Happy New Year?

I am ready for 2008 to be over with. I am taking a brief break from end of year financials (try not to be jealous) to share with you the major events that 2009 will be bringing, hopefully, to our family

* My first born, Matthew, will be turning 5 in a couple of weeks! It seems like I was just pregnant with him.

* I am turning the big 3-0...tears to follow.

* Kevin will be looking for a new job

* My last baby will turn 1.

* Hopefully my sister and her husband will announce an upcoming addition to their family.

* More good times with our friends and families...either in person or sharing through these blogs!

Thank you to each of you who are a part of our lives. Even if we don't see you or talk to you much, please know that we are greatful for all of our friends. Now, as for Alex - quick update...Upper G.I. scheduled on Tuesday, January 6. More information to follow after that!

Hospital Pics

Here are some pictures of the stay at the hospital. We went for several walks in the skybridges and around the hospital. Matthew had a great time holding his little brother in the red wagons provided for us on our walks. Enjoy!










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Christmas Eve

Well, we got to go home from the hospital last Monday and everything was going well...then Tuesday night the diarreha and vomitting started again. I seriously thought I was going to come undone. We called the pediatrician and got in on Wednesday morning. Since it was Christmas Eve, our pediatrician wasn't in, but the ANRP was. She said that Alex was doing well as far as his hydration was concerned, and there was nothing that we could do. I asked for a referral to the Peds G.I. doctor and she said that they would start working on it. About 30 minutes later I got a phone call from their office saying that the Peds G.I. doctor would review his file in a couple of weeks and decide if he was going to see Alex. At this point the tears started flowing uncontrolled. How long was this going to go on? Alex was so pale on Tuesday night I was afraid to put him down.

To make a long story short, I called my mom hysterically crying. She made a phone call to the VP of the Children's Hospital, who made a phone call to the Peds G.I. doctor on our behalf. At 12:00 that afternoon Alex was being seen by Dr. Abou-Harb. THANK GOD! Alex is scheduled for an upper G.I. next week sometime to review his anatomy and find out what is causing all of this stomach upset.

Christmas Eve only continued to get better. That same morning, dad's garage heater went out, later in the day they were out shopping for a new oven because their existing oven quit and my parents were hosting people for Christmas Eve dinner, then the prime rib caught on fire on the grill. We had a great time at dinner and playing our annual family game. At about 12:20, I heard Matthew crying in the basement and he wasn't stopping. Just as I was going downstairs Kevin opened the door and said "Matthew is throwing up". And so it went. Matthew was up every 2 hours vomitting and crying. It quit after exactly 12 hours.

Did I mention all of the snow??

Alex Update - Sunday

We managed to make it through the night with just a little skiff of diarreha in the diaper. Alex was offered Nutramagin last night around 8pm...and promptly spit it back out at us. He is not too impressed with his new diet.

This morning we had more blood work drawn to see how his bi-carb level was...and it is still only at 18, so still considered to be low. We need to get him at 20 and sustain it there before they will consider allowing us to go home. It will help if we can get him to eat some more formula. The hospitalist was just in to see us and said that if he continues to refuse the Netramagin she will write for a formula that is a little more vanilla flavored...and is covered by our insurance! :)

Until tomorrow...

Alex Update

So I was wrong about it being a C-Diff. That came back negative, surprisingly. The only other thing that the doctor can figure out is that we are dealing with a milk protein allergy. They drew more blood this afternoon to try and determine if an allergy is possible. We are at Sacred Heart until the diarreha stops and he can tolerate solid foods (i.e. formula). They are going to back us off of a formula with soy and put us on a special formula (that insurance will cover, thankfully, with a prescription).

On Monday the Peds G.I. doctor will be in to talk to us about a possible scope of his digestive system if nothing has improved significantly. At this point, Kevin and I are hoping that we are discharged in time for Christmas.

More to come....

