100,000

Back in September 2011, I posted about the 88,888 miles we had travelled in our van. We bought it new. We put every single mile on that van. In September 2005, some time in the afternoon that 2006 Van was rolled off the delivery truck. They hadn't even pulled all the delivery stickers and tape off of it yet and we signed papers to drive it home.

 I am not going to lie I felt like I was driving a tank. Earlier last month we reached the 100,000 mile mark. I was so caught up in the everyday events of our life to even notice. Phil finally had some time at home, so he did a little tune up on her before we left for Family Weekend to Mason and noticed the numbers had turned. To be honest, I liked the fact I didn't notice.

If we aren't careful we can spend our whole lives worried about the numbers and what they mean. Until Madelynn had her surgery I always worried about the "numbers" and every little detail they represented. While Madelynn was recovering, the nurses were constantly telling me, "Don't look at the numbers look at your daughter."

That phrase rings so true in too many aspects in life. I know sometimes the little details are incredibly important but if I spent all my days on the little details I would miss the big picture. I want to share my big picture.....

Quick side note......sometimes I have difficulty and am technically challenged. I recently figured out how to link my phone to my laptop to transfer pictures. To most this is an easy task but I finally just spent the time two hours exactly and educated myself. Because of my recent education I can share the following......

This is Madelynn's Heart 10/12/2008.

In a recent visit to Madelynn's Pulmunologist, he showed me x-rays from the day the Urgent Care Doctor realized there was a problem (the one saved her life). Her heart was boot-shaped, deformed from lack of blood flow. The only reason this x-ray was taken was to rule out a different condition.

This is a picture of Madelynn's Heart last week (7/5/12)

The second x-ray is from the week before her appointment to the pulmunologist. You can clearly see how much she has grown but her heart has also re-shaped. This is that bigger picture that brings me so much JOY!!!

The side view from 7/5/12 that shows the reminder.

If you look closely at the this third x-ray along the breast bone you will see the metal wire wrapped around her when they broke it to repair her heart. We were told the bone would eventually infuse over the wire but I don't think it will ever disappear from a x-ray.

We have come so far in 100,000+ miles. We bought the van because our CRV just couldn't manage our two car seats and everything else you need for a 2 month and 21 month old children (Madelynn wasn't even a thought at the time). The van has seen beautiful beach filled coastlines and crazy bitter winter weather. It has heard hoards of crazy laughter and silently cruised as tears streamed down.

Hopefully, with Phil's mechanic background it will easily last another 100,000.

For those of you, wanting an update on Madelynn's Pulmuology appointment. We did not get any bad news but still nothing concrete. They did do a quick lung study that confirmed her lungs appeared to be functioning normally. There is a more detailed study they will do around her birthday next year. If she is cooperative they will be able to tell how much nerve damage there is from the collapsed lung and paralysis in her diaphragm she suffered days after her heart repair.

The doctor's best estimation is that the nerve damage will be minimal. The best explanation he gave was that she will be allowed to play sports but she would never be a marathon runner. We will know more next year. In the meantime, we will do our best to keep her healthy and enjoy all the every day moments with all of our children. Spending the days enjoying the bigger picture and worrying about the details as they occur and not let life control us with them.

TTFN~

Things I have learned Part:3

Sometime last year during the Summer I learned that Madelynn's heart surgeon had left the hospital. I was very disappointed. This doctor had a little place in his heart for Madelynn. I wanted him to see her succeeding in life. I wanted him to see that his extraordinary gift and talent of repairing these tiny little hearts created incredible joy.

One day I was compelled to find this doctor again. I only knew the state and possibly the city he now resided in. Lucky for me his exemplary talent makes him easy to find. I wrote him a letter telling him of her amazing progress (including pictures) and thanking him because with out him surly she would have died.

Stunningly enough he hand-wrote a letter back. I never expected to hear back from him, not to mention to take the time out of his insanely busy schedule to hand write the letter. He even addressed the letter himself. Today a copy of the letter I wrote and his response letter are in Madelynn's treasure box.

Since that letter I found out when we were at heart camp that he is now plays a major role in the pediatric cardiothoracic surgery at Boston's Children's Hospital. For those that don't know, in his field this is the ultimate, cream of the crop, you can't get better than this position. I was very excited for him.

