What a Weekend

This weekend was jam-packed full of wonderful family.  On Friday, Erin and Mitch had us over for dinner for my birthday... FYI- She makes AMAZING bacon wrapped honey mustard chicken!  She also made me this really sweet picture.  I can tell it took a lot of time and I absolutely LOVE it!!  When I decide where to hang it, I will post a picture :)

Saturday, we had Kyle's family over to our house to celebrate Monty's, Tammy's, Grandpa Ray's and My birthday.  Good thing that the weather cooperated so that the little ones could go play outside and Blake loves running around with all his cousins... Kyle and I also got a special treat!!!  Monty and Tammy took Blake for the night after the party... we haven't had a night out in a long time... I am usually way too tired, and as it gets closer to this baby's due date, I have a hard time going too far from home...I just like to be here... but we went and saw Hunger Games.  Kyle read the book so he kind of gave me the summary before we got there, so I had an idea of what was going on.  Not a bad movie, but I tend to like more of the Nicholas Sparks type movies :)  Less violence and more predictable love triangles HAHA.

Yes, that is a new IPad for Kyle's Grandpa :)

Blake getting comfortable with his 2nd Cousin Derek

Great Grandma turned 90 today!  Holy cow... she is still sharp as a whistle too... my Great Grandpa passed away a little over a year ago and he was 95.  That German blood is sure strong and stubborn!  She was so excited to see all of us together and it was fun to see her all dressed up!  On my mom's side of the family, I have both my grandparents and a great grandma still, and in 2010 I lost the last of my Dad's side.  Its just weird how my dads parents left this world so young and my mom's side is still here.  I miss my Grandpa Jump every day and he loved Blake SO much... He always called him his "Little Wee One" and on days when my mom's side of the family get together, I wonder if my dad gets sad that he doesn't have those people in his life still?  I haven't ever asked, but maybe I should??

Anyways, I got off track... it was an amazing weekend with lots of family fun, but I have had all the fun I need for one weekend... Kyle had a hockey game, so now that I have Blake to sleep, I am going to go take a bath while I still can, and watch something super sappy on TV...Maybe I will even get some ice cream :)

As your Mother... Letter to my unborn Son

To my dearest Luke,

We are all so excited to meet you, and we can’t wait for you to make your grand entrance into this world.  As your mother, I have been carrying you for almost 9 months now, and I already feel like I know so much about you, and I can’t wait to see your face, and be able to hold you in my arms.  I can’t wait to teach you the ways of the world, and to show you how to dream.  I want you to be creative, and smart, and to always lead the way, and not follow behind.  As your mother, I will want to shelter you from the cruel ways of the world, and it will be your father that will show you how to be strong and how to become a protector.  As your mother, I will always support your dreams, and do everything in my power to help you reach them.  I will be the voice of reason, and the mark of encouragement.  As your mother, I will not always be your friend, I wouldn’t be doing my job as a parent if I was.  There will be times that you can’t stand me, and that you wish you were an adult so that you can make your own decisions.  As your mother, I will help you to understand that your time will come to be grown up, and I will do everything that I can to help you hold on to your youth for as long as possible.  There is something so peaceful about the innocence of a child, and you will understand that some day when you two are a parent.  As your mother, I will always love you unconditionally, no matter what circumstance we are in, and I will make sure that you always know that.  You and your brother are my greatest achievements and, as your mother, it will always be my pleasure as a parent to  guide you through life with the best advice, care, and intentions as I know.  As your mother, I know that I will make mistakes, as will you, but it is the lesson that we learn from those mistakes and the forgiveness that we show that will help us to all lead a fulfilling life.  As your mother, I want you to know that I already love you more then I can express in this letter, and that when you arrive there is going to be a large, loving family welcoming you with more love then you can ever imagine.  You are such a lucky child, and already cherished by so many.  I pray that you are always happy, healthy, strong, and kind, and I want you to know that, as your mother, I will be here for you, always.

