Sunday, September 29, 2013

Please Pray

Okay.

I really need your prayers.

I am a severe insomniac.

Part of the problem is just being almost 7 months pregnant and super uncomfortable, but part of the problem is that I lack the chemicals in my brain that let me sleep soundly each night.

I refuse to take prescription sleep aids because I believe that a combination of natural supplements are the answer, plus getting to bed at just the right threshold for sleep.

I use several different essential oils and my perinatologist just gave me the okay to use a chewable supplement that I had been taking but didn't think I should take in pregnancy until I could talk to him about it.  He gave me the okay and I'm super glad because it really does help.

Sleep is incredibly important to me.  I desperately need a good night's sleep.  I get probably between 50 to 70 of good sleep a month.  

Living in a sleep deprived state is not fun, for me or my family.  My husband worries about me as I toss and turn and fidget during the night.  Bad things happen to me if I do not get 5 or 6 hours of sleep per night.

So, I'm asking you to lift me up in prayer.

I know that my Father is the soother of my soul.  I know that He has sent the Holy Spirit to calm and comfort me. I know that He can restore and make new and give me those essential and absolutely necessary chemicals in my brain that I need to sleep.  I need His supernatural help in this area.

I know I've asked for a lot in the past few months, but I'm asking for just one more thing: pray for sleep for me.

Thank you and I love you all!!!

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Yikes!

I just logged in to my blog and I looked at the little Pregnancy Ticker on the sidebar there.....

And it said "91 Days To Go"!

Huh??

Wait, no....wait!!

Wow.

In the first half of this pregnancy, I felt like it was crawling along at a snail's pace.  I knew my due date would never, never get here!! I thought that I could just drag my feet and postpone getting this necessary thing or that essential item.....

But whoa! 

91 Days is Not That Long!!

I feel like I'm in a Radio Flyer wagon, one of the old metal ones, and I'm poised at the top of a very steep hill.  I'm holding on, white knuckled, to the handle of the wagon, and it's starting to go down the hill.  I'm picking up speed, faster and faster, and there's no brakes on the wagon! 

We NEED a new crib! And the bedding that I have chosen for said crib! We need Baby Boy Burp Rags! We need Baby Boy Blankets! We need small diapers! We need onesies and baby wash cloths and baby lotion and.....and....and.....

And when Daddy notices that we really need to kick the preparations for Baby Boy into High Gear, that's serious business!! 

You all know how fast time flies.  You know how quickly 3 months will pass.  

GULP!

I want to be totally prepared for Baby Boy.  I feel so much more centered and so much more even and peaceful when everything's ready and I can go touch his blankies and hats and socks.  It grounds me and helps me to think of the end result of all of this work and racing and journeying and running.  It gives me something to focus on other than Labor and Delivery.

We also need to transition Pennie into the girls' room.....and that room is infested with Black Mold! Mattresses are compromised.  The outside facing wall is soiled.  We need to get it taken care of before Pennie moves in.  We need a toddler bed! We need to adjust bedtime for the older girls who sleep in that room, because Pennie goes to bed a lot earlier than they do, and it works now because she sleeps in our room, in her (falling apart) crib! Daddy usually has Crazy Time with the girls when he goes in to pray with them.  He's in charge of bed time and he usually gets really crazy and wild with them.....and that's not going to work if Pennie is in there too, and she can't be staying up till 10:45 every night!!!

My head just swirls with all that needs to be done.  I have so many fragmented thoughts of what to do first, and I try to grab on to the pieces to form a coherent list, and they continue to escape me!!!!

I think Pennie's Transition should be Number One on the list.

Oy.

We received a Target gift card in the mail from some dear friends of ours who live up North of here, and we're saving it to put toward the crib that I have picked out, but we need a bit more finances first for that, not to mention the bedding.  Here's a look at the crib:

The Crib

I tried to post the picture of the crib, but it won't let me! I tried a couple of different things but still no picture.  It's at Target....it's the Delta S Series 4-in-1 Crib in Chocolate.  It's a sleigh style in a rich, dark wood tone.  We haven't had a new crib for our babies for several years and Pennie's crib is just literally falling apart and won't work for Baby Boy.  

