These two are so lucky to have each other.  You’ll rarely find them more than a few feet away from one another!  Especially with me being so busy with Mallorie, I’m grateful that they have each other

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It’s crazy how fast time goes!  I know everyone says it, but it’s so true.  The top picture Mallorie is 4 weeks old & in the bottom 5 weeks.  I can see big changes just in that week.  Now she is coming up on 8 weeks old & I  think she looks totally different than these pictures.

She started smiling a couple of weeks ago, which makes everything more fun.  She is growing like a weed!  At her 1 month check up she had more than doubled the average weight gain.  And now she is already past 12 lbs & is averaging about a lb a week!  So different than the twins, when we were constantly worried about them growing enough!

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Here are a few favorites from Easter this year..

Totally cracked me up..Ellie would only grab pink eggs or a few purple.  Audrie threw the green & blue in Ellie’s basket.Then after we said, “ok last candy for today.”  This is where we found Ellie.  She was sitting in her fort with a pile of eggs!   She looks so BUSTED!  Thanks Justin for getting this picture:-)

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I’m trying to get caught up on a couple of posts…this one I’ve needed to do for awhile & an Easter post is much needed too!

I think the hospital was all a little overwhelming for Audrie & Ellie.  They did however like it that Mallorie got them Lalaloopsy dolls & suckers.  That started Mallorie off on the right foot!

Here is Audrie when she first walked into the hospital to meet Mallorie.They weren’t so sure at first…it took them a couple of days to warm up.. But they were pretty excited ( although it’s not apparent here) about their big sister shirts from Brett, Taylor, Cooper & Brecklyn.  Ellie literally has barely taken hers off in 6 weeks. 

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While it’s still fresh in my mind, I wanted to get Mallorie’s birth story in print.  And what a birth story it is.  We are so thankful that both Mallorie & I made it without a “scratch.”  It could have ended very differently.

The story begins on Saturday morning…and it started with me losing my mucous plug.  I know, ewww!  Sorry people.  I can’t explain it,  but I woke up feeling different.  I sort of just had a feeling that I might deliver that day.  I’d been seeing a chiropractor specializing in pregnancy & had an appointment with her later that morning.  She said she usually gets a feeling too, when one of her mamas is close.  Well, when I went to see her that morning…she had a good feeling that it would be soon.   She told me Mallorie had changed positions & I should stay on my feet for the day.  So that I did.  First, we took the girls to see “Barbie & the Pink Shoes.”  Then my sister in law Chelle & I had a day of shopping & pedicures.

That evening I hit the hay around 11.  Justin stayed up watching TV, probably Duck Dynasty.  I kept waking up telling him that something felt different & that he should get some sleep in case.  He didn’t listen of course.  About 10 minutes later I felt a really sharp pain.  About 10 minutes later, around midnight I felt a gush & quickly jumped out of bed.   My water had broken.  Thank goodness Chelle was here & stayed with the girls while we hurried to the hospital.

When I arrived at the hospital indeed my water had broken.  I was 4 cm & contracting every 3 minutes or so.    Now mind you, it’s late & we’re tired.  My husband especially.   He had really slacked off in birthing class, but i just knew he would kick in where it counted.  He did not.  HAHA.  He alternated between sleeping or watching a movie on his phone…headphones in.   I labored until 6 cm, before I decided I was ready for the epidural.  I had been most comfortable on the birthing ball..so when I got up to get back in bed…that’s when things took a turn.  A huge blood  clot dropped to the floor, ewww!  I know gross, again.  The nurse said that sometimes if your cervix changes rapidly you can bleed like that.  So they quickly checked me again & called my Dr.  No change.  Still 6cm.

Over the next 30-60 minutes they continued to check me frequently & still no change.  Also there was fresh bleeding which was alarming.  Then Mallorie started showing distress.  The Dr. assumed that since I was a vaginal birth after cesarean, my incision may have ruptured.  My worst fear going into the VBAC.  Unfortunately we were going to have to call it & do an emergency c section.  I was devastated, but knew it had to be done.  I’ve never seen so many people move so quickly. Everyone was amazing.  We had bumped another csection & within minutes I was on the table.