Elbows deep in...part 2

Well, I am typing this from my office at Sacred Heart while taking a break from our hospital room. Alex was hospitalized last night for the same stuff we have been dealing with now for almost 2 weeks. We are waiting for the lab results to come back on a C-Diff or Rotovirus, but at this point they are leaning towards a C-Diff. We are likely "in" for one more night. Alex is doing mostly well. He doesn't like the IV in his hand and is not too impressed with his current diet...pedialite.

More when I have some news.

An Annual Family Event

My mom has this thing about Christmas...she goes nuts. At her house there are 3 (yes, t-h-r-e-e) Christmas trees, an obnoxious looking train attached to her balcony and the lights on the front of the house as well. The only reason that there are lights on our house this year is that she convinced Matthew that Santa Claus won't be able to find our house unless the lights are up and on. It took me 15 minutes to calm him down the other night after they were turned off at 10:00pm.

Another family tradition is our trip to sit on Santa's lap. We usually end up downtown since the tree is so much prettier and the Santa doesn't look like the anorexic one at the Valley Mall (seriously, for those of you living in Spokane go check him out...he looks like Santa after a year of Weight Watchers). Of course we have to get the picture. So, for your viewing pleasure, here is the Couture-Buck-Wilson family Christmas picture.

Elbows deep in....

So, Alex had his first official illness...the stomach flu. Better known as Gastrointeritis. It started out all innocent with a few soft poopies, but quickly manifested into a full on diaper changing event. Just to give you an idea...Kevin changed 5 diapers between 2am and 8am, all nasty. Then the vomitting started. After 5 days of Poopie Madness 2008 and then 2 days of vomitting, we decided to call the pediatrician. No luck getting him in there. So, we considered urgent care...then I realized that we would most likely be sent to Sacred Heart anyway for rehydration. Kevin and I ended up just bringing him to the ED so that we weren't waiting for 2 hours at urgent care, and waiting again at the ED for an IV.

Alex took his IV like a champ. They were able to rehydrate him and he acted like a whole new baby...but it was sad to see the IV sticking out of his poor little baby hand. And what kind of parents would we be if we didn't take at least one picture? It is on Kevin's phone, so I will get it off and add to this post soon.

I think that the baby has had more than his fair share of trips to the doctor recently, so I am hoping that the poop and vomit fairy won't be visiting him again for a LONG TIME!

Alex at 4 months

Month 4 finds us introducing fresh fruits (yes, I am making my own) and Alex rolling over in his crib. We had a minor emergency on Thanksgiving when Matthew accidentally tripped over Alex and landed on him with his knee straight to the sternum. Matthew was so upset and we were all crying (me because Kevin scared the crap out of me when he started screaming my name). Thankfully, no one is seriously hurt, just bruised a little bit. Alex is currently 16 lbs 12 oz and 25 inches long. He is in the 75th percentile for both height and weight and was not too impressed with Dr. McManus' feeble attempts to make him smile or laugh. He just wanted to go home! For your viewing pleasure, here are some pictures and an attempt at a video of the little guy.

Update on dad

Dad went to the neurosurgeon last week. Apparently the spot that they found only showed up on one of the MRI films, so the doctor was not overly concerned that this is something serious and certainly is not life-threatening. All I can say is thank you for all of your prayers.

Dad is going to have another MRI in January to make sure that the spot hasn't grown at all. If it has, the doctor is going to do a needle biopsy to see if it is a cancerous tumor, but said that even if it is, the tumor is growing in a very treatable area.

Prayers needed please

Tonight at family dinner we got some news that was a little disheartening. My dad went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago because of some headaches that he had been having. The doctor ordered an MRI and they found a small spot on his frontal lobe. No one is quite sure what to make of it. It could be anything from an infection, to the early stages of M.S. to a tumor. My mom and dad are going to the neurosurgeon Thursday of this week.

Please pray for my dad and our family that this is nothing serious. The good news is that his doctor feels that whatever he has is very treatable and nothing to be overly concerned about, but that doesn't make me any less worried.