For whatever reason, one day several months later it finally struck me. In God's infinite master plan, Madelynn was to be born when she was because this doctor would be there to save her life. Not only did he save her life but we were told on her birthday this year that the repair was executed in such stellar fashion you can almost not tell it was ever repaired or broken to begin with.

On top of that, we took her to the urgent care to see the doctor who initially found her CHD. Madelynn was treated for a sinus infection a few weeks ago and when he was listening to her heart he said looking at her today you can't tell anything was ever wrong with her heart.

"Suddenly the things that seemed so certain, prove themselves to have been stepping stones not the destination."

This is so true on so many levels.

There are truly no words to express how humbled I am that as I was screaming at God for giving me a child and with a broken heart to boot; He already had everyone in place to save her life and change mine forever.

TTFN~

Things I have learned Part:2

Over the last two years I can tell you I have felt the true definition of Rage and Defeat. To have Rage and Anger over take you is very exhausting. Sometimes you have to let it takes it's course and get it out or you can not move on.

It is no secret that I was really angry when I found out that I was pregnant with Madelynn. Don't get me wrong all children are a gift from God. But I already had two truly beautiful gifts and a third was just plain selfish. There are hundreds even thousands of families begging God everyday for the gift of a child why did I need another one. Still not understanding why I accepted it and moved one so I could have a healthy pregnancy.

The Rage and Anger set in a few days after Madelynn's surgery. Thinking....more like yelling at God, "So you insist that I have this child and then she is born with a broken heart...talk about unreal." I could feel the anger all the way down to my core. To make matters worse she suffered a serious complication and was very sick. The illness was due to the ventilator. I just had to watcher her struggle every day to fight and get well. I was beyond defeat.

If it wasn't for a few friends that would call and check on me the nights I was sleeping at the hospital, I would cry myself to sleep or be so angry in those wee hours of the morning I couldn't sleep. Then one day it was gone. I can not tell you why or how, there was no epiphany that told me she would be alright or maybe there was and I don't remember.

What I do remember is being at peace with the thought that whatever the reason she needed to be born this way....She would live, I mean really live.

Watching her today, her pure joy for life reaches so many people. Seeing strangers in public just smile when they see her, watching her run up and hug the grandmothers I work with who are missing their own grandchildren or just seeing Phil's face light up when she runs to him screaming, "Daddy's Home!" every single day.

I am reminded..... "I should look at life with gratitude; even when things fall apart something greater Always Prevails."

She is my greater that prevailed.

TTFN~

Things I have learned: Part 1

As we are approaching Madelynn's second Heart birthday I wanted to start sharing the things I have learned over the last year.

Shortly after Madelynn's surgery there were many days I would write. I would write letters to Madelynn sharing my exact feelings that day as we were living this terrible nightmare. Until recently I never realized how much I wrote and wrote and wrote.

Last year I decided to make changes in the house as to who was in each room. Phil rolled his eyes and me and I am sure all he could think was, 'what in the world do I need to help with now'. Knowing that look I told him not to worry I did not need his help I would handle it myself. And away I went......

I had to move the girls and re-paint the room to make it Jack's room, move everything out of the bonus room and move the girls in to the bonus room, move the bonus room items into Jack's old room. Sounds simple enough right. It took me about 3 months after work, on days off and any chance I could find. By the time we celebrated Madelynn's first heart birthday I was finished. That is except for a few boxes of stuff I had no idea what to do with.

In hindsight, I suppose this was my therapy on how I kept it together during those ridiculous times.

For almost a year the boxes sat. That is until one day I got sick of looking at them and started going through them. Oh the stuff I found.....gifts from friends I had in another life, a few pictures of much younger days and lots and lots of writings that I knew some day I would do something with.

At a Levine Cardiac Kids meeting there was a therapist that came in an spoke. Not about the parents or child's heart journey but about the other healthy children in the house and how you can help them cope and bring the closest thing to normalcy into your home as much as possible. She really was a great speaker and I learned so much that evening.

Then one thing stopped me in my tracks. 'For all of you parents who are dealing with this on a regular basis remember you were chosen for this job'

CHOSEN.....are you kidding me. There are many things in life I want to be chosen for but this was not one of them. I want to be chosen to win awards and be acknowledged for all of my hard work and success'. This was not what I had in mind. But I suppose what I had in mind was not the road I was to travel.

When I looked up the definition of the word chosen I came up with ...preferred above others....once I accepted that life changed. I was chosen above all others to be Madelynn's Mom. To get her healthy again I had my work cut out for me.

