Please stand and say the theme!

I recited this theme every Sunday alongside my church leaders and fellow young women for 6 years. I recently tried to recite this to myself, and I stumbled in a few places. I was able to do it, but I had to think about it. There has also been some new wording added since my days as a young women. I am not sure what made me think of the YW theme, but I am glad I did.

I can definitely be striving a lot more to live these values. So here I go again with some new goals.
I am going to use the theme as a guide. Everything I want to improve on in my life is essentially summed up in these values. That's kind of the point of the theme, right? So, I am going back to my youth. My goal list never really changes, so I will really just be saying that I am working on my "knowledge" when I finally start learning to play my guitar or my "Choice and accountability" when I finally start running (I joined a hood to coast team, so I better get going on this, chop chop!)
Etc Etc Etc....Wish me luck, and join me if you want to!

Wyatt Spencer

This is our sweet Wyatt Spencer. We chose Wyatt because we think it sounds manly and Spencer is after my favorite uncle.  We love our little Wyatt Spencer.

My sweet SIL snapped these photo's for me. PLEASE visit her website and use her for your photo needs, you wont regret it!

 http://www.christalannephotography.com/

Labor and Delivery. WYATT THE SPEEDING BULLET!

"My due date was yesterday. Honestly, I am so excited to have the baby, but at the same time I can wait. The longer he stays in, the better off Daniel will be during the delivery. That being said, this is the longest I've ever gone."
-Cami Houghtelling
4:40 pm August 22nd.

Those were the magic words. Truth be told, I'd been having contractions all day, but they weren't regular and they weren't getting stronger. I thought it was false labor.
I decided to make the kids clean their room around 7:15 that night. Normally they are in bed by then. I sat down on their bedroom floor, criss cross applesauce, to begin giving my orders. Clare and Max were putting toys in tubs, and I was bending every which way, getting anything within my reach...which really isn't saying much. 9 months pregnant people! Not alot of bending going on. Then at 7:30, I had the strangest feeling. "Did I just pee a little? Weird" Not kidding, those were my exact thoughts. Then my next thought was this: "I didn't even sneeze or cough or jump! That couldn't have been pee!" I got up, did some...investigation. Called for Daniel. " I think my water broke, but I really don't know"
"WOO HOO!" he said. I made the necessary phone calls, you know, call the Moms routine. But, I still wasn't convinced that my water had broken, so I told them I'd call after I took a shower. I still wasn't sure after my shower. Then there was another little trickle. Called the Moms again and got them on their way. My mother in law told me to call someone to take the kids till she could get here and I said "Nah, I can wait, it just broke 30 minutes ago". I got off the phone and....GUSH! OK Mother  in law, you win! I called my diligent visiting teacher whom I happen to adore, she is the sweetest most soft spoken person I've ever met...anyway, her and her husband came running and told us to hurry up. She has really fast labors, so she felt like I should hurry. She's a smart lady! My contractions really started to pick up at this point, and I couldn't really walk or talk through them.  On the way to the hospital, Daniel was getting a little antsy. I am a really bad car passenger, I get super anxiety and feel out of control. So, with Daniel feeling like he needed to drive fast, and me being in labor and all, I had to tell him to please just chill out! I cannot handle a race to the hospital, drive normal please, I am stressed out as it is! Well, he slowed a little, but not enough to make me Happy, so I just closed my eyes and put my head back. And then it happened. Road construction.
 "You have got to be kidding me! A freaking flagger and plates in the road!" I was a little upset. Thank goodness the flagger was in our favor and traffic seemed to be ignoring the fact that the flaggers sign said "slow".
We got to the hospital at about 8:45 pm. I had to go in through the ER entrance. I walked in, said I was having a baby, and they asked if I could walk to OB. HAHAHA! No. The security guard wheeled me there. Daniel was parking the car.  Once I was changed in to my hospital gown, she asked when labor started. i informed her that my water broke at 7:30 and the waters were clear. I got checked and I was at a 4...I knew I was in trouble. In the past, I went from a 5 to a 10 ridiculously fast. When she asked if I wanted an epidural, I told her I was undecided. She warned me that it takes about 30 minutes to even get the anesthesiologist there, so if I wanted one, I shouldn't wait until the last minute. The nurse left, I had one more contraction, and I asked for an epidural. (Daniel laughed) I had epidurals with the other kids, and I am a huge fan of them! Greatest thing modern medicine has ever done! The only reason I thought I might go without, is because we might not have anymore kids. I kind of wanted the experience.
Back to the story. I am still in labor!
Literally 5 minutes later, I am gracefully stating (screaming/grunting) "I need to push!" The nurse  barely heard me down the hall (could hear me loud and clear) and came running in...I said "please tell me I am still at a 4! I need an epidural!" She said " sure, you are 4... more...meaning 8" The doctor was sitting on the couch in my room, eating a sandwich, while the nurses scrambled to get everything ready. (Who does that???)
When the doctor was getting ready (I presume she finished her sandwich) I looked at her and asked her if I was going to get my epidural...she shook her head. "No".
 I calmly said (screamed)"THEN LETS GET HIM OUT!!!" At this point I was bound an determined to get this baby OUT! I was very graceful and quiet however. (Screaming, grunting, yelling, more yelling). I think I pushed about 5 times and the head was out, one more push for shoulders and AHHHHHH....sweet relief. Beautiful baby on my chest...Oh yeah, one more push for that placenta!
9:28 pm.
At this point, I told them to put something for pain in my IV, because lidocaine was not going to cut it, so to speak, for the necessary stitching. Once I had that , I was cracking jokes! Weird right? Seriously, I had the doctors and nurses cracking up! I just kept saying things like "oh my gosh, what just happened.I can't believe how loud I was. I used to make fun of women who were loud during child birth, but I always had epidurals!" Apparently, these were funny things to be saying after giving birth.
All in all, the whaling and gnashing of teeth was worth it. I got my natural child birth, and I didn't have to endure hours and hours of hard labor. If I had to go through hours of that, I think I would just die instead. All I could think when I knew I wasn't getting and epidural, was that I had to get him out. I gave it my all. I pushed as hard as I could. At one point, the doctor told me that I had to scoot down the bed more, and I told her no. Daniel told me I had to, and I told him no! I was in so much pain, I did not feel like I could do any scooting! Daniel and a nurse ended up grabbing me and moving me down.
 It's crazy the difference between natural and epidural.  I can understand telling a women who has an epidural to wait to push. You can't feel anything. But natural birth, you don't have a choice. Your body is going to push no matter what, hence the lady like grunting. I think he would have come out without me doing any extra pushing. It was a strange feeling. My body was pushing this kid out no matter what.
I had no time to come to terms with what was happening. You'd think I would be ready, after 9 months of pregnancy, but no. I did not expect to have record breaking speedy labor and delivery. 2 Hours start to finish. It all happened so fast, I am still amazed. I think I was in shock for a few hours after delivery...and so was Daniel for that matter. We are still talking about it in awe.

