Kayla lost her first molar last Monday. The next morning she told Tim that the tooth fairy didn't come. He said she should be fired. Then Kayla said, "Mom, can I just have my money?" I told her no, let's give the tooth fairy another chance. That night she told me to tell the tooth fairy to bring a flashlight and look at her whiteboard. So when I went in to exchange the tooth for money, I read her whiteboard. It said, "Tooth Fairy you're fired!" She drew a picture of herself with crossed arms and a frown. In a conversation bubble she's saying, "I lost my tooth now give me money!"
I had to contain my laughter so I wouldn't wake her up! I told Tim to go in and read it. He came back laughing too. I told him we should write something back. (and by "we", I meant him) :) He came up with something and went back into her room to write it. I asked him what he wrote and he said, "Don't blame me, Santa didn't remind me!" Then below that he wrote, "Don't eat candy."
The next morning I asked if the tooth fairy visited her. She said, "Yes. I wrote back to her too." I went into her room to see what she wrote. It said, "No excuses! Just give me money!" We had a good laugh about it all!
I don't know why, but I am horrible at remembering to be the tooth fairy! My parents always seemed to remember. I'm glad I can have fun with the kids even though they know the truth. :)
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Elijah's Birth Story
Tim and I talked about having our kids two years apart. So, after Mikaela turned one, it was time to start trying. The doctors always say it might take a couple of months to get pregnant after you stop taking birth control pills. We went ahead and started trying to get pregnant figuring in that timeline. Well, just like the first time, I conceived right away.
The pregnancy test I took at home was not clear. I called my doctors office to see if I could come in to take a test. The receptionist said that they don't do pregnancy tests in the office and I should go to Planned Parenthood to get tested. What?!! You're kidding, right? (Yes, I know they offer services besides abortion, but there is an alternative.)
Since going there was not an option for me, I went to the Crisis Pregnancy Center instead. My sister and Mikaela came with me. The lady who helped me attended the same church we did. She took me back to the bathroom where I took the test. It still didn't look clear to me, but she said it was a positive test. I really didn't believe her! She said that even a hint of pink indicated a positive test. I couldn't believe it! She gave me a pair of knit booties for the baby and congratulated me and we left. I was still in disbelief when we left!
I told Tim when he got home from work. I think we were both surprised that it happened so quickly! Now our kids would be 22 months apart instead of 24, but that was okay. We went to tell my parents in person again. But Tim had to call his parents to let them know this time because they had just moved to Colorado. Everyone was very excited!
Morning sickness came on strong. The doctor always offered to give me something for the nausea, but I didn't want to take anything. It was difficult to take care of a one year old while feeling so sick, but I knew it wouldn't last forever. I remember lying on the couch while she watched a Winnie the Pooh sing along video. I felt horrible because I really didn't want her watching any television until she was 2, but I had to do something to keep her occupied until nap time!
During the first trimester I lost 10 pounds. I was still nursing Mikaela twice a day. Once in the morning when she woke up and once in the evening before bed. I remember thinking that it felt like she was literally sucking the life out of me! I weaned her soon after.
We decided not to find out what we were having this time around and let it be a surprise. There are very few things in life where we can chose to be surprised so we decided to go for it! (The only bummer part about not knowing is that you get a lot of yellow and green baby clothes.) I really felt like I was going to have a boy. Part of that could be because during the ultrasound the doctor told us not to look when he was determining the sex of the baby. Then accidentally went back over the area when we were looking and we were pretty sure we saw that we were having a boy! ;) It was still fun to not know for sure though!
My due date was December 22, 2003. A lot of people commented that I might have a Christmas baby. I was really hoping he wouldn't be late and share his birthday with the day we celebrate Jesus' birth! I was hoping he would be early because I heard stories of kids feeling cheated because their birthday is so close to Christmas. We would have to make sure his birthday was a big celebration separate from Christmas.
