A Christmas-y Week

It's been a great week because NOTHING IS BROKEN! I couldn't be more excited about that. This week has also included...

baking goodies for visiting teaching/home teaching families/birthdays/teacher parties

wrapping the last few presents

enjoying our advent calendar from Sam & Jesse

cleaning out the fridge before our trip

packing and other trip preparation

an ugly sweater Christmas party

getting Christmas cards ready to send...a much slower process than I originally thought! We both have pretty big families. :)

I love Christmas, but I hate traveling. We'll see how it goes with 3 children!

Well...

It hasn't been my week. Just to review what's happened in the last 7 days...

1. Giant snowstorm that dropped 18 inches in a day. We couldn't get the car all the way home that night.

2. Heater stopped working, so we had a very cold night until James got on the roof and cleared the vent.

3. Car battery died. Replaced it, but the car probably still needs another part. It doesn't start easily.

4. Broken pipe. I called 10 plumbers (all the ones in Vernal), but NO ONE was available until at least Monday. A few said they'd call me back with a guy who could come after hours, but they didn't. I called up my dad, and he gave me the reassurance that we could fix this ourselves as long as it was a PVC pipe (and not copper) that broke. James enlisted the help of our neighbor to pump water from the crawl space (lest it freeze and crack the foundation) till 11 last night. We bought the stuff we needed from Lowe's for about 20 bucks and fixed it pretty easily. The main lame thing is that our water is still off because the glue has to set for 24 hours.

I'm grateful for food storage! I had just bought a supply of water (3 days' worth) a few months ago, and now I am using it. I have enough to cook, clean (though not dishes), and flush toilets when needed. I feel gross for not taking a shower today and smell like sour milk, but I'm not dragging all 3 kids somewhere just to shower. Haha.

God is looking out for us, though it's easier to be positive about things once they're fixed. A plumber would've cost us a lot of money, and since things are a little tight right now due to my medical bills, it's a blessing that we had to fix it ourselves. We learned a few valuable things along the way, too.

On the bright side, if I'm ever asked if I'd rather go without heat, a car, or water for a day, I'd definitely say the car. I can stand being home all day since I do it all the time anyway, but living without heat for a day was miserable, and living without water for almost 2 days is annoying, even though I am as prepared as I could be. I can't wait to get the water back on tonight so I can wash my hands for real and not just use hand sanitizer and baby wipes!

Turkey, Gravy, and Distress-ing

The past two weeks have been a little hard and not quite as I'd pictured. We've spent all our Thanksgivings in Rexburg with James's parents and grandparents, but this year I convinced him not to travel so I could invite my 3 siblings who are at BYU-I.

They arrived Tuesday night, so I didn't get a lot of sleep. I did all (or most) of the cooking that day, and Katie took a nice, long nap in morning, which was convenient. The kitchen was a total wreck, but Mara helped me clean it up.

Things got a little more stressful Thanksgiving Day. The turkey was done early by 2 hours, so I had to rush like mad to get the rolls done and make sure everything was ready. Our menu:

turkey
sausage cornbread dressing
gravy
mashed potatoes
rolls
cranberry sauce (ew, from a can. Only Myles likes it.)
green bean casserole
candied yams (which everyone likes but me)
apple pie
pecan pie
French silk pie
pumpkin pie

I made everything from scratch (minus the cranberry sauce and one pie crust, which was graham cracker instead of a regular crust.) I think I spent 8 hours in the kitchen altogether. It was intense.