I learned that no was not in my vocabulary and no matter what the result, we could always do better. In less than a year, Madelynn went from being a very sick, 5 month old who could not hold her head up and not being able to keep a bottle down to......walking, talking, learning to love, eggs, peanut butter and chicken nuggets.

What I supposed I learned most is the following........

"I am challenged to receive life just as it is to experience all that is serene and all that is difficult."

TTFN~

In case you needed a smile...........

In trying to convince Jack to try on clothes to see what fit and what was too big...this photo was the result. He wanted no part of overalls till I explained that fire fighters wore them to put out fires. He told me I had to wait a minute.....he could not try on overalls (that fire fighters wore) without his fire hat. I couldn't do anything but laugh.

Busted!!!!!! I received the slippers Katie's wearing as a Christmas present last year. However know one loves them more than my flip flop princess. The second I take then off she puts them on. I was taking Jack's picture and I caught here putting them on. Katie was so excited that someone makes Flip Flop slippers. Now I have to find her some.

I am not even sure where to begin with this photo but I love it!!! One deep left dimple.....can you look at this photo without laughing????

And finally.....I was working on the computer and Maddie was with me sleeping on the bed in the bonus room. I happen to look over and she is out cold sleeping with her arm straight up in the air. Not sure I want to know what she was dreaming about.

Maddie had her one month check up. She was 9lbs 12oz and 22 inches long. She is in the 70th percentile for her weight and 75 percentile for her height. We grow 'em big in the Addler household. She didn't get any shots this visit. They start in the next visit. The Doctor said she looked great.

Jack goes back to the ENT Dr for his follow up to his surgery. After his emergency room episode he has been doing great. Which of course is what the on call ENT Dr told us would happen. He is doing pretty good at school. He has been eating all of his dinner, every night. Dinner is a lot more fun for everyone now that it doesn't hurt to eat. Now we just have to wait for the growth spurt to happen. Constant infections (strep, tonsilitis, etc) actually slows growth down. At his annual check up in July Jack had only grown an inch (one inch) in a year. We'll see where he is in six months.

Katie on the other hand, had a huge growth spurt over the summer. Clothes I bought her in the spring and early summer no longer fit her. I went to a consignment sale a few weeks ago and bought Katie and Jack some clothes. I bought Jack's stuff in 4t knowing of the possible growth spurt. Katie I bought in 5t hoping it would last till late spring when it starts to get really warm. Most of it fits her now. I was stunned, hopefully it lasts the whole winter. The wastes were all a little big nothing a belt can't cure but all of the lengths fit perfect now. Well see.....TTFN - Chels

praying for a rut

Most of us get into a rut and want desparately to get out. We get tired of getting up going to work coming home getting into a rut of the same thing day after day after day. Right now I would love to have a life like that. In the last thirty days our life has been so ridiculous I would love to shut the world out for just a day maybe two to re-energize.

We have given birth to a new baby girl. While I was in the hospital we made an appointment for Jack to see the ENT Dr three days after I was released from the hospital. Six days after that appt with the ENT Dr he had surgery having his tonsils removed. Two weeks after the surgery we were in the ER because Jack had a minor complication from the surgery. The scabs from his surgery fell off and he was bleeding and swallowing the blood. Well, his body treated the blood he was swallowing like a foreign object that did not belong and the natural reaction was to throw it up. In between all of this we had lots of Family in town. Phil's parents, sister and niece, my sister and her husband and three girls, and my brother. Not everyone stayed with us but it has been ridiculous. Not to mention I have been working from home some, Jack was home with me for 10 days......Oh Yea Madelynn has been with me too. Gratefully, she is sleeping a ton.

By Monday night I had just had enough could not sleep and had a melt down in Jack's room. He is having a side effect to the anesthesia and having nightmares. He is screaming in his sleep. It scares me awake and I go running in his room. Well I was working late, catching up paperwork and he started screaming in his sleep. You can't touch him when the episode starts it scares him awake and he screams and cries really loud. The only thing I can do is get as close to him as possible and talk to him. If I just talk really slow and soft in his ear he calms down and goes back to sleep. When the episode was over I could take no more and just cried in his room, I don't even know for how long.