As we got closer, the doctor wanted to know if I wanted to schedule an induction date. He knew I really wanted him to deliver this time, if at all possible, and he was going to be out of town the week of Christmas. I really didn't want to be induced, but I went ahead and scheduled a date and prayed I wouldn't need it.
On Monday December 15th, I stayed up late wrapping Christmas gifts. I started feeling some contractions and was getting excited. I started timing the contractions while I finished wrapping the gifts. By that time it was midnight (and it was now the 16th) and Tim had already been in bed for awhile. I woke him up and then packed my bag for the hospital. This time I was not having back labor and he was coming early! My prayers had been answered!
Since I tested positive to group B strep the first time, my doctor didn't test again. He said they just assume you still have it. So, I was once again, in a rush to get to the birth center in time for the antibiotics. At 2am, Tim called my parents and had them meet us at the birth center. We brought Mikaela with us and she colored until they arrived. Then my Dad dropped her and my brother, Jim, off at our house so they could sleep. I was only 2cm dilated, so we had a long night ahead of us.
I was very happy to find out that my doctor was on call for the night! He said I could stay for observation. We walked the halls for hours, but this time no one had to rub my back. We kept the rule of no talking during contractions though. :)
Since I wasn't dilated enough to get an epidural, the nurse said she could give me some morphine to take the edge off. It helped a little, but not much. By morning, I reached 4.5cm dilated and was able to get an epidural. Tim almost passed out from seeing the anesthesiologist put in the epidural! One of the things I don't like about the epidural is that it makes me shake uncontrollably and I'm freezing.
At 7:30am, I wasn't progressing very much so the doctor broke my bag of water to get things going. I was 5 cm and my contractions had started to space out. The doctor decided to give me a single dose of Cytotec to maintain my contractions. (I might have the order mixed up and this may have been done before he broke my water.)
By 10am everyone was ready for breakfast.
Unfortunately, I couldn't eat. :(
At about 11am the doctor came in and was getting ready to deliver our baby. Tim, my Mom and sister were by my side and this time my Dad was videotaping the birth. It probably sounds strange that I had my Dad in the delivery room videotaping, but I'm pretty close with my Dad and I was fine with it. We had him videotaping from my point of view, so it was a pretty modest view.
I only pushed about 3 or 4 times total. The doctor told me to stop and let the contractions do the rest. Once his head was out, the doctor suctioned his mouth and said he had a cute face. At 11:24am on Tuesday December 16, 2003, baby boy Radcliff was born! It was so awesome to hear the doctor say, "It's a boy!" He didn't cry very much when he came out. The doctor had Tim cut the umbilical cord. Then the nurse put him in a blanket and gave him to me.
The nurse was listening to him with her stethoscope and said she needed to take him from me because he was holding his breath. She took him over to the warmer and put him on oxygen. Then they told my Dad he would have to stop videotaping the baby for a minute. She then started thumping the bottom of his foot to get him to start breathing and crying. Well it worked! We were laughing because after that he kept sticking out his bottom lip whenever he would cry.
We hadn't decided what his first name would be. We knew his middle name because it is my Father-in-laws middle name, which was also his Dad's first name. We had two first names picked out, Elijah and Isaiah. We thought that maybe after we met him we would know which it should be, but we still had a hard time deciding. We prayed that God would help us to know which name was to be for our baby boy. One of the Pastors from our church and his wife came to visit us. He prayed with us that God would show us which name was the right one. By day two, we felt like our baby boy was to be named Elijah. :)
Tim called my brother to let him know that our boy was born. It was almost noon and Mikaela was still sleeping! Later that day she came to meet her new baby brother.
The next day the GG's came to visit. :)
Tim's parents and siblings came out a few days later to meet Elijah and celebrate Christmas with us.
Adventures at the mall
Yesterday was quite an adventure. I needed to go to the mall to exchange a couple of shirts and get a new nursing bra. It was the last day I could return the shirts before the 30 days was up. The older 2 kids are on fall break and I really didn't want to take all four kids by myself to try on bras! So I recruited my mom and brother to come with me. :)
Before we went to the mall, I had to make a stop at my doctors office. I've been trying to get a copy of the delivery summary from my last 2 births and they had it ready for me to pick up. While driving to the office, the baby was crying instead of sleeping. After I parked, I went ahead and fed him in the car before going into the office.
