Mama Dani's Musings

Our Story

2012-02-13T20:14:00.001-05:00

Megen over at Sparing Change wrote about her and her husband's story and asked others to share theirs. I couldn't think of a better idea for a Valentine's Day post so here's my husband's and my story.

Our story starts back in August 1999. It was the first time I noticed him. I was about to start my freshmen year of high school and was on the bus going to summer band camp. I still remember what he was wearing when he stepped onto the bus. He was a junior that year and with me being a freshmen, I didn't have the nerve to speak to him....yet. I admired him from afar until it was about time for a school dance; winter dance. I wanted to ask him to the dance but being shy I slipped a note into his locker. I didn't hear from him and after awhile I began wondering, "did I put it in the wrong locker!?" Our homeroom classes were right next to each other that semester and one morning my bus was late. I got to the hall where our lockers were and there he was walking toward me...Mr Griffa had sent him to take a plant to Mrs Baine. I gathered up the courage and stopped him to ask him if he got my letter. He had. But he wasn't going to the dance. I was crushed but I continued to crush on him. One of the things I remember about homeroom class that semester was the little hall that connected my homeroom to Richard's. There was another Richard in hubby's class and my friend, Elicia, and I would spend the time before the bell rung some days looking through that little hall watching the Richards.

As time went on, he wasn't showing any interest in me so I gave up. That was until about the beginning of 2001when a boyfriend broke up with me and Richard began flirting with me. Valentine's Day Dance was coming up. I wanted to ask him to go with me but I didn't want to be turned down. Finally my friends had had enough. They black mailed me one day at lunch. They told me that if I didn't ask him myself, they would do it for me. I nervously walked over to his table and asked. He said yes! He had also started driving me to and from school around that time. On February 1, 2001, he was dropping me off after school and asked me to be his girl friend. I was a happy girl!

Newly dating: Valentine's dance 2001

Fast forward to 2005. We were still dating. We had talked about marriage but there had been no proposal. ...until one evening after work. We were sitting on his bed and he popped the question. It was spur of the moment; he had no ring. I said yes!!...and we went ring shopping. It was awhile before the date was set. We moved into our first place together in March 2006, the date was set for October 14, 2006 and the wedding planning began.

Engaged:

Wedding Day

October 14, 2006 was a magical day. We were surrounded by family and friends and everything was perfect. The honeymoon wasn't so bad either. ;) We were loving life. Then a very difficult event happened. I lost my Granddad in December of 2006. My grandparents and I were very close so I took this very hard. Richard was my rock. Later that month we began talking about children. We had only been married a short time but had been together for over five years. The thing that made up our mind was the fact that we wanted our grandparents to know atleast one of our children. I only had one grandparent left, my Granny. Her health wasn't the best and losing Granddad was really difficult for her. February 2007 we got to tell her that she was going to have another great grandchild. Sean was born November 1, 2007. We lost Granny in July 2008..very shortly before we found out about our surprise baby, Maddy. We went from a family of 3 to a family of 4 on April 1, 2009. The latest change to our family was just 6 1/2 weeks ago when we welcomed our third child, Emily, into our family.

Our new family of 3

In her post, Megen says, "What the fairytales don’t tell you is about how difficult it can be for two completely different people to come together as one." I whole heartily agree. We've been married for a little over 5 years now. We've had our ups and downs; some high highs and some low lows. There is no perfect marriage and one thing you can not understand before hand is the work a good marriage takes. Our lowest low wasn't all that long ago, while I was pregnant with Emily. Looking back, I don't think we were as good as we should have been before getting pregnant again. I respect Richard so I will not go into details but he did something to make our marriage begin to snowball. It came to a point where if we were going to make this work, we needed to do a lot of work...and we did. I joined Megen in an online marriage book club. Richard did some reading too. And we talked a lot. Through all this we began to see both of our faults and what we could improve. Slowly things began to look better. It's an on going thing to keep things going good. We both have to work at it, working hard not to go back to our old ways. But we love each other and we are committed. With time I believe things will get better and easier but then I don't believe there's ever a time in marriage that there isn't room for improvement. One of our highest highs was Emily's birth day. It was amazing. Once again, Richard was my rock. That day proved to me that we've made a lot of progress.

Richard, I love you. We've been together for 11 years and I look forward to many more.
Happy Valentine's Day!

Our crazy family of 5

Don't forget to read Megen's story and link up your own.

