Stuffy noses

are just so much worse when they are in your kids and not you! Madeline started getting a stuffy nose yesterday and last night it was horrible. I feel so bad for her! Especially while trying to eat! She is a champ though and did not complain a lot. I raised her mattress, let her sleep in bed with me (on a wedge) and finally put her in her bouncy seat to sleep. It helped a little, but not a ton. Right now she is sleeping in her car seat, and it seems to help also. Hopefully it will go away soon!
Last night we took the kids to the pool and while sitting in the pool area she was doing great, so it might just be because of the dry air in our house.

Forgive me Friends, for I am not keeping up!

Over two weeks have passed and I am not doing well with keeping the blog going. Sorry!
I really have plenty of time. All I do is dork around on facebook, play with the kiddos (which is very important by the way!), drink hot chocolate (my new love), surf the web for a new cell phone, and making my to-do-list grow! Oh, and every now and then I clean a big and do some laundry too. Such busy life I tell ya!

Next week I am going back to work at my nanny job and I am looking forward to it. It is good to have a reason to get out of the house for a bit, even if it is for work! I will have four weeks of nannying before I go back to the Y to work. My mom will be here the last of those weeks. I am so excited!

Oh, good news! Our friends in Fargo who delivered their twins the Friday before Madeline was born finally got to bring their little girl home today! I am so excited! She was not gaining enough weight, so she had to stay behind when her brother came home. It made me so sad to hear! I know their mom and dad are just thrilled to be all together in one home, which will be amazingly busy now I am sure with a 15 month old and newborn twins!

Today the girl I nanny for (not that she really needs me anymore other than for rides) turned 16!! I have worked for this family for almost 7 years now, so she was only 9 when I started working for them! hmm....feels like I might have written this before - I have to go back in the blog and check. I can't remember anything from one day to the other anymore! I blame it on the nursing fog (or something like that anyways).
Which reminds me, I only had to wake up twice to feed Madeline last night! Then she woke up again around 6:30, but only to snuggle, not eat. It was awesome! She certainly is a grunter though, so throughout the night I did wake up a bit as her grunts are louder than Kevin's snores! No need to get out of bed for grunts though:)

Well, I better get back to being busy ya know :) Lots of facebook talk and status changes to keep track of:)

My cousin is getting married

on my wedding date! I think it is so awesome! On my 12th anniversary she'll be saying yes to her fiancee. Just wanted to throw that out there! She is an adorable girl and he is a cute looking guy too, although I have never actually met him! I hope we can change that in not too long. If only the economy in this world was better! I'd be racing home to hang with family right away.

I know I am behind on blogging, so I promise to TRY to make up in the next few days. I have had to promise to nap every day the rest of the week though, so I am not sure I can make that blogging thing happen.
I start work again next week (one of my jobs) so life is slowly but surely picking up its normal pace.

Showing off the princess

I finally got out to go to the Y while Kids Care was open and I got to show Madeline off today! Kevin took the kids to the pool and I just hung with my co-workers. It was great! I really miss working there, but know it is good to have this time off for now too.
Kevin's parents came down this afternoon and is loving on the kids. This is their first meeting with Madeline and she is sleeping through it.
Kevin's mom gave us a Winnie the Pooh bedding set. It is so cute! She also brought us a convertible car seat - the rear facing to forward facing kind, so now we're set for a while!

Tomorrow is our baby shower that is held at the Y. It will be very fun to see so many people again (feels like I have been gone from work for more than 2 weeks!) Then on Tuesday is the baby shower for my supervisor's baby. She was born right before Thanksgiving, but due to scheduling issues the shower is not until now. So, I get to go back again on Tuesday!

I have only one more week left before I go back to my nanny job. that is be good too! I miss the kiddos. I will stop by on Thursday with Sarah's birthday present. She'll be 16 then. Man, she has grown up so fast! She was only 9 when I started working for them!

Anyways, time to go feed my porker. This time for my own comfort rather than her hunger!
Have a wonderful weekend you all!

That imaginary wall was hit today

Man, you know that wall they talk about in "she's going to hit the wall"? Well, I think I hit it! Does not hurt much, but man I am tired! It is not that Madeline was up a lot - she even slept a 4.5hr stretch making me wake up in pain needing to feed her. It is more that Kevin wakes up when she wakes up, and then he can't go back to sleep so he plays computer games until he feels tired enough - thus making me sleep not very well. I am thinking that tonight I will head to the living room when she wakes up and feed her there and put her to sleep in the bassinet and then myself to sleep on the couch. The kids don't have school tomorrow, so I don't have to get up at 7:30 to get them ready. I meant to nap yesterday, but Kevin fell asleep, so I got up. Didn't want to let the older girls have the run of the house:)
I am hoping Kevin can get enough sleep so that he won't get sick. He tends to run out of steam after a few days of little to no sleep, and then he gets sick. He goes back to work part time next week, and with the IBM layoffs he'll have plenty of work to do.