Gratitude - As Stolen from Misty

My friend Misty started blogging once a day about things that she is greatful for. Since I know that I will never be able to keep up with her "one thing a day" pace, I decided to combine it all into one post.

So, I am thankful for the following things:

My family - we are all very close and talk all the time. In fact, we start to think that something is wrong if we haven't heard from each other all day. I am especially thankful for my husband, Kevin, for giving me a wonderful home and two beautiful boys. Matthew and Alex are what I am most thankful for in my life.

My friends - You know that old poem about friends that you talk to everyday, friends that you talk to once a month and friends that you talk to once a year? I have friends that span the whole spectrum. Luckily, they all understand and are just as busy as I am. I am thankful everyday that I have such a great group of friends that I can turn to at any time.

My job - I LOVE MY JOB!! 'Nuff said!

My health - I am so fortunate that I can provide health insurance for myself and my family, that I never have to worry about my boys getting in to see a doctor because I can't afford it and that God continually pushes me to stay in shape for the sake of my family.

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all get a chance to take some time and give thanks for what you have all been blessed with.

Some pictures of some of my favorite people

I had the opportunity to take a week off a few weeks ago and go south to Del Rio, TX. Thanks to my good friend Laurie for getting the ticket and picking me up in San Antonio. Del Rio was very HOT! I was thinking that it was too hot for October and had to laugh at all of the weenies who were whining the night it got down to 50 degrees. Just to give you some perspective...our high temperature today was 42 degrees, maybe.

Back in January a member of Kevin's family accused me of having an affair with David (wow, that was original...like I hadn't heard that one before). Anyway, the joke was that I was taking Alex to meet his real daddy, but as you will see from the pictures, Alex looks nothing like David so I guess that he must really be Kevin's. Too bad, Laurie would be an excellent step mommy to Alex. HAHAHAHA.

Here is me with Allen...I just love this kid. He can make you smile at any time!


Hm...I don't see a family resemblance...guess my secret is safe!


The Hanline Family


Aunt Laurie and Alex

Adult Halloween

We went to a party last night that one of the CRNA's from the hospital threw at a covered barn. WE HAD A BLAST!!! It was so nice to have an evening of adult activities rather than spending the evening with our mouthy 4 year old (not that I don't enjoy time with them, but both Kevin and I needed a break). I went as Marilyn Monroe this year. Kevin got some playboy pj pants and went as Hugh Hefner. A great time was had by all!

"Marilyn and Hef"


He dipped me and my wig came off.

Alex Baptism

We baptized Alex on Saturday, October 4. It was a bittersweet weekend...as it was 5 years ago that my Grandma Millie passed away. We miss her so much and I just know she would have loved my boys.

We are blessed to have wonderful Godparents for Alex. Thank you to Kristin, Phil, Eric and Jenna for being willing to guide Alex in his spiritual life. You are all very special to us and we love you very much.

Thanks, especially, to my wonderful friend Misty for taking such great pictures of all of us. If you want to see them click here.

Texas in October

I just got back last night from a wonderful visit with my good friend, Laurie, and her family. I took Alex with me and we began our adventure last Tuesday morning at 6AM with a flight from Spokane to Denver, a short stop and on to San Antonio. Now, allow me to brag. Alex didn't cry once, not even a whimper. I think people naturally get very nervous when they see an infant get on a flight...but Alex impressed everyone with his ability to just sit there and be quiet. What a good baby! The drive from San Antonio to Del Rio was another story...have I mentioned that my baby HATES his car seat?

David and Laurie are moving to another home in Del Rio this week, so most of the week was spent packing up and taking small loads to their new house. Then, David gets the bright idea (on Friday night mind you) to have a yard sale on Saturday morning. This story will take an entirely separate blog. Let's just say that David wasn't as organized as he could have been and there were random people wandering into the room that I was sleeping in to look at the tv that was in the room. Ever been woken up by strange people looking at you speaking a foreign language?

