Beach 2010

Nothing sweeter then a daddy and his girls. Love this pic! Neal has a much softer side then I do when it comes to our children. He can really take the time to listen to them and they really admire him about that! I think this pic shows that relationship :)
Our little chatter-box. Mia is a "Ham" Ha, get that? Like Mia Hamm, the world cup soccer player...okay nevermind ;) (Which she totally was not named after, by the way!)

R being squirrly, as usual!

This little girlie LOVED the beach. She just could not get enough of it.

They look so big and grown up to me in this picture :/

In the middle of June we traveled to the Outer Banks with Neal's family. We had an amazing time. Mia Kate did wonderful on the trip down. I was really prepared for the trip this time, lots of activities to do in the van. I definately have more pics and stories to share...stay tuned....I will try to not let a month go by again.

One of those Days....

Oh my, it has been one of those days. You know...."A no good, very bad, terrible horrible Day!" It started late last night actually, aliana spiked a fever of 103.3, Yikes, the highest my kids have ever run. I was freaked out and ready to run her into the ER. But then I came to my senses and gave her some tylenol, like a normal mother would do. She wanted to sleep on the chair in my bedroom. Okay! Mia was up 2 times last night but had spent the last two previous nights sleeping through the night in her crib. Ughhh!! Rowan has had a mission the last 4-5 days: destroy, Destroy, DESTROY everything and anything he can. It's quite a wild streak! I spent all morning trying to implement all this great stuff I learned at a parenting conference this past weekend. (Yes Val, I will type notes to you some time :) And boy oh boy did he ever fight me. Then it came, words I remember saying to my own mother, "I don't like you!" "I hate you!" Really this young? I am defeated for this day now :( But tomorrow I will wake up and start a new day with lots of love to give to these sweet kiddos and strength from my Sweet, Sweet Jesus!!

This is how she fills her time.....

Be Safe while your Eating....

This ball of fire and sassyness has been a real hoot lately. Ahem, and I mean that with a lot of sarcasm. You can just tell by her oh so lovely expression!
But most of all she just wanted to let everyone know, "You've got to be safe while your eating!"

Fishing

Another year of fishing has come round. I do have to admit my hubs has not been out as much as he usually goes out, which I feel slightly guilty for, and yet I can really use him here with the kiddos too. Tough call! But I selfishly choose helping me ;)

Anyway he took R for the first time, as he has been chomping at the bit to get out with daddy to throw his spider-man line out. And here is what he caught. A 17 incher, or as R keeps saying, I caught 17 fish, Ha!

Apparently in fisherman language this is a pretty big fish. In mine, ummm....yeah...look at it compared to all the rest! R loves every detail to fishing especially the part where daddy guts them and cuts their heads off. Eeewwwww!!!!

Watch out, he's gonna get your nose. He really did start breathing again right before neal took care of his head. And yes....wearing the gloves was totally my idea. I know, I know, I am crazy insane about germs right now. But I have a babe in the house and well....we just have gone through a week of sickness already. So call me germ-a-phobic! They are rainbow trout and we.do.not.eat.them! So if you would like some let us know, they are in our freezer :)

Take a Guess

Can you...
guess who is....

who?

And curious to see who you think Mia looks most like?

3 Weeks

The three amigos.
Look at those faces. I just wanna pinch some cheeks. And all that Pink, it's almost too much for me to handle ;)

Daddy's Girl :)

Mia Kate

On Saturday February 27th we we're abundantly blessed with our SWEET Mia Kate. And let me tell you, she is Sweet!