Thankfully, the episodes are coming to an end. He is not having as many so it is wearing off. However, sitting in his room I remembered my first Mother's day. I had to take Katie to the ER. When you go to this particular ER you have to stand at this line until they tell you you can cross it waiting to be helped. There was this lady who came in before us. She was in obvious pain and sitting in a chair because she could not stand. When they saw me holding a baby, no one else mattered but Katie. They took her immeadiately. I was in my own world and never thought twice about her until we were leaving. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about this lady and hope that she is okay because she had to wait for us before she could be seen.

Well while we were waiting in the ER for Jack to to be seen. Same Hospital but they now have a Children's Wing with it's own ER. A lady comes in with her sick autistic son. He was frightened and could not communicate. I felt really bad. The mother just wanted to help her son but he was so frightened he was screaming. She was crying trying to help him. Needless to say they took him first even though he had come in last. I did not mind waiting a few extra minutes. It makes me feel kind of silly for having my own melt down in Jack's room. My life is nothing compared to what some other mothers have to do in a single day.

I just need to remember that the grass is not always greener on the other side. I am very blessed to have three beautiful children. Eventually, I will be in that day to day rut of working and coming home and things will calm down. Hopefully, you are thankful for what you have.

One little funny side note to my pure exhaustion. I fed Maddie one morning about six and she went back to sleep. Usually, I stay up but I went back to bed for awhile. Laying in bed I was in and out of sleep and the baby monitor was on. All of the sudden, I hear a tapping on the baby monitor like someone checking a microphone and a young child yelling mama. I sat up in bed, collected my thoughts, "Katie and Jack are in school it is just me and Maddie at home and she can't talk I must have been dreaming." I lay back down now awake and out of the monitor I hear, "MAMA!!" I know Maddie can't talk but I jump out of bed and check on her anyway. She was out cold sleeping. It was feed back from another monitor in the neighborhood. It gave Phil a good laugh. I suppose I need to get more sleep. TTFN

Maddie

There is so much to say that it would be a ginormous blog so I will break it up into a few. Madelynn had her 1st doctor check up Monday 8/18/08. She gained 10 oz and not quite 1/4 of an inch. She is only waking once in the evening, which I am very grateful for. She is quite the eater. Right now she is still just eating, sleeping and pooping. She and Katie are sharing a room and I am very surprised that neither wakes the other up. We also found out that Maddie no longer has the fluid around her kidneys. She relieved it out of her system after she was born. The doctor said it was not a concern anymore. Will post more later. TTFN

Madelynn Rose and her new home

Well, Maddie and mommy made it home Friday afternoon. We have had lots of visitors to see our new edition. However Maddie has no idea she just eats, sleeps and poops. Not necessarily in that order. Katie and Jack really do love her to death. They want to play with her so bad and can't understand why she can't run, jump and talk yet. They are very helpful. If I could just get the acting out for attention to settle down. I think once everyone has gone and we start to get into a routine it will be better for them.

For those of you who don't know Madelynn Rose Addler was born 8/6/08 at 10:01pm. She was 7lbs 15oz and 20.75 in long. She is only waking once during the night but she hasn't even been home a week. We had one crazy night I think I walked two miles in her room. I am most thankful that Katie is a pretty heavy sleeper. She has now idea that we are coming in to take care of Maddie she just sleeps the night away.

I will post more one the house settles down and gets into a routine. TTFN - Chels

Finally!!!

After much thought, discussion and disagreement we have finally come up with a name for baby girl Addler................Madelynn Rose (call her Maddie for short). So we will have Katie, Jack and Maddie. It all seems to flow. Hopefully she will agree when she is old enough to tell us.

We had a Dr appt today. The doctor does not believe in inducing labor as she is not growing as quickly as originally thought. She is still going to be a little big but they do not believe she will be as big as Jack Jack. He does believe she will be early and not wait till the 8/11/08 due date. So, hopefully it will be sometime around the 1st weekend in August. I really want her to have a separate birth month. This way way each one of the kids have their own birth month.

We did have a great time at Jack's 3rd birthday party this past weekend. I will hopefully get pics posted and tell you all about it in the next few days. TTFN-Chels

Dr visit and other things

Well we went to the dr today and new girl weighs approx 6lbs and 15oz. Let me repeat that 6lbs and 15oz. Yes almost 7lbs!! We technically have 5 weeks to go and she can gain anywhere from 1/2 to 1 lb a week. Needless to say when I go back to the dr in 2weeks we will be discussing inducing labor August 1st. I wish I would have had a camera on Phil's face when the tech told us how much she weighed. It was pretty priceless. She still has a little fluid around around her kidneys but not alot to worry about. It may go away right after she is born but they told us she can have an ultrasound after she is born to check it out.

