakes back up and ONLY wants me.
10pm - Mason is FINALLY sound asleep back in his bed.
10:30pm - ALL kids are in bed...we start the movie.
11pm - Mason wakes back up...i bring him on the couch with me and he falls back asleep with me until the movie is over at 12am ish.
12:15am - put Mason back in his bed.
12:45am - Go to bed.
2am - get woken up by Jordan because he wet the bed (some day he isn't going to appreciate that i wrote about this to the world..lol)
2:15am - got jordan all cleaned up, sheets changed and BACK in bed.
4am - Mason wakes up and decides all he wants is his bottle. So i make him a bottle.
4:30am - Mason finally falls back asleep in my bed.
6am - I wake up to feeling something wet...oh crap..yup, mason soaked his diaper and it soaked thru so now my sheets are wet..gross.
6:30am - got him all cleaned and changed and we are settled in the recliner in the living room with hopes to sleep a little while longer.
6:35am - Mya comes out to the recliner and wants to rock too.
7am - Jordan wakes up
7:15am - I believe is when the fighting began...mya & Jordan were fighting over a blanket. I don't know...it was kinda blur to me..i was SO TIRED! Ryan took care of that ordeal.
8am - I give up...okay, we are NOT getting any sleep...SO i'd better just start the laundry cuz I have like 3 loads of urine soaked sheets and blankets...gross.
8:15am - Mason comes out of his room rubbing his hands together...it looked kinda funny so I thought I'd better see what he was really doing. I got about 2 feet in front of him and I could SMELL what he was was doing..i knew EXACTLY what he was doing...he was smooshing poop in his hands. He pooped (diarehha) in his diaper and had stuck his hands down in it. GROSS!
8:20am - bathtime for Mason
8:25am - Jordan & Mya decided they needed a bath too.
8:30am - Ryan here ya go...I'm taking a shower!

WOW....I'm tired...now if i have one of those nights once the baby is born...you can add getting up to nurse a baby every 2 hours in there too! I think i'll be going to bed at 9pm tonight! :)

Rock Chalk Jayhawk KU....

Mason & Daddy watching the KU basketball game. Mason keeps saying "ball...ball". He loves watching basketball with daddy!

Arkansas Ice storm

So today we are trapped in our house. There is an ice storm. Normally, it would nice and cozy to be able to just stay home all day...but I'm just worried about losing power. It's SO cold out. Luckily we haven't lost power yet. I'm praying SO hard that we don't. I just don't feel like freezing and all three kids have a cough and bad runny nose so sitting in a freezing cold house would not help them any. It's not like we can go anywhere seeing as where we live the roads are HORRIBLE. Hilly and curvy and not treated for ice at all. The storm actually started yesterday afternoon right before we had our ultrasound appointment. We probably should have cancelled, now that it's over I'm SO glad we went and glad we made it home safely. We saw 4 accidents on the HWY on the way home yesterday. So anyways...that is the scoop here. I have so far went thru all the baby girl clothes to just look thru them. I was SO glad I saved most of mya's baby clothes. They are SO cute! I held back from washing them all up. I decided I have PLENTY of time to do that. So now they are put back in the closet. I think my next project today is cleaning out and organizing my closet. Jordan probably won't have school tomorrow either. So as long as we don't lose power it will all be good. Okay, enough rambling. Here's a few pics from the forest at the end of our yard and a pic of the kids firetruck. So far we don't have super thick ice but it's suppose to continue ALL DAY!

It's a.....

It's a GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I"m beyond excited. I would have been happy either way but deep down I wanted a girl to even things out and baby girl stuff is just so darn cute! And it would be so perfect since it will be born right around Mya's birthday so all of Mya's baby clothes will the perfect size/season. I'm just SO excited!!! Everything looked good. My baby girl would not hold still. She was squirming all over. At first we had a little trouble telling if she was a boy or a girl but luckily she gave us a wide open view and there was no doubt that she was a she!!!! YAY! Her measurements showed her a week younger than we thought. So they changed my due date to June 25th...a week later. I didn't show any signs of placenta previa (a low lying placenta) which I had when I was pregnant with Mason so I was very relieved. I was so worried I would have that again and be put on all those restrictions again but thankfully I don't have to worry about that this time around. I'm just happy to know what we are having. I can't wait to pick out a name now. We have NO idea what her name will be but it's SO much fun looking thru all the names and trying to come up with something. We did have a 2nd girl name that we were set on if Mason was a boy, Macy...BUT we thought for sure we were done after Mason so we used the name Mason...so we really can't use Macy now. Oh well, we can start from scratch and it's kinda fun. I love anything to do with names so I love this part! :) So anyways. That is the scoop on our baby girl. Oh and the picture that I've added to this is a little blurry...sorry about that. I took a picture of the ultrasound picture and that is how it turned out. But you can at least kinda make out her profile in the picture.