Wyatt Spencer Houghtelling
Born August 22nd, 2011 at 9:28 pm. 8 pounds 11 ounces and 21 inches long.
Not only our speeding bullet, but our biggest baby yet. We love him. Pictures coming.

Snips, Snails and bottles of Pee...That's what little boys are made of.

To make this story a little shorter, this bottle WAS filled with soap. The kids dumped all if the soap out in to the tub during bath time, leaving an empty bottle. The next day, this bottle was filled with what I thought was watered down dish sap that Daniel must have filled it with to compensate for the missing soap. So, I just left it alone. Later on, the bottle was gone. I just thought that was weird, and went on with the day. today, I went in the bathroom to wipe down the counter and when I opened up the cupboard to get the Lysol wipes, there was the mysterious bottle again. I decided to do further investigation this time. I shook it around a little. "Is this really watered down dish soap?" I thought. I opened it up. I took a big ol' whiff. Sure enough, NOT soap. I turned to Clare, who was "helping" me. I asked her what it was. "It's just pee." she said. "who peed in this?" "Just Max." 

I went in to the living room where I asked Daniel if had used this "soap". For those who don't know. Daniel has no sense of smell. None. Zip. Can't smell a flower or a fart. Nada. So, he could have easily thought the same thing I did, and unknowingly washed his hands with pee. Luckily he said no. PHEW! I told him what it was. We were both cracking up, when Max saw what I had. He instantly got upset. He did not want me messing with his bottle of pee. he was clearly enjoying peeing in to his bottle. Between our laughter, we explained that he would have to pee in the toilet from now on. This was yucky. After snapping a photo of the bottle (Duh, great blog material, must be documented for future remembrance and laughter!) I disposed of it.

A little later, I saw Max heading to the bathroom. I wondered what he would do...

Sure enough, he was looking for his bottle to pee in. I told him it was gone, so after moping for a second, he of course just used the toilet. I conclude from this that little boys are born with instincts on how to make gun noises, car noises, and also instinctively know that they can pee anywhere and in to whatever they want.

