Silhouette Machine Giveaway

Check out grosgrain for an awesome Silhouette Machine Giveaway!!! This machine looks so cool and would make some great christmas cards and presents!

Books

Hello, my name is Jenn, and I am a book addict. I love reading fiction. I always have. I thank my mom who, when I was younger, used to lay in bed with me at night, before I went to sleep, and read books like The Hobbit to me. I would miss the bus to school because I was so absorbed in my reading -- and I'm still that way. I have to limit how many books I read so that I will be a good mom and wife. Often I will sacrifice sleep to get in some reading time (OK, maybe not lately. Sleep is a precious commodity right now!)

So, I've recently finished writing a book of my own. It is a YA fantasy fiction and I am probably about a week or two away from being ready to send it out to agents and publishers! I am really excited about it! Even if it never gets published (though I hope it does!) I feel such a sense of accomplishment just having done it, and it is so nice, as a mom, having a little world of my own to escape to for a little while each day! If any of you knows of any agents or publishers that I might be able to contact, please let me know!

I am also thinking about starting a book review blog. Just my own thoughts and opinions about the books I read. It's just an idea right now, we'll see. And if anyone out there is writing something of their own, there is this really cool blog called The Bookshelf Muse. The writer has created all these amazing descriptive thesaurus. You should check it out!

Leave a comment and let me know what some of your favorite books are! I'm always looking for something new to read:)

Canaan's birth

Ok, so I am FINALLY posting after months! Crazy, I know! It's been a little busy, getting used to having two kiddos! So, here it is, by popular demand, Canaan's birth story. Be forewarned, it is long!...

From about 30 weeks on I had pregnancy induced high blood pressure, so they decided to induce me at 40 weeks. When I went into the hospital I wasn't dilated or effaced at all. I hadn't been having any contractions. If they hadn't induced me, I'm sure this kid would have stayed in there all the way to 42 weeks, which would have been fine with me because honestly I wasn't that uncomfortable. Seriously, if it hadn't of been for the blood pressure thing and having to go to the dr. two to three times a week at the end, it would have been the world’s easiest pregnancy ever.

So I went in Thursday night (day 1). The hospital I went to does inductions really slowly, to make them as natural as possible, so my midwife warned me it could be a two or three day process, but I have to admit I didn't really believe her. Because I wasn't effaced or dilated, they decided to prep me with some medicine called cervadil first. I stayed overnight and had to be hooked up to the fetal monitors because of the medicine, so I was basically confined to the bed. After 12 hours, nothing had happened, so they decided to do another round of 12 hours. Needless to say I was pretty bummed out. After another 12 hours, still nothing had happened, so they were going to let me rest for the night (Friday night, day 2) and we would start with pitocen the next morning.

Saturday morning, they took me over to labor and delivery bright and early, and started me on a low dose of pitocen. The bad news was that I had to stay on the fetal monitors, but the good news was that they had a portable system, so I was able to get up and walk around. I wasn't stuck to the bed.

It was no big deal at first, mild contractions every several minutes, but by around 12:00 they were getting really close together and a lot stronger. The midwife put something in to irritate my cervix and help me dilate, and by around 2:00 I was dilated 2.5 cm. By 6:00, the nurses told me the midwife was on her way to check on me and if I wasn't at 4 cm yet they were going to stop the pitocen for the night to give my uterus a break and start again in the morning. By this time my contractions were like 1-2 minutes apart, so I was sure I was at like 6 cm or something. When she checked me, I was still at 2.5. I was so upset!

The next day we started again at 5am. It was similar to the previous day, but harder. I was able to get into the tub, which helped a little bit. By around 2:30 I pretty much broke down emotionally and cried off and on until 6pm. My contractions were coming like every minute, and by this time I was just done. I didn't even care if I ended up win a c-section. At the end of the day they took me off the pitocen and checked me. I was at 4cm. Totally depressing. The plan for the next day was to break my water, so one way or another he was coming out.

We started the pitocen again at around 5 on Monday. I had decided during the night that I wanted an epidural that day. I just couldn't handle going through another day like the one before. The midwife came in at 8am and broke my water. I told her I wanted an epidural and she encouraged me to wait until the contractions really started going, so that it wouldn't slow anything down. She left and the contractions started going really strong really fast. I didn't feel like I was getting any at all break between them. I couldn't sit still, all I could do was walk in laps around the room. At around 9am I told the nurse I wanted the epidural. Unfortunately there were a ton of people getting c-sections that day, so it took over an hour for the anesthesiologist to come.

