A Christmas Story

At today's service the sermon was on a Christmas Story. You're probably thinking...okay, we've all heard that story about a million times. Well...not this one. Today's Christmas story was on the perspective of Heaven and what went on the day Jesus was born.

Take a look at Revelations 12. As part of today, we were reminded that we are still in a war against Satan and must stay on our guard to keep warding him off.

Today was a perfect lesson as Travis and I begin to decide just how we want to do Christmas and be able to teach RC and Baby #2 about the season and holiday.

We really want to get back to the real purpose of Christmas and not just make it about the gifts, Santa Clause, etc.

How do you make Christ a part of Christmas?

Pregnancy Update: Week 14

Not much as changed. I still have a few weeks before my next appointment. I don't go back until January.

The biggest thing right now is that it seems like "morning sickness" is not calming down with the 2nd trimester starting. Give it I am super grateful I do not get sick like some others do, but it still stinks to get sick almost every morning at this point just because I am hot.

At this rate, I am going to need to buy some new shorts and t-shirts as almost every morning I leave in basketball shorts and a t-shirt just to stay cool enough to not get sick, especially while driving the boys to school!

My energy is back up a bit. There are still times that I am just exhausted before noon, but most days I can get a nap in or push through it.

Sleeping is a bit better right now. Probably because the days I am so exhausted I hit the bed and pretty much fall asleep immediately.

I can't wait until Jan. 30th for the big ultrasound. Travis and I started talking names a bit last night, but will be so much easier once we know. Plus then we will know if we need new clothes (or cloth diapers) or not too!

RC Singing

Lately RC has really started chattering more and more. We still have no idea what he is trying to say as none of it makes any sense. In the car, he likes to sing. Below is what I recorded. To get it to upload though I had to make it into a video so I just chose a cute picture of RC.

Pregnancy Update: 13 weeks & 2nd Trimester

Things are definitely looking better now that I have made it to 13 weeks. Monday I had my 12 week appointment (was 12 weeks and 4 days at the time). I was able to ear my Little Critter's heartbeat which was a strong 160 bpm.

There is no more bleeding and the doctor said we should be okay now! Thank you all for the prayers!

When it comes to differences between RC's pregnancy and this one...of course the bleeding, but also what makes me sick. I still want to puke if I smell fresh fish or freshly ground coffee, but I'm talking more along the lines that with RC if I didn't eat quickly after getting out of bed, I would get sick. This time around, when I get up, if I don't stay cool I get sick. Almost every morning I am taking KJ and Billy, our exchange students, to school in shorts and a t-shirt. Poor KJ hates when he hears me sick in the morning because he means the heat in the car doesn't go above 70! LOL

The other big difference is how pregnant I look already. I have already had to switch to maternity pants and even some shirts! With RC it took much longer for my belly to pop. I couldn't find any pictures from my pregnancy with RC (because I hate taking pics of myself), but I already feel like I match what I looked like around the 5 month mark with RC! 

taken at 12 weeks 3 days

 I just hope I don't explode with this pregnancy. So far I have lost 4.6 pounds! This is really good. I am really trying to watch my weight this time so that I can try for labor after a c-section (TLAC or also a VBAC).

If all goes well through the pregnancy we should be able to end it naturally. I pray this can happen. My c-section wasn't bad, but more can actually go wrong during a c-section after you have already had one.

Wordless Wednesday

Photo editing courtesy of The Cloth Diaper Geek

Pregnancy babywearing humor.

This was option #2 for announcing our pregnancy...however, it was determined not enough people would understand it.

Pregnancy Update: 11 weeks 5 days

Well things are looking a bit better. At least I still hope and pray that they are! Bleeding stopped sometime last week and I still feel pregnant! So that's good! My next appointment is next Monday at 12 weeks 5 days. Hopefully I will get to see our little critter again to ensure he/she is still moving about.

