Sunday, October 31, 2010

Ready or Not!!

I'm on my own with these 3 little people starting tomorrow! Ready or Not?

I guess we'll find out!!

Friday, October 29, 2010

Eliana, Tigger and Woody

I have an abundance of pictures these days! Who can resist photographing a sweet face like this?
 And sweet moments like this..
 And meeting Grandma for the first time
 It feels like so much has been put on hold in the past week or so since Miss E made her early appearance. I had been hesitating in agreeing to costumes for the boys and trick or treating since I didn't know when the baby would come. But today was a special celebration at school for the boys, mostly Samuel and we had to rack our brains quickly to come up with an idea!
 Meet Sheriff Woody:) I woke up feeling a little stressed over coming up with a last minute costume only to look over at Z's Toy Story pull-ups and receive a moment's inspiration! Not a perfect copy but Samuel was happy and that's what counts!
 He came home with loads of candy and a big smile on his face.
His buddy Fiona and her little sister Avery:) Now what to do about that Lightening McQueen costume he is requesting for trick or treating....

Oh and where's Tigger, you ask? Tigger refused to pose for pictures today quite adamantly. Tigger has a 'tude these days..

Maybe I can catch him for pictures tomorrow...

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Pictures!

First Day Home with the princess! She was a bit jaundiced but thankfully it never got worse and she looks fantastic now!
Getting some Mugga-love:)
Soaking up Daddy attention. We call her our "Little Birdie!"
Sleeping peacefully in her old-fashioned cradle:)