A little after 2pm I was putting aliana down for a nap and I bent over to give her a kiss and I felt a whoosh, my water broke. I called down the steps to neal and said hey, I think my water just broke. He rushed up. "Really" Yep. The contractions started coming immediately. Neal called his parents to come and they we're here pretty quickly. I was still in the shower in fact when they got here. I got down stairs and the contractions became more painful, they kept telling us to go, and neal wanted to leave, but I was wonting to labor at home as long as I could stand it. I didn't want to have to wait in triage. We got to the hospital about 3:45 and they started saying that they we're gonna monitor the baby a little. I said, "I feel pressure" the nurse said oh, and then off to L&D I went. But had to labor in the wheelchair for quite some time as they we're having trouble getting my iv in, I was waiting to get in the hot tub, that is my natural epi! And now when I think back, that is when I lost control of being in control of my labor. Does that make sense? I was sitting being jabbed over and over, not able to get up and get through the contractions. When I finally did get in the tub, I was only in for 5 minutes, and it was time to push. The nurse heard me grunting and her and neal yanked me out of the tub and whisked me to the bed. I felt I had no control. I could not get a handle on these contractions or the pain, and winced out, may I please have nubain? I had never had this, My girlfriends Heidi and Connie had talked about how they had it, and it took the edge off. I really needed that! But it was too late they said. The doctor was saying I will prolly be pushing for a while, that I would get her head out and that then her shoulders would get stuck. And I might be stuck there for a while and that's why they did the iv in case they had to do an emergency c-section. Ahh that dreaded c-section push again :( Anyway, I said to the doctor standing clear across the room, "I need to push, Please, Please, I need to push" She said oh go ahead, you're not pushing the baby out. No sooner she came running for the bed, and out came Sweet Mia Kate.
To be continued......................

So I have been having lots of trouble getting on blogger, I am not sure why, but not today. 3/31/10.

The nicu doc came cause they thought she swallowed muconium inside. The nicu doc tried to put oxygen on and mia kept pushing it away so the doc said okay. And she was so quiet and didn't even cry or anything! So they said everything was fine. They weighe dher and the doctor who delivere dsaid she was very shocked that she was only 7lbs 8 oz and that she wasn't any bigger. So no meds, and no c-section, thank you Lord. Till I got my hospital bill, almost $5,000.00 for me and $2,000.00 for Mia. For what? The doc wasn't even there in time, I did everything myself, Ha!

Here is one proud big brother. He has a little servants heart and is always asking what I need!
Neal took this, sweet sisters :) Mia

Wished For

Devout

"One thing have I asked of the Lord......that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple"

Psalm 27:4

38 Weeks

I am 38 weeks today. And begging someone to please come and deliver my baby, we can do it here at my house, my hubby has been called a makeshift nurse midwife, he can assist!

Ha! Just Kidding.

I am definatley in new territory and I do like it, the thought of having a full-term baby. It has made this pregnancy the longest. Hopefully, and I have been praying we will be able to avoid the relfux and colic issues we had with the other two, now that she has had more time to develop in the womb. A girl can only hope right? I want to hold her, I want the kiddos to be able to explore her. So I am hoping it's soon, but feel I have been able to sit back and be calm and let it be when it will be!

The docs are saying they will induce me next week if I haven't gone. I am wondering if they just break my water or will they have to pump me with drugs? Anyone know? I was 7 cm with aliana for 1 week, they broke my water and I delivered her within the hour. So I am hoping I can just ask them to do that again, can I? My contractions are coming more and more and they are painful, they just won't stick around!

Build A Bear

We took the kids to Build A Bear Workshop. They had gotten gift certificates for Christmas, (thanks Dad and Charnelle). And I was able to (beg) talk my husband into going to the mall. So this is what they picked out. A kitty and an owl!
Here is Aliana and her kitty, she named Emily. This is what she is insisted upon that we name the baby. They both have matching outfits.

Emily in her tinkerbell outfit. For the first few nights aliana put her in the little box/house thing that she came in. She said that is where she needed to sleep. Not in bed snuggled with her?

And Coo Coo in a phillies outfit. Rowan insists that he needs a phillies outfit now!Rowan has taken a pillow out of our bed and givin it to Coo Coo, so he can sleep on the pillow in his bed. He even has his own blanket!