With the 1st trimester almost over, hopefully some energy will return soon. I have been wiped this first trimester. The nausea is also going away. I haven't had horrible "morning sickness," but I have had instances where if I get too hot I get sick. Needless to say, I can easily wear shorts and a t-shirt right now and feel fine for the most part. Some smells aren't bothering me as much now either, though I think fish smells while I pregnant will always make me want to hurl!

Cravings, I don't have much of yet. That's a good thing as I really need to gain very very little weight with this pregnancy. The midwife thinks that I may have actually had gestational diabetes with RC even though I passed both tests that I took.

I also am battling allergies that seem to be turning into more of a cold now. I have an ear infection starting. I hate being sick...of course I don't know anyone that actually likes being sick, but being sick and a stay-at-home-mom means pretty much no rest. Though I am pretty sure Travis would stay home with RC if I begged and really really couldn't get out of bed. Depending on how my ear feels tomorrow, I may be taking a trip to the doctor.

For now, I continue praying for all to be well. I want to just get through the 1st trimester which is almost over. The doctor said if I get through it, then we should be good to go!

A Very Thankful Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for so many things...most of all I am thankful for God as he has blessed me with all that I have; a loving husband, a handsome little boy, a second baby on the way, the chance to host two wonderful exchange students and so much more!

This year was basically the first year I REALLY cooked Thanksgiving dinner in the 8 years Travis and I have been married. In previous years, if we weren't at my parents or invited to a friends, I would just make a very small turkey breast in the crock pot with mashed potatoes and maybe corn.

This was the first year for a giant turkey and, of course, I forgot to take a picture of it before it was cut! That's okay though, it turns out that when I put it in the roasting pan and cut the trash bag off we used to marinate the turkey in, it ended up breast side down, so it wasn't very pretty looking on top!

It was TASTY though!

Our Thanksgiving feast. It doesn't really look like a lot, but it was PLENTY!

Travis gave us a quick lesson from the Bible on Thanksgiving and then blessed the meal!

RC waiting as patiently as he could for food....that he ended up not eating anyway. He sat eating pretend food while daddy talked.

Family photo. Pardon my horrible looking hair please, I had just washed it and didn't gel it! KJ was photographer, hence why he is barely in the shot!

We even broke out the bubbly for this meal...as in Sparkling Apple Cider!

KJ decided that the angel pie had to be eaten with no fork. He dug right in...face first!

And he just turned 18? LOL

Billy must have decided it looked fun.

Silly boys!

It has been a wonderful Thanksgiving. Now I am spending time trying to score a few Christmas gifts and newborn diaper supplies for a great deal and tomorrow we are going to hit up only ONE store to see what we can score. I hope and pray that by going to the Lifeway Christian store people won't be insane and crazy there!

Once we get home tomorrow, it will be time to start getting the Christmas decorations up! "It's the most wonderful time of the year..."

Happy 18th X 2

This past week has been a week of celebration. Both KJ and Billy turned the big 18! KJ's birthday was on the 14th and Billy's today (19th). As we were getting closer to their birthdays I just couldn't decide what to do...celebrate both together, have a surprise party with their friends, or just make it a small family affair celebrating each separate. We opted for small family affair celebrating their birthdays separate on their special day.

Aside from deciding what to do for the party, gift ideas were a tough one. Had we been in Indiana still, it would have been easy to just do a Purdue or Colts shirt. Being in VA we don't have a team here we are fans of and ideas for birthday weren't something I was thinking of early enough to order online. So, I had to get slightly creative. KJ was a bit easier. Billy's was definitely creative and well...kinda funny. I'll have to make up for his at Christmas!!!

Each had dinner they requested (KJ pizza and Billy Chinese food), ice cream pie, and of course a few gifts.

Here are some pictures from their special days!

KJ was called out of his room for his dessert. I think he was surprised by it.

Yep...he's full of hot air. ;)

I asked for a picture of the two of them. This is right before. Can you guess what she is asking him?

KJ with his girlfriend Samantha

Present from RC. He wrapped up an itunes gift card in his owl sandwich bag.

A layered gift of loose popcorn (popped), bag of snickers, and a movie gift card.