And everyone should read The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts

Stay up to date by following me on twitter @MamaDaniBlog or "liking" my Facebook page. New followers: Welcome! Please leave a comment to let me know how you found my blog so that I can follow you back!
© Mama Dani's Musings

Week in Review: Week 6

2012-02-12T09:18:00.000-05:00

I was beginning to think I wouldn't have much to write about this week then Maddy decided she wanted to be a big girl. First, let me go off on a little side note. A few months ago hubby was working his first night at his second job. It meant I had to get both kids to bed by myself. At that point Sean was in his own room and Maddy was still in our room on the little bed. Both had to have hubby or I in the room while they fell asleep. I can't be in two rooms at the same time so I asked if they wanted to have a sleep over in Sean's room. They agreed and both went to bed very easily. That's been the sleeping arrangement since then. At the beginning of this week they started fighting each other in bed and Maddy said she wanted to sleep in her room like a big girl - her words. And with that, they are sleeping in separate rooms.

The idea of being a big girl must have got the ball rolling because Wednesday afternoon Maddy informed me that she was a big girl and she wanted princess underwear. I had been thinking of starting potty training but I didn't want to start too close to introducing Emily to the family. Maddy had other plans. After nap I gave her some underwear and told her that she needed to keep them dry and go potty in the potty. She had a few accidents that night but the next couple of days went great. She woke up in the mornings dry, woke up from nap dry and only had a few accidents each day...each day getting a little better.

This week's pictures:

Maddy's after nap bed head

One of my favorite pictures of Emily

Brother and sister..He absolutely loves her, and vice versa

Aluminum Foil Painting

2012-02-09T18:15:00.000-05:00

Painting on aluminum foil...who would have thought! I found this idea on pinterest not too long ago and the kids really enjoyed it. The pictures just don't do this activity justice...partly b/c I didn't take enough pictures. The in between was when they had the pretty swirls of colors. That's the fun part of painting on foil. The colors swirl together better than on paper. If they had been painting on paper we'd just have brown pieces of paper. Here's what I did capture:

The beginning:

Their foil after all was said and done:

Their prints: I helped them take blank pieces of paper and made prints of their artwork.

The pin/blog that inspired this post.

Fitness Goals

2012-02-07T11:41:00.000-05:00

I almost put this on my new year's resolution list but it seems so cliche. I want to work on a healthier lifestyle: healthier eating and exercising. I'm not doing this to lose weight because I'm pretty happy with the numbers on the scale. What I'm not happy about is the fluff around my middle.

I'm nursing so I don't want to limit what I eat by "dieting". I just want to make better food choices and I'm off to a good start. I made some changes while pregnant like replacing soda with water and cutting back on coffee. Then immediately postpartum I craved a lot of healthy foods. I'm determined not to let these changes revert back to what I use to be. I'm not stopping there; I want to make my eating even healthier. What I'm working on now is healthier snacks. I'm doing good at the moment; my favorite snacks right now are yogurt, bananas, cucumbers, salads, dry cereal (kid size bowl of honey nut cheerios), hard boiled eggs and peanut butter crackers. I try to ignore the cookies and such that hubby insists on having in the house for snacks and avoid buying the things I know I will snack on before the healthy stuff (chocolate!!!). I do great during the day, not so much between dinner and bedtime.

Exercise is sadly pretty nonexistent. I've tried in the past to workout regularly (usually a new year's resolution). I start off really strong and slowly slack off. I'm not really sure what happens other than I just get lazy. I need to figure out how to prevent this from happening this time around. I'm going to make ab work outs and cardio part of my everyday routine. I need to just find the motivation and a way to keep the motivation. Last night on Facebook I asked, "Do you exercise regularly? How do you stay motivated?". I heard two things that I think could help me stay motivate: find a workout buddy and do something I enjoy. The first thing that comes to mind is dance. I love to dance! I took dance lessons from the age of 4 until I was 5 months pregnant with Sean...yes, I was the one tapping on the stage at recital with a preggo belly. :) Some sort of dance workout would probably be great for cardio. Now to find one (preferably cheap/free and can be done at home) and to find a workout buddy.

My Fitness/Motivation pin board

Just for fun, my first dance recital:

Week in Review: Week 5

2012-02-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

We had a busy week this week. I went back to full time daycare (instead of just T/Th like the past couple weeks). Emily had her 1 month well baby check up. We added school back into our daily routine. And we released our first butterfly of 2012. All while hubby put in a lot of overtime. Whew! I'm tired!!

Now for the pictures:

Sean and Maddy playing barber shop.

My little tree frog

Emily holding her first butterfly.

Don't forget to take advantage of the 25% Inspired by Finn discount code...Today's the last day!