Jack has offically moved to the red room which means he is potty trained enough for the schools liking. He still wears a diaper at night. He sleeps so heavily we will cross the that bridge later. He loves his new classroom. He is such a chatterbox when I pick him up about everything he did that day. His two friends Harry and Hannah are in there too so it makes it much easier for him. This is the most excited I have seen him about school. He can't wait to get there in the morning and talks about it all the time. He is much more vocal because they are now challanging him and he really enjoys it.

As for Katie, we have been working on her writing and spelling. Anytime she get paper and a writing utensil she is she is writing her name. She and I are still working on three letter words. Telling me the letters and I tell her the word so she can start to recognize them. Katie won't move into the Purple room (like a pre-k) till fall. So now she just spends some of her time in there and some in the yellow (reg room). If I could get her to stop running in the classroom and to keep her shoes on she would be doing great. I had to punish her and not allow her to wear flip flops to school for two weeks because she would not leave them on nor would she stop running.

We will be spending 4th of July at one of Phil's friends up at Lake Norman for the day. We were going to go to the annual Indian Trail Parade but it is supposed to be really hot and Phil doesn't want to go sit in it. The kids love it and they come home with a basket full of candy. Maybe next year. Other than that we still have some baby preparations to do and more importatly we have to get ready for Jack's birthday. He will finally be three. It seems like he has been two forever. Hope everyone is doing well and has a peaceful 4th. TTFN

as of 7/3/08

Our pool is up.

Due too water restrictions we can only water, wash our cars, etc on Sundays. So we put the pool up Sunday and filled it. Well I should say Katie and Daddy put the pool up. Jack just got in the way and caused Daddy a little grief. It was cute though, the kids were very excited. Of course they could not get in it till Monday. Knowing that when they looked out the window every 10 minutes and it was still there was worth the wait. The best part about the pool this year is that Katie ans Jack are both tall enough to stand anywhere in the pool. Makes me a little less nervous.
The weather and gas prices have kept us very close to home. I have been taking the kids out side between 7:30 and 9:00 in the morning so they can play and it isn't too dangerous for any of us to be out. At that time it is still already 80 degrees out. For the last week it has been anywhere from 95 to over 100 degrees everyday. Lets not forget the added heat index to make it feel like 105 to 110 degrees. I am not really sure there really is a difference between 100 and 110. If someone knows please let me know. We have just had to be creative and keep the kids in the coolest part of the house.
Jack has been doing very well at school with potty training. Right now we and the school are just working to get him to one accident a week. It's hard being two almost three, and remembering to stop playing to go pee. Most of Jack's accidents happen while he is trying to get on the potty not in the middle of the class room. Which is great he us almost there. Right now for us he is taking his afternoon nap and waking up dry so we have been letting him sleep in his spiderman's. He thinks it is so cool.
Katie is great. We have been working in the driveway with her sidewalk chalk on her abc's and putting the letters together to make words. She is working on writing the letters which is very cute. She will advance to the last room (purple) before kindergarten, sometime this fall and start kindergarten next fall (09). She has been talking about the purple room and the teachers and how much she likes them. She spends a few hours a week in the purple room now. I think like Jack she too is looking for a challenge.
The other day I washed all the tub toys in the washer with some hot water and a little bleach. However proactive I was being, it did not work for Katie too well when her purple Hippo was now PINK with a PURPLE snout. She asked me what happen to them when she got in the tub. I also had one of those fizzy purple salt tablets that fizzed in the water and made it purple. I thought it would be fun for her. But think about it in her 4 year old mind. Mommy made the purple hippo pink, and my bath water purple.........It took me 10 minutes to convince her that I was not going to turn her hair purple when I washed it. LOL
Baby Girl is still keeping me on my toes. The Doctor told me last Thursday that she is still sideways and still needs to move head down. The doctors I think are realizing she will be big. My belly is measuring bigger than the amount of weeks I am. In some cases I have grown out of my maternity clothes. I have gained about 37 lbs so far. I gained 40 lbs each time with Katie and Jack. So it isn't too far off. I am not sure how long I will work carrying this watermelon though. Daddy is having lots of fun with his jokes. Pretty soon he won't be able to joke about and I still weight less than he does.
Anyway, all is well and we are just trying to stay cool. Keep in touch. TTFN

