Woo the Pumpkin

We enjoyed cutting up a pumpkin this year! Joel, Evie, and the two boys a watch helped us out. We made predictions and observations about the pumkin and did some major exploring. 

We named him Woo. 

No Shame

Eating peanuts in your underwear outside...

Because food is better nude. :) 

She Tuned 4, and Turnt Up!

October 10th, baby girl turned FOUR! Can you believe it?! 

We had a nail polish party, and had a few little friends over. 

This picture was the "was station". Apparently, water tables are an awesome idea. They played here forever! 

One of the other momma's helped me out with the polish bar, and we did many a FABULOUS manicure :) 

One thing I kind of hate is my friends buying my kid gifts. It bugs me. But never the less, she was well loved and adored her gifts .

I'm not sure navy frosting is ever a good idea. :) 

We love you Licious. You are one seriously awesome kid :) 

Foot Massages

Let's be honest, las week was HELL. Monday was errand day, Jared's first day back to school, and shot day for the kids.  Never fun. I had a flu shot done, and I got so sick from it! I mean, DOWN for the count sick. Not fun! On top of it all, my parents came for a visit, and the kids were just plain mean to me. Like, walk I to my bedroom (out of the clear blue) and say, "I really hate you mom. You're the worst" type mean. 

Lots if tears were shed, and some forgiveness had to happen, but we're pretty much back in one piece. 

Now you may understand my surprise when this morning, Eve came into my room this morning while I was getting ready and she plopped down and said, "you deserve a foot massage."

It's the little things that make it so much better, you know? 

Homeschooling

We have made the decision in our family to homeschool our children. I have an EXTREMELY supportive husband, and a pretty good village that surrounds us. This decision has been more easily said than done. Because this pregnancy was difficult at the beginning, it made homeschooling a trial. I think in general it's a process, but ours has been uphill pretty much our whole journey. Lately, especially coming home from Christmas break, life, in general, has been difficult. Adjusting back to real life hasn't been easy. Lots of tears have been shed, and prayers lifted to Heavenly Father. This week has gone so much smoother. Not picture perfect, but well. 

I snapped this picture to remind me that sometimes, tracing the word "for" is a victory. Joel is a good, smart boy. He's my man :) 

Baby Toney

Well, if you're not interested in graphic content, maybe skip to the end. 

On Wednesday, I woke up with my underwear soaked in blood. Naturally, we were concerned. I actually had my babysitting baby already at my door step, so I kind of had to work. Anyway, I called Jared and he rushed home. He helped me with the sitter kid and I was able to rest. During this time, we both had no idea what to do. I don't have an OB yet so I couldn't call him, I have no insurance, and I didn't want to wait in an ER if I didn't need to. Well, we got council from the dula I'm planning to hire, and went to a women's hospital with an emergency triage. We saw the doctor and she told us she was concerned about a few things: one, placenta previa which is a condition where the placenta has attached low in the uterus. It usually corrects it's self but needs to be monitored. Second, miscarriage or my body attempting to miscarry. Third, a compromised cervix which would mean sewing my cervix closed and bed rest until delivery. Third was blood clots. And fourth was nothing. Just a freak passing of blood. Most situations were tolerable with the right interventions. 

The first procedure they did was an initial ultra sound. Was the baby still there? And WHEW! The baby was! She couldn't get a good read of the placenta so she ordered an inter-vaginal read as well. She checked my cervix for bleeding and compromise and her initial check came bac negative. 

I was taken to ultra sound and we sighed a huge sigh of relief when we saw the baby move and that the heartbeat was strong (160bpm)! My placenta was attached and in a high position. And as far as the tech could tell, my cervix was tight. 

Then, we waited. And waited. And waited! We waited three hours for the radiology department to read the scans. Then, we had news. I have a blood clot between my placenta and uterus. Sub chorionic hematoma. A few things to consider with the blood clot. One, I have an increased risk of premature birth or miscairrage. Two, it could get bigger. It could get smaller. It could stay the same. It could disappear. If it get's smaller or stays the same, we monitor. If it get's bigger I'll probably go on be rest. And I'll have a c section early. Three, it goes away and all is well. 

We went home slightly relieved, and slightly worried. The biggest relief was seeing our baby. The baby has a heart beat. The baby is healthy. I just have to keep myself that way. I had a blessing and Jared was so sweet.. He's been nothing but hopeful and kind. 

I'm just being patient for May. 

Taekwando

Joel recently graduates from orange belt to yellow belt! He was an is very proud of his accomplishment. We are, too. Taekwando ha been so good for Joel. We're so grateful for all the instructors and Wrigths ATA!