School Days: Cut and Paste

2012-02-04T15:37:00.000-05:00

We're still working on getting back into our normal routine and this week, homeschooling was one of the things we added back in. I don't think Sean realized how much he missed it until I started introducing it back in. We almost didn't do anything blog worthy. Most of what he did was work on his literacy and math folders and played games. What I wanted to share was what he did the other day. I set out some supplies and just let him go at it. Here's the result:

He started out just cutting

Added a little glue and asked for the magnifying glass

Glue all the pieces of paper into a stack

Don't forget to cover the little pieces with more glue!

Don't forget to take advantage of the 25% Inspired by Finn discount code...Sunday's the last day!

Thankful Thursday

2012-02-02T20:26:00.000-05:00

Today, I'm thankful for my hubby. This week he's working 10 hour days and it looks like he'll be working his normal 8 hour shift on Saturday and Sunday but Saturday will be followed by a few hours at his second job. This is all without much complaining. Right now...he's holding and talking to the baby. *swoon*

*edit to add* I found out tonight that he reads my blog now. :)

Thanks baby! Love you!

Don't forget to take advantage of the 25% Inspired by Finn discount code...Sunday's the last day!

Stay up to date by following me on twitter @MamaDaniBlog or "liking" my Facebook page. New followers: Welcome! Please leave a comment to let me know how you found my blog so that I can follow you back!
© Mama Dani's Musings

Emily: 1 month

2012-02-01T17:00:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday my little girl turned a month old. Today she had her 1 month check up. And what a great check up it was! She is 9lbs 3.5 oz and 21 in, which puts her right about the 50th percentile. The doctor was impressed with her motor skills: holding her head up so well and bearing some weight on her legs when held like she's standing.

So how's life with a 1 month old? Great! She's nursing so well now. She also sleeps well. 2-3 hour naps are the norm and she's having longer awake and alert times during the day. That's when she likes to smile at us. She especially likes when I call her "Sweets" and when Sean talks to her. She's normally down for the night between 8:30-9:00. I change her diaper when I go to bed around 11:00. Sometimes it wakes her up enough to nurse, sometimes not. She then sleeps till 7:30/8:00...normally only wakes up twice to nurse and goes right back to sleep. Boy did I get lucky! We've said good bye to newborn size clothes which feels weird because Sean was just getting into newborn size clothes at this point. She may look like her brother but is not growing like him! She just recently discovered that she does indeed like her swing but only when she's getting tired and not hungry. She hates the carseat though. If she's awake and the car stops, she'll let you know how unhappy she is! If the car is moving and the radio is on (silence is evil in her mind), she's ok. I hate red lights! She loves baby wearing. I'm glad I invested in a Moby wrap when I was pregnant because she likes it better than the ring sling. The Moby is my go to thing for grocery shopping. She sleeps through the whole trip. This past week I had a nice old lady stop me to tell me how beautiful a sight Emily and I were because Emily looked so comfortable and content.

I can't wait to see what this month has in store for us!

Kids Say: January 2012

2012-01-31T07:00:00.000-05:00

Sean and Granddad:
Sean: "What's that on your finger?"
Granddad: "A booboo"
Sean: "What kind?"
Granddad: "I didn't know there were different kinds."
Sean: "Looks like a bleed."

Maddy's monologues just about every morning for the first couple weeks after Emily was born, "Mama, she's a baby. She's Emily, Emily Noelle. She's ours. We're her family."

Sean about Maddy: "I have to tell her what to do because she doesn't know everything yet."

Sean: Bat Mobile = Batman Bomowheel

Maddy, after one of her normal monologues about anything and everything all at once, tells Emily "I talk a lot!"

Sean, randomly, "I smell like bubbles!!"

Sean, in the car (Emily started crying) "Mama! I think you need to nurse Emily some more!"

Sean: "Babies get baby food in mommies belly from the 'belken' cord. When they come out they like milk from mama."

Sean: "Boys don't wear bras."
Maddy: "I have two!" *pointing to her nipples* "1, 2, see, I have two!"

About a friend who has two daughters... Sean- "They have a boy?" Me- "No, just two girls." Sean- "They do have a boy! A daddy boy!"

Week in Review: Week 4

2012-01-29T09:29:00.000-05:00

Our week this past week was not all that exciting so there's really not much to report. The kids have taken a liking to looking at the stars before bed so that's turning into part of our bedtime routine.

I captured a brother/sister moment earlier in the week.