Thursday

Every Thursday I take Mya and Mason to the library for storytime. Mya loves going and doing the craft after the stories. Mason loves running around and playing with the puzzles. After we leave the library we always go to Chick-fil-A for lunch and after lunch the kids play on the playground there. They have a BLAST!!!! I took a few pics of the kids while we were at Chickfila yesterday, I didn't really plan on blogging about this...but thought I would so I could post the pictures!

Tu-tu Model

Just wanted to quick add a picture of Mya wearing her tu-tu. I took the picture before we left for dance class.

Baby Beers #4 update

I went to the Dr yesterday. All sounded good. I'm just about 19 weeks. I do have to say it almost seems to be flying by quickly...Although, when I think of June 19th...that seems SO far away. But I know time will fly by. I'm still just feeling little tiny bits of movement, nothing big yet. I'm also getting big, but not as big as I thought I would. I was much bigger at this time when I was pregnant with Mason. I'm feeling really good right now. Finally. I have a few moments of nausea in the morning but as long as i take a dramamine and eat...i'm all good. I'm getting back a little more energy and can stay awake past 9pm now. So right now, I'm pretty comfortable being pregnant. I know that will soon change as my belly grows and all those later pregnancy symptoms start to set in. But for now, I'm all good. I go on Monday for my ultrasound to find out the sex of the baby. I'm SOOOO excited. This week seems to be going to slow. I can't wait for Monday. Of course we are going to find out. Ryan and I tossed around the idea of not finding out. I know that end experience would be so exciting to find out then...but i just can't. I don't have the patience in me for that. Also, I'm such a planner when it comes to having a baby. I want everything washed up and ready to go before the baby arrives. I would have to be going thru all the baby boy and baby girl clothes. I just want to find out and get all that stuff ready and not go back and forth...boy, girl, boy, or girl. But it's just as exciting finding out. And i want to focus on a name...and not have to put so much energy into both names. I give major kudos though to those that don't find out. I wish I had their patience. Now of course...if there is ANY doubt about what the sex is (like they don't get a 100% clean picture) I will definetly keep that in mind. We have been SUPER lucky with the other 3. There was no doubt with any of them. Mya and Jordan claim they "KNOW" it's a girl. Jordan said he prayed for a baby brother and then I found out I was pregnant with Mason. He always said it was a boy even before we knew. He said he was praying for another baby sister so he claims that that is what this baby is. Mya just says, "i know it's a Gool (how she says girl..lol). I don't think she knows what having another girl entails..like she would be sharing a room with her when she gets a little bigger...and mya is not all about sharing her space. So we shall see on Monday. YAY! I can't wait.

My new Hobby

Well, I did it..I made my 1st Tutu. (you know, those little things ballerina's wear...just for those of you that might not know what i'm talking about lol). Mya is in ballet and I paid $20 for this ADORABLE tutu..it was SO cute...I got to thinking that maybe i could possibly make them so she could have one in every color...then I thought, hey, i could make them and sell them if I enjoy making them. We could definetly use the money and its something I can do. So I bought some Tulle and all the supplies. And last night I made one! i was so excited...and so was Mya. I learned along the way and know a few things I'm going to do next time to make it easier to make and make it look better...but I was still pleased with my first tutu. I mean, I've never made one before. I also have all differnt ideas floating around in my brain on how to emblesh them a little and add a little "pizazz" to them. So anyways...here is the finished product. i'll eventually be making a website and start selling them. But I think i'll make a few more for practice before i do that. I'm praying that it's something works and makes us some money. It's fun and I enjoy it too!

belly shots

This was last week at 16 1/2weeks

This was last night...17 weeks. I was wearing regular jeans...but yesterday was the 1st day I had

use a rubberband to button them. Guess it's time for maternity jeans!!! I'm almost half way there!! YIPPEEE!!!! I don't think I'm quite as big right now as I was when I was pregnant with Mason. I was DEFINETLY not wearing regular jeans at 1 7 weeks with Mason. But I"m sure this baby will grow big just like Jordan, Mya & Mason did!!!!! (if that is the case...this one just might be my 11pounder!!!)