The meal was great, but the rest of the week was a little depressing for me. Moms just don't get vacations. Everyone else wanted to stay up really late (though James not as late, but still later than me.) I had very little sleep, and everyone got to play computer games, go paintballing, and go shooting. Now, I don't like computer games or paintballing, but I have a great time shooting. However, I was at home with all the kids. I felt a little taken advantage of. However, James and I had a great date on Friday to see Catching Fire, which is an amazing movie! I had spent the day crying about one thing or another due to lack of sleep, so my eyes were really puffy. :(

I took everyone to see the dinosaur bones on Saturday. They thought it was pretty cool. Sunday we blessed Katie and somehow survived all of church with the kids! Kenny cried a bit in nursery, but due to sickness (not always his), he has only been twice now. They are great with him, though, and I think he will do even better next week. We blessed Katie, and I failed to take a picture, but she didn't wear a dress. She wore a white boy's outfit with tights under it, and she was asleep for her blessing, so no one saw anyway since she was swaddled. Her blessing mentioned that she'd be a strength and comfort to her brothers. I thought that was really sweet.

I thought this would calm down a bit this week. James has been staying late every day. We got a MEGA snowstorm yesterday that dumped 18 inches of snow. James couldn't get the car all the way home since they hadn't plowed yet and it was too deep. Then, our heater stopped working. We were pretty cold since our house got down to 50 degrees. I had a terrible night of sleep, even with an extra blanket. James fixed the heater this morning by getting on the roof and clearing the vent. The sun came out, they plowed the road, and the house is warm again. James had a snow day until 3:30 when he had to go to parent/teacher conferences. I think it's totally ridiculous, because who the heck is going to show up?

Well, this has been quite the stressful week. It's funny how any of my terrible sleep hasn't been Katie's fault at all. She still does very well. She is also smiling! Of course I don't have a picture yet...but soon!

So in case anyone reads to the very end, this is what I take from the past week:
1. Hosting your own Thanksgiving is a lot of work. I'm not sure I'll take it on again for a very long time.
2. The schedules of college students and moms with young kids are not very compatible.
3. I still hate snow. A winter like this about 6 years ago is what ruined it for me. It makes me feel really claustrophobic.
4. I'm more grateful than ever for having a warm house!
5. There is always an end to the storm, no matter how dark, cold, and long it is.

Life

This week has had its ups and downs. Last weekend, Sam and Jesse (and Charlotte!) came to visit us. We had a whole lot of fun hanging out, eating yummy meals, and going to see the wall of dinosaur bones. I could tell they really liked it. I've been there enough times that it's not quite as cool, but it's still very impressive. James and Sam went shooting, we all went to church on Sunday (minus James, Kenny, and Katie), and overall had a great time. I felt a lot less stressed than having my in-laws. I guess my brother/sister-in-law are more "at my level" and I don't feel like I have to impress them so much. Jesse did lots of cleaning for me, which was awesome, because Katie is starting to be awake a lot more and wants to be held - or else!

Katie is still doing very well at sleeping. She's only sleeping 5 hours-ish split into 3-4 naps during the day. I'm getting used to that, because she used to sleep more like 8 or 9 hours! She has a fussy/awake period from 5 or 6 till 9-9:30, when she finally goes to bed. The last 4 days, she has slept 6-7 hours for the first stretch at night, which means I've only had to get up once! She takes the record for my best sleeper so far. Still, Joseph and Kenny did 5 hours by a month. She seems to be gaining well, and she doesn't have to go to her one month appointment since the doctor said she was doing so well at 2 weeks. Therefore, I won't have any real stats to share.

The boys have been fighting a lot, but it's mainly because Joseph really wants to be the boss of Kenny, but Kenny isn't going to have any of that. I can't wait to see what goes down once Kenny can say more than 2 words at a time. I think the boys are going to have many world-class arguments. I remember having a lot of those with my siblings.

Speaking of which, Christian, Myles, and Mara will be coming next week for Thanksgiving! I'm so excited to host my very first one - and to have lots of leftovers to enjoy! We are going to go all out and make 4 different kinds of pie. I can't wait! Since I haven't stepped on a scale since Katie was born, I'm not going to feel the least bit guilty about eating lots of pie, namely, the French silk pie that I know will be delicious beyond all reason. (Heavy cream and chocolate are always a winning combination, in my mind.)