I loved doing this with the kids, it was soooo much fun. Neal was very helpful as this BIG old preganant mommy tried to waddle through the mall to get to build a bear, oh, what a sight ;)

The girls *Pink* room

Paint Samples

(We chose Island Coral)
A room filled with butterflies

Pink walls, Oh My!

Pink on top and white on bottom, seperated by a beautifully done chair molding all around the room.

Aliana sooo excited about her new room!

Sweet friends of ours, Jen and Steve came and painted the girls room and put up a chair molding. It looks fabulous. We we're so blessed!

Try this Recipe.....

UPDATED:
I told a friend about this recipe, and she said she does it all in a crockpot. She sprays her crockpot, then puts flour tortillas, I used 9 (3 for each layer) and broke them up and put them on the bottom. Then take the soup mixture and rotel and uncooked chicken and put a layer of that on top, then a layer of cheese, I did 3 layers in all. My hubs said he thought it was a little too creamy. So next time I might try without one of the cream soups. Best part, you don't have to cook the chicken ahead of time :)

Mexican Chicken/King Ranch Chicken

3-4 chicken breasts, boiled and cut into bite size pieces
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can rotel
1-2 cups cheddar cheese
1 small package of tortillas

Tear the tortillas into small pieces and line the bottom of the pan . Mix the soups, rotel, and chicken and pour on top. Top with cheddar cheese. Bake @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.
Enjoy!

One BIG Puffy Pillsbury Doughgirl

Yep that is how I feel. My feet and hands have officially swollen and the one side of my tounge, it's really weird! And just feel Miserable. God I just want to get this over with, My, isn't that horrible. I don't think I have ever wanted something so bad in my life, I am DONE being preggo :( I love this little girl with my whole being, but want to LOVE her on the outside now.

But in the meantime I hold onto this.
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11

A Name

It truly has been hard picking a name this time. And we cannot pick just one. I put it out there on FB to see what other suggestions people had for girls names. It still has not changed my mind as to what I want and what my hubby wants. Although we have a couple more that we like. I usually save the name as a secret till baby is born, but we are really having a hard time with this.

Neal's Fav is:
Kara
~Pure
~Cherished
"For with you is the fountain of life, in Your Light we see Light"
~Psalm 36:9

Which is very pretty, but I just don't think it sounds right when I call out my other children's names. Rowan, aliana, kara?

My fav is:
Karis
~Graceful
~Discreet
"Keep sound wisdom and discretion. So they will be life to your soul, and grace to your neck."
Proverbs 3:21-22

But we know some poeple who are in a band named Kheris, and neal says that it will remind him of them too much. I think this fits well. Rowan, Aliana, Karis. It flows nicely, don't you think?

Rowan's Fav is:
Kate
~Innocent
~Godly Example
"So that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach."
Phillipians 2:15

I like Kate, I think it's nice and simple, and yet sophisticated. Neal would rather name her Kaitlin, but I will beg that we call her Kate, even if we name her Kaitlin.

Kaitlin
It's Irish
~Favored
"And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman."
Ruth 3:11

I really like the meaning of Kaitlin!

Aliana's Fav is:
Mia
~Wished For
~Devout
"One thing have I asked of the Lord.....that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple."
Psalm 27:4

I have a friend who has been helping with my kids and meals. Her name is maria. And aliana always calls her Miss Mia. I think that is why she likes this name all of a sudden. The only problem is a very dear and close friend has a daughter with this name. And I feel rude taking it!

Another one that Neal just came home and said he really likes is:
Emma
~All Embracing
~Absolute Faith
"Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them."
Mark 11:24

So what do you think? I am really wanting some feedback!

Christmas 2009

This is a very, Very, VERY late post about Christmas. But my computer was down and then I was having problems downloading pictures after I got it back. So here ya go.

Pretend earrings, a real hit.

Snuggling with Grandpa Mike.
Our pretty princess.

"Popcorn!" "Yay, can we pop it now?"

No silly, open the box up for your present. The simple delights :)

Sitting with Auntie L getting all primped to be a fairy!