Love,

Mom

Day #1 at Home!

So, I am pleased to report that day one was a success!!  I know that I can do this, but I am going to be honest... since it is something that I have never done before, I am really trying to make sure that I find a good balance and that I don't just spend all my time playing with Blake, but also remember to get the housework done...which I did today :)  I swept, vacuumed, cleaned the kitchen and folded a load of laundry all before 9:00... my thought for today was, get it all done early so that I could play the rest of the day, and we had a little more to do then normal because we had some mess left over from a busy weekend. 

Mitch and Erin came over and brought Baby Evie, Erin's Niece, and what a doll she is!  Blake absolutely loves her and thinks it is so neat that he can hold her... ALSO, we got a trial run on Baby's room... Everything in there was Blake's and has been up in the attic.  Although, I cleaned it all, I never checked the batteries.  When Erin went to use the swing and the bouncer... realized it needs batteries!!  Better put that one on my list!  Good thing that they came over!  Also, Baby Evie started to hold the bottle on her own!! 

Kyle worked a funny schedule today, so he wont be home until a little after 10:00, so I have used this time to make up 5 batches of spaghetti to freeze for when baby comes... YES, all home made sauce!  I was feeling ambitious!  Excited for what tomorrow brings!
 

If the SHOE fits...

So, I got to work today like normal, walked up the stairs and went into my office.  I probably went to the bathroom to pee 2 times between 7-8:00, and didn’t notice this, but when I went again around 8:30, I looked at my feet and…GASP… I had on 2 different shoes… both flats, but one is shiny black (which I meant to wear) and the other was a brown flat with a big bow on the toe!  How in the world did I do this??  I stuck my foot into my closet this morning and just slipped on the two different shoes.  Then I realized that I can’t really see my feet when I walk, so I NEVER noticed it!  All I know, is this is getting ridiculous!  Good thing I have a pair of Ugg slippers under my desk for those days when my feet hurt!    How Embarrassing!!

Annual Cardiologist Appointment

Today is a day that I tend to dread.  Blake had his annual cardiologist appointment today, and it feels weird because we tend to forget that there was ever anything wrong with him.  After Blake's open heart surgery to correct his pulmonary arteries, it is vital that he always see a cardiologist to make sure that everything is still working right.  After the surgery, we saw his Dr. once a month, then once every three months, then pushed out to every 6 months, and finally out to yearly appointments.  He will always see his cardiologist once a year for the rest of his life.  I Think that I dread this day so much because I am always worried that I am going to get bad news, although, it never has been, and his Dr. is absolutely amazing, I am always a little nervous going into it.  Blake has to sit still for a series of tests (can you say anxiety, HELLO, he is 2 1/2) and then we wait for the all clear from the Dr. Obayashi.  the whole thing from start to end takes a little more then 2 hours, so there is quite a bit of planning that goes into this day, from nap schedules, to things to keep him entertained. (Suckers, Ipad, crayons, and yummy snacks)  Kyle and I looked at each other today with amazement and just smiled... he was a poster child... perfect behavior, and we were shocked.  All signs that our little man is growing up.

Did I mention that Dr. Derek Obayashi with North West Children's Heart Care is absolutely AMAZING!  He makes Blake feel so safe and is so wonderful with him.  If you ever need a pediatric cardiologist... he is your man.