The biggest challenge this week is getting used to always having a kid awake, especially with Katie's shorter naps. If she wakes up early one day (say, 6:45) and goes down later (like 9:30), it doesn't give me a lot of time left with James. I know that's temporary, but it's a little tough not to have much (or any) time completely alone. Joseph is great at doing "quiet time" though, even though it means he gets a little cranky at dinner.

I love my kiddos. I know that family outings, once they can happen, will be tough again with a nursing baby, but I'm still so glad to be able to nurse at long as I want to. Kenny has has a gross, runny nose, and James has also been sick, but Katie has only had the mildest stuffy nose - not enough to interrupt her sleep or breathing. That is definitely a blessing. I have remained well too, aside from headaches for a couple of days.

Now, for pictures.

"Heyo, KK! Hold?"

happy boys with glow sticks

exploring Dino Natnl. Monument

my grown up baby (19 1/2 months)

Joseph touching the dinosaur bone

James's favorite hobby

Katie, 4 weeks old

I Love Technology

There are many things that I remember from my other kids that help me immensely with my baby girl. Newborns, at least for the first month or so, are pretty similar in their habits. They sleep, eat, and make dirty diapers. Sometimes I forget about the little things that drive me crazy. Take cluster feeding, for example, or the witching hours. I forget every time how challenging those are, but the internet has reassured (and reminded me) that I've been through this twice before, it's okay, and it won't last forever.

Katie is still a great baby. Just like her brothers, she only wakes up twice a night. Her nursing style is like Joseph - very slow and leisurely, unless it's the middle of the night. (Kenny was a gulper and still is. I never had to burp him either, because I'd sit up up and he'd burp the loudest burps I've ever heard from a baby!)

I can't count how often I've Googled things over the last month, whether about taking care of a baby, my recovery, recipes for dinner, or other stuff I want to know. I don't know what I'd do without internet in the house! Not only do I learn because of it; I also am able to express myself through my blogs, watch things on Netflix, buy stuff, and communicate through social media. I'm so grateful to live in this day and age where such a thing is available.

Now, back to my show on Netflix...

But first, I must relate the rest of this past week. It was pretty low-key. We had friends come over on Sunday. Scott and Chelsea are still remodeling their kitchen, so they cooked over at our house. We made apple pies, 3 of them, for dessert. They left us with a bunch of apples, so I dried them. 3 batches later, and I finished the whole box. Katie was unfortunately very fussy and awake from 4-7:30 on Sunday, so that put a damper on things. I had a huge headache by the end of the day. Luckily, that hasn't happened again.

I can't wait to take Katie out and about. Less than 3 weeks now!

Staying Inside

The past week was far less crazy than the week before, and for that, I am very grateful. I have been able to return to some sort of a routine, at least as much as possible when a newborn is involved, and minus working out. For a 2-week-old, Katie still sleeps very well. She wakes me up twice at night, which is exactly what the boys both did. (There are exceptions with growth spurts, but 2 is the norm.) I think she sleeps 16-18 hours for every 24. What a life, huh? :)

Joseph is now taking "quiet time" instead of naps. I don't need naps myself, so I'm okay with that. He gets to do puzzles or play with Play Doh, the stuff that Kenny would usually wreck in 2 seconds. He seems to handle less sleep all right, though sometimes he has a meltdown around 7 p.m. Kenny had a rough few days with naps, but he has since returned to normal and sleeps 3 hours every day.

The only time I ventured out this week (aside from Church) was to take Kenny and Katie to the doctor. Katie weighed in at 8 lbs. 3 oz., so a half a pound up from her birth weight - at 12 days old! Kenny weighed a whopping 25 lbs. A year ago, he was only in the 2nd percentile for weight. Now, he's in the 60th! That child knows how to eat, and he packs more food away than Joseph. Still, that's some crazy growth. I think he's going to end up kind of stocky like my family.