Can you believe it?

Here are the pictures of Alex at 2 months old. Right now he is not as happy as he looks in these pictures, so my post will be rather short. Gotta go rescue my little man from his mean old daddy (since this baby never wants him...just mommy!)!

Pumpkin Patch

Last week my sister asked me if I wanted to take the boys to the Pumpkin Patch. I had never actually been to a "pumpkin patch" before, so I was totally game. We decided that we would go on Saturday afternoon. Matthew had a total ball. We left Alex at home with daddy because it was VERY cold here and VERY windy at Green Bluff. We picked out a pumpkin and then went into the play area for about 45 minutes so that Matthew could jump on all of the inflatable toys. He even met a nice older boy who helped him through one of the inflatable toys that required a little bit of climbing.

Here are some pictures. I know that I have derilect in getting pictures of Alex up, and I will do that, but I have most of the pictures at 2 months on my mom's camera. We are going for family dinner tonight, so I will blog a little bit from there. I can't believe how big he is getting and how much he is changing every day. Alex and I are headed to Del Rio to visit my friend Laurie in a couple of weeks, so his three month pictures will be taken there.

Looking at the pumpkins:


Let's see what's over there:


So many pumpkins, so little time:


I found one...better sit on it so no one else gets it:


Pumpkin picking makes me laugh:


Gee, I don't look like my mommy and Aunt do I?


The nice boy who helped me in the bouncer:

Alex - 2 Month Update

Alex is getting bigger and bigger every day...I swear it! He had his first shots yesterday which were anything but fun. We spent the evening dealing with a very fussy little baby. He has also caught his first cold, so it was almost a double whammy for him.

Here are his "stats": he is currently 13 pounds, 10 oz. and 23 inches long. He started smiling at us about 2 weeks ago, which about the only thing that keeps me going when he is awake at 3am and refusing to go back to sleep.

I will get some new pictures posted tonight...I promise!

Matthewisms

For those of you who are not Lutheran, I need to share with you the exchange that occurs at the beginning of each service so that you have a better appreciation of Matthew's exchange with his preschool teacher on Friday:

Pastor: May The Lord Be With You
Congregation: And Also With You

I go to pick Matthew up on Friday from school, which happens to be a part of our church. I am on my cell phone with Kevin (not driving) in the car having already buckled Matthew in. All of a sudden I hear this exchange:

Matthew: Goodbye Mrs. Nyholm
Mrs. Nyholm: Goodbye Matthew
Matthew: May the Force Be With You

Sunday we got up and went to service for the first time in 7 weeks. Matthew always goes to the nursery for the majority of the service, but we bring him out for communion and prayers at the end. Sunday he was particularly talkative

Matthew ("whispering"): Daddy, is it time to go?
Kevin: No, Matthew.
Matthew ("whispering"): Why?
Kevin: Because the service isn't over
Me: Matthew, be quiet
Matthew (in an even louder "whisper"): When are they serving the food and juice?

And, by far the funniest thing he said on our way out of the parking lot in the car on Sunday:

"See ya later suckers"

Back to School

Matthew started school yesterday with orientation at St. Mark's Preschool. I think he is going to do very well with Mrs. Nyholm. She has been teaching preschool for 27 years at St. Mark's and seems to really know her stuff. Matthew was pretty comfortable in the room because it is the same room they use for nursery during church service. There are 4 other little boys in his class, so I am really hoping he will make some friends.

As usual, I was the only mommy who works. I don't know why that bothers me so much, but it just does. I guess I sometimes feel like they are all looking down on me because I don't spend every waking moment of my day with my kids. Thankfully, I have a great boss who will let me take some time away for things like field trips and special programs.