Boys make life more interesting, that's for sure. We love our little man and all the parental adventures he we have with him.

The saga continues: an update

Well, here we are. I feel like we are writing an epic bit of the story of our lives together. "These are days of our lives" LOL! If you get that joke, you rock.

Daniel had his surgery on Tuesday afternoon. They wheeled him in to surgery at 2:30 and he was done at 6:30. The surgeon said everything went great, but he did bleed a lot, but they were expecting that. I finally got to seen him around 9:00. He was very groggy and sick from the anesthesia, but he seemed to be in good spirits. He was just glad to have it over with. He is recovering just fine. He is up and around on crutches, but still has a hard time with simple tasks, like getting his left sock and shoe on. He can do most everything himself, just a little slower. He is in pain of course (Hello! they hammered a titanium rod into his femur and screwed it in to place with 4 screws!) He HATES the side effects of the medication he is on now. He only takes the pain killer if he absolutely has to. He also has to have a shot everyday for 3 weeks. It's an anti coagulant. He moves around so much, that I don't think we have to worry about him getting a blood clot, but, they insisted he use it. I should clarify that I give him the shot. Don't get me wrong, he is a tough guy...but he cannot give himself a shot. I had no idea how much this manly man of mine hates needles. It's kinda cute :) Watching them do his IV was really kind of funny. I was really surprised at what a nervous nelly he is when it comes to needles! Lets just say that he is not allowed to make fun of me for getting light headed when I have to get poked.
He left the hospital on Thursday. Man, we were soooo glad to get out of there. We went and got the kids and drove home. I have never been so happy to be home. HOME!

During all of this, all I could think was how glad I was that I did not have a newborn with me. It was much easier to just have a pregnant body, and not a recovering body. Not to mention, I did NOT want to have a newborn in a yucky hospital. It is really all working out for the best. My due date was yesterday. Honestly, I am so excited to have the baby, but at the same time, I can wait. The longer he stays in, the better off Daniel will be during the delivery. That being said, this is the longest I've ever gone.

Alright. Heavenly Father really knows me. I have to say, His tender mercies are over flowing in this household. Why did I ever think that having the baby before the surgery would be a good idea? It's a good thing He is watching out for me. I am so DUMB! He knows whats up.

Now on to the other blessings. Our devoted parents. My Mom and Dad stayed with me during my failed induction...they were there the entire 2 days. My poor Dad slept in his car! My poor Mom slept in the recliner in my room. They wouldn't leave my side, no matter how many times I told them that they should go home. My parents came to see me at OHSU the day of Daniel's surgery. My Mom had to leave early for work. But, before she left, she made it perfectly clear to my Dad that he was not going with her. He dutifully babysat me all day long and then drove me back to my in laws at 10:30, when we finally left.  It was nice to just hang with him for an entire day. We had some good conversation.

Daniel's parents. Wow. They came and got our kids on day we went to the hospital to "have the baby". They waited and waited until the next day for the baby to come, when they finally left. While they waited around, they kept busy by clening all the things I didn't get to before we went in. My nesting instinct was going crazy, and the things that I didn't get around to were magically done for me! My nasty fridge and microwave were spotless when I got back. As the days have gone on, I've noticed MANY other things that got done as well.
They had our kids for 7 days straight! So, they took the kids starting Friday morning, and had them until Thursday afternoon. I can't even believe it. It was such a relief to know that they were in good, capable hands and in a place where they were wanted and loved and not being treated as burdens. They are very devoted grandparents. I know it must have worn them out, but they certainly didn't make us feel bad about it, not even once. We were told to just not worry about it. THEN, they came to our house (an 1 1/2 hour drive) on Saturday and painted a vacant apartment for us. Not to mention, they are still planning on watching the kids during the next (an hopefully last) hospital visit. And this time, I am going to have another grandchild for them darn it!

We are so overwhelmed by all of their support. All 4 of them are still calling and texting everyday to make sure we are OK. They must really love us. I am so thankful for the service they have done for us.

Also, the support from our friends and family on Facebook has been awesome! Being able to open FB on my phone and get a quick little bit of encouragement and love from everyone was great. So thanks to everyone there as well.

In theory, my next update should be a labor and delivery story. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Christal Anne Photography

http://www.christalannephotography.com/

Just a quick plug for my sister in law. Check her out if you need some great photos!

An unsuccessful induction? That can happen?