Obayashi, Derek Y., MD

• Specialties: Pediatric Cardiology, Pediatrics
• Certifications: American Board of Pediatrics

Education

• Professional School: Chicago Medical School
• Internship: Children's Hospital Los Angeles
• Residency: Children's Hospital Los Angeles
• Fellowship: Stanford University

Practice

• Northwest Children's Heart Care

Anyways, on to the news... Blake is just fine...hoary!!  The main concern has always been that his arteries are narrower then the average child's arteries his age because they were stretched in order to be placed in their correct positions (they were flip-flopped)  but they are growing with him, and everything looks great.  It is always been emphasized to us that he needs to lead a very healthy lifestyle.  Since his arteries are more narrow then normal, he does run a small risk of needing stints when he gets older... talking like 50's or 60's... but who knows by then what technology will bring, and like I said, a very small risk.  Blake is an excited, happy, and healthy child that runs 100 MPH 24/7.  When you are a parent of a child with CHD, you know that the first sign that their heart isn't working correctly is lack of energy, shortness of breath and irritability, and you are always on the look out for these things.  I have never been more thankful for a child that keeps me going all the time.  His energy makes me thankful, and I feel blessed every day that we were sent on this journey with him.  Our appreciation for life continues to grow and we will always be thankful for what we have been given.  It was the hardest thing that we have ever gone through, but what strong parents we have become because of it, and what a fighter of a little boy we have.

Night Terrors??

I believe that Blake is either having nightmares or night terrors.  He has been getting up several times at night (usually 3-4) and sometimes he wakes up screaming, and  one of us will run in his room like a bat out of hell to see what’s wrong, and other times he makes it into my room very quietly and into our bed… I ask him why he is up and he says that he is scared and wants to sleep with us.  Depending on what time it is, I will take him back to his own room, but if it’s close to when my alarm goes off (4:45) I don’t worry about it because, honestly, I don’t have the energy, and I just want to sleep more.  He has always had a very routine bed time… Bath or shower at 7:00, Story around 7:20 and then off to bed.  Now, he is asking me to lay with him because he is too scared to be by himself.  When I ask what he is scared of, he says “the scary man” but I can’t get any more than that.  Who is this scary man?

Don't worry, we don't normally do this... Blake just wanted to read to me and Lucy this time :)

I have been reading up on this, and it can be either night terrors, or nightmares because they are starting to dream, but either way, I feel so bad for our little man.  I don’t ever want him to be scared at home;  I want him to always feel safe.  Some websites suggest that he is not tired enough for bed, others suggest that he might just be a light sleeper, and some say that a change in routine can cause this.  One thing is for sure… he is helping me get ready for these sleepless nights that I am about to have with our next little bundle of joy.  But we leave very early in the morning for Grandma’s house, and he is very tired because he was awake several times the night before, and fights me to get up.  which starts the day off with a cranky boy, and an exhausted Mama.  Any suggestions would be helpful, we just need a full night of sleep (minus the 5 times a night I get up to pee!)

SPRING CLEANING!!

This weekend was so exciting, we had absolutly NO PLANS...  Although, I love getting out and about during the weekends, I was excited to be able to stay home!  I have been itching to do some deep spring cleaning and organizing… Also, we still have a lot to do with the baby’s room.  My goal for this weekend… go through as much as I possibly can, get rid of anything extra and label…label… label!  I want to be so ridiculously organized before this little one comes along that I might just drive my husband crazy in the process, but a happy mama means a happy house!  Kyle is very organized too, in some ways, more so then me… he is very tidy, and doesn’t like to make a mess… for example, we do art projects when daddy isn’t home, and bake/decorate sugar cookies when he is working in the garage… those types of things tend to make him cringe, but I LOVE IT!  I love getting messy with Blake, but yes, you always have to clean up!

Goals Completed this Weekend:

Cleaned out my closet and nightstand

Dust the tops of the fridge, and under the stove

Hung new Kitchen light
Paint Mirror for Baby's room
Hung new blinds
Hung Blake's and Baby's drapes

Organize under the kitchen sink… somehow that always gets messy.
Kyle replace the garage door springs (broke last week)
Clean the garage
Lucy a bath
Yards mowed
ALL loads of aundry done/folded and put away



Before

After

We even had a little time left over where we made some GAK...thank you Pinterest for the recipe, and we love playing on the swings when we have a break in the nasty weather!!

And for some reason, Lucy always does this after a bath, and it makes me mad every time!!