Kevin's parents are coming down tomorrow afternoon also, so that will be great. The kids will have a blast, and I know Lois is itching to hold Madeline:) I am going to take advantage of having grandma here and nap as much as I can!
Saturday is my baby shower at the Y. My awesome friend Karen is throwing it for me! She is the best! I am excited to get out and see people, and to show our little princess off! Not sure what the guys will be doing, but I have a guess they will head to the pool while the girls party:)

Tonight we're eating dinner that a great friend from the Y brought over yesterday. We're so lucky to have people bring us meals! I am hoping that by the time I head back to work at my nanny job (another week) I can get some meals made and put in the freezer so that we can just take them out and pop them in the oven.
Well, I am going to head out and pick Victoria up, then back home for a nap!
Maybe later today I will find some more energy to take more pictures of the kids to post.

Have a wonderful day all!

A picture of the kids

I finally got around to resizing one of the pictures from when I was in the hospital. So here it is:)


Now, I will go work on the other ones as well:) I am using handy, dandy paint to re-size them, so it will take me a few minutes:)

Here we go:Victoria with baby sister Madeline Can you tell she is proud?!

Michael with baby sister. Looks like a pro at holding babies!

Some of the pictures taken after we got home. I was hoping to get a good one for the birth announcements.

This was taken in the hospital soon before leaving.

Just a little something to brighten your day

My friend Michelle posted this on her blog and I find myself going back to read it over and over. And I laugh each time too! So, I decided to steal her joke and post it here for more people to see since her blog is private.

Supposedly this is from the diary of a Pre-School teacher, but I am sure if you search it on the internet you will find many different versions.

My five-year old students are learning to read.
Yesterday one of them pointed at a picture in a zoo book and said:

"Look at this! It's a frickin' elephant!"

I took a deep breath, then asked..."What did you call it?"

"It's a frickin' elephant! It says so on the picture!"











And so it does...

" A f r i c a n Elephant "

I just laughed out loud when I first read it. Then I went back to show it to Kevin, and then to Michael, and I just keep laughing so hard! The joys of working with children!

Have a wonderful day all, and stay warm. I know we are:)

Doctor's appointment update

Madeline had her first out of the hospital doctor's appointment today and it went very well! I was dreading taking her out in the frigid cold though!
She is not jaundice, and the doc said the main reason for that is how well she eats and it helps get rid of the waste produced by her bruises breaking down. Neither is she GBS positive, although we kinda knew that already since the first test came back negative. She has also gained back all her weight lost plus some and is now 8lbs 15 oz! He said that at this point the babies re usually still 10 oz below their birth weight, so she is doing great nursing! My little porker:)

She slept well last night, as did the rest of us since we got to sleep in:)

Michael and Kevin have been preparing for the overnight blast and Michael actually napped a bit too!

Victoria and I are having a girl's night in with Madeline - painting out nails (not baby's though), eating pizza and watching a chick flick:) It will be great! I am sure we will all end up in my room as well reading and cuddling.

Wishing you all a great and hopefully warmer weekend!

School is canceled again!

Due to the cold weather they have canceled school for tomorrow. It actually works out great for me as tomorrow was going to be early release with Victoria being done at 11:20 and Madeline having an appointment at 11:30.
Tomorrow is also Michael's Overnight Blast at the Y, so it will be good for him to be able to sleep in and take it easy as I am pretty sure he won't be sleeping a lot Friday night. Kevin is going with him as one of the chaperones.
I took some more pictures of Madeline today, but I think they are too big to be uploaded. I saw them in RAW file so I am thinking I might have re-size them before I can upload them. I will play around with that tomorrow when I am not so tired!

Good night all, and stay warm wherever you are!

Negative 52 F with windchill!

That is almost negative 47 C! That is cold I tell ya!
Last night they canceled school for this morning (usually they wait until the day of) due to the severity of the weather!
I guess I picked the right time to go on maternity leave, with no reason to go outside at all!
The kids have early release tomorrow, no school Monday and next Friday, so it works out pretty nicely. Kevin has time of too, so he gets to spend time with the kids even more!

Better get going to feed the princess! Have a wonderful and warm day all!