I had been really nervous about the epidural. I HATE needles and I was really paranoid that it wouldn't work and then I wouldn't be mentally prepared to go the rest of the time without it, but it turned out to be no big deal and within minutes I was feeling better. I was so excited to just be able to just hang out with Filipe and my mom, watch movies and enjoy the experience. About 30 minutes after I got the epidural I started feeling light headed and nauseous. Before long I was throwing up and all I could do was lay motionless with my eyes closed. So much for just partying the rest of the time! The nurse said that some people just get sick as their labor progresses. I threw up off and on for the rest of the day. It was crazy for me because I NEVER throw up. I didn't even have any morning sickness.

By around 7pm I was FINALLY dilated enough to push. I pushed for over two hours (and still threw up a couple times during the pushing!). Canaan was born at 9:45pm and weighed 7lbs 14oz. Shlioh wasn't supposed to visit (no one over the age of 12 was allowed on the floor because of H1N1), but we snuck her in a couple of times. We managed to be released 24 hours after he was born. I was so glad! I felt so bad for Shiloh because by this time we had been in the hospital for 5 days and she had only ever been away from us for one night at a time!

It has been a little crazy going from one to two kids. Shiloh has been amazing with him! She hasn't really had any adjustment issues and is such a sweet big sister. I told her that one day Canaan will get bigger and they will be able to play with each other, so she has been making a lot of comments about how big he is getting and that one day he'll play with her. She loves to help with him! Her favorite thing to do is pick out his diapers (they have Sesame Street characters on them).

Canaan has been growing like crazy! He is now over 13 lbs! He is in the 50th percentile for height and between the 90th and 97th percentile for weight! He really is a very easy baby. He hardly cries and is smiling and cooing like crazy. We are still working on the sleeping through the night thing, but he is getting better. It has really been amazing having two kids! It's amazing how much room you have in your heart to be able to love them both so much!

The Pod Swaddler Pattern GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

It has been forever since i have posted! I have kind of become more of a facebooker. Crazy I know! So what has inspired me to blog after so long? This super cute swaddler...The Pod Swaddler Pattern GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!. You can also check it out on this website, While They Sleep.

I am now 6 1/2 months along and the pregnancy has been going great so far! I am starting to feel the exhaustion a bit more, but other than that I've been doing pretty good. The little guy has been kicking a ton! We have been talking to Shiloh about it a lot, but the other day she got to feel and see him moving for the first time, and I think it has helped her understand a little bit more. She is talking about the baby in mommy's belly a lot lately, and sometimes she will just come up and put her hand on my belly to feel it. So cute!

We are in the midst of potty training, and so far she has been doing great! I'm still not brave enough to take her out of the house without a diaper, but we are getting there! Next step, moving to a toddler bed.

Boston

We had a great but exausting time in Boston! It was so fun getting to walk everywhere and take the metro, it almost felt like being in Europe again. We all stayed in my brothers apartment in Harvard square, so we were right in the middle of the action. I didn't realize how much being pregnant would affect me, but I was dragging as we went all over the place! Shiloh was such a trooper! She was so good, had so much fun with all the family and just took everything in stride. It was such a relief to get out of the Oklahoma heat and be back in high 60's to 70 degree weather again! Summer is not my favorite time of year! Andrew's graduation was beautiful and we were so happy that we got to be there to celebrate with him! Congrats bro!!!

I have started to feel our little guy moving a lot more, and this morning Filipe even felt him kick on the outside! It is so fun to know he is growing and it is all making it feel more real to me! We are more than half way there! I think we finally made a decision about a name, but I'm not sure if we are going to put it on our blogs yet. It just feels a little weird putting it out there on the internet. We'll see.

New man in my life

So this week we had our first official ultrasound and we found out that we are having a... BOY!!!

Here is his little profile. He is puckering his lips like he's giving a kiss. So cute!

Filipe has been certain through the whole pregnancy that it was a boy. It's going to be a fun new adventure since Shiloh is such a girly girl! Mostly I am excited to finally be able to buy some things for this little guy, just in time for Boston! H&M here I come!

We are still working on the name, although we are getting a little closer. It is so much easier to focus now that we only have to come up with one name instead of two theoretical names.

We leave for Boston in the morning (at 5 am!)! Pray for a good trip!

1 year ago....

A year ago we were visiting Shiloh,
our long awaited girl,
for the second time,
but this time...
to be with her forever.

It was a moment to remember,
knowing that the waiting was over,
that she would never be far,
but in our arms forever;
and knowing that that now
we would have all the time in the world
to be with her,
to know her,
and to love her.

Today, 1 year later,
there are so many memories,
and the bond between the 3 of us is so big,
that its hard to believe
that its only been 1 year.
I am so in love with this little girl!

and all I can say is
God is so good!