Getting her first bath at home.
The boys "helped" and were very curious about the whole process!
Beautiful roses given to Miss E and I by my loving husband and her devoted daddy:) One blooming pink rose for the princess and 3 red roses to represent our little garden: Samuel, Zakkai and Eliana!
````````````````````````````````````````
Samuel is doing better this morning but still pretty weak. Zakkai woke up crying in the middle of the night complaining of a tummy-ache but so far is fine (Please, Lord!!). We are disinfecting like crazy and washing our hands til they are rough and dry. Hopefully this stomach bug won't spread any farther.

Grandma, Ben's mom, is here with us helping! It's nice to have some reinforcements as I wasn't quite ready to be doing the school run this week and it was setting me back in the recovery process. The boys are soaking up her attention, especially Samuel who is home today. I am thankful for her help so I can recover before it's alllllll up to me next week....

Off to make a grocery list!



Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Problems!

Having terrible internet connection/blogger problems these past couple of days, hence the lack of posts!!

Miss E is 1 week old today! She is gaining weight and eating like a champ!

We would love your prayers as Samuel now has a stomach flu and we are really hoping the rest of us, esp the newest member, doesn't get it, too! It's so hard to see your kiddos sick:(

Hopefully, I'll figure out what's going on with the internet and blogger tomorrow and post pics!

Monday, October 25, 2010

Good Day

The internet is acting crazy tonight so I will be brief! We are doing well. Eliana had her first check-up today and is up to 6lbs 6oz:) So happy she is gaining weight! She is a little jaundiced still but it isn't bad, not like it was with Zakkai and it will fade soon. She is still beautiful!!

Zakkai took a sudden interest in her since yesterday. I put her in the Moby Wrap for the first time and he wanted to "pet" her. He asked me to sit down so he could pet her hands:) Then today I was thrust into regular routine again (my mom left and B's mom doesn't come til Wed) so I took the boys to school and Z really wanted to show her off to his friends! He went over to a little girl and said, "Yesenia, do you want to see our sister?" It was so cute! He has had a bit of a 'tude, too, but it's prob because he has a cold and is still adjusting like the rest of us.

Samuel is doing well. Fascinated with his little sister:) All that preparation work we did over the past several months seem to have paid off!

I am off to catch a few nods of sleep before the little princess wakes up:) Hopefully, if the internet works again, I will have more pics tomorrow!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Bringing Home Baby

We're Home!!

We are adjusting pretty well now. It was so fun to have my family, mugga included, come get us on Friday. Ben had slept at home Thurs night because he had to teach Friday morning before coming to get us so Eliana and I were all alone the whole night. We were ready for company and home!

Here are a few pics:)


 Zakkai "holding" Eliana for the first time:) He is only interested in her sometimes..


Samuel has taken to his 2nd big brotherhood like a duck to water! He is absolutely fascinated with every little aspect of her!

 The pictures all make her look so big but she is teeny tiny! Seeing Ben hold her gives you an idea of how little she is!
 Sleeping Sweet in her hat that Mugga knitted:)
Actually awake for a minute! We had to give her a paci a few times because she is a voracious sucker and mommy needs a break!

 Getting her dressed in her first "real" clothes! She has 1 outfit that fits at the moment and Mugga had to search far and wide to find it:)
Zakkai came down with a cold just in time to bring his sister home. Sigh. He was very emotional when they got to the hospital; just in time for mommy. He definitely is needing some mommy-love!
 Finally dressed in her one mostly-fitting outfit:) So pretty!
 In her carseat all snuggled up, ready to see her home! My mom recovered the carseat for her, which I love and appreciate!
 In the car, sleeping all the way home!
 Samuel was so excited to all be going home together in our van:)
 Zaakai was more excited to be a big helper and carry Eliana's diaper bag
We were greeted with a very special welcome! Mugga and the boys worked hard to decorate the porch for us while daddy was at class!

It was a rough first night with Miss E, who got a little freaked out by my milk coming in (sorry~tmi!) and cried and cried and had all of us up in the middle of the night, except the boys. We all were pretty tired and grumpy all morning but our day steadily improved! We are getting the hang of things slowly and feeling good.

We are so enthralled with this little miracle and amazed by her perfectness! She is a sweet addition to our family and we are so excited to get to know her and to introduce her to family and friends!

Welcome Home, Baby Eliana!

Friday, October 22, 2010

Going Home!

We should be on our way home in about 2 hours! Of course, hospital time that could mean anything...It will be so fun to dress the dollbaby in real clothes..a.k.a. Not a hospital onsie with arms made for a baby gorilla and a diaper that should fit a teeny tiny 6 lb-er:)

We are excited to break out of this joint and see what life at home will be like as a family of 5!! Plus a Mugga:)

Pictures to come!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Introducing...

Miss Eliana Caroline Thomas!!

 Teeny Tiny
 Absolutely precious!
 A Gift
 Our newest joy
 The one who has daddy wrapped around her finger (over and over again)
 The Sleeping Beauty
 With a head full of hair!
 And lots of hats and bows and Mugga love
 And blankets made with love from friends
 Who fits right into her spot in our family..
 The answer to prayer who is adored by her big brothers
 And now has 3 guardians
Our blessing.

Eliana (El-ee-ah-nuh) means "My God has answered"
          We prayed for her for almost a year before finding out she was in my tummy!
Caroline~  named after my Grandma's auntie who raised her
Thomas ~part of our family

Birth Saga...I mean Story to come!!

Monday, October 18, 2010

Waiting...

Well, we are waiting. Wondering why you haven't heard much from me? That's b/c I have been in labor off and on since Saturday night! Things fizzled out after 2 hours on Saturday but I started to feel bad Sunday and went into true labor last night while making dinner.

We went to the hospital when contractions were every 2 minutes and getting intense. The nurse in triage was impressed with all the contractions and said we'd be heading upstairs soon. I was dialating and everything...only to have contractions fizzle out after 10 hours around 4 this morning.

We were sent home in "early labor" and I have been feeling incredibly nauseous and horrible today and yet....baby is still not coming!

Please pray that things can get moving soon, as my mom is already here and we are mentally and physically exhausted. I have a dr's appt tomorrow so we'll see what's happening.

Until then? We wait...

Friday, October 15, 2010

A List

1. Don't let Z push buttons in your car. It may take awhile to figure out how to get your car back to "normal."

2. Don't ever sell stuff back to Once Upon A Child (even if it still has their tags on it). They will gyp you out of lots of money.

3. Laugh at yourself when you pause in mid-sentence during the re-telling of a story and wonder what in the world you are talking about. Or when you walk into the kitchen and spend a full 3 minutes trying to figure out why you were going there in the first place....

4. Bring your camera with you even if you think you won't need it. Chances are the best photo op will come when you don't have the camera!!

5. Eat chocolate every day. It's good for you.

6. Don't take it personally when people tell you that you look like you are about to explode or pop or other not so nice terms. It's for a good reason!

7. Enjoy when your 5 year old wants to go through a kissing/hugging/goodbye routine everyday at school. Before long, he'll be too embarassed to do it and you'll miss it!

8. When your 3 1/2 year old tells you that he needs to go down for a nap right now without even eating lunch because his teacher said he's grumpy, know that there is a story behind it! Take everything he says with a grain of salt:)

9. Soak up the moments when your husband tells you that you are beautiful especially when you don't feel like you are..

10. Take everything one day at a time and then you won't feel so overwhelmed!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Crafty Craze?

Last night I actually left the house for a girl's night! It's been FAR too long since I have done anything like that:) I went to help celebrate a friend's 30th bday at a really neat place: http://www.hotchocolatechicago.com/
Drool, drool, drool at the chocolatey treats! I had this little chocolate souffle that was amazing. Anyways...got back at 11:45pm and circled around and around and around the neighborhood searching for a parking spot. I had to park pretty far away and even though I'm pretty uncomfortable being out at night alone, I feel much safer in this neighborhood!

Needless to say, I'm a bit tired today and slightly more scatterbrained than usual:)
```````````````````````````````````````````````
The boys have been crafty-crazy the past few days! Every afternoon after school they have been coloring, stickering, painting and having a blast!
As you can see from the ultra-cheesy smile shown here:)

Samuel is getting really good at drawing and a lot of his people have bodies now instead of just legs coming out of their heads:) He loves to draw pics of our family, usually with each of us drawn in our favorite color. Daddy is green, Mommy is yellow, Samuel is red and Zakkai is orange. The newest addition, Baby E, has been determined to love pink and is being added in family pics. I have no idea where S would've gotten the pink idea:)

 We have decided to have a Pumpkin Day on Saturday to celebrate fall! We are going to go get real pumpkins (although these paper plate pumpkins are awfully cute!), eat pumpkiny food and...well, anything pumpkin-ish! The boys are very excited!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Tuesday-Monday

Doesn't it totally throw you when  you have a Monday off and Tuesday is the "first day" of the week?! Especially when you have pregnancy brain, too:)

Speaking of preggo-brain. I have a very severe case of it. And on top of THAT, add a couple of kids and a crazy schedule and I'm....well, I'm plain nuts!