Monday afternoon

For the past two days I had not been feeling well. Late Monday morning I was feeling really bad. I was very short of breath, having weird pains and bad acid reflux. The shortness of breath was really bothering me. I called the Doctor and they told me to go to the emergency room.
When I got to the emergency room they were too nervous to work with a pregnant lady so they sent me to the maternity ward. I was glad to be up there at least I knew they knew to worry about the baby too. I wasn't sure what was wrong but I knew they wouldn't miss anything.
After about four hours of being there all they could tell me was the following.... Little girl was up high, very high because of that I could not catch my breath. She is also either laying sideways or feet down which was causing my discomfort and weird pains. Because of all of these things it also caused my horrible acid reflux. Basically, by the time I left I felt better because I had laid down for a few hours. But there is really nothing anyone can do but let her get moved around into the right position and wait till she is ready to come out.
They are expecting her to be a big baby which also doesn't help. At my last ultrasound they said if they based the due date on what she was measuring they would move the due date up 3 weeks. However they feel that she is in NO danger so we came home. I have a follow up appt Thursday afternoon so we will see what they say. I have at least 7 weeks left before she would be okay. I am due in about 9 weeks.
In the hospital, she was moving around so much they couldn't keep the fetal monitor on her and had to keep adjusting plus she was kicking everything. The one nurse kept calling her a little rascal. It was cute. It brought a little humor to the afternoon. Other that that we are okay and just counting down the days. TTFN

Katie and Jack

Well I already told you about New Girl. No we have not decided on a name yet. But I have not told you about Katie and Jack. The are doing well as you can tell by the photos they are growing like weeds. Grandma and Grandpa Covey are here visiting and enjoying every minute. Jack has been a real challenge at his school the last 3 to 4 weeks and we have had to talk to the director a few times about his behavior. However, if we just keep working with him day after day after day he is getting much better. (Phil and I are exhausted though) One of the problems is that he is very smart and both the school and Phil and I have had major challenges outsmarting him. Right now our major goal is to get him completely potty trained. Once that happens he can go into the 3 year old class even though he won't be 3 for about 2 months. He needs bigger challenges and until we get him completely potty trained he has to stay in the younger class. He does pretty well with it. But hopefully with the help from the school in about 2-3 more weeks he can move classrooms. Spiderman underwear boxers seem to help too. Sometimes the results are slow but things are getting better.
As for Katie she is thriving if I could just get her to be a little bit less rebellious. I am sure most of it has to do with our attention on Jack. So we have promised trips to the park on the weekends as long as the reports are good from school. She loves to paint and draw. I get a lot of pictures from school and you see her abilities change in what she draws. It is fun to watch. Mostly for Katie she is like her Mommy. She is a yard bird. She doesn't need to go alot of places just let her play outside and go to the park once in a while. Thankfully the park is only a few miles from the house.
As for Phil and I exhauseted doesn't even do it justice. Working all day, spending what precious time we have left with the kids. One thing that seems to help is that we eat dinner at the table together EVERY night. TV goes off, we don't anwser the phone and we talk to Katie and Jack over dinner about what ever they want to talk about. Some nights it is very fun and we laugh a lot. Who knows if we will be able to keep it up once new girl comes along but we will try.
Things are going some days it seems very slowly and other days flying right by. Example Katie will be 5 this year and will hopefully start pre school next year. YIKES!!! It is still fun to watch her thrive though. Hope everyone is doing well. We only have about ten weeks left. I am so tired of feeling like a beached whale. TTFN

baby (girl) #3

Yes, I know I need to post more often. We had a Dr appt today with lots of things going on. We had the O'Sullivan Test (diabetes). We have no results on it; I'm sure they will contact me if the is a problem. We also had an ultrasound to check on the placenta. For those that don't know, the placenta was blocking the birth canal and needed to move over. It did. If it moved over just a little bit more would be better but it is OK. The tech was nice enough to give us a a few 3d photos of her so I have attached one. Watching her in 4d was very cool. There is a little fluid around her kidneys but that is something the pediatrician can check with an ultrasound when she is born. The OB does not think it is anything serious. It would have to be double the amount to cause concern. If they based her due date off of her size they would change her due date to July 26th. She is about 3.5 lbs which is a big girl. But they are keeping to a 8/11/08 due date right now. FYI do not buy any newborn clothes or diapers. The last few dr visits I had not gained any weight maybe 1lb but not really any. Today, I had gained 12 lbs. The nurse was really shocked but when she saw my lack of weight gain the total over all weight gain was normal. So, everthing is going well just very tired. I'll send another post with pics of Katie and Jack this weekend. TTFN

In case you were wondering....

