DUDE!!!

Dude Cat is not impressed.

Ninja was so not amused when Jane decided her Webkinz hat would look great on her. I, on the other hand, was laughing so hard I'm surprised the pictures aren't blurry. It's stupid I know but it still makes me laugh.

More Monitoring

We went in last night for more monitoring. Even though I kept pretty low key Saturday and Sunday I was still contracting. I was up a little more Saturday because of the baby shower but not much. Every time I was up too much someone made me go sit down. Sunday I was contracting a lot. Again, nothing painful or with any kind of regularity but enough so that I was worried. So, we made the trip to Valley and spent a few hours in L&D. They put me on the monitors and I was contracting about every 10-11 minutes. The nurse checked my cervix and said I was 1cm "and a wiggle" but still closed inside. That's good news that the contractions weren't doing much, but they were doing something. So she gave me some more medicine and watched to make sure it worked and sent us home.
Doug put the printer in the bedroom now and I am on strict instructions to keep my butt there. He keeps telling me that once we're past the 36 week point that she'll get stubborn and decide that she's happy and comfortable in there and doesn't want to leave her snug "Mommy Condo". I think once I'm up and fully mobile again she'll be out in no time. We'll see.
So, I'm on lock-down for the next 19 days. All in all not so bad. It's plenty of time to get all caught up on my TV shows, ahead in school and at work, and ready for baby!
Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Baby Shower

I know, I'm running a little behind. Here are some pictures from the baby shower. I just LOVED all of her little outfits and blankets. Everything is washed, ready and put away.

Thank you to everyone for the great gifts. It was really nice to see all that were able to make it, and I missed those who weren't. The closer it gets the more excited I am! I can't wait to see you all again soon. The decorations were adorable. Thank you Noelle for all that you did to make this perfect!The best favors I've ever seen at a shower. Cute little printed purse tissue packs!CAKE!!! L to R - Shelby, Debbie, Allie, Staci, Krystyne, Amy, Wendy, Jane, Penny, Noelle, Sam, Noah and Me! I'm so glad you all made it. Daddy Loves me bibs! Thanks Scott and Susan!
Open the big one first Mom! The girls were excited to see such a big present!
It's the only car seat we'll ever need for her - thank you Ma and Pa Strange!

Adorable bear quilt from Grandma Lopez, thank you! Too cute!
What the heck is in there?This was a really fun game.
The girls had a great time too!
They're so CUTE!
And so SOFT! I wish my blankets were this soft.
Everyone is concentrating so hard!
Thank you again to everyone! It was so much fun!

Jane's Birthday Party

Jane had her birthday party Friday night. She decided that she wanted to do sundaes and have a sleep-over so that's what we did. The girls had a really good time. They stayed up really late hoped up on sugar and got up early and giggled.

Not so good news.

Doug and I went to my doctor's appointment Friday and boy what an adventure!
First, they canceled my doctor's appointment and ultrasound I had scheduled because the doctor I was supposed to see was in surgery (wow, an OB in surgery - there's a shocker). They said they left me a message on Monday. Which in all honesty they probably did since I'm terrible at checking voice messages. But, there was no reason to cancel the ultrasound since I don't have to see the doc right after that. So in a rather snarky tone I informed the receptionist that I HAD to see someone today and that if she would look in my chart she'd see that the whole reason for the ultrasound was for checking cervical length because I'm high risk for preterm labor. And, it would be a great idea to get me in and get me checked since I had been contracting since Wednesday - and I was going to be mad if I had to go to L&D because someone cancelled my ultrasound for no reason! She said she'd get me in and get me monitored and that Dr Fassler was on call today. Great! He's my regular doctor anyway.
So they put me in to get monitored which was not fun. It's great to listen to Fi's heartbeat. And like the last time we were on the monitor the little show-off decided that would be a good time for hiccups and gymnastics. In order to monitor you they have you in a reclined position which is not comfortable for either of us the way she is sitting. It really makes it difficult to breathe. I even had to stop talking to Doug durring a couple of the small contractions I had. Not because of the intensity since they don't really hurt, but because when the uterus raises durring a contraction it would press on my lungs making it hard to catch a breath. More proof that she will be born with me in an upright position or I'm going to hyperventilate.
After an hour of this we are finally led to the exam room where we sat for another hour. I've actually spent more time waiting than I have in with the doctors. Dr Fassler is a gem. He really is. But the wait just sucks! He finally makes it in and I explained what was going on. By this time we were running late for Doug to pick up his badge from the airport. I explained this too. He said that he would check me and see where we're at. He asked if I was still working and I said yes but from home. I think had I not been working from home he would have told me I had to stop. I told him I didn't do alot of running around and that I did try to stay down as much as possible. Apparently I need to try harder. He checked my cervix and said that I am dilated to one on the outside and still closed on the inside but thinning and softening more than he would like with my history. He gave me a Rx and told me that I was not to be up any more than absolutely necessary. Great. I'm trying. I'm horrible at it but I'm trying. We want to go three more weeks. Not only because we want to have her born at home but for her health. Dr Fassler said that at this point she's really just adding in the extra and that he's not worried about her, but all the extra growing time she can manage is great. He said he's on call for the next two weekends if I need anything but that he better not see me!
I am doing OK with the changes. Now. Friday was hard. I'm just trying to stay put. My body knows this is the best option because every time I'm up for more than a couple minutes my feet swell to painful proportions. Even now with them not elevated it's difficult. Doug is being really great and really supportive. I know he won't let the house fall down around us. We may eat pizza for the next 3 weeks but we'll be fine!