Yes, it can. I had no idea it was possible to have an unsuccessful induction. NO idea. But, sigh, I did. Also, if you are a guy, you probably do not want to read this...you've been warned.

First of all, I hate IV"s. Who doesn't. The nurse that did mine was so nice, and was so embarrassed when it took her 6, yes, 6 times to get my IV in. My veins kept blowing, and it definitely didn't help that I was passing out. My ears were ringing and everything was going dark and she slapped the oxygen on my face. I sat up higher in my bed, and felt much better, but none the less, everyone involved was traumatized. Mostly me though. I have the bruises to prove it.

After that, I thought I'd get hooked up to the pitocin and this party was going to get started. Lets have us a baby!
Not so much.
I was induced with Clare, and I started and the same place with her. 50% effaced and dilated to a 2. They just hooked up the Pitocin and everything progressed juuuust fine.
Not this time! I was told that they had to "ripen" my cervix first. So, no Pit, just little pill being inserted every 4 hours up my who ha. I know, that sounds so fun right?? After the 2nd pill, I stared to have labor pains, and I thought that things were actually going to work out...that is until the time for the 3rd pill came and they said I could not have one, I was contracting to much. OK, good, I guess? I got up and went for a walk. A vigorous one. That's what they told me to do. Then, when I laid back down, my contractions completely stopped. I called the nurse and told her this, so she said she would monitor me for about 30 minutes and come back with another pill. She never came back, in fact, no one came. After a few hours of waiting patiently, I call for a nurse. The nurse that came in was...cold. I said that "I feel like I've lost all my momentum, can I please have another pill? And I need another dose of antibiotics, and could you please check on the baby's heart rate?" You know, all the things that they should have been on top of. The nurse was so cold! That is the only word I can think of to describe her. She basically said too bad. Why? Because the screaming an whaling woman across the hall and the one down the hall were ready to deliver, and they were under staffed and it would be un safe to give me another pill, but they'd hook up the heart rate monitor and start another round of antibiotics for me. They literally just stopped giving me care, and didn;t even bother to tell me why for several hours. So, I was having labor pains for the better part of the day, and it was all for nothing. I finally got another pill ant 2:30 in the morning. Gee, thanks. That was pointless. It did nothing. Let me also say, that the nurses believed they were doing what was best for everyone by doing this. BUT, why in the world could they not understand why I was upset? AND, why could they not have popped in to my room to let me know that they were understaffed and would not be in for a while? Why would they just leave me hanging for several hours with no care and no answers?? I was not happy.

Saturday morning came, I had my good nurse back, and I expressed that I just wanted to be hooked up to the Pitocin, no more pills. The doctor came in and checked me and guess what??? I was right where I started on Friday. 50%, and 2, and -2 station. I am convinced that this is because they let my labor stop and so much time passed before I got another pill. The doctor agreed to start with pitocin. Great! Right. After another day on that, I was 70% effaced, and at a 3, still -2 station. I was in pain all day, and that is as far as I got. WHAT THE HECK!! This is soooo not like my other deliveries! I asked them to break my water, but since the baby's head was not engaged,(-2 station) they could not. I was told that if I did not make any more progress by 5:00, they wanted to take me off pitocin and give me pills again for the night, to let me rest. If you are anything like me you are laughing right now. I politely declined. I was going home. No way was I going to sit through another night in that horrible bed, with nurses that can't handle their job. Sure enough, no progress, but lots of pain. I was pretty upset. I ached all over from the uncomfortable bed and from having contractions all day for nothing, and my sore arms from all the attempted IV'S. I just wanted to go home. Did I mention that they had me on a clear liquid diet this entire time??? Yup...add hunger...no, add starvation in to the mix.

I left totally defeated. Here is my conclusion.
I wanted so badly to just have a plan. I wanted everything to be under control. I wanted to make sure that this baby comes at a convenient time for us, what with Daniel's surgery being on Tuesday. My will was not in line with Heavenly Fathers. After the induction was scheduled, I was relieved. I was so glad that I talked my doctors in to doing it. But, I had a nagging feeling that I shouldn't do it. You know what I am talking about? Just a little nagging feeling that I was making the wrong choice. I was so happy on the one hand to have it scheduled, but didn't have the peace of mind I was hoping for.