The last two weeks have been busy so I figured I needed to catch everybody up. Jack went back to the ENT doctor to have his ears checked from surgey. One of his tubes is already blocked so we are treating it with drops the doctor gave us to help move the blockage out. The weather has been pretty decent that the kids have been outside alot without it being too hot. Of course Phil and I have been blessed with a really big oak tree in the back yard that we planted nine years ago. We knew nothing about the tree when we planted it and it has just taken off and has given us great shade in the back yard. Phil decided while the kids were napping he would go to Lowes get a peice of cedar and some rope and we now have two swings hanging from "Bob". For those of you who don't know , we went 8 years not knowing what kind of tree it was that we named it "Bob". This past year it spouted acorns so now it is "Bob the Oak". When Katie woke up from her nap I told her to go outside. As soon as she saw it I don't think three steps touched the deck. She loves it. Jack hasn't quite mastered it yet but when he does there will be a swing waiting for him.
I went to the doctor and he measured my belly and said I was right on track with my due date. We listened to the heartbeat wich was good. Then he checked my lab and discovered that I had way too much protein in my urine that they believe I have an infection of some kind. I was give baby safe drugs and have to go back to the doctor for a re-check. I also was told to drink cranberry juice which I hate so I opted for cran-grape juice. In the past four days I have had 128 oz of juice not including water. Let me just say I hate the bathroom.
Grandma Bacho came to visit us which was nice. She did playdough and took the kids out back while Phil and I went to run errands without little feet. It was really nice. Thanks Grandma!!!!
We appreciate it.
Phil is working like crazy. He was to have the weekend off however, there was a customer emergency that he had to go out at 7:30pm Sat nite getting home at about 10:30pm. He still had to return to the house Sun am at 9. They have at least fixed the customer until they can get parts Monday. I felt bad for the homeowners and I know Phil is exhauseted.
I have a doctors appt in May that will tell us very important things. I have the gesatational diabetes test, and ultrasound. The ultrasound will tell us where the placenta is and if we can have a normal birth or if a c-section will be required. I have never had a positive result on the diabetes test so I am not really concerned.
We hope everyone is doing well and surviving whatever the days are throwing at you. TTFN

just an update

Well, seeing as I have not left a post in a while I figured I better get to it. So, Phil and I are doing good. He was rear-ended Friday morning on his way to work. He is fine, the truck needs a new bumper but because this was a three car accident we have to wait for the insurance companies to figure out who is paying for it car two or car three. We had a successful garage/yard sale and I earned enough money to make a large dent in the changes we need to make for new baby girl.
New baby girl is doing well. She is sounding great. I had the opportunity to take both Katie and Jack to the Dr with me on separate visits to the ob. They were able to hear her heartbeat and were totally amazed. I am doing well just tired. I am sure it has a lot to do with the fact that I do too much and can not sleep at night. Pretty soon I won't be able to do as much so I am trying to get as much done as I can before Phil has to take on more. But the Dr says the baby is fine. We have an appt 4/24 for a check up and when we go to the Dr in May they will do the sugar test and another ultrasound to check the placement of the placenta. For those who do not know the placenta is placed in the wrong place that if it does not move at least 2cm we will have to have a C-Section. There is no danger to the baby.
As for Jack he is doing Great!!!! I believe the surgery has been a great success. We have a check up for him 4/17 to see how he is progressing. He is sleeping better, his appetite has increased and he just seems happier. They did do the allergy testing. He had mild reations to the dogs and one type of mold and a moderate reaction to the cats. Phil and I made a very difficult decision and turned three of the cats in to the animal shelter. We took the three younger ones forrest, lt dan and bubba. Hoping they would have the best chance of being adopted. It was a horrible day and I miss them but we had to make a choice. The Dr said that with the zyrtec he is on, the fact that we have the screen doors on the bedroom doors and that I wash his coats and bedding everyweek he should be okay. They do not believe the cat allergy is life threatening we just have to watch and see. We also started potty training Jack this week. I have to say I have never laughed so much in the last two days as I have in a while so it has been pretty funny. We are hoping that by the beginning of May he will be diaper/pull-up free except for sleeping.
Katie is doing superb!!! She is adapting well to baby girl moving into her room. We have been talking about it and she has been helping me get her room ready. She still loves school. If I could get her to stop running in the classroom, school would be great. Once a week I get a note that she is running in the classroom. She panicked when I took her Kitchen out of her room. When she realized it was just in another room in the house life was good again. Last fall we planted alot of bulb plants and she has had lot of fun watching it grow. We go out a couple times a week to watch/look for new growth and flowers.
The only other question I might not have answered for you is baby girl's name. Well, we have no idea we are still working on it. Once we know we will either share or wait till she is born and announce it. Sorry!!! Hope everyone is well!!! TTFN