Matthew's class is the "Teddy Bear" class:


Here is Matthew sitting in "circle time" with his classmates:


Matthew helping to open a special new gift for his classroom with Mrs. Nyholm and the other boys:

Running - Take 2

So, Misty and I took a couple of weeks off running because my knee ended up bruised with a huge amount of fluid floating around under the knee cap. On doctors orders I had to quit running until my knee didn't hurt when I walked. I reached that point (finally) this week...so we are back to running again. It actually felt pretty good. Even though we were following the Couch-to-5K program, my doctor didn't feel that I was ready for that yet since my body is not toned at this point.

Exercise is exercise, though, and we both deserve kudos for getting out of bed in the first place that early in the morning!

Alex's first photo shoot

My friend Misty is the world's greatest photographer...I swear it! Anyway, she was kind enough to do pictures of my boys so that I can send some to the great grandmas and decorate their room with black and white pictures of them. Alex was in a pretty agreeable mood that day and poor Matthew...all he wanted to do was play with Nathan and Aria.

Click here to see the pictures!

More pictures with grandma and grandpa

No weekend would be complete without a trip (or two) out to my parents house. I am so fortunate to live in the same town as my parents...it is so nice to have them be able to see my kids whenever they want...and they are fabulous grandparents to boot.

I think I am raising a future engineer of America!

Matthew loves Hastings. Last night he went with Kevin while I hung out with my cousin Jenna and they found a "project" book. Kevin didn't want to buy it for him last night, but Matthew was so insistent about getting it that Kevin went to buy it for him today, along with a few supplies. They are at the table right now trying to get a "project" done. Of course, I had to take some pictures to share with all of you.

Every scientist must wear his safety goggles:


His "mentor"--daddy:


Getting ready to get to work:

One month already??

Alex is officially through his first month of life. Overall, he is a very good baby. We had some issues with milk intolerance, so we now give him soy formula as a supplement and I have cut dairy out of my diet...for the most part (I sometimes slip and eat a slice or two of pizza). Matthew just adores being a big brother and is so cute with him. Our "baby" starts preschool on September 8. I feel like he is still so small and not old enough yet, and I fully expect to be emotional when I take him to meet his teacher.

Alex is also a pretty good sleeper at night. Kevin stays up with him until about 11:00and then puts him in his bed in our room where he sleeps until about 3:00. I get up to feed him and we are back in bed around 3:45, and he sleeps until about 7:00This has made getting back to work a lot easier for me, and for him, because he has the opportunity to nurse before I go in. Last week I started back 1/2 time and Alex struggled for the first couple of days, but he got better towards the end.

Thank you to all of you who continue to be a support for us. We are so blessed to have wonderful friends and family in our lives.

Running- Week 3 Day 2

Please see Misty's blog. 'Nuff said. Happy Thursday...and if anyone knows how to make my knees feel better, please leave a comment, unless it is "stop running" because that is not an option.

Running - Week 3, day 1

My knee hurts. I am pretty sure I look like a freaking moron when I run these days because it usually takes about 10 minutes for my knee to loosen up enough to run with a normal looking stride. So, any of you out there with any suggestions...lay them on me.

Today was difficult, but I think that is just because it is Monday. However, it could be the smell of the fresh cut grass that was bugging me too. Who knows...maybe I am just making up excuses too. Today involved an equal amount of running and walking, so you would think that it would have been a little easier, but for some reason it just wasn't.

Until Wednesday...

Running- Week 2--Complete

Well, we made it through week 2. This morning started off with me noticing that my left knee is a little stiff and sore...wonder why? So, I am going to try and stretch out my knees a little better after running.

On another note, please write this down and commit it to memory...SPANDEX ARE A PRIVLEGE, NOT A RIGHT. I thought that this only applied to women until I saw a guy this morning at the track wearing shiny silver spandex...thank goodness for sunglasses! It's not that he was grossly obese or anything, it was the simple fact that men look funny in spandex and should not be allowed out of the house wearing them. I am guessing that this man is not married or his wife was sleeping as he was leaving the house because there is no way I would let Kevin out of the house in those.