I guess I am just one of those people that needs to be slapped in the face in order to learn what Heavenly Father wants us to learn. I should have trusted HIS plan (whatever it is) and I never should have ignored that nagging feeling.
Oh well! What's done is done, and I learned a lesson. I can say that I will never ignore that nagging feeling again. Peace of mind is the way to go. Silly me, I should have learned this a looooong time ago. Obviously, Heavenly Father has another plan. So,I am just giving it all to Him. His plan HAS to better than mine anyway. And, if I go in to labor while Daniel is still in the hospital, well, I guess it will make for a great story that I can laugh about in oh, say, 50 years.

We are heading off to Portland tonight, and Daniel gets checked in to the hospital at 10:15 tomorrow morning. We are so gratful for a lot of things right now. We are so glad that he can have this surgery. It is a blessing, even though the timing is a little hectic. At least it happened now, rather than when we quit his job to start the apprenticship and he has no insurance for a while. We see all the blessings, and even though we are stressed, we feel very blessed. I can actually say that we don't even feel like it's a trial anymore. It's just lots of blessings. A great new career, insurance, a sweet new baby and the list goes on. Lucky us.   :)
It must be all the prayers all of you wonderful people are saying in our behalf. Thank you!

CRAZY TIMING

Well, we have stuff going on. CRAZY stuff. Stuff that would make weaker women cry.(Oh wait, I did...) Here is the scoop. As most know, I am 38 weeks pregnant. 38 weeks people! It's time to get this party started! Well. This party is off to a wild start, and hopefully, a calm finish. You might be asking what in the heck I am talking about?? It's just having a baby, and it's her third one! No big deal! Right. That's what I was thinking up until a few weeks ago. Let me start from the beginning. 38 weeks ago, I got pregnant. Wait, that's too far back. Let me start on June 17th. On June 17th, Daniel started working 7 days a week, 12 hours a day. His left leg also started to cause him a lot of pain, resulting in a serious limp. About 3 weeks after that, He decided that he need to see a doctor, ASAP, because he was afraid he had a stress fracture in his femur (Thigh). This same bone broke when he was in 5th grade, and he already knew the bone was weak due to his Bone disease. He has Fibrous Dysplasia in certain bones, this thigh being one of them. ANYWAY, we went to the urgent care , where we saw a very mean doctor.(but that is beside the point). She sent him for a x-ray. After this mean doctor and the local orthopedic doctor looked at his x-ray, this what we got. "I don't see a break, but the bone doesn't look right, it's probably just inflamed". WHAT?????? How do you get an inflamed femur? Daniel, being much more polite than me, explained that he already knew the bone was messed up and that she (the mean doctor) would not be able to help him, we just need something for pain and a referral to see an orthopedic specialist at OHSU. Thankfully, she obliged. Now, 1 month after the pain started, we are sitting in an orthopedic specialist's office, at a hospital that has a lot of his records and can competently understand his unique situation. The doctor talks with us, gets to know us, examines him, looks at his x-rays, old and new, and says that the bone IS fractured and we have 2 options. 1. Do nothing. Live with the pain, and wait for the bone to break on it's own, which is very likely and very scary and life threatening. Or 2. Have surgery, Put a rod  and screws in his bone and live a normal, pain free life without fear of your bone breaking. HMMMMM. Let me think about this....Surgery it is.

Daniel was prepared for this. I was not. I could not mentally figure out what him having surgery meant for us. I posted on Facebook a while ago that Daniel was accepted in to an electrical apprenticeship training. Pretty awesome news. That's a hard thing to get in to on your own. Yes, he IS the MAN. So, having surgery effects this how? What about his current job? What about our managing job? How are we going to swing this? We have a baby on way!!! My world felt pretty scary as I contemplated all the variables. I knew 2 things. 1. We have to start his apprenticeship, ASAP(which also means moving back to the Portland area). 2. We are having a baby. Basically, my mind was SPINNING. There was to much to think about, like our income. HELLO. He can't work for 6 weeks after the surgery! (We have a small savings, and thank goodness, short term disability insurance.) PHEW. Anyway, there are about a million things going through my mind.

So, here are my main concerns and fears. I don't know the dates for anything! When am I going to have the baby? When should we schedule the surgery? When can we quit his current job and thus give up the insurance that is covering all of this, so that he can start his apprenticeship, and when in the HECK are we going to move? I gave myself 1 day to cry about all of this. Then I moved on and accepted that I would just have to trust Heavenly Father. Then we scheduled the surgery for august 16th. Turns out, I needed one more crying day. My due date is September 21st. AHHH! What if I go in to labor while he is still in the hospital, or the day before he goes in, or or or or or or!!! AHHHHHH! Here I go again with the spinning head.