Then about midweek, Maddy decided to take up fashion design

and came up with this outfit:

4 Weeks Postpartum

2012-01-25T21:53:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow, Emily will be 4 weeks old. Today, I had a postpartum visit with my midwife. At 4 weeks postpartum, I'm feeling pretty normal again. The first few days this time around were really rough. Emily and I didn't really leave the bed. It was nice in one way but it got old. Recovery was much better when I was able to get up more. Nursing is getting better. Sean and Maddy were both champion nursers from the get-go. Emily, on the other hand, had latch issues...resulting in blisters on my part. But I wasn't going to let that stop us. Her latch has greatly improved and I rarely have to fix it now. But, now we're working on over supply and forceful letdown. The over supply has gotten much better but Emily still has problems at letdown. It hasn't slowed her down any! Just for the fun of it, Emily got weighed today. Fully clothed, she's 9lbs 6oz (was 7lbs at birth)!! I'm doing good on the weight issue too. I'm just a couple pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight. Then again, what do you expect when someone only has a 15lbs gain and then has a 7lbs baby. ;) The funny thing (that's not hurting the weight) is I'm craving healthy stuff. I can't seem to get enough of fruits, veggies (salads!!), yogurt, protein (eggs and peanut butter!!) and especially water. Emotionally, I'm doing better so far. Many might not realize it but I had postpartum depression after Maddy was born. I really wanted to avoid it this time so I decided on placenta encapsulation. A few days after Emily was born, someone came by to take care of the process for me. So far so good. I've had a couple weepy periods but then remembered I forgot to take a pill. PPD didn't really hit hard until a little bit later postpartum with Maddy. Fingers crossed that it doesn't sneak up later. If it does, Richard and I are both on the look out so we can nip it in the bud asap!!

My placenta pills

Inspired by Finn

2012-01-23T10:15:00.000-05:00

I want to tell you about something amazing! I wish I had known about this when Sean was a baby but I didn't hear about Baltic Amber teething necklaces until Maddy started teething. I figured it couldn't hurt so I ordered one from Inspired by Finn. I mean, even if it didn't work, they're really pretty, right? When it arrived I didn't waist any time and put it on Maddy. I was pretty surprised at the results. Unlike with her brother, we didn't know she had a tooth coming in until we saw it. It was amazing. There were nights that she was teething and we forgot to put it back on her after a bath. Those were rough nights but that was the only time we could tell she was teething by her being cranky.

Isn't she cute in her Baltic Amber!?

I also have personal experience on the effects of Baltic Amber. I cut my hand resulting in stitches when Maddy was an infant. There are times when the scar will hurt. When I ordered Maddy's necklace, I also ordered one for Sean...even though he was pretty much done teething. He refused to wear it. I decided to try his necklace and wear it as a bracelet when my hand would bother me. The pain went away when I wore the amber and would come back when I took it off. That's when I became completely sold on the idea. It really does work! Later, when I became pregnant with Emily, I decided to buy a necklace for myself. I had heard that it would help with morning sickness. I'm not sure if this is true or not because I just wore it all the time. But, I have used it for headaches and it works!

Mine and Maddy's Baltic Amber necklaces.

Why am I telling you all this? Well, I do like to tell anyone who will listen to me about Baltic Amber but I also have a discount code to share. Inspired by Finn not only has beautiful Baltic Amber jewelry but they also carry Hazel Wood jewelry. Both have benefits for both children and adults. The benefits of Baltic Amber can be found here and the benefits of Hazel Wood can be found here.

To get one, go to Inspired by Finn and enter the code Danielle25 at check out to get ~~15%~~ 25% of your order. Then come back and leave a comment to let me know what you got! I wrote this review solely because I love their products but if 15 of you place an order I will get a free piece of jewelry...a teething necklace for Emily! So, please come back and let me know that you've placed an order using the code Danielle25 so that I can keep track of how close I am to the 15! The code expires February 5th.

And don't forget to tell your friends! ;)

Week in Review: Week 3

2012-01-22T10:53:00.000-05:00

This week was pretty uneventful for the most part. It was another half week for daycare but this week I had no help. It went very well. My daycare kids were angels but my own older kids misbehaved. Then came Thursday. Thursday evening I had to make an emergency dentist appointment.

Now for the pictures:

Sisters:

Isn't this just the sweetest!? Maddy absolutely loves her new baby sister. She loves giving hugs and kisses and loves talking to Emily. I love that she loves her but I have to put limits on all the touching because she just can't keep her hands off of her.

And just for the fun of it, baby fingers and toes:

Thankful Thursday

2012-01-19T22:45:00.002-05:00

I saw another blogger post a Thankful Thursday post today and since I'm feeling pretty thankful today, I decided to do the same.

Today I'm thankful for my dentist. I woke up this morning with horrible tooth pain. I have a list of dental work that needs to be done; unfortunately it's too expensive to do all of it now. I've been chipping away at it, putting off what I can. So the pain wasn't much of a surprise. It was a tooth that the dentist said was eventually going to have to be pulled. The pain was worse than I expected. I honestly would rather go through labor again than have a tooth ache like that! I called my dentist and not only were they able to see me today but they were able to get me an evening appointment...which is so much easier for me. I'm so thankful for that and so thankful that the pain is gone!