Until Monday...wish us luck!

Running- Week 2 Day 2

Check...done...I did it.

Thanks to a baby who didn't feel that sleep was necessary between 3 and 6 AM on Wednesday, Misty and I had to move to Thursday. Sorry to throw off the schedule Mist.

I also got on the scale on Tuesday and guess how much I lost?! NOT ONE POUND!! I was about to pack in the running thing and go back to eating my Hagen Daas Ice Cream on the couch while complaining about how large I am (not really, but it just gives you a visual of how disappointed I am) until I decided that Rome was not built in a day, and weight loss is something that is going to take me a few weeks. I am just anxious to get to my 6 week appointment having something to show for it other than a baby :-)

So...until Saturday!

Wii Fit Invades Our House

Wii Fit is pretty cool. My sister and brother-in-law bought one that they decided they didn't want, so we bought it from them. Matthew loves it, and Kevin is using it to keep track of how much weight he is losing (he is down 1.8 pounds since last week). I haven't really gotten around to using it yet, but I know that I am doing something right because I was able to get back into a pair of pre-pregnancy pants this weekend (they were tight, but I could get them on, over my behind and even zipped without having to suck in!)

Here are some pictures of Matthew doing the ski jump...he was bummed because daddy filled up all of the "place holders" on the game, but I was pretty impressed with his skills.

My new slave...er, helper

Matthew has really surprised me. He has been great with his little brother, a huge help to us and is doing much better than I expected him to do. Case in point, today I was washing up some of the bottles, nipples and parts to my pump when Matthew came in and asked if he could help. I told him sure, got him a bottle brush and proceeded to show him how to wash the bottles. Thankfully I had the camera handy.

Washing a bottle with his bottle brush:



When he starts complaining to me about how he has to do the dishes, I am going to show him this picture:



The happy worker and his mommy at the end of dish duty:

Running - Week 2 Day 1

This morning was a little bit harder for me. Not sure if it is because it is Monday, or if it is because we had to run a little further this time with less walking. Just ask Misty, I was a little more whiny than usual! She did have to remind me that I wasn't walking long enough though!

I came home and took a 3 hour nap (thanks to my wonderful husband!). Alex slept better last night, but then the house cooled off to about 68 degrees and he wasn't content sleeping on his own anymore. I hate this house for this very reason...it gets either too hot or too cold...never just right.

Running - Day 3

I am with Misty, blogging about this keeps me honest. I'll have you all know that it is Saturday, and I was at the track this morning at 7:05 AM, ready to run. Misty commented that if it weren't for the fact that I was going to be there, she would have just bagged it this morning and slept in...I agree with her! Good thing we have each other. I did have to go out and buy some new running shoes last night, which really made my foot feel better. I also found a nursing athletic bra at Motherhood Maternity.

The highlight of the morning was the unwrapped (couldn't tell if it was used, nor do I want to know) condom that was laying on the ground as we made our way down to the track. GROSS! I can already hear that conversation:

Guy: Honey, I know that this is our first time, and I have the perfect place.
Girl: Where?
Guy: Well, you know the big grassy area by the high school track
Girl: Oh baby, that is perfect! It will be the most romantic night of my life.

WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Running--Day 2

Today was our second day on the Couch to 5K program. Even though Mr. Alex decided that 3:00 was a GREAT time to wake up this morning and refused to go back to sleep, I met Misty at the track at 7:01 AM (I was running a minute late on account of I couldn't get my lazy butt off the couch). I could feel that my muscles were a little angry with me for thinking that I needed to run again today, but overall it was pretty good...and I feel better knowing that I am working towards my 20 pound challenge.

So, I have done 30 minutes of exercise twice this week and Kevin has yet to make it to the gym...hope this head start doesn't mean that I will ultimately lose. When Kevin and I did weight watchers together he would lose 5-6 pounds per week while I would be lucky to get 5-6 ounces some weeks. HOW FRUSTRATING!! I am a terrible wife in that I am not being overly enthusiastic about getting him to the gym...but I am still trying to be supportive of his goals, mainly because his snoring has gotten a lot worse in the past few months and it is even starting to wake Matthew up at night.