At my 37 weeks visit with my midwife, I know that I am 50% effaced and dilated to a 2. Hmmm. Let me tell you why you should induce me please! After the explanation, and her seeing how worried, shaken, stressed I was, she talked to the other doctor, and got me scheduled for an induction. Normally, they do not even consider inducing until you are a week late. I will be induced 9 days early. I can hear all the hippies now...."NOOOOOOOO".  Yes. I need to have control over this. I need to know the date I am having him. He will be born on August 12. So here is the schedule.

August 12: Deliver the baby.
August 14: Go home from the hospital.
August 15: Go to Portland
August 16: Surgery
August 18, 19 or 20th: Go home...Again.

Both of us can adjust and start our recoveries...Life will calm down for a bit (as calm as it can be anyway). Then we will have to move.

Now, if you have read this far, thanks! I am so nervous about everything. I will be a tired Mommy with a sore body, and Daniel the same. We have a lot of support from our family. We do not get any time off from our managing job, so it's back to the grindstone as soon as we get back. Our older kids will hopefully adjust well with all of this as well. I am afraid that they are going to get the worst of this. I am praying so hard for them right now. I really hope that we can just buck up and get through this with good attitudes and stronger faith.

I would also like to mention my manly man. He has had 1 day off in the last 2 months, and it was spent at the doctors. He has gone to work on a broken leg, in agonizing pain everyday, and with out complaint. He WALKS all day. He must really love us. I feel so lucky to have him. He is super human. Who can do that?? My husband can. MY MAN. It breaks my heart to see him limping and occasionally cry out in pain. I have tried not complain to him, but I am not as strong as him. I needed to cry, he didn't. I complained, he didn't. I am doing much better now that I have dates, and some control over the situation. but it's still in Heavenly Fathers hands completely. I should really feel special knowing that He wouldn't have tried us in this way if we couldn't handle it. Man, we rock!  ;)

I have arrangements for the kids during all of this, so that is a load off my mind as well.  They will be having fun with Grandma and Grandpa H. during my hospital stay and Daniel's. I'll be staying either with them, or at my sisters house while Daniel is in the hospital. I just have to get my mind to stop worrying and enjoy the blessings in all of this.

1. Apprenticeship
2. Family
3. Short term disability insurance
4. Counsel from our church to live below our means and have at least a small savings
5. Understanding bosses
6. A not perfect, but strong marriage
7. Health insurance, with an out of pocket maximum that will easily be covered with our next tax return.

We are just praying at this point that everything goes according to plan. An easy delivery, and a healthy baby. A text book surgery with a speedy recovery.

Wow, sorry if this is poorly written and chaotic. I can't even keep my thoughts clear long enough to write something that makes sense.

And the winner is.....

And the winner of the baby name poll is............NEITHER! Lane and Reed both fell out of the running. But thanks for voting! We have decided on a name, but I will announce it when he is born. (Unless you are someone I've told already) It just seems like more fun to announce the name at the same time as the birth. But don't worry, you wont have to wait long!

My baby is 5!

Did my daughter really just turn 5? I am still having a hard time believing this. Then again, I feel this way every year on her birthday.

 She really took charge of present time. She was on it like white on rice.

 The birthday cake. I cut the unicorn out of a birthday card that some family friends mailed her, then Grandma H. decorated the cake. See the black and white stripes on the left side of the picture SHANEL DAY? THERE YOU GO. MY BELLY.  ;)

 Biting Grandpa A's finger

 Time to eat! Almost as exciting as opening presents.

After all the festivities, Grandpa H. took everyone for a ride on his boat. ALWAYS a fun treat. Happy birthday Clare! You are soooooo loved!

This is just a cute video of some cute kids...AKA, my kids and my nephew. 

Also, if anyone knows why Blogger wont let me put titles on my posts anymore, please let me know.

We are having a hard time choosing a name for this little guy. It is a toss up between Lane and Reed. The middle name will be Spencer. Clare insists on T-rex. In fact, every time we talk about the 2 names, she interrupts to inform us that his name WILL BE T-rex.

In no way will this poll actually have any bearing on our final decision. I am just looking for some outside perspective. We have had the 2 names picked out for a while so I am pretty sure it will be one of the 2 unless something pops up at the last minute.

So what do you think? Lane Spencer or Reed Spencer???

Ok. I have some blog/journaling catch up to do. A few events and fun things have happened since my last post. In my defense, I have been working on all the major projects that I want to get done before I have the baby. OOh! I think that sounds like a post in itself! Anyway, we've had fun with cousins, a camp out, pre-school graduation, and a "girls only party"....HERE WE GO!

