Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Tips on Tuesday!

I was a slacker last week - just busy, busy, busy!

So, I'm back this week with a tip and it's probably one that everyone does already anyway, but I'll toss it out there.

Bathroom trashcans/bedroom trashcans, etc - I use plastic grocery bags as my trash bags for those little trashcans and instead of running to grab another one when I empty the trash can, I just put several in the bottom of every trashcan, so there's one there waiting when I take the full one out!

Head over to Sandra's to see more tips on Tuesday :)

Friday, September 26, 2008

Thoughts/plans for the weekend!

Ahhhh, it's Friday. Yay! I survived 3 full days being a single mom. I take my hat off to all you single parents out there. 3 days just about did me in - I can't imagine having to do it full time. I love my babies with every ounce of my being, but boy, was I in desperate need of a break! Yesterday was the first time I had seen my husband since Monday - that just stinks. I'm OH.SO. happy he's home.

As you can see from my tweet, we're having an impromptu garage sale tomorrow - yay! I like going to garage sales, but I don't like having my own, so that "yay!" is a sarcastic one. I'm actually schleping my boys over to a friend's garage sale to hang out with her tomorrow and my wonderful, loving husband will be running our garage sale here! He's into that kinda stuff. Me.....not so much.

Tonight, I'm headed to a friend's house to have dinner and watch the Sex in the City movie. I've never seen an episode of that show, but I'm looking forward to hanging out with friends and relaxing - I need it in a bad, bad way.

On the homefront, I'm trying to catch up on laundry and do a bit of scrapbooking - I have several pages I'm working on and can't wait until they're finished. I have some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies in the cabinet that I'd like to make. There are lots of plans running through my brain - let's see if they actually get done...lol

Hope y'all have a groovy weekend!

Monday, September 22, 2008

Menu Plan Monday!

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It's an easy week this week - the hubs is on a business trip until Wednesday evening. While I'll miss him terribly (already do and he's still at the airport here...lol), it's a much easier time in the kitchen for me - the kidlets and I will do simple stuff.

Monday - I'll have a tuna sandwich.
Boys will have chicken nuggets, sweet tater fries and carrots.

Tuesday - boys will have Kid Cuisines with my sitter. I have MOPS.

Wednesday - pancakes, sausage and fruit.

Thursday - chicken strips, mac n' cheese and corn

Friday - tacos

Saturday - lasagna with bread and a salad

Sunday - if you can find it, you can eat it :)

Head over to the Org Junkie to check out other menus this week - I bet they're far more interesting than mine :)

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Tips on Tuesday!

Sandra over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom began a new feature today - it's called Tips on Tuesday.

She's going to feature tips and shortcuts when it comes to homemaking, decorating, car repair, etc. etc. that she's learned throughout her life and she's invited us to join her! I LOVE her blog and thought it was a great idea for a feature, so I AM going to join her!

My tip for today:

Toilet brushes - YUCK! But, if you pour a little all purpose cleaner into the toilet brush holder, it will disinfect the brush AND it will be ready for you to use the next time you have to clean the toilet. I did it the other day and it works VERY well!

Head over to Sandra's and see her tips - they are GREAT!

Monday, September 15, 2008

Feeling the sting.

Let me preface all of what I'm about to say with this - I'm THRILLED that Steph was able to have the birth experience she wanted. I know how much she wanted a homebirth and I bet the experience was amazing and everything she ever wanted - that makes my heart smile.

With that being said, whenever I read of a birth experience being EXACTLY the way someone had hoped, I feel a bit of a sting.

I felt the most educated and informed when pregnant with my 3rd baby - I'd spent months preparing for his birth and doing my homework when it came to the kind of birth experience I wanted with him. I read books, spoke with friends AND my doc to prepare myself. I felt ready and knew what I wanted. I wanted a natural childbirth with NO drugs at all, no needles (incl. an IV) and no medical intervention unless it was a life or death situation. My doctor was behind me 100%. My 2nd son's birth was non-medicated (not by choice), but I felt fantastic after he was born and wanted to feel that way again after the birth of #3.

I did the physical exercises the natural childbirth books recommended. I poured over birth plans for hours. I carefully put mine together and I feel blessed and lucky that my OB was so supportive of my choices.

My water broke 15 days before my due date at 1:30 in the afternoon - I was nervous, but excited. I prayed that God would make this experience a good one for me. I prayed for a healthy baby and a birth experience that I could look back on and feel satisfied.