it's a girl!!!!!

It is a girl and doctors say she looks really good!!

Florida Trip

I need to make this quick because it is way past my bed time. Sorry there are so many photos to share but I only shared 64 out of a couple of hundred. Considering I dropped my camera and broke it Friday about lunch time. I ended it up with some great memories, Thanks to Patti and Joy. Patti lent me an extra camera she had and Joy helped take pics with her camera. I did not get to see everyone while I was there, ran out of time, maybe next time. Justine it was great to see you and Ed. Keep us posted on your arrival in October.
We had an excellent time and I think the kids really enjoyed themselves. It was fun to walk thru the Disney park and remember the last time I was there. I hope when we take the kids back again they will have great memories. Phil had never been to Disney before so it was a great time. Probably the best was taking Jack on It's a small world. He was mesmorized. His facial expressions were great, he never spoke a word just watched.
Jack had the best time at the beach. I never realized it until we were walking to the car that I dressed him like a tourist. All he was missing was the black socks , sandels and his own camera. Katie and Daddy collected shells and we walked on the beach with the kids.
Although we had a great time, I am glad to be home. Thanks to Patti and her generosity it was our best vacation to date. Thanks again Patti. Joy it was so great to see you and we are very proud of you and love you, keep up the good work.
Changing the subject.......today is the ultrasound that will tell us whether it is a boy or a girl. I believe it is a boy. I will post the answer when we know. TTFN

Friends

When Phil and I found out that baby #3 was on the way we were more than shocked. Our Life was planned for only 2 children. Everything we did was planned around two children. Well, God decided that was not to be. The first month or so we told almost no one mostly not knowing how to respond. For a while I was very angry. Most of our friends either tried for years and just stopped trying, still trying yet unsuccesful and then those with the misfourtune of miscarrage. At one point I even considered approaching my best friend to carry a baby for her (before I was pregnant). I was perfectly content with my two beautiful children it needed to be someone else's turn to experience that joy not mine.
Because I am 36, I am considered an old fart having a baby so I have had to have a few extra test and ultrasounds. Not something I am used to. As we have seen the baby move and listen to the heartbeat things are starting to settle down. I still could not stop thinking of my very best friend. The last 3 months have been very rough for her and I have cried alot for her hoping that she would be succesful . When I finally told her about our baby #3, I cried because it was supposed to be her turn. She told me not to worry she had great hope and was not giving up yet. On her birthday there was another trip to the Dr to try again. I talked to her that day. She told me this was it. It had to be this time. It was her birthday present, she knew it would work this time. She told me she had to wait about two weeks and she would know. I marked the calender and I prayed and I waited and waited. Two weeks came and went and no phone call. I was starting to worry. Still no call I thought could I handle calling her if it didn't work, should I call, when should I call. One night this week the phone rang I answered it heard nothing and thought it was a solicitor. Right away the phone rang again. It was her. What was probably 10 secs max seemed like an eternity. In my head I was screaming WELLLLLLLLL!!! but nothing would come out of my mouth. Then she said it I'M PREGNANT!!!!!!!!! I was so excited. She had to go back Thursday for one more test and it too was definatly pregnant. The kicker to the whole story is She goes to the Dr the first week in March to find out HOW MANY!!!!!!!
That fact that God has finally blessed her and she never gave up Hope I don't believe He will Bless her with more that she can handle.
Congratulations Justine!!!! I am very happy for you!!! So after over 20 years of friendship we can be pregnant together. TTFN