Examples you ask? 1) The other day while at the store, I very carefully tore out a coupon that I had been saving especially to buy something. I worked long and hard to tear it out and handed it triumphantly to the cashier only to have her glance at it with a confused expression and say, "Um, I need the bar code to scan this coupon..." I tore out everything but the bar code! I felt awfully silly:)

2) Last week, I was in the usual morning rush of getting the boys to school. I usually munch on breakfast in between getting the boys fed and packing S's lunch. I ate a peach, threw half a bagel in the oven....only to rush out of the house without eating it! I didn't realize my error until I was walking the boys in. I didn't have a chance to run home as I had my now weekly check-up immediately after. No problem, I thought to myself. I'll just call Ben and have him take out the bagel before the house burns down!

If only my dear, sometimes absent minded professor of a husband, had his phone nearby.....I, being slightly extra emotional and hormonal, freaked out thinking I was going to return to a pile of ashes instead of a house and the police ready to arrest me for killing my husband with a blueberry bagel! I kept trying to reach Ben (who, I might add, is under strict orders during these last few weeks of pregnancy to keep his phone nearby!) and finally resorted to calling my mom and having her EMAIL him. I know, crazy right? She kept assuring me that he would be fine and we would laugh about this later. But to make matters worse, he had unplugged the smoke detector the night because it's super-sensitive.

I was very thankful when I returned home to a very much alive husband and a home still standing. I never did get that bagel....


3) Tonight, I laid down with Z for a few minutes at bedtime while we were waiting for Daddy and S to finish homework. We talked for a few minutes and then I sang to him. I was right in the middle of my second round of "Jesus Loves Me" when my mind went totally blank and I forgot the words!! I was quiet for a minute while I went over the song again in my head, trying desperately to remember when Z said, "Mommy, the song isn't done yet." Thankfully, the words came back to me a minute later but it made me afraid. Very afraid...

It's good to laugh at yourself!
```````````````````````````````````````````````
The boys had such a good day today! It's so refreshing to have a day with no time-outs or arguing. Just happy boys! I had my check-up today so B picked up S from school. I got home before they did and they came in with leaves they had picked up on their way home:) Then I got them busy at the table painting and doing crafts and they seriously sat there happily for 1 1/2 hours!! It was so nice to spend time with them and also get some things done. Zakkai only colored on a few things other than his paper and cleaned up with no fuss (he's had a bit of a 'tude lately..)!

The boys raved over dinner many times which made me happy, too:)
`````````````````````````````````````````````
And my check-up went well. I told the Dr (who was also 37 weeks pregnant, go figure!) how very tired I have been and overwhelmed and ....slightly extra emotional and it was nice to hear that I'm normal and not crazy! She was optimistic about baby girl coming sooner than later. I know 3 weeks isn't that long but it sure feels like a long time these days! I can do it, I can do it!
````````````````````````````````
And now I'm off to bed so I can do it all again tomorrow:)

Monday, October 11, 2010

Ways to Pass the Day..

When your hubby's away:

*Having friends over that you haven't seen in awhile.

*Baking banana bread with chocolate chips:)

*Skipping naptime (Z) and letting the boys watch a movie on a special bed on the ground.

*Sneaking away for a  nap while the boys are busy with above activity.

*Making dinner (one for tonight, one to freeze)

*Taking a fall walk with the boys while dinner is baking. Crunching through the leaves and letting the boys pick which way we go!

*Eating quiet dinner with the boys (until napless little one goes funky)

*Putting napless funky one to bed early and hearing no further peeps from him

*Reading stories and singing songs with Samuel

*Quiet "me" time for 1 1/2 hours before husband gets home.

I used to dread long days like this! But it was nice to have a more relaxing day with the boys where we didn't have to rush off to school. I survived!

And now the hubster's home so I'm going to spend time with him. Ciao!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Catching Leaves!

Sorry for the brief blogging hiatus. I have been tir.ed. T-I-R-E-D. The boys had a play date with one of S's classmates on Friday afternoon and then we babysat a friend's little boy for 6 hours yesterday. It was just a lot on top of this already tired pregnant body! But I got to take a nap today so it's good:)

The other day the boys wanted to help clean up the leaves and make a big pile. They had a blast, rake or no rake!

 Seeing how far down I will let him venture...
 Pretending to be a garbage compactor:)
 Z's nest:)
 Gosh, look at that beautiful van in the backround! Oh, sorry. I got distracted... Still so thankful to have that mess over with!
 Mr. Boss telling the little "Garbage Collector" how to pick up leaves...
 Mr. Emotions.
 Can't even remember what it was over, but it lasted about 2 minutes and then he was happily playing again!
Changing the world one leaf at a time..

Followers