Curtains and Suitcases

So, last night was another night of organizing my room. I was going thru all my lotions & stuff and trying to organize our bathroom cabinets too. Mya was of course awake with me and having a blast looking thru all this stuff. She wanted to smell every lotion and spray. She would ask me about all my jewelery. It was cute. It made me remember when I would go thru my mom's stuff and it was always so amazing to me when I was little. Mya and I were having a good time. I also had my sheets in the dryer so I was waiting till those got done to make the bed then I was going to bed. Mya wanted to help me make the bed so I thought, 3 yrs old..this is a good of time as any to teach her how to put the sheets on the bed. SO, I got the stuff out of the dryer. She then asked, "mommy, will you show me how to put the "curtains" on the bed!". I said, "oh, you mean the sheets?" She said, "Yeah, i mean the sheets". So she helped me. Next she asked, "mommy, can I help you put on the "suitcases?"." I had to crack a smile at that one. Of course, Mya, you can help me put on the pillowcases!!!! So cute...she was so serious about helping with the curtains and suitcases! I guess if she didn't learn to put them on the bed at least she learned the correct terms for "sheets" and "pillowcases!". Gotta love the words of 3 yr olds! :)

Silly Underwear

Last night I was working on organizing my closet. I still had a big box filled with clothes that I have not put away since we moved. Most of it was stuff I don't even know why I have because I don't wear any of it. So, Mya was up with me as usual while the boys were in bed. (she is a night owl compared to the other two so she is always the last one awake and since she took a nap yesterday she was more awake than usual). She was helping me "work" in my room and having quite a fun time doing it. Wish it was as enjoyable for me. Anyways...I came across a whole bundle of underwear (I used to have a fetish with buying underwear ALL THE TIME back in the day). Most of which I don't wear at all. So anyways...as I'm putting them away...I came across a thong. At first I thought, oh don't write about this..it's kind of personal..but seriously, it's just underwear and EVERYONE wears some sort of underwear. And besides, who hasn't owned a pair of thongs back when everyone was paranoid about having underwear lines on the butt of their pants, right? So to my story. I held them up and said, "Mya, look at these!". She got a very curious look on her face and said, "um, Mommy, what happen to the butt of those undies?". Then I said, "I don't know". Then she said, "let me see those again". SO i held them up again and she said, "mommy, please don't ever wear those, I think you might pee on yourself if you do!". I was cracking up! Then she laughed and said, "oh just put those silly underwear away!". I was about to tell they were called "thongs"...but thought, I really don't need her going around using that word so we left it at "silly underwear!". Just thought it was a funny story.....I love the expressions on the faces of 3 yr olds and the words that come out of their mouths!!!

My counter looks like a pharmacy shelf!!

Last night was a rough night. I was up from 3:30am to 6am with coughing kiddos. Mya has a horrible cough and couldn't sleep because it was so bad. I gave her cough medicine..but it didn't really help...she only stopped when she did end up falling asleep. She also had a fever. Mason also had a fever and had a cough his was different than Mya's though. His was the all too familar cough that you could hear rattling in his lungs. The cough he gets all too often. So first thing this morning I made a call to the dr. They both got appointments for 2pm. We got there and by this time Mya was really sick. She wanted nothing but to lay on me. I felt so bad for her. So anyways....once again..Mason had an ear infection! I didn't even realize it. I can't believe how many he's had now. Everytime he goes he has one. Looks like he's following in his big brother's and tubes may be in his future. Mya just had a bactireal infection and the cough was from her post nasal drainage!!! They were prescribed medications to treat all their symtoms. Now I'm back up to 4 meds (he's already been taking 2 for his allergies) for Mason and 3 meds now for Mya (a prescription cough med, predisolone to help open up her air way to get rid of the cough and an antibiotic for the infection). On top of all that..I'm giving them Motrin for the fever! I was lining out all the meds and reading up on them so i knew who gets what and when. I just had to take a picture for blog purposes! My counter looked like a shelf in a pharmacy!! I'm exhausted from today. I spent 2 hrs at the dr office and then another 2 1/2 hrs at Walmart waiting on the scrips. Ugh...mason's were ready when we got there...they were just waiting to fill Mya's. So I walked around WM while it was filling. Then stood in line (which by the way, i've NEVER seen so many people in the pharmacy line..i swear EVERYONE was either sick or just getting their regular meds filled and may i also mention..I saw TONS of motorized scooters in that line, sorry, i just made that observation! LOL) to pick them up and they STILL weren't done. I did this about 3 times...FINALLY at 5:30pm, they were filled. For some reason they kept skipping over filling her meds. If i would have known it would have taken that long, I would have just went home and sent ryan for them later on. But I did arrive home to a pleasent surprise..Ryan had made dinner and also started a load of laundry that I needed to do. All without me having to ask. So that was a pleasant surprise. Okay, i'm tired. Time for bed! I'm hoping the kids sleep better tonight for all our sake. We all need the sleep.