Hanne

1st night at home and attempting pictures again

Our first night at home went great! Madeline only woke up three times to eat (and no crying other than being hungry and when I changed her diaper). We did have a bit of a mess as I apparently did not wait until she was done going in her diaper before starting to change her, but it all worked out:)
I slept from the minute I put her in her bed until she woke up hungry, so I had good sleep! I was even ready to get up before the alarm this morning. I am sure that won't last though.

Kevin missed his dentist appointment on Monday due to me being in labor, so he got it rescheduled for today. That is where he is right now.
Later today Victoria is bringing her friend Sophie over to stay with us until Awana. Kevin will be taking care of them while I most likely nap:)

I did take some pictures of Madeline this morning as she had her eyes wide open. I also took some without her hat on. She as really dark hair (yes, she has hair!!) and it looks like so much hair too. It is not really that much, but with Michael and Victoria both being pretty much bald it seems like a lot! However, the memory card was not in the camera, so no pictures to share:( I will repeat next time she is wide awake - with the card in the camera!

Well, my second attempt at posting pictures was shot down by blogger again:( I will fight more with it later.

Announcing Baby Madeline

I am so glad to be back home! Yeah, I guess at the hospital I don't have to make my own food - but Kevin makes better food. I had my own room - but with people walking in and out all day and the walls thin enough to hear all the laboring women (sorry to those that I annoyed when I gave birth!). I am SO glad they were willing to let us go home a day early!

So, onto announcing our new princess!
Madeline (that is right, no middle name) was born at 9:35am January 12th, 2009, weighing in at 8lbs 14 oz (4035 grams) and measured 20 inches (50.8cm) long.

She was born after only two hours in the hospital (my water broke at 1am Monday morning) and it was an awesome experience! I knew I had to get there earlier than I did with Victoria (13 minutes before she was born / less than 5 minutes in the room) since I had to get the IV antibiotics. What I did not know, was that they wanted me to have several doses of the antibiotics - all spread out 4 hours apart! Well, that did not happen. I did get one full dose through though, which is better than nothing!
Since she came so fast, her whole head is a big bruise, and she also tried to get her arm out first, which resulted in her arm getting a huge bruise on it. That will all heal in the next few days though.
She is a champion at nursing so that helps tons! She does seem to think of me as a live pacifier though, so we're working on cutting that down:)
Michael and Victoria are very excited to have their sister here finally, and Victoria is my designated burper after feedings:) Michael is more reserved, but definitely a proud big brother! He seems very fascinated with her!
We go back in for a checkup for her on Friday to make sure she is not becoming Jaundiced and that the antibiotics I got were enough to keep the GBS away. Her first GBS culture came back negative, which bodes well.
I find it highly amusing how so many people point out how big she is, and I can quip back with the fact that she is the smallest one that I have had:) She seems so tiny now!

Oki, so I was going to post pictures, but keep getting an error, so I will come back later and try again. Now off to nap again since baby just ate:)

Today

we'll get to meet baby girl Lucier! My water broke at 1am, so now we're off to drop the ids off (in a little bit) and head to the hospital! Contractions have not been too bad, so I was able to doze off a bit in between :) Yay!

More to come!

Wondering why I want to rush it!

So I have been pondering today, Why in the world do I want to rush this pregnancy to end? I am a mean, cleaning machine right now, and it would be nice to keep that going, right?! And I have a feeling it all all stop as soon as baby is here! It is too bad it is winter, or I would have my garage scrubbed down - the on your hands and knees scrubbing in the corners scrubbed down - and organized, labeled etc:)
I am happy with what I have accomplished these last few months though. Our house is still cluttered and nowhere near the spotless house I see some other people living in, but it is a huge step towards the better! You can even look under my bed and see to the other side! Not even a dust bunny (I checked yesterday!). Just that fact alone should help my asthma and allergies a ton!
I sometimes think having carpet instead of hardwood floors would be so much better as all the dust and dirt can hide (and out of sight, out of mind, right!) but I am so glad I can see it all right away so that it is easier to clean as we go.

So, for the rest of the day I am planning on enjoying myself, reading (should have gotten book #2 of the Twilight series!), scrapping, playing around with my pictures on the computer etc, as I know in a few days my free time will be limited! I promise not to make any additions to my to-do-list, nor will I check off more than three more things (I have to write up a few things for work, put away the last of the laundry and make up the guest bed for when we have people come over) for today at least! Can't promise about tomorrow:)
I just called the family I work for to let them know I am currently planning on working there tomorrow (as long as I do not go into labor tonight), and from then we'll take it one day at a time.
Kevin has a dentist appointment tomorrow, so it would be good if labor waited until after he is done:)
So, off I am, to enjoy my weekend and no longer stress about having baby here.