It feels like such a long wait until December when we can take Katie "out". Her pediatrician was pretty clear that RSV is a big problem right now, and it sends babies to the hospital. The boys went to Church after a month, but they were both spring babies. Still, we've made it through 2 weeks so far of being fairly homebound without goings nuts. I feel totally lazy since I've been watching a lot of TV to keep myself occupied. James and I both discovered that Duck Dynasty is a pretty hilarious show. Too many shows about "the South" make Southern girls out to be total witches who will never accept any outsiders. The women in Duck Dynasty are really pretty, kind, religious, and good moms. It's funny that their husbands all have such long beards. Anyway, James says I like it because it reminds me of home. I remind him that I'm not from Louisiana, and my hometown in Apex, NC is A LOT more "civilized" than Vernal. Haha.

I really need to get on the ball and take more pictures of my sweet little girl. I can't believe how nervous I was about having her. She's been an angel, and I've fallen in love all over again with a new little person who will be part of my family forever. I can't wait to see what the future brings, especially when I really get to know her personality.

The First Week

I'd be lying if I said this past week was easy. Giving birth is never easy on anyone, whether physically, mentally, or emotionally. The normal healing from childbirth has gone well for me. That feeling of terror when I brought home my first child has thankfully not returned since then. Though the newborn stage is unpredictable, I find it enjoyable for the most part. After a week, I feel well enough to not need naps or any medication for pain.

I had something new to deal with this time around that made the first week almost unbearable for a few days. I feel I must write it all down to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else! I felt pretty good when I got home from the hospital, but things changed by the next day. I started feeling pain in my stomach, as if I'd been punched in the gut, and I completely lost my appetite for food and drink. I couldn't sleep because of the pain, so I was exhausted during the day, hardly able to get off the couch. I was baffled and completely devastated that something like that could happen to me when recovery had otherwise been going so well.

I received several blessings that gave me comfort and promised healing. It was still a hard wait. On Monday afternoon, I visited my doctor and he was able to prescribe medication for reflux. It still makes no sense to me why I wasn't feeling heartburn at all. I sure did throughout my pregnancies, but I managed it with Zantac. The reflux always went away right after delivery, but I guess it was different this time. I should be able to stop the medicine once my hormones settle (haha) and my insides get a little more normal. I still can't believe how much pain that it caused and yet how effective the medicine has been. I was worried that I was never going to want to eat again, which caused me a ton of grief. I love food! I'm so glad to feel hungry again.

Katie is as mellow as a newborn can be. She's almost always sleeping, unless she's eating or looking around contentedly. With all my eating issues, I was afraid she wouldn't gain weight as quickly. However, she was back at her birth weight by 6 days. The boys got back to theirs at 4 days, so not too bad!

The boys seem to love their sister and are usually gentle with her. Kenny loves to say, "Hey, KK!"It's adorable. They've both been fighting with each other a little more this week, but it's nothing I can't handle. Boys will be boys!

Joseph has decided to give up naps, even though I know he could use a little sleep. I can tell he really wants to be a big boy, so I let him do quiet time while Kenny naps. Kenny naps better without Joseph goofing off and keeping him awake, so the days are much more peaceful now. Thankfully, I don't need naps anymore since the quality of my sleep has greatly improved! :)

I'm so grateful for my new daughter. Though she isn't the first child, she is still such a miracle. I'm so glad she came to our family. I'm already seeing miracles happen that will let us pay for all the medical bills.

And speaking of miracles, our ward has been incredible. We received meals starting the day Mom left (Saturday) and up through this week. My RS president, who isn't young, came and did all the housework for me on Monday when I wasn't feeling too great. Katie has received many gifts and well wishes. I've run out of thank you cards twice already!

I couldn't be more grateful to be well and past the first week. Transitioning from 2 to 3 isn't so bad. I think each addition gets a little easier and harder at the same time. God is certainly watching out for us, and I am grateful. Now that I am feeling normal (and in regular clothes - boo yeah!), I hope to take a lot more pictures of this sweet girl, starting with Halloween today. And that is all for now. Next week will definitely be a lot more calm; I'm sure of it!