Being Human

I'm always so amazed to be able to see these moments of the girls being nice to each other. Doug says eventually it normalizes and it's not so surprising. Allie was sitting in the office chair watching the slide show and Krystyne sat on the arm of the chair with her. I like it when they're human! My beautiful girls!

Happy Birthday Jane!!

Last night was Jane's birthday. She's 9 now. I know, I was surprised she wasn't turning 35 too but the math just doesn't work! ;-) Tonight is the big party. Slumber party and ice cream sundaes and karaoke! More about that this weekend. Doug came home early to have dinner and cake and that was awesome. Jane actually made her own birthday cake. All of the girls love to cook and bake (yay for me sometimes) and she did a really great job. All I did was remind her to READ the directions - something her older sisters sometimes have trouble with (hence the banana bread disaster) and she made it perfectly. They all really like the bundt pan. Maybe it's just having a cake in an Other Than Rectangle shape. I don't know but that was what she wanted. So we heated up the frosting when it was done and poured it over the top. I think the best part was the frosting "pool" in the middle!

Hannah Montana Karaoke CD from her sisters!
Hannah Montana Barbie from Grandma and Grandpa Strange
Littlest Petshop Playset from Dad and Lisa
Seahawks Jersey from Mom and Doug! (That's right! The girl's a native!)

Tshirts from Grandma and Grandpa Sholdra
Apparently she didn't want to share the spotlight!

And no birthday is complete without Birthday Whoopin's!!

I love my children!

So I've set up my screen-saver on the computer in the breakfast room to the picture slide show. This has proven to be great fun considering all the pictures that we have. The girls love to sit and watch them scroll through. We were all sitting and watching the pictures and I looked at Doug and said "look Honey, that's when I was skinny!" Allie pipes in with "Mommy, you're still skinny". Krysty said "Yeah you look the same as you always have, just with a belly now".

I love my children.

Just when you're feeling your worst there's someone who thinks you're beautiful!

Making headlines

Ok it's not me personally making news but it's good to see this actually hitting mainstream media!
(Thank you Darling for finding this!)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/377621_csection04.html

A-Maze-Ing

Well it seems much to my dismay that summer is behind us and we are firmly into fall now. School has started, Jane's birthday is coming up, Thanksgiving is just around the corner and we're counting down until the baby comes. With that comes Doug's desire to get out and DO. It's his favorite time of year and it seems like he looks for more outings for us. So we all piled in the car and headed out to Maris Farms and the corn maze. They have so much to do there but we decided that we would limit it to the maze and save some of the other stuff for later. The girls had a great time and even though it was a little chilly I even enjoyed being outside.

It's always so nice to do these family things together. With our lives being so busy it's a nice break from everything to just connect together again.

Allie and Jane goofing off and Krysty with her new phone in her natural state

Apparently Doug didn't get the memo that it's not a smart move to critique the parking techniques of the pregnant woman

Getting started on the maze

View of the farm and the top of the corn maze from one of the bridges

Children of the Corn ;-)

Mom and girls trying to figure out the puzzle. It's harder than it looks!

Letting the shortest kid take pictures does not always get the most lattering of angles.

Apparently we need to go that way!!! ------->>>>>>>>>>

We decided to save pumpkin buying for our next trip - I'm pretty sure they'll have some left!

Beautiful fall sunset

Mom and Girls

Fall is always a special time for us

What a great end to a fun family trip out