I picked out bedding for Baby Boy too.  It's a vintage bicycle theme and it's in reds and grays and aqua....it's divine.  It's custom made and I'll get it on Etsy.  I'll contact the gal in December who will make it.  It is totally delicious and so cute.  I'm not sure if I can post a sample of the fabrics, as that may be copyright infringement....but you can go  here to see Baby Boy's bedding.  The nursery that this gal put together is a dream.....I've always wanted a big master bedroom with a small room off to the side to fix up for a nursery....but, that isn't possible in this house.  But I adore the bedding she used and I'm going to have the gal who made it make ours too, and ours will be a bit different.  

We still have $149.00 to go to be able to get our crib, and we're praying that the Lord will bless us! He knows we NEED a new crib.  I usually sleep with our new baby on my chest for the first couple of weeks, and if the crib isn't purchased and set up by then, that's what I'll do.  

Thank you so much, all of you out there reading this post, for praying for us.  The main prayers right now is for finances to do everything that NEEDS to be done before Baby Boy gets here:


  1. Fix the Mold Problem in the girls' room, so that we can put a toddler bed in there for Pennie.
  2. Finances to get everything we need for Baby Boy.
  3. I need some maternity/nursing jammies desperately.  Like, REALLY BAD!
  4. We also have a Mold Problem in our room, on the wall that faces outside.  That needs to be fixed before Baby Boy gets here too.


We appreciate every single one of you, my prayer warriors.  We have seen, time and time again, that God makes a way where there just seems, to our human eyes, to be no way at all.  He has continuously boggled my mind and brought me to my knees in grateful thanks at what He has done and continues to do.  Our journey to holding this Baby Boy in our arms is not over yet and so, please....

We appreciate your continued prayers for all of these things!

Thank you!!!

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Closer!!

We're getting closer to the bathroom remodel being done!!

Slowly but surely, it's almost done!

Daddy has to work on it in his free time, and most of the time he works 12 hour days, 6 days a week, thus the "slowly but surely" time frame.  

I'm really happy that all of the painting is done and that we have a secure and very good floor! The linoleum is in the process of being put in, which is what Daddy is working on now, when he can.  

I was not so sure about the wall color I chose, although I loved it on the paint chip and in all of the different lighting under which I tested the color.  I matched the paint color to my shower curtain, which I love.....but I didn't match it to the shower tiles or the linoleum! Needless to say, when the guys were here working last week, I was really nervous that I had made a $40 mistake with the paint color. I didn't want to have to have Daddy take it back.  But once it went on, I was so happy to see that it actually complements the tiles and the linoleum! I wonder how often that happens.

We still can't take a shower due to a hairline opening in the bathtub/wall that got miscalculated when the sheetrock was being measured and cut, and Daddy isn't sure what to do about it to seal it and protect the brand new sheetrock from getting damp and wet and rotten again.  It's not an opening that can just be caulked and forgotten. So, that's his next puzzle.  

We're kind of feeling the pressure to step up the pace and finish the bathroom soon, as we want to be all ready for Baby Boy's arrival in 3 months.  We have a couple of other things on our schedule too, along with the finishing the bathroom.  We want to transition Pennie to a toddler bed in the girls' room, and we are also trying to save up for a new crib for Jack, and that means that Daddy also has to put that together!

Busy times around here, but it's good!!!

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Bathroom Again!

Hello!

Well, the guys are here again, and today they're starting to primer!!

Then, they'll paint and one of the guys will work on finishing the tile for the shower!!

And right now, we're listening to Madonna singing "Holiday"!

We're having a jiggy Saturday here!

What are YOU doing today???

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

6 Months!!

I'm 6 months pregnant!!

Actually, I hit the 6 month mark yesterday.

We couldn't take a 6 month picture because our camera battery seems to be missing, but my Bump hasn't changed much in a few weeks. 

I had been thinking that this pregnancy was sure dragging by super slow and then yesterday I was talking to my dear friend on the phone and all of a sudden I realized I'm suddenly 6 months pregnant and I also realized that suddenly this pregnancy is flying by!!