Nike Elite socks for our basketball player. School colors too.

Billy enjoying his dinner he chose.

Chinese Hot and Sour Soup

Chinese Lemongrass Pork

RC and my dinner. After adding the fish sauce to the pork dish, I was a bit sick and the soup bothered me from the beginning of the cooking process. So thanks to being pregnant, I had chicken nuggets with RC instead!

He's full of hot air too!

RC chose hot chocolate and wrapped it in his sock monkey sandwich wrap. He sure is creative! ;)

Since he didn't give me ideas, I gave him a giant bottle of...

SOY SAUCE! He loves soy sauce...on his eggs, noodles, rice, etc. I think this should last him the rest of the year!

When asked what candy he likes he says "ones that are chewy and resilient." I've been trying to think for days what candy that might be. I think Twizzlers might fall into that category. Now he has 180 individually wrapped ones! And a movie gift card!

Due to lack of ideas, poor Billy ended up with a few gag gifts (I will have to come up with great ideas for Christmas!) The boys one day were discussing if they were an animal what they would be. Billy said he would be a Cola. We were confused at first and then realized he meant Koala. So for our "Cola" he now has...

after he gets off the floor from laughing so hard...

a "Cola" hat for the cold weather!

Billy gave hugs to everyone, even his big brother! LOL

"No mom, stop taking pictures!" Yep this is here for life to haunt you KJ!

Travis decided to eat his ice cream pie with his chopsticks. It worked well for him!

Richard enjoyed his piece of ice cream pie too...

he even put his whole face into it! Mostly because the fork just wasn't working out. LOL

All in all I would say both boys enjoyed their birthdays. Now onto thinking of what the heck to get them for Christmas!

News and Prayer Request

It is our pleasure to announce that RC is going to...

Photo editing courtesy of The Cloth Diaper Geek

Did you catch that? It should have been pretty easy to figure out. If you didn't, we are expecting baby #2!

Currently, I am 10 weeks and 3 days along. So far baby is doing well. We have had a stressful week 9 and ask for your prayers as we are not out of the woods yet. I have been having possible signs of miscarriage, however while I am still having some bleeding, the doctor thinks it could be something else. We just have to wait it out and see.

We...well more I, have been wanting to share since day one but we have held off. I decided that extra prayers for baby #2 wouldn't hurt, so please, if you would take the time to send up a little prayer that baby #2 is okay and that we make it out of the woods! Please also pray for all the other babies and mommies in the same situation!

I'll try to do a weekly update, but really I sometimes have a hard time for that. I feel people don't want to see belly shots of me and well, that not much other than being exhausted and sometimes sick is that interesting to blog about! LOL

That's just me though. Perhaps you all actually want to see and hear that.

Anyhow here is an update up to now!

We found out I was pregnant around Oct. 10th. We have been trying for this one for around 6 - 9 months depending on when you count "really" trying. My hubby said when RC was around 9 months old that he wanted another as soon as possible. I wasn't wanting them that close, so I went off the pill but sorta avoided that prime time.

My first appointment was Nov. 6th. It was the first time I got to see my new little critter. He or she had a strong heartbeat and was doing well.

Two days later I started bleeding and cramping. We ended up in the ER that evening because of the cramping. We got to see the baby again and things looked good...though that doctor had horrible bedside manors. I called my doctor the next day and they said there was nothing that could be done and I just needed to wait it out until my next appointment, which is Dec. 3rd.

All I could think was your kidding me right? I have to stress about this for almost a MONTH! Yeah right! Over the weekend I didn't have cramping, but I have a few times the amount of blood freaked me out. Monday morning I called and pretty much begged to be see again. Finally the nurse called back and said I could be seen on Wednesday for a quick ultrasound. Woo hoo!

That day, Travis went with me, just in case. We had and still are praying like crazy for all to be okay. Got to see the baby a THIRD time within a week and a half and all was great! Okay, now time to calm down a little. I'm still bleeding, but less freaked. Prayers are still going up though that we will continue. My next appointment is still December 3rd, but at least now I can relax...just a little.