I got grief almost immediately when I got into my hospital room because I didn't want an IV. My doc backed me up, told them that I didn't want/need it and to leave me alone about it - they did, but I was treated differently....almost like a freak.

I knew that I wanted to labor in the water - I was able to breath through my contractions and talk through them, so I decided to hold off on the water because I didn't want my labor to slow down. I walked the halls, rolled on the ball, rocked on my hands and knees and felt good and happy that I was having the birth I wanted (even though the nurses thought I was insane for not wanting the IV - whatever). I agreed to be put on the monitors for 20 minutes out of every hour. 20 minutes was about as long as I wanted to be in the bed, too - it was uncomfortable for me to labor on my back in an uncomfortable bed.

I hit 6 cm without any medication and was in immense pain. I was watching the clock because I was on the monitors and knew that at the end of that 20 minutes, my happy rear was hoping in the tub. Within 30 seconds of that 20 minutes being up, the on call OB (my OB had gone home to change clothes and grab dinner - she was on her way home when the on call OB called her) and several nurses charged in my room and checked the monitor. At that point, they told me that my son's heart rate was dropping after every contraction. They then told me that I wasn't able to get off the monitors anymore and I had to stay in the bed - at first, on my back and then I had to be on one side for 10 minutes, then the other side for 10 minutes.

I remember, at that point, starting to cry. I knew that the birth experience I wanted wasn't going to happen. EVERY pain management technique I had wanted to use (and had used up to that point, except for the tub) was out the window. I was forced to stay in that uncomfortable bed. Because of that, I caved (while sobbing) and got the epidural. I knew there was no way I'd be able to stay in control when I wasn't even able to get out of my bed.

After the epidural, I progressed relatively quickly and pushed my sweet baby boy out in 3 pushes on April 1st, 2008 at 10:22 p.m. The cord was wrapped around his neck and my husband had to cut the cord before we could even get him out completely. I was able to deliver him myself and that was an awesome experience.....one of the highlights of my life.

The on call OB had a gurney in the hallway, ready to take me to an OR for a c-section. My OB told them to let me go because I had already delivered 2 babies with no issues. Had I been a first time mom, they wouldn't have allowed me to labor while his heart rate dropped.

I'm grateful that my boy was healthy. That's really all that matters. I'm also grateful that I didn't have a c-section. He is my last baby - I'll never experience the birth process again and knew how I *wanted* things to go. I'll never get to experience MY perfect birth.

Henry is 5 1/2 months old now and I think about this on a daily basis. It still stings. I wonder if it will ever stop stinging.

Menu Plan Monday!

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Now that school is back in session, I'm hoping to get into a better planning/grocery shopping routine. It's been a long time and I don't mind flying by the seat of my pants during the summer. I don't like doing it in the fall/winter.

Monday:

BBQ chicken pizza
regular pizza/breadsticks for boys

Tuesday:

egg, scrapple and cheese sandwiches
pancakes for boys
fruit

Wednesday:

chili with pasta


Thursday:

fondue for me! (MOPS MNO)
soup/Kid Cuisines for the boys and hubby


Friday:

Frozen lasagna
Italian bread
sliced tomatoes


Saturday:

pigs in a blanket
carrots and cucumbers with ranch dip


Sunday:

leftovers and if you can find it, you can eat it!


Head over to Org Junkie for more menus this week!

Friday, September 12, 2008

By Friday

I feel like I've conquered the world when I put my boy on the bus on Friday morning, knowing that he has EVERYTHING he needs for the day. He had homework that needed to be done last night - he did that and it was in his folder. Today is Grandparent's Day and he needed 2 photos to do a little scrapbook page - he had those. His teacher sent some stuff home for me to cut out and she told me just to send it back a little bit at a time because there's a TON to be cut out - I did that. His lunch was packed and in his lunchbox and he had his 2 snacks for the day. I'm not sure I've ever been more thrilled that it's Friday. It's been a VERY long week - I have 2 sick little boys here, I'm exhausted and my poor house....oh my poor house. I need to attack it today and in a really bad way. I hope H cooperates with me.

B and I have a date tomorrow night - I'm very much looking forward to it. We have no idea what we're doing - we're just doing it together. We have *THE BEST* babysitter ever. I'd love for her to move in with us :)

It's a yucky day today - very cloudy and rainy. I love this kind of day - I'm almost forced to stay home and work. That's a good thing :)

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Wordless Wednesday

First day of school!

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One with Jake (who is homeschooled), just because he's cute :)

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The 5 month old schmoog :)

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