What are you thankful for today?

Stay up to date by following me on twitter @MamaDaniBlog or "liking" my Facebook page. New followers: Welcome! Please leave a comment to let me know how you found my blog so that I can follow you back!
© Mama Dani's Musings

Week in Review- Week 2

2012-01-14T14:00:00.000-05:00

This past week was pretty much week one of getting back in the swing of things. With the help of my mom, I started back up with my daycare. One of my daycare kids won't be back until the end of the month so daycare was only part time this week. Friday, mom and I took the kids to the Children's Museum. Sean and Maddy had a blast and after two weeks of getting use to having a new baby in the house, I think they really needed the outing.

Here's a few pictures from this week:

The crazy big kids:

Sleepy baby:

My favorite way to carry a newborn: the Moby Wrap!

The kids and I at the Children's Museum:

Stay up to date by following me on twitter @MamaDaniBlog or "liking" my Facebook page. New followers: Welcome! Please leave a comment to let me know how you found my blog so that I can follow you back!
© Mama Dani's Musings

Kids Say: 2011

2012-01-09T18:32:00.000-05:00

I love looking back on my "Kid Say" posts but I realized I didn't make nearly enough of them last year. Before starting this year's, I thought I'd go back and remember some of what Sean and Maddy said last year. Thankfully, I posted a lot on Facebook. Here are some of my statuses through out 2011:

Jan. 4th
Maddy refuses to try to say the new daycare child's name. Instead, she calls her "friend". ♥

Feb 10th
Today Sean tells me "My grandparents know everything."

Feb. 17th
Sean told Maddy that he was going to fix her doll stroller and "it be new, no time!" lol

Feb. 22nd
Sean says "Bracky" is president, he lives in the White House and works in the Oval. ♥

March 1st
Maddy just growled at me "I love you" ♥

April 6th
Sean: "T-rex have giant feet! But they can't stomp on people!!"

April 26th
Sean- "I don't like hearts. I like circles, even squares and even rectangles but I don't like hearts."

April 28th
I told Maddy that there's a baby in my belly and she says "little baby! Open it!!!" LOL

May 3rd
Sean- "Mama! A bird at the bird feeder!! I love animals...but we can't eat fish." Why not? "There's a big fish on the house!" ??????

May 16th
I'm talking to hubby and Maddy gets between us "No mama, I nursey you!" lol

May 21st
The puppies are being loud so Sean says "Maybe we should put them back in Keme's belly. They weren't loud in there!"

May 31st
Sean do you have a girlfriend? "no. I only have 1 money. I can't paid em. I have a crane truck!"

June 23rd
Sean falls. Maddy-"You ok!?" Sean-"Yea" Maddy-"Hurray! He ok!!" ♥

July 1st
I'm laughing at Sean right now. He's talking to Annabelle (dog), trying to convince her to snort. lol

Aug. 8th
I love Maddy's made up words. Most recently we've heard "fudderfly" and "yummy-licious".

Aug. 20th
I just told Sean that he was smart and he said "And sweet too!!"

Aug. 23rd
Maddy's sitting with dad talking about Barney. Dad says "does he sing - I love you, you love me, let's get together and climb a tree?" Maddy said "no. Let's try again" LOL

Aug. 26th
Sean saw the radar picture of Irene on the TV so I was telling him and Maddy about the storm and Maddy tells me "We need a rocket ship!"

Sept. 8th
Sean just told me "Mama, I think I want a baby brother." I told him "We'll have to wait and see. It may be a baby sister." To which he said "I think I already have one." lol :)

Sept. 17th
Maddy didn't make it the whole class today and boy does she know how to tug at my heart strings. She came out crying and saying "I dance. I cry. I want you." :(

Sept. 19th
When Maddy sneezes she tells me her nose needs to be blessed. ♥

Sept. 24th
Mommyhood at it's finest: Maddy crawls in my lap "I love you! You make me so happy!!" ♥

Oct. 14th
Sean is doing circles in the livingroom and tells me "mama..I'm not going to fall and bonk my head again this time. I'm going slow and am being carefull."

Nov. 4th
Sean- "The big walking hot dog made the mess in the kitchen." ???

Nov. 11th
My 4 year old wants to spend his birthday money at the "workshop" (Lowes).

Nov. 18th
I love when the kids randomly come to hug/kiss my belly and talk to Jellybean. I also love how Jellybean actually responds to them. ♥

Nov. 21st
Tonight Maddy told my belly "I love you baby brother and sister!" She seems to think I have 2 babies in there..not to mention the one she thinks is in her belly. Someone's going to be disappointed...