This is when the first adventure happens. While feeding the baby, Isaiah tells me he has to go potty. I've been in this situation before and was prepared to handle it. Instead of having to take him inside to pee and hope he makes it in time, I have an empty water bottle in the car for these special occasions. I can continue feeding the baby and the potty situation is taken care of! This is definitely a perk of having boys! :)
Now that the baby is fed and happy and a potty accident has been averted, I run into the doctors office to get my papers. I sign for them and open the envelope. Wrong papers. Ugh! Why is it so difficult to get a delivery summary? I tried getting them at the hospital and they sent me the wrong papers too. I thought I might have success from my doctor, but it was still wrong. Now I'm waiting for a call back from the nurse to see if she has located the right ones for me. Someone has to have a copy of my labor and delivery!
So now we head to the mall. We go to the food court to eat lunch. This is where the next adventure occurs. I'm standing in line at Subway to get the kids a sandwich. The baby and Isaiah are in the stroller and the older 2 are next to me and my brother. My mom goes to Chick-fil-a to get our lunches. As I'm waiting to pay for the sandwich, Isaiah tells me he has to go potty. Again?! Well, he couldn't hold it and pee started puddling under his feet where he was standing in the stroller (it's a sit n' stand type of stroller). It also makes its way to the floor under the stroller. He rarely has accidents so I try to stay calm and send Kayla to get some paper towels from the bathroom. (It is also worth noting that there was a very long line of people behind me.) As I finish paying for the sandwich, Kayla comes back with the paper towels and I quickly clean up the floor. I apologize to the lady behind me and tell her to be careful because the floor was still a little wet.
I then send my brother and the older 2 kids to find my mom so they can sit down and start eating. I head to the bathroom to get Isaiah and the stroller cleaned up. Of course, I didn't bring in his backpack that has a change of clothes in it, so I just try to dry off everything for the time being. Once that's cleaned up, I go out to find where everyone is sitting. I leave the younger 2 with my mom and go out to the car to get his change of clothes. I look in his backpack and all I have is a pair of shorts. No underwear. Oh well, at least I have a pair of shorts! I get him changed and finally sit down to eat.
Next we go to Dillard's so my mom can return a couple of things. I buy a pair of jeans because I don't have any that currently fit my post pregnant body. I wasn't going to even attempt to try them on. Besides, the baby was waking up and was going to need to eat again.
Then my mom and brother take the older 2 to the Build-a-Bear store so they can spend the $10 they earned from pulling weeds. I take the younger 2 and go to Motherhood Maternity to return my shirts and buy a nursing bra. This is where the next adventure occurs.
At the store, I find a few nursing bras to try on and go into the fitting room. I'm trying on the first one when Isaiah tells me he has to go potty. AGAIN?! Really?! What the heck has this kid been drinking? Thankfully, Motherhood Maternity has a bathroom for customers to use. I get dressed, take him to the bathroom and go back into the fitting room. Oh, and this whole time, the baby is fussing because I still need to feed him. I'm beginning to think I'm not supposed to buy any bras today...
When I get back into the fitting room I take the baby out of his carseat and realize he needs a new diaper. I change him and feed him. Now baby is happy once more and Isaiah is playing happily with the airplane I had in the diaper dude. (it's a manly brand of diaper bags ;) ) I finally have a few minutes to finish trying on bras! As I start trying another one on, the baby poops again and everyone is back from the Build-a-Bear store. I get dressed and change the baby's diaper. Then my mom takes Isaiah to go get something from the Build-a-Bear store while I pay.
We finally make it out of the mall with what's left of my sanity and head home. It was a crazy afternoon! I'm so thankful my mom was able to go with me! I'm also very thankfully that the kids behaved so well. I don't think I'll be going back to the mall anytime soon though!