I will weigh in again next week, just to see if there is any progress on the scale after a week of being good.

The 20 Pound Challenge

I started running today with my good friend Misty. She had a baby a few months ago and we are both dying to get back into "pre-baby" shape. She told me about this Couch to 5K program and we started this morning...it wasn't TOO bad...but I am reminded that I am not a runner in any way, shape or form.

I stepped on the scale this morning too, just to see where I was sitting. To my surprise, I was 22 pounds lighter than I was the day I gave birth...which had me totally stoked! So, now that I am exercising 3 times a week again, I decided to challenge my husband to a little competition. 5 weeks from tomorrow we are going to weigh in again. Whoever has lost the most weight gets $150 towards something that they want. For me, it is going to be a sassy new outfit to go back to work in, for Kevin it is going to be towards a new bike.

Wish me luck...I totally want to kick his behind in this competition! :)

A day at Grandma and Grandpa's House

Kevin helped my dad build an extension on to my parents deck today, so I took the boys, went shopping with mom and then we had a family birthday dinner for Kevin.  Of course, we also had to take the time for pictures with grandma and grandpa...and I just had to share them.



Alex managed to open his eyes, which made his aunt Kristin very happy. He is doing really well. We are still working on getting the whole nursing thing down, but every day it gets a little better for us both. Matthew is a wonderful big brother and a huge help with Alex. Until next time...

Introducing Alex

Here he is...the long awaited arrival of Alex is here...and we couldn't be happier. He is sleeping, so I am posting these and going down for a nap :)





Stay tuned...more will be coming in the next few days!

St. Gerard Prayers must have worked!

Alexander Quentin Buck was born on 7.25.08 at 1:35pm at Sacred Heart Medical Center. He was 8lbs 3oz and 20.5 inches long. We just got home from the hospital, I am feeling great and will post some pictures very soon. I went into labor on Thursday night around 8:30, but didn't go into the hospital until 4:30 am on Friday...mainly because I knew that if I went to early they would just send me home to continue laboring. Dr. Barrong was able to deliver him and everything has been going really well.

So, thank you for all of you that joined me in the St. Gerard prayer...it must have worked!

Okay everyone...start praying

I am not Catholic, I am Lutheran. We don't pray to saints, we pray directly to God. But, the benefit of working for a Catholic hospital is that we have Catholic sisters all around who can answer questions about praying to saints. Sister Rosalie is awesome...I love her to death and while I am not Catholic I am desperate...so I am asking you all to join with me in praying to St. Gerard, the patron saint of expectant mothers. I don't care if you are Catholic or not, the power of prayer is still one of the most amazing things there is in the world.

Here is the prayer:
O almighty and everlasting God, through the Holy Spirit, You prepared the body and soul of the glorious Virgin Mary to be a worthy dwelling place of Your Divine Son. Through the name of the Holy Spirit, You sanctified St. John the Baptist, while still in his mother's womb. Hear the prayers of your humble servant who implores You, through the intercession of St. Gerard, to protect me from the dangers of childbearing and to watch over the child with which You blessed me. May this child be cleansed by the saving water of baptism and, after a Christian life on earth, may we, both mother and child, attain everlasting bliss in heaven. Amen.

I had an ultrasound yesterday, he is big. Dr. Barrong checked me today, I am at a 4 and 85% effaced. What does this mean, you might ask. NOT A DARN THING! He doesn't think I will make it through the weekend, I told him I would see him on Monday at my OB appointment. I will remind you that I went in to be induced with Matthew at a 5, so I am not holding out any hopes for having this kid this weekend.

Does this make anyone else mad?