Luckily, I hadn’t had an opportunity to google anything & freak myself out.  Little did I know we were in a very serious situation.  When they opened  me up, they realized I had suffered a placenta abruption.  This is when your placenta “the babies lifeline” separates from the wall of the uterus.  Even in the OR when they told me  what had happened, I still had no clue how scary it truly  was for the baby & I.   It’s a complete miracle that we  both made it OK…but we did.  Baby amazingly had great APGAR scores.

I on the other hand wasn’t feeling so great.  Following the surgery my blood pressure plummeted  crazy low & I turned a pale as a ghost.  Finally after I guess an hour or so I stabilized.  It could have ended very badly for both me & baby.  Things such as shock from blood loss, organ failure, hysterectomy etc for the Mom…And still birth & oxygen deprivation for the baby were just a few of the complications.  Scary stuff, people.

The following morning, the Dr. came to see me & told me more about the abruption.  Apparently from the looks of the placenta…it seems  like it had already separated sometime before labor even began.  They aren’t sure why baby didn’t show distress prior to labor.  She also said they really only had about an hour or less to get her out safely.  Wheesh!

So that’s our story…And that’s why I say she’s “Miracle Mallorie.”  And here she is getting her first bath at home.  I think she may be a little “water bug” like her sisters.

P.S.  I now realize I’m going to have to rename my blog with this new little addition to our family.   Anyone have any good name ideas?

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So I wanted to get some photos of the newly finished mudroom cabinet..  Love the way it turned out & it’s helped simplify our entry way so much.  It’s soo easy to keep clean & organized now.

I get on Anna White’s website every now & then looking for DIY ideas.  We’d been looking for a solution for our mudroom for awhile.  We definitely needed something because our entry way looked like the place where all shoes went to die.  We just had tons of stuff & nowhere to put it.  We found a few that we liked & one in particular.  But the problem is there were no plans & everything we found was for a family of 4, not 5.  With our growing family we would need 5 cubbies.

So my handy hubby went to work drawing up some plans.  I was a little nervous on if it would turn out like the picture, but I have to say it’s pretty darn close & I LOVE it!  The kids love it, too & they are great about hanging their jackets up & putting their shoes away.  I overheard them bragging to our sitter about Daddy making it..it was so cute.  So here is the finished product!

And HERE   is the mudroom we modeled ours after.  We ultimately decided to nix the drawers on the bottom in lieu of more shoe storage which works for us.

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Valentine’s week we made some cupcakes.  The girls LOVE to bake & they especially loved these fun cupcakes.  We used food coloring & made the insides red, pink, & white.

I might actually post a couple of times this week   It’s been awhile since my last one, but I should post a couple just in case when baby gets here I go missing for awhile !!  36 weeks & counting!

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So, I got really tired of our playroom being a disaster.  We have lots of storage, cubbies, etc…but nothing ever made it to it’s place.  Until THIS!  Since the girls obviously can’t read yet, I made labels for our storage bins that have a picture of what’s inside.   Let me just tell you…They work GREAT!  For the first time ever, the girls not only help pick up, but everything gets put up where it belongs!  Seriously, best thing I ever did.  The playroom no longer drives me crazy!

So we have 8 baskets, that go into our cube book case & each have a different label.  They were super easy to make so if anyone has any questions on how I did them, just comment or message me.

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Well, I haven’t really gotten around to doing anything with all of the photos from Christmas, but I did want to post my favorite. 

This is them opening up their dollhouse.  I just love Ellie’s face!

Also I wanted to mention, I got them the Small Hands Pitcher from Montessori & it’s awesome!  I highly recommend it.  The girls can easily get their own milk & feel so independent doing it. 

Think that’s it for now. Hoping to get back to more regular posts & get some photos on here with my new camera!

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I love getting pictures of the girls when they are sleeping.  They just look so sweet & peaceful.  The last couple of month whenever Audrie gets tired so covers one eye…that’s when you know she’s about to go to sleep.  I want to remember it later so glad I got a photo of it.   Especially in light of last week’s event in CT, it makes this photo that much more precious

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