Before we went to the mall, I had to make a stop at my doctors office. I've been trying to get a copy of the delivery summary from my last 2 births and they had it ready for me to pick up. While driving to the office, the baby was crying instead of sleeping. After I parked, I went ahead and fed him in the car before going into the office.
This is when the first adventure happens. While feeding the baby, Isaiah tells me he has to go potty. I've been in this situation before and was prepared to handle it. Instead of having to take him inside to pee and hope he makes it in time, I have an empty water bottle in the car for these special occasions. I can continue feeding the baby and the potty situation is taken care of! This is definitely a perk of having boys! :)
Now that the baby is fed and happy and a potty accident has been averted, I run into the doctors office to get my papers. I sign for them and open the envelope. Wrong papers. Ugh! Why is it so difficult to get a delivery summary? I tried getting them at the hospital and they sent me the wrong papers too. I thought I might have success from my doctor, but it was still wrong. Now I'm waiting for a call back from the nurse to see if she has located the right ones for me. Someone has to have a copy of my labor and delivery!
So now we head to the mall. We go to the food court to eat lunch. This is where the next adventure occurs. I'm standing in line at Subway to get the kids a sandwich. The baby and Isaiah are in the stroller and the older 2 are next to me and my brother. My mom goes to Chick-fil-a to get our lunches. As I'm waiting to pay for the sandwich, Isaiah tells me he has to go potty. Again?! Well, he couldn't hold it and pee started puddling under his feet where he was standing in the stroller (it's a sit n' stand type of stroller). It also makes its way to the floor under the stroller. He rarely has accidents so I try to stay calm and send Kayla to get some paper towels from the bathroom. (It is also worth noting that there was a very long line of people behind me.) As I finish paying for the sandwich, Kayla comes back with the paper towels and I quickly clean up the floor. I apologize to the lady behind me and tell her to be careful because the floor was still a little wet.
I then send my brother and the older 2 kids to find my mom so they can sit down and start eating. I head to the bathroom to get Isaiah and the stroller cleaned up. Of course, I didn't bring in his backpack that has a change of clothes in it, so I just try to dry off everything for the time being. Once that's cleaned up, I go out to find where everyone is sitting. I leave the younger 2 with my mom and go out to the car to get his change of clothes. I look in his backpack and all I have is a pair of shorts. No underwear. Oh well, at least I have a pair of shorts! I get him changed and finally sit down to eat.
Next we go to Dillard's so my mom can return a couple of things. I buy a pair of jeans because I don't have any that currently fit my post pregnant body. I wasn't going to even attempt to try them on. Besides, the baby was waking up and was going to need to eat again.
Then my mom and brother take the older 2 to the Build-a-Bear store so they can spend the $10 they earned from pulling weeds. I take the younger 2 and go to Motherhood Maternity to return my shirts and buy a nursing bra. This is where the next adventure occurs.
At the store, I find a few nursing bras to try on and go into the fitting room. I'm trying on the first one when Isaiah tells me he has to go potty. AGAIN?! Really?! What the heck has this kid been drinking? Thankfully, Motherhood Maternity has a bathroom for customers to use. I get dressed, take him to the bathroom and go back into the fitting room. Oh, and this whole time, the baby is fussing because I still need to feed him. I'm beginning to think I'm not supposed to buy any bras today...
When I get back into the fitting room I take the baby out of his carseat and realize he needs a new diaper. I change him and feed him. Now baby is happy once more and Isaiah is playing happily with the airplane I had in the diaper dude. (it's a manly brand of diaper bags ;) ) I finally have a few minutes to finish trying on bras! As I start trying another one on, the baby poops again and everyone is back from the Build-a-Bear store. I get dressed and change the baby's diaper. Then my mom takes Isaiah to go get something from the Build-a-Bear store while I pay.