I've been home from the hospital for three weeks and I am realizing that the way of life for me now is complete exhaustion and not being able to do hardly anything.  That's my New Normal and it's okay with me! I mean, hey, three weeks ago I died and was miraculously brought back to life and my baby boy was saved also, and hey, I'm super glad just to be here and breathing! I'm not going to get all cheesy and emotional on you, but really, every day I wake up and realize what an incredible gift every day really is!

So, here are my stats for 24 weeks/6 months:

Baby's size: He's a large papaya baby now! He weighs a pound and is at least 12 inches long.....however, considering the fact that my husband is 6 feet 7 inches tall, and from all of the ultrasounds I've been having, he's probably a bit taller!!

Movement? Ohhhh yes, definitely!! I'm feeling a great deal of very strong movements. In fact, I can pretty much tell what part of his body it is with each nudge and bump! He's really, really low and he's transverse and I think I can tell what's what when I get kicked or nudged or poked! The girls have been able to feel him move and we can also see my tummy rocking and rolling!

Maternity clothes? Ummm...heck yeah! I'm only wearing maternity now and it's all so comfortable.  I'm living in Old Navy over-the-belly light cotton skirts and T shirts.  The skirt is my favorite item of clothing right now, and you have the option of either wearing them over-the-belly or folding the top down for under the belly.  I prefer over-the-belly myself. Here's a link to My favorite skirt.

How much weight gained: When I got out of the hospital I had actually lost weight, over three pounds, and I don't think I've gained it back.  I don't feel like I'm gaining any weight at all, and this is OKAY with me!! 

Gender of baby: Of course we know he's a boy, and he is still DEFINITELY a boy! I still can't believe we're really having a boy after so long.

Baby's name: We have had his name picked out for a while now, but we aren't sharing it with others yet, until he's born.  I just want to cherish it in my heart, and I say his name a lot because it flows like wonderful music to me! 

Cravings: Still Mexican food and my awesome coffee drinks! Occasionally I'll crave the breakfast thing, but most of the time it's still Mexican food.  Lately I've also been craving popsicles and Haagen Daaz mango sorbet.

Missing: I'm not missing a single thing, truthfully.  It's too awesome to be a walking miracle sheltering a tiny miracle!

Looking forward to: My next perinatologist appointment in two weeks.  I simply love seeing Baby Boy each time.  Also I always look forward to seeing my awesome midwife and I'll see her in two weeks too! On another note, I'm looking forward to the Bathroom Saga being totally completed!!

So, those are all of the things I can think of.  

Friday, September 6, 2013

Bathroom Saga Continued.....

So, the bathroom remodel continues.

I wish I could take pictures today, but they're sanding the mud and tape to make it smooth before texturing the walls, and it's yucky and dusty in there and it isn't good for my lungs! We've had the absolute best Bathroom Boss ever, and Hannah has been an amazing and awesome help.  

Believe me when I say that the difference from these pictures is like night and day, even though the bathroom isn't done yet! It's already lighter and brighter and I can see forward to the cleaner, more pleasant bathroom we'll have when this is all over....

But boy, it sure is taking a long time with a lot of mess and dust and noise!

I'm thankful.  

Like I said, stay tuned for the "Before and After" pictures!

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Bathroom Saga

The remodel of the bathroom is still in progress.

They're putting the insulation in right now.

Next up: sheet rock.

Stay tuned for "after" pics!

Sunday, September 1, 2013

DoTerra Diffuser For Sale



Okay everyone.  I have this DoTerra essential oil Aroma Ace diffuser for sale.  It's barely used, maybe twice, and comes with all of the parts.  It does not come with the bottle of oil.

The reason I'm selling it is because we don't use DoTerra oils anymore and it's just sitting in my medicine closet in the hallway, not doing a bit of good and only taking up room.  We switched over to Young Living essential oils early this Spring and we have a different diffuser.  Diffusers are so incredibly beneficial, both to your health and in creating a very pleasant ambiance in your home.  We love our diffuser and use it at least once a day, with all kinds of our favorite oils.  

And yes, I love our Young Living essential oils, but don't worry, I'm not going to try to con you into buying any!! LOL!

Brand new, these Aroma Ace diffusers sell for $173.  I'm offering this one to anyone who wants it for just $100.  That's a $73 savings.

Please leave a comment here if you'd like to purchase it, and I will get back to you ASAP.

Thanks so much!!