Movin' Up

Today is a big day in our house...well apartment. RC has been moved up to a big boy bed! Due to the locks for his closet coming a day early, I decided to put his bed together this evening and give it a go! 

He seemed excited about it and climbed right up once I got everything on it.

So proud of himself. RC at 19.5 months.

Before bedtime I spent time cleaning his room, turning all his noisy toys OFF and organizing everything so he didn't have toys in the middle of the floor.

When it came time to getting in bed, we laid him down, covered him up, told him good night, and level than 5 minutes later he wasn't stirring anymore! He didn't budge from the bed.

We'll see what morning brings us. Hopefully if he wakes earlier than normal, he will just play a little which is fine by me!

Trick or Treat?

This Halloween brought another first for RC. It wasn't his first Halloween, but instead his first year to Trick or Treat. We got him all dressed up in the Bob the Tomato costume I scored brand new on sale for $5!!! He LOVES Veggie Tales and especially Bob and Larry.

Right before we started. He was watching the other kids as they were running around crazy.

We went over to a friends house and met up with a large group of other kids so RC would have someone to go with. He had a blast!

Walking with daddy and seeing how it's done.

We headed off down the street! RC didn't know what to do. He liked carrying his bucket but at the first house, by the time I got him to the door I found out he dropped his bucket back by daddy! Oops...candy in hand please! Thank you!

 

Such a big guy carrying his own bucket. He wouldn't let go of it!

 After that he got it! Occasionally he would get mad when the person giving candy would put it in his bucket for him. He is such an independent little thing and wants to do everything on his own. He literally would take the candy out and put it back in the bucket! 

Our...I mean his, candy haul.

The kinda funny thing is that RC has no clue really what candy is and what he was getting in his bucket. He was just happy to be with his friends and getting stuff from people. LOL

 

The goods which he didn't get to have but the gummy snacks. Poor kid = happy mommy! ;)

He still has no clue as he was only allowed to have the gummy snacks. Made mommy happy!

I'm sure next year he will be even more eager to head out and beg for candy!

Picky Eater

Lately RC has turned into a picky eater. Well it's really more so he just doesn't want what we offer him even though it's one of his favorites. It seems lately we will give him his food and he will just look at it and start crying. Generally ends up with him throwing his food as well. We have even tried offering up for him to pick and he still won't eat it.

Suggestions what to do? Should we just keep giving him food and if he doesn't eat it tough, he just has to wait until next meal or snack time? He still is pretty skinny for his age and low on the weight scale so he really can't afford not to eat.

Wordless Wednesday

One of RC's worst days

This week has already been crazy. First I couldn't sleep until 4 am on Monday morning getting only a couple hours sleep. Then that night, I was extremely tired and thought I'd get a full nights sleep. Boy was I wrong.

RC decided that night he would get sick and not just sick like, oh my teeth hurt, or ouch my ear hurts. No he decided it would be the first time he would puke. Lucky for me, it was my poor hubby that got puked on. After his first huge puke attack, we brought him in to lay down with us. This is a treat for him as he never gets to sleep with us. The lights were off, we were ready to go to sleep and we hear that sound. You know the one. The one announcing more puke!

My hubby got it again, but this time, not just. He ran RC into our bathroom. He didn't think to put him in the shower first so instead RC puked on the floor, then got in the shower for more. When he was finished it was so cute. 

He looked up with a pitiful, relieved face and signed "all done."

He made it through the rest of the night with no other issues. We tried a little bit to drink in the morning on the way to drop the big boys off at school. Just as we pull up...poor RC does it again. I had to strip RC down in the front of the drop off line and spend 10+ minutes cleaning his car seat enough to put him back in.

Poor RC kept signing for milk and something to eat. I felt so bad knowing if he put anything else down, it'd come back up. 