Another summer day, another story about a "parent" leaving their toddler in the hot car. Everytime I read or hear about these, I get sick to my stomach. For example, a woman's young child died on her wedding day because she left the child in the car while she was getting her nails done. Apparently no charges were filed because she claims that she didn't know that her child was in the backseat. REALLY?? You mean to tell me that a toddler didn't make one single noise during the ENTIRE drive to the salon? Lady, what is your secret? I can't get Matthew to be quiet for 5 minutes.

Another story out of Salt Lake. Some jerk left his child in the car while he was inside a nice, airconditioned theatre watching the new Batman movie. After 2 hours, someone else coming into the theatre parking lot called 911. The theatre stopped the movie and the man was arrested, while fellow movie goers threw popcorn and pop at him...personally, lock him in there with the audience for 5 mintues and let them go to town on him. GET A BABYSITTER.

Being a parent is not about doing what is best for YOU, but what is best for your child. Why is it that people don't get this? Has our society become so selfish that innocent children suffer at the hands of parental stupidity? Why is it that you need a license to drive, to fish, to hunt...yet no one needs a license to have kids and then those children are treated in a way that would make any prisoner scream "cruel and unusual punishment". Sad thing is, the prisoner would probably win a court case...but these tiny little kids can't speak for themselves. It is time for people to start being more responsible and stop focusing on themselves. No wonder we are starting to see children who don't trust anyone and have no respect for authority...they were probably taught at a very early age that they can't depend on anyone but themselves.

36 Week Update

I am now going weekly to the doctor. I have an ultrasound scheduled on the 21st (Monday) to determine the size, or anticipated size, of this little man. Dr. B said that we will be having more "discussions" on the 24th (my next appointment) as to the direction that we will be headed with bringing Alex into the world. I am currently sitting at a 3+ and 80% effaced. He was able to bring on some contractions yesterday after my exam, so that is good. While I am still have sporadic contractions, they have been lasting longer (i.e. every 10 minutes for 2 hours) before they stop. I just have a feeling that Alex is going to to hold out until the bitter end...just like his brother. In my heart I know that is best for him, but I am going off very little sleep at this point, and starting to go a little nuts!

I am starting to work shorter days due to swelling. It isn't really practical to put my feet up anywhere in my office and still work, and poor ankles get so swollen after about 4 hours of sitting. The good news is that Dr. B thinks it just water weight since my blood pressure is really good still and I am not spilling any proteins in my urine. Really, I couldn't be asking for things to go any better.

We have the stuff...now all we need is the baby

I am sure that those of you who have been pregnant before can sympathize with this statement...I AM TIRED OF BEING PREGNANT. I am ready to meet Alex and to have a normal sized body again. Case in point, I could only work for about 6 hours today because my ankels became kankels about 2:00, and my toes went numb. Shoes are uncomfortable for sure! Alex has started slowing down in his movements...so I am hoping that means he is getting ready to join the world. Only time will tell, but my doctor told our babysitter that he predicts I will go on July 18 and she will go on August 18. THAT IS NEXT WEEKEND!!! YIKES!

My sister, Kristin, threw me a baby shower in June and a lot of my friends and co-workers were able to make it! A great time was had by all and we got a lot of really great stuff. Kevin and Matthew set up the bassinette last weekend and I have started washing all of his stuff (i.e. sheets, car seat cover, blankets)...so I am ready to go...now all I need is the baby!

Warm Weather brings Water Fun

A couple of weekends ago it was HOT! 90 + degrees in Spokane, and I felt like it was about a million degrees in Spokane! My objective: stay in the basement with my feet up and some ice water. Finally by Saturday night I was going a little stir crazy, so I took Matthew out and bought him some squirt guns. It didn't take him long to figure out how to work those and we had a nice time cooling off with a squirt gun fight in our back yard. He got me pretty good too!



No, this wasn't a "pose for the camera" moment...he was actually shooting at me.


Even though I was soaked at the end, a good time was had by all...and I was much, much cooler!