We finally make it out of the mall with what's left of my sanity and head home. It was a crazy afternoon! I'm so thankful my mom was able to go with me! I'm also very thankfully that the kids behaved so well. I don't think I'll be going back to the mall anytime soon though!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Mikaela's Birth Story
After being married for almost a year and a half, we decided to start trying to get pregnant with our first child. It was March or April of 2001. My goal was to have my first child by the time I was 25 because that's what my mom did and it sounded good to me! I hated working and couldn't wait to be a stay at home mom! I had always felt that God's purpose for my life was to be a wife and mother and I couldn't wait to get started!
I had been working for the school district as a registrar, but it was summer so I was off until school started again. I decided to look for a summer job and got one as a server at the brand new IHOP down the street from us. The training manager was very happy with my performance and wanted to make me the head server!
After working there for a month or so, I had missed my period and decided to take a pregnancy test (this was in June). At the time, I was a smoker. I only smoked a few cigarettes a day and I wanted to quit. I bring this up because I specifically remember what took place as I waited for the results of my pregnancy test. I went outside on our back porch to smoke my last cigarette while I waited. I was pretty sure that I was pregnant and I reasoned with myself that it was okay to have one more because I didn't know for sure yet. Once I knew I was pregnant, I wouldn't have another one. Sure enough, it was positive and I didn't have another cigarette!
I told Tim when he got home from work. We were both very excited and a bit nervous! We decided to tell our parents right away. We all lived in Tucson, so we went to their houses to tell them in person. My due date was February 18th 2002! (2 months before my 25th birthday!)
It wasn't very long before I started have morning sickness. For me, morning sickness lasted all day. I was very nauseous and stayed in bed most of the time. I was having a hard time going to work at the restaurant. Every time I passed the kitchen and dirty dishes, I gagged. It got bad enough that I had to quit. I also couldn't eat there again for almost a year!
I went back to work at the school in August. The morning sickness was starting to subside by September. I still didn't feel great, but definitely better than needing to stay in bed all day! During the last trimester, the morning sickness returned. I worked until the end of January. I took the last few weeks to prepare for baby.
On Saturday, February 9th, we woke up and had a lazy morning. Tim made his famous french toast. Then we watched the Chicago Auto Show on TV. Around 10am I started to feel some pain in my back. I wasn't sure if I was having contractions or not. I went to the bathroom once and saw a little bit of blood. That's what made me think I really could be in labor! Tim called the nurse at the doctor's office. I spoke with her and she told me to lay on my left side and drink some water. If it continued, then we should go to the birth center. Tim called our parents to let them know what was going on.
After a few hours, it was clear that I was in labor so we went to the birth center. I had tested positive for group B strep and wanted to make sure I got to the hospital in plenty of time to get the necessary antibiotics before delivering. Once there, the nurse checked my cervix and said I was only 2cm. They didn't really believe I was in labor, but the doctor said I could stay for observation.
We walked the halls for hours. Tim, my Mom and my sister took turns rubbing my back during contractions. My Dad was in charge of the video camera. We made a rule of no talking during contractions! Tim's parents were at a party for Schwan's and came to the hospital that night when it was over. I labored all night.
Once I got to 4cm dilated, I was able to get an epidural. I was finally able to rest for awhile and so was everyone else! After that, I still wasn't progressing very much so the nurse decided to help me out by "accidentally" breaking my bag of water to get things going. That definitely helped! By 8am I was ready to push!
I remember the nurse asking me if I could feel when to push or if she was going to have to tell me when to push. She was kind of rude and I didn't want to seem like I couldn't do it on my own so I told her I could do it. I did 3 sets of pushes for 3 contractions and she was out! After 18+ hours of back labor, Mikaela was born at 8:31am on Sunday February 10, 2002!
One thing I was disappointed about was that my doctor was out of town and the on call doctor wouldn't let us videotape the birth. My Mom was in charge of the video camera while Tim and my sister were by my side. Once it was time to push, the doctor told my Mom stop recording. It was only after the birth that we realized she had pushed the wrong button and the video camera had continued to record! We couldn't see anything, but we could still hear everything! We were SO happy!