Nov. 26th
We finished getting the tree up today. The rest of the decorations are going up tomorrow. Sean says the tree's up so tomorrow can be Christmas Eve. lol

Dec. 3rd
Maddy heard that I'm going to the chiropractor this morning. Now she's trying to say she needs to go b/c her back hurts. lol

Dec. 19th
Sean is so sweet. The kids are going to give each other gifts this year. I thought it would be nice if they made the gifts and suggested a bracelet for Sean to make. He said yes but he also wants to make a necklace and a jewelry box to put them in. :)

Stay up to date by following me on twitter @MamaDaniBlog or "liking" my Facebook page. New followers: Welcome! Please leave a comment to let me know how you found my blog so that I can follow you back!
© Mama Dani's Musings

Emily's Birth Story

2012-01-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

Emily’s birth did not go exactly like I had imagined it. Sean’s birth was after a typical first time labor- about 15 hours long. Maddy’s birth was after a 4 hour labor. So I had expected that this one could possibly be another fast labor but not quite like this! I especially wouldn’t have thought that I’d give birth before my midwife (Bettie) arrived. But let me start from the beginning...

On the morning of December 29, 2011 I woke up and started getting ready for the day like any other Thursday. I noted that I was feeling crampy. I also noticed a little bloody show when I went to the bathroom. I remembered I had bloody show when I was pregnant with Sean but it was a whole day before I went into labor. Since I wasn’t having contractions I didn’t think too much about it. Right about 8:00 I had my first contraction. I had another about 8 minutes later. These were painful but they didn’t stop me, much like the contractions I had the Monday before. I was not convinced I was in labor yet but the combination of bloody show and contractions got me wondering so I sent my doula (Heather) a text: “Preggo brain is at it again...how significant is bloody show?” I heard back from Heather around 9:00. I told her that my contractions were then 8-17 minutes apart. She suggested that she come over to see if helping with the kids would help me relax enough to make progress then we’d know if I really was in labor or not. ..I should have called my midwife then too but it didn’t cross my mind as I still wasn‘t convinced I really was in labor.

Contractions continued and I decided it would be best if my daycare kids (twin 13 month olds) went home. They were picked up shortly before 11:00. Heather arrived shortly afterwards. That was when things seemed to start progressing so around 11:30 I called Bettie. She didn’t answer so I decided to send a text instead of leaving a voicemail. In hind sight, I should have left a message and called back until I got her. I then sent Richard a text saying for him to come home at lunch and called my mom to ask her to come home so I could send the kids to her house. Richard got home shortly after 12:00 and immediately walked the kids to mom’s. My back was really bothering me so I decided to get in the shower and since I hadn’t heard from Bettie, I asked Heather to call her. The shower didn’t help as much as I hoped so I got out. Since Richard had just gotten home from work (ship yard) he took a shower. Heather said that she got ahold of Bettie and that she was coming. I think some miscommunication happened here. Bettie didn’t seem to realize I was so far along so she didn't leave right away.

The contractions got stronger and more intense after the shower. I also started feeling a little nauseous during the contractions. I moved from the living room to the bedroom because I thought laying down would feel better. It felt worse. At that point I yelled “I want this baby out now!!”. I couldn’t take any more contractions laying down so I changed positions to knelling and leaning over Richard. What a difference it made!! It was pretty awesome. I was able to calm down a little and work with the contractions. Then Heather asked if I was pushing. I hadn’t been meaning to but yes, I was pushing. Heather told me that it was time to take my pants off. Funny how you just don’t think of things like that. It was a good thing I got them off too because my water broke right after that. I had no sense of time but between what hubby and my doula say, I pushed for 5-10 minutes. Emily Noelle was born at 1:18pm…while my midwife was still on the road to us. What an awesome feeling it was to look down and announce “It’s a girl!”

By the time Bettie got to us, I had delivered the placenta and Emily was nursing away. Emily being such a good nurser (latched right on and nursed for a very long time) really paid off. I had retained a little of the placenta but Emily’s nursing kept the contractions coming and the bleeding down. I was given an herb (can’t remember what it’s called) and my midwife pushed on my belly until the rest of the placenta came out. I had a small tear so she then stitched that up. After Bettie was done taking care of me, Richard cut the cord and Bettie did the newborn exam. I could not believe it when Bettie said that Emily was 7lbs!

Emily’s birth was nothing like I imagined it would be but it was just amazing. If I was to go back and do it again, the only thing I’d change would be to make sure Bettie got there on time. It was just an amazingly fast labor.