On the night of the father son camp out, Clare was DEVASTATED that she couldn't go.  She kept saying "you're just teasing, I can go!" I ended up having a girls party with her to make it up to her. We started the night with some chocolate sorbet. We could have stopped there, and she would have been thrilled, but next,

 we painted each others nails. She loved painting my fingers and toes for me. She did a pretty good job too! (But I did choose clear with sparkles, just in case)

 After that, I let her choose a movie. At this point it was about 10pm. She didn't last long. The ottoman was just to comfy, and she zonked. I love having a daughter. She is the best. I so loved being able to give her all this attention and just be girly together. She's so sweet.

 The next day we went fishing with Daniels Dad and brother. I have a really funny video of the kids being very excited to see a fish that was caught.

 This, in case you ever wondered, is what 17 kids, ages 17 and below, look like after 4 days of camping. DIRT + CUTE= TIME TO GO HOME! The camp out was really fun. There are so many kids, that they didn't have time to get bored. Play was on the agenda all day every day. Great memories were made. By the end of a day, my kids were so worn out. They got super cranky, and it didn't take long for them to fall asleep. 10 minutes maximum. I loved it.

 My baby graduated from pre-school! What the heck! I don't even know how this is possable. She will be 5 next month. The time really goes by way to fast, and I find myself feeling like I need to be enjoying every minute in case I blink and they are grown up. It seems like I was just pregnant with her, but somehow I am expecting number 3. 

 Clare had 2 teachers. She really loved this teacher in particular. She was really good with Clare. Clare will miss this school, but is very excited for kindergarten. Apparently this little boy had a thing for Clare...I veto.

 The kids were called up one at a time to stand on a little podium and get their medal and certificate. Clare ran up there and gave everyone a HUGE smile, and everyone laughed. We didn't get a good picture of it, she was too fast!

So there you go. Our last months activities. Now I get to check this off my to do list...I LOVE DOING THAT!

I think my baby is Mexican.

Well, not really of course! This baby is as white as they come.

I just can't seem to get mangos out of my mind! Mangos were on sale so I bought 5 of them last week. I have since devoured 5 mangos. I explained my new found mango obsession to Daniel, and  the converstion that followed left us with only one conclusion. It's a mexican fetus.

There are no implications here. Just a joke.  My good name has not been soiled.

Asthma

Clare's asthma has been getting worse these days. Her allergist when she was 2 warned me that this would happen. Children with food allergies tend to also have asthma and will also develop seasonal allergies, which worsen over time. As the weather is warming, the seasonal allergies are starting. Clare has never had a problem with this yet. She never used to have asthma attacks, just wheezing when she had a cold, requiring her to have a nebulizer. She has now had 2 asthma attacks. I have gone to the doctor to get the emergency inhaler, and she is also taking claritin and singular and a long acting medication in the nebulizer (not just albuterol). DAILY. I can't stand this. No one should be on that many meds, least of all a 4 year old.
I started feeling like I needed to take her off gluten/wheat a few months ago. With all of these new developments in her health, I am going to listen to my instincts and go for it.
I am being met with a lot a skepticism on this issue. Daniel thinks I am nuts! I am not saying that she has celiacs, she does not. I am not even saying she is allergic to it. This is what I am saying:
I believe that with her other food allergies, it would make sense that she may have a SENSITIVITY to wheat. In the nearly 5 years that I have been dealing with and learning about food allergies and all the diagnostic tests they do for them, I KNOW that food allergy testing can be very inconclusive. You can get both false positives and false negatives. I am not going to have her tested for this allergy, because as I already said, I believe it is a sensitivity, NOT an allergy. I believe that it is making her asthma symptoms and triggers worse as she gets older.
I have really been feeling prompted to do this. I am feeling like a mother bear protecting her cub on this issue, because a lot of people think I am crazy and wrong. They disagree that this will possibly help her. So, I am just going to get this off my chest: Do not tell me that I am wrong, I AM NOT!! All of you mothers out there know what this feels like. We have instincts and promptings. We know our children better than anyone else does. So, I am doing this for my child. I don't care that it will be inconvenient. I don't want her on all these meds that will only treat the symptom, not fix the problem.
HOWS THAT FOR A RANT!!!!!    :)

Also, if you are interested, I am not just pulling this out of my rear. Here is a short tidbit I found online to back me up. I like this because it is short and to the point and addresses most of the reasons I have been trying to explain to people.