Sending Kevin out tonight

hoping that is might spur something in the labor department:) Sounds kinda backwards doesn't it?
Pastor Paul and some other guys from church are going to see the new Tom Cruise movie (I don't know what it is called) and Kevin was invited. I figured it is good for him to get to do stuff since I will be asking him for a lot of help in the next few weeks!
I have had back pain and contractions all day, but nothing that really hurts or makes me feel very uncomfortable, and they certainly are not close enough together to make a difference right now. I am sure they are doing something in the hidden, but not enough for me to notice any change:)

We spent the whole day shopping for shoes, groceries etc, so I got a lot of walking in before church this evening.
I did start feeling warm and flushed during the sermon, but I am not sure that means anything.

Now the kids are in bed, and I am wondering what project I should take on for the evening. I probably should go to bed, but I know I won't for a while:)

Oh, and I did send my cell with Kevin, so I can get a hold of him. He will be the one with a vibrating cellphone in his pocket not noticing it:) So, our friend is bringing his phone as well (Thank God!) so I can call him if need be:)

Have a good night!

Nothing happened

overnight, and I am kind of happy about that. It is hard to go into labor when you have been up all day trying to get labor going :)
We have a busy day ahead of us, trying to get smaller chores done, major grocery shopping, some laundry (I ALWAYS have lots of laundry to do) and some basic cleaning. Yup, that is right, only BASIC cleaning, as I spent the day yesterday purging and scrubbing:) Never made it as far as vacuuming the basement (our vacuum cleaner and I don't get along very well. It is an old one we got from Kevin's mom when our other one broke). The vacuum cleaner works, but has a mind of it's own and I think it really just moves the dirt more than pick it up, so I am guessing a vacuum cleaner will be my next big purchase. It is nice though, that upstairs we have no carpet, only a few rugs that I can clean with my hand held vacuum. I would love to have a vacuum that can clean both hardwood, tile AND carpet! Not sure if that is in our budget though.

Right now I am just sitting here waiting for the rest of the crew to wake up so that I can make more sound:)
Have a wonderful weekend all!

Disappointing appointment

I went in today for my checkup thinking (since the doc said so last time) I would get a date for an induction, but not so :( I did not have my regular doc and the doc I saw does not induce until 41 weeks 2days in case of prematurity. Did not matter that my other doc had it written in my chart that we were to set up an induction for a few days later. I was so set on knowing it would be set up I left the office in tears. I know it will happen sooner or later, but I am having nightmares about going into labor and not getting there in time for the IV antibiotics! Oh well, if that is the worst thing I can complain about I guess I am doing pretty good, huh:)
So, my next appointment is next Thursday - at 39 weeks 5 days, but I am going to see if I can reschedule for Wednesday just because it works better for me work wise.
So, this is today's update. I am currently cleaning the house again hoping to get something going by itself:)

Still here, and Sorry!!!

Sorry I did not update yesterday. I had the most horrible headache I could not get rid of, and stayed on the couch and in bed as much as I could. Still no baby, so I guess we have to wait until tomorrow to know more:)
Kevin is hoping to game with the guys tomorrow, so Saturday am would be a perfect time to head to the hospital to be induced! I would love for baby girl to show up this weekend, but I guess if I have to wait until Monday that is ok too:) Another weekend to get stuff done. I still need to get out and spend money on a boppy and a diaper bag, preferably before baby gets here:) It is just so nice to not do anything when I get home from work in the evening!

Kevin and I got to go out to eat alone (probably for a long time) and tried a new for us restaurantt named Chesters downtown. It was ok. Maybe a little bit too upscale for us:) The salad I ordered was really good, but actually filled us up better than the dinner meal Kevin ordered. It is nice to have that time just for the two of us though.

My headache is here today too, and I am not sure why it is here. I have had it since Tuesday, so I hope it goes away soon. I actually woke up from the pain last night - combined with some weird dreaming, and could not get back to sleep so last night was a looong night, making today a loong day!

Tonight I have to make Victoria's VIP Board for school. She needs to have it with her on Monday - pictures of her and family and some info about her. We're waiting to fill out the last line of the info as it tells about her family. We might be able to add another name (if we ever decide on a name and baby shows up before then) before she heads to school on Monday. I really need to get that done as I would feel really bad if she did not have her board ready when it is her turn to be the VIP.
Anyways, that is today's update:) I am hoping I will have internet access at the hospital so that I can update as soon as something happens and share pictures right away too, but I really do not know. I need to remember to ask what I can use and what they do not have tomorrow at my apointment.

Still here.....