Now for the pictures:
Just moments old

Kisses...oh the newborn smell!!

Getting checked out

And weighed

Photo opt- baby feet... and midwife Bettie and her assistant Debbie

Close up of those little feet!

First bath..she did not like it!!

Back with mommy

Then some time with daddy

Time for big brother and big sister to meet little sister

Maddy gets to hold her

Sean's turn

Week in Review- Week 1

2012-01-07T20:18:00.000-05:00

This was our first full week as a family of 5. We had pediatrician appointments, chiropractor appointments, a midwife appointment, and a newborn photoshoot. Emily saw the pediatrician on Monday and then again on Friday. By Monday (4 days old), she was already 2.oz above her birth weight. She gained another 1.5oz by Friday making her 7lbs 4oz. Maddy and I went to see the chiropractor and found out that Emily could get a free visit. So Emily got her first adjustment. Emily didn't like the midwife appointment because that's when she got her heel pricked for the PKU test.

Here are a couple of moments I captured this week:

Sean woke up from nap and fell back asleep on Richard...who then fell asleep. Then the dog joined them. Maddy then woke up from nap and fell back asleep on Richard and the cat joined them. Emily was nursing through all this and fell asleep in my lap.

Emily's cord fell off this week so she's now in cloth diapers.

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© Mama Dani's Musings

2012 Blog Plans

2012-01-05T14:27:00.000-05:00

I've made my list of 2012 resolutions but thought I'd also sit down and think about what I want to do with this blog in 2012. I still plan on blogging often but for the most part I will be getting away from a blog schedule. Also, I originally started blogging to just blog about our life, the kids milestones, etc. I have gotten away from that and want to get back. So, you'll start seeing more random posting...some of my favorites were the kids say posts.

Here are my plans for last year's regular posts:

Project 52: I did pretty good with this last year. I really enjoyed looking back at all the pictures when I put together the year review slide show so I'm definitely continuing this this year. The difference will be that I'm going to move it to the weekend and expanding it into a week in review.

School Days: We haven't really been doing weekly themes so trying to do a homeschooling post every Saturday doesn't make much sense. School Days posts will no longer be on a specific day or even every week for that matter. When I blog, I may blog about a whole unit or just a project that we did...some units/themes are more interesting than others.

Recipes: I recently moved this to facebook. Recipe posts typically are only a link to a recipe and a couple pictures anyways so now they can be found in this facebook album. Older recipes can still be found under the "recipes" tab at the top of this page. I need to get back in the habit of trying new recipes too. Especially since hubby and I got some new kitchen gadgets for Christmas that we need to try out!!

Kids Meals: The lunches I was making for the kids started not getting the excited reaction they once were so I stopped doing them. I will start these up again but it won't be a weekly thing so that hopefully they'll become an exciting thing again.

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© Mama Dani's Musings

Good bye 2011, Hello 2012

2012-01-01T20:10:00.000-05:00

At the beginning of a new year I like to take a look back at the previous year. Here's a look back on 2011:

We celebrated Maddy's 2nd birthday.
We found out we were expecting #3!
Keme had puppies.
We evacuated because of hurricane Irene.
Maddy tried out dance class but ultimately decided not this year.
Sean had his first (and hopefully only) trip to the ER.
Richard and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary.
We celebrated Sean's 4th birthday.
We may finally have answers on Sean's small size.
I had ups and downs with the daycare business but am ending the year on a good note.
Last but definitely not least, we welcomed little miss Emily Noelle into our family on December 29, 2011....birth story to come.

I also attempted Project 52. I did pretty good right up until the end (only missed 2 weeks).
Here's most of 2011 in pictures:

I'm really looking forward to 2012. Here's what I would like to accomplish:

Work on living on a budget better.
Build our savings.
More quality time with Richard.
More quality time as a family.
Cloth diaper Emily...no falling back onto disposables like we did with Sean and Maddy.

Project 52: Week 52

2011-12-31T13:23:00.000-05:00

For some reason, I didn't believe this little boy when he said he didn't like his new little sister...

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© Mama Dani's Musings

Pregnancy Update: 39 weeks

2011-12-27T15:16:00.000-05:00

I'm 39 weeks today. It won't be long before we meet Jellybean!! Amazingly, I'd still say I'm feeling pretty good. Just lots of pressure because he/she is so low. My hips were starting to hurt more by the time it had been a week since I've seen the chiro so I'm back to seeing them twice a week.