Mikaela was the first grandchild for both of our parents and the first great-grandchild! My grandpa wasn't crazy about being called great-grandpa, so he came up with the name The GG's. From then on, he was known as GG and my grandma was called BB (her first name is Billee)! As of 2011, they have 13 great-grandchildren!
I had been working for the school district as a registrar, but it was summer so I was off until school started again. I decided to look for a summer job and got one as a server at the brand new IHOP down the street from us. The training manager was very happy with my performance and wanted to make me the head server!
After working there for a month or so, I had missed my period and decided to take a pregnancy test (this was in June). At the time, I was a smoker. I only smoked a few cigarettes a day and I wanted to quit. I bring this up because I specifically remember what took place as I waited for the results of my pregnancy test. I went outside on our back porch to smoke my last cigarette while I waited. I was pretty sure that I was pregnant and I reasoned with myself that it was okay to have one more because I didn't know for sure yet. Once I knew I was pregnant, I wouldn't have another one. Sure enough, it was positive and I didn't have another cigarette!
I told Tim when he got home from work. We were both very excited and a bit nervous! We decided to tell our parents right away. We all lived in Tucson, so we went to their houses to tell them in person. My due date was February 18th 2002! (2 months before my 25th birthday!)
It wasn't very long before I started have morning sickness. For me, morning sickness lasted all day. I was very nauseous and stayed in bed most of the time. I was having a hard time going to work at the restaurant. Every time I passed the kitchen and dirty dishes, I gagged. It got bad enough that I had to quit. I also couldn't eat there again for almost a year!
I went back to work at the school in August. The morning sickness was starting to subside by September. I still didn't feel great, but definitely better than needing to stay in bed all day! During the last trimester, the morning sickness returned. I worked until the end of January. I took the last few weeks to prepare for baby.
On Saturday, February 9th, we woke up and had a lazy morning. Tim made his famous french toast. Then we watched the Chicago Auto Show on TV. Around 10am I started to feel some pain in my back. I wasn't sure if I was having contractions or not. I went to the bathroom once and saw a little bit of blood. That's what made me think I really could be in labor! Tim called the nurse at the doctor's office. I spoke with her and she told me to lay on my left side and drink some water. If it continued, then we should go to the birth center. Tim called our parents to let them know what was going on.
After a few hours, it was clear that I was in labor so we went to the birth center. I had tested positive for group B strep and wanted to make sure I got to the hospital in plenty of time to get the necessary antibiotics before delivering. Once there, the nurse checked my cervix and said I was only 2cm. They didn't really believe I was in labor, but the doctor said I could stay for observation.
We walked the halls for hours. Tim, my Mom and my sister took turns rubbing my back during contractions. My Dad was in charge of the video camera. We made a rule of no talking during contractions! Tim's parents were at a party for Schwan's and came to the hospital that night when it was over. I labored all night.
Once I got to 4cm dilated, I was able to get an epidural. I was finally able to rest for awhile and so was everyone else! After that, I still wasn't progressing very much so the nurse decided to help me out by "accidentally" breaking my bag of water to get things going. That definitely helped! By 8am I was ready to push!
I remember the nurse asking me if I could feel when to push or if she was going to have to tell me when to push. She was kind of rude and I didn't want to seem like I couldn't do it on my own so I told her I could do it. I did 3 sets of pushes for 3 contractions and she was out! After 18+ hours of back labor, Mikaela was born at 8:31am on Sunday February 10, 2002!
One thing I was disappointed about was that my doctor was out of town and the on call doctor wouldn't let us videotape the birth. My Mom was in charge of the video camera while Tim and my sister were by my side. Once it was time to push, the doctor told my Mom stop recording. It was only after the birth that we realized she had pushed the wrong button and the video camera had continued to record! We couldn't see anything, but we could still hear everything! We were SO happy!
Mikaela was the first grandchild for both of our parents and the first great-grandchild! My grandpa wasn't crazy about being called great-grandpa, so he came up with the name The GG's. From then on, he was known as GG and my grandma was called BB (her first name is Billee)! As of 2011, they have 13 great-grandchildren!
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