I am still at home, or at work that is. I work at my nanny job until 6. then head back to the Y for the second time today do reviews. The kids and Kevin will be swimming. I am not going to the pool as I would feel horrible if my water broke and they had to close the pool just because of me!
Short daily updates will be coming!

Last week of work for a while

Today I started my last week at the Y before baby comes. I was tired though. I did not sleep well, and have felt weird (not sick or anything, just weird) all day. This evening I have been having back pain, but I am not sure it is contractions as they don't really go away. Just kind of there the whole time. So, we'll see I guess if this turns into anything. Just in case, I am heading to bed in a few minutes. If it is the real thing at least I can get some sleep in before it gets too bad:) I am fairly certain they will see me at work again tomorrow though.
I told Ryan I would call him if I went into labor so that he could work for me. He sounded kind of worried about that, so I better make sure there is no contraction coming when I am letting him know:)

Cross your fingers for a good night's sleep!

Hanne

Last weekend as a family of 4?

I as up most of the night thinking that this might be our last weekend as a family of 4! It is kind of scary!
Michael is off at a sleep over, Victoria was up most of the night not feeling good so I anticipate a long nap for her, Kevin will be watching the Vikings play in the playoffs and I am doing house stuff (just can't seem to stop!). So much for family time, huh:)
Oh well, we'll have six weeks to hang out together at home (except for when the kids are in school that is) so that will be good!

I feel like I have gotten most of my stuff taken care of, but keep looking for things I want to get done so that I won't have to worry about it with a baby around.
One of the biggest things that bug me is the painted train border in the room that will be the girl' bedroom. I keep thinking that all I need it a can of white paint:) I know this is something that will have to wait until after baby comes though, so maybe when my mom is here since she can watch the girls when I paint:) The whole thing should only take 20 minutes or so, I have just kept putting it off.
The rest of the stuff I want to do is: Get a rug for the girl's room, get fabric to finish up Michael's drapes and fabric for the girls' room drapes, buy a diaper bag, baby bathtub and a big, really flat, door mat for the door by the kitchen. This is very much needed as I now get to park in the garage again! Thank you Kevin for moving the extra car out of the way! This means I don't have to get up earlier in the am to scrape my car, and it will warm up so much faster!
I also want to purge more stuff out of the house, and take it to the Goodwill store. I love the way my living room is right now - with only the necessities in it!
Last night I cleaned out pretty much everything from my closet - putting all the maternity clothes in a bucket (I will be living out of that bucket until baby comes! but at least I can get it back to the rightful owner as soon as I am done with the clothes and have them washed!) and sorting out the clothes I desperately want to fit into again, but know I won't.

Anyways, instead of wasting time on the computer, I should get to work:) Cross your fingers for the Vikings to advance to the next round!!! Go Vikes, Victoria says!

Super Excited!!

I got an email from my mom letting me know she got tickets to come visit us in February! I am so excited!!
I also had my OB appointment today, and that was less fun. I found out I tested positive for Group B Strep, which means I have to have an IV antibiotic when I go trhough labor and delivery. Bummer. I was hoping I could get by without one again! On the brighter side, it does mean that by next week (unless baby decides to come on her own) they will set the date for me to be induced. With the risk of having a rapid delivery and not getting the meds in time they would rather set me up to be induced as not to risk the baby getting the Strep as well.
Right now I am still only at a 1, so she did not want to set it up yet. I guess all the contractions I have had these past two weeks have done nothing.

Today's work day is almost over. It is nice to only have one work day before the weekend! I work at the Y tomorrow, but that is only until noon, so not bad at all:)

Kevin is at home today, and kept the kids as well so that they could sleep in. Last night he made a to-do-list for himself and it included making a turkey dinner! Isn't that great? We were intending on having it yesterday, but Kevin had the chance to go gaming with the guys, so we put it off until today. Who knows when he'll have the chance to go have much fun again. I am so blessed to have a husband who always puts us (me and the kids) first!

The official count down (waiting) has started!

Baby girl now has the ok to come any day! I do have an appointment tomorrow, so if she waits until after that it is fine with me.
I will find out more about dilation, effacement and possible induction then, so I am pretty excited.
Today I am planning on just taking it easy with the kids, watching a movie or playing games with them. Kevin is going gaming with the boys out in Kasson.
I guess I should do some laundry as well, but I am not too stressed about that:)
We have everything we have to have for the baby to come, just need to install the car seat in the car.
Still have some "wishing for" things on my list, but none are needed, so I will put off getting those until later.

Happy New Year to all of you! I hope 2009 treats you well and brings you good health and lots of happiness!