A couple of weeks ago, nesting started really kicking in. It was worse than it was with either of the other two. But needless to say, I think we're ready! We have a carseat installed in the van, everything we need for the baby has been bought, the newborn cloth diapers are all washed and prepped, birth kit is bought and since baby listened and didn't come before Christmas, the tree is down and the living room is back to normal. We also finally did something I wanted to do with each pregnancy, we made a belly cast. I also got a new camera for Christmas so hopefully now there's a better chance of me having labor/birth pictures. ...my old one was on it's last leg.

I wasn't sure if I was going to make this post. I've had braxton hicks contractions for a while and I get them very often. But that's nothing new because I had lots of them for weeks before having Sean and Maddy. However, nice and early yesterday morning (about 1:00) I woke up to painful contractions. I've only had that happen twice and that was the beginning of my other two labors. They were roughly 10 minutes apart. I could doze between them but woke up as soon as one started. I got a little excited. Then an hour and a half later they were much further apart and I started sleeping through them. Next thing I know Maddy was waking me up at about 6:00. I stayed crampy for the first part of the day so I continued to think maybe it was the beginning of things. Nope! It's all gone! I've barely even had braxton hicks contractions today. I feel really good today. Nesting even calmed down a ton. I'd be happy to just lounge around all day. Hubby called to check on me at lunch and when I told him that, he mentioned maybe it's the calm before storm. We shall see!!

Other big news is we've picked and announced names!
Jellybean will either be Ethan Zayne or Emily Noelle.

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© Mama Dani's Musings

School Days: Christmas Symbols

2011-12-22T20:15:00.000-05:00

I love this time of year. And while I love the secular part of Christmas, I'm determined not to let the true meaning get lost. That's why I decided to use a unit about Christmas symbols for our latest lesson plan. I found this blog post but was bummed that the link to the lesson plan wasn't working. Thankfully, the author fixed it and provided the new link in the comments. We didn't do all the symbols and I just used the unit as a guideline, adding my own crafts. Here's what we did:

Candles/Lights
John 8:12 “Then spoke Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

The kids made candle holders out of baby food jars, glue and tissue paper.

Christmas Carols
Psalms 47:6-7 “Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.”

No craft this day. We listened to lots of Christmas music. It's so cute to hear Sean starting to learn the words.
Wreaths
Being a circle, they represent a love that has no end; the love God has for us.

Ok, ok, typical preschool craft here. Wreath ornaments.

Gifts
The first Christmas gifts were given to baby Jesus by the Wise Men.
Matthew 2:11 “After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”

Gifts also remind us of Jesus.
2 Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift.”

The kids made Christmas gifts for each other. Maddy made Sean a wallet. Sean made Maddy a bracelet, necklace and jewelry box. I suggested that he make a bracelet and he insisted on making the necklace and jewelry box.

Bells
Bells were put on animals' necks so shepherds could find them when they were lost. God values us just the same. We are never lost to Him.
Psalm 100 "Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."

We made bell necklaces and bracelets. The necklaces are now hanging on the front door...Sean's idea.

Stars
The star of Bethlehem guided the three wise men to Jesus.
Matthew 2:10 "When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy."

The kids made these beautiful stars that now hang from the ceiling fan in the living room.

Candy Canes
Candy Canes remind us of Jesus because they are the shape of a shepherd's crook while up right and the shape of a "J" when upside down.
Psalm 23 "The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

Sean insisted that since it will be Jesus's birthday, we had to make a birthday cake for him so we made a candy cane cake.

4 Year Endo Checkup

2011-12-20T11:48:00.000-05:00

Sean had an endo check up last Friday. It went very well. Doc was very pleased with how Sean has grown..it's been 8 months since he saw him. Again, he's keeping up with the curve and that's the important thing. The doc suggested that we go ahead and redo the bone age scan to confirm that Sean's just fine, just on the small side. As long as the scan comes back saying he has normal growth potential, we're good and we won't go back for a year. Sean made me very proud. Last time he sat on my lap for the xray. Obviously, I couldn't do that this time. The tech and I got him sitting in the chair, hand in place and then we walked behind the safety area. Even after almost starting to cry and fighting them when they tried to weight and measure him, Sean sat there all by himself like a big boy, kept still and didn't even fuss. Crazy how they decide when and what to fight!

Today we got the results. His bone age is the same as his age. That's a good thing! Last time it was slightly older than his age. Doc says that what we want to see is Sean's bone age get a little younger than his real age...which it seems like it's doing. That will mean he has more growth potential and is possibly just a late bloomer. We go back in a year.

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© Mama Dani's Musings

Adventures of Elfy Part 2

2011-12-17T13:53:00.000-05:00

Elfy is still up to his mischief. If you missed it, here's what he was up to last week: Part 1.

This week Elfy:

Swung from the fan

Climbed in the nativity scene

Did some late night coloring

And decided he wanted to run errands with us