A trip to the doctor was in order. I wanted to make sure he didn't have anything else wrong with him and see if he needed something to calm his tummy. Verdict...ANOTHER ear infection (this makes I think 7 this year) and medicine to calm his tummy.

Oh and by the way, if you want the doctor to come faster when you are waiting for him, just have your 18 month old scream for 15 minutes while he is in with another patient and he'll put you ahead!

Yesterday was such a tough day as a mom to watch my son sign for food and milk and not be able to give it to him. He was so miserable and sad. 

Today he seems much much better. There has been no incident since yesterday morning so we are testing things a little more. Hopefully it all stays down!

Hitting, bitting, scratching, pinching....

are just the few things RC keeps doing in the nursery at church. When I got called back today for what I thought was a diaper change was really because he had done something to 3 kids. Church service had only begun 20 minutes or so prior. We had a long time to get through today with it being a bit longer service today.

I was asked if I was hanging around so one of the girls could talk to me today. She wanted to talk about RC and what we do to discipline him, etc. since he keeps hurting other kids.

I just don't know what to do. The advice I have been given so far has been that we need to smack his hands when we to him "no hit." Our thoughts are we are sending mixed signals about no hitting when we are hitting him! 

Another piece of advice was having something designated for only spanking. This reminds me of a cousin that was disciplined with a wooden cooking spoon. I remember a day that my Aunt got out a wooden spoon to cook with and my cousin starting crying because he thought he was in trouble. Needless to say, I don't believe in that either.

RC gets told no, he is starting to get timeouts, but lets be honest in the nursery at church, a timeout is almost impossible right now. There is really no place to set a designated spot. At least not that I can think of and not without removing him from the room which will make him think he gets to leave (which is usually what he wants!).

We really can't figure out why he is acting out. He typically doesn't do this outside church when we are with his other friends. Sure he will hit occasionally when a toy is taken from him. He is learning how to appropriately respond in those situations without hitting. He has hit without a reason outside church, but not consistently and maybe only a couple of times.

At church, he does something at least once EVERY single service...so every Sunday and Wednesday! I just don't know what to do. If we are gotten out of service to discipline him, that really does no good since the whole incident is over and going in almost 5 minutes later is pointless. He has forgotten what he did and wouldn't understand mommy or daddy come in to discipline him. Especially if that disciplining is hitting him on the hands to tell him no hit. He would just think mommy and daddy are coming to hit him!

I feel he may just be too active for the age of the room. The nursery is 6 months - 2 years. At two they move to the 2 - 4 year old room. RC is just go go go, but at the same time, isn't there developmentally to sit still and listen to a short Bible lesson that the 2 - 4 year olds get. Plus he still sticks most things in hist mouth!

What would you do? How do you discipline or did discipline when your child was around 18 months? What would you suggest?

I am about to just keep RC with me during service (which would be a pain since he likes to go go go) but I feel that would be giving into him if he just doesn't want to be in the nursery. I just don't want RC to be that kid parents don't want their kid around. One parent already asked the staff to keep RC away from their kid because RC has pinched and bitten him.

My birthday celebration

After the whole mad hatter cake fiasco, I was able to start enjoying my own birthday. This year I turned, THIRTY-ONE! After going to the bakery and finally having the cake deal come to a close, Travis, RC and I went to the park! RC loves the park, especially all the parts of the park that are meant for all the much much older kids!

Later we went to Red Robin to get my birthday burger. Then it was time for our double date! This was the FIRST date in almost 18.5 months that we had been out WITHOUT RC! Thanks to one of my friends, Stacey, for watching him so we could go out.

So what did we do? Bowling! It was a great night. I had scored a Groupon for four to bowl two games and share a pizza. Surprisingly the pizza was actually pretty good AND Jennifer and I BOTH beat our husbands in the first game! OH YEAH!

I won't mention that Travis then came back and whooped us all by scoring over 200 in the second game!

Me and the Hubby!

After bowling we went out for desserts at an Italian place. As much as I take pictures and document things...I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of our desserts (which were amazing) and all four of us! Silly me!

It turned out to be a great birthday!