"Asthma is strongly linked to environmental irritants and allergens. It is often triggered by physical exertion.



Typical asthma triggers include smoke (tobacco, wood fires etc.), chemicals, pollen, dust and dust mites, mold, pet dander and cockroaches.



Here are hidden asthma factors that no one is talking about: wheat and gluten.



These foods are probably not direct asthma triggers for most people.



A surprising number of people may be experiencing asthma from wheat and gluten, but indirectly.



Some studies have show a link between gluten sensitivity and asthma. For example, children with asthma have a higher incidence of celiac, according to one study.



Other studies have shown that when some people eliminate wheat from their diet, their exercise-induced anaphylaxis symptoms stop.



Numerous reports and anecdotal stories are showing a strong link between wheat or gluten, and asthma.



A reaction to wheat and a reaction to gluten may be two different things. What they have in common, besides the high levels of gluten in wheat, is that they are common foods, nearly impossible to avoid.



Because they are likely to be in your diet on a multiple-times-per-day basis, and because their effects are delayed, as are the benefits when these foods are removed from your diet, it is unlikely that you would notice the connection between wheat or gluten, and asthma.



However, if you eliminate all gluten-containing foods for three to four weeks, you may notice a big improvement in your asthma symptoms. I sure hope you do. Please add a comment with your story after you have tried this.



Note that traditional allergy tests may come up negative for wheat and gluten.



There are several reasons why you should ignore the results of such tests and try eliminating gluten from your diet instead. This is of course the ultimate test.



For one thing, if you have celiac, you don’t have an allergy, you have a specific reaction to gluten in your gut. This is a very serious condition that can do tremendous damage over time. There are tests for celiac disease.



Another reason tests are not that accurate. They give false positives, false negatives, and may miss other immune reactions such as delayed food reactions, food sensitivities etc.



So forget the tests, if you have asthma, try a gluten-free diet, and see what happens"

Happy Mothers Day

Whodunit?

We colored eggs on Saturday night, and with much anticipation of the Easter bunny and their Easter baskets, the kids went off to bed. The next day, I totally slept through the ravaging of the Easter baskets, so no pics. Whatcha gonna do? I am a tired Mommy.

 They We weren't really feelin' it.

My snoozing had consequences however, in the form of rubber stamp ink. The only only question is , whodunit??

I think the real culprit is caught red handed. Literally.

Max

Proudly showing me a stick he liked.

"Mommy, Spider man is a boy?"

"Yes honey, he's a boy."

"Oh. I not spiderman yet."

"Are you going to be spiderman?"

"Uh huh, I a boy."

He is going to be so disappointed someday, but he can be my little super hero instead....

Today, Max put his hand on my tummy to feel the baby kick. Before he actually could feel him kick,

Max pulled his hand away quickly and said " OUCH! the baby hit me!" Then he did it again and said

"OUCH! Not again!" This went on for several minutes. He had me completely entertained. How did his little brain come up with that?? Silly boy.

At bedtime: "Good night Max, you are my sweet boy, I love you."

"Good night Mommy, you're my girl."

Best MOMent ever.

Zoo

 With our second sunny day last week, we went to the zoo. Last time I was at the zoo, Clare was a baby. Let me tell you, seeing the zoo through my kids eyes was so fun. It was pure magic to them since they had never experienced it before.

 Max just watched a cute little monkey swing from right in front of him, up some vines to the very top of the cage. He loved that.





When ever I tell Clare to smile, she makes this face. It's not her natural smile, but adorable none the less. 

 It was my nephews 17th birthday, and he spent it with us at the zoo! How nice to have him come with me and help me keep track of the kids in the crazy Saturday crowds.

 I was sitting on a bench while they climbed on these stone animals. I watched Max sit like this for about 5 minutes. He was soooo tired, he totally zoned out. It was the end of the day.

Clare likes the boy lions better than the girl lions. Perhaps it's her excitement of having 2 brothers now?? Nope. It's the mane. I asked.

A nice spring day

We have actually had a few beautiful spring days already! We went for a bike ride to enjoy one of those days.

One of my very favorite things is when my kids pick flowers for me. She always wants me to wear them in my hair.

 Of course stopping to look at stuff is part of the fun.

She wanted me to tie dandelions to her bike the entire time. "It makes my bike look pretty."

What do you do when Mommy tells you it's time to turn around? Push your bike over and kick it.

And of course we had to have a little drama. It's all part of the adventure that is parenting.