My Newest Addiction

I guess all women have something that they love to collect or buy. Ask anyone that knows me and they could probably name my purse or bag addiction. I love purses. I love any bag or carrying case. I was so excited when we found out that we were having a girl because that meant I got to look for a new diaper bag. My other diaper bags for the first two children were neutral, not exciting, but knowing that this was a girl and most likely the last baby, I wanted to get something fun and girlie. So I opted for a frilly Vera Bradley Bag (that I know John will not carry) and I got two, one for a long day out and one for just ordinary days. I do have to add that I got them half off so buying two was like buying one at regular price!

Well, my newest addiction is buying my three children matching outfits. I don't know if it is the thought of having two girls or because now I feel like I have a brood of children or what but in the last couple of weeks I have gone crazy trying to find matching outfits/dresses especially for the girls. It doesn't help that my oldest daughter told me she wanted to match her little sister on Easter Sunday. It is hard finding a size 7 and size 0-3 months that match but I have succeeded! I have to admit what I have found is so cute and I can't wait to post pics of my three little sweethearts!

The Girliest Party In Town!

Emily's birthday party was today..although it seems like we have been celebrating it all week. We had it at Cookies and Tea for Me which is a cute little place where the owner puts on tea parties for girls, does camps, and day spas for little girls. It by far was well worth the price and the best party ever...I didn't have to lift a finger! Being 8 months pregnant, I was looking for something to do that was easy and it was. It was so girly. The entire place is decorated in pink with mirrors, flowers, pictures, and sparkle. They painted nails, made their very own sweet smelling lotion, dressed up in vintage and party dresses, did make-up, had a fashion show, shared tea and treats at the cutest little tables, played a game, and opened presents. They ate gummy bears out of little glass slippers, sugar cookies, and pink cupcakes. Each girl went home with their lotion that they made and a treat bag filled with a fan, a flower pencil, a flower ring, and candies. It was awesome! I think each girl had a blast!

Cheerleading Pictures

Emily's special day

Emily was so excited to go to school. She knew she would be special and have everyone wishing her a Happy Birthday. Mrs. Schoolfield, the principal, brought her a birthday hat and birthday pencil. John Daniel and I shopped all morning and picked up her cookie cake for school. Then we met her at lunch, ate lunch with the class, and served cookie cake to the entire class which they loved! She was so excited to show her little brother her playground. Her friends helped her show him around. He kept running up and giving her big hugs. They played soccer for a little while after they ate. She had cheer leading practice after school so I didn't get to pick her up until 4:30. At that point she had visitors come until we went to eat with Daddy. First, her great grandparents came and gave her the cutest polka-dot dress that she wore to dinner. Then Aunt Edi came with ALL kinds of presents from John's Mom (John's parents were in Thomasville cleaning up his grandparents house after a tornado touched down by them). She got the most beautiful dress with a matching American Girl dress. John's mom always buys the cutest clothes and dresses for her. She also got a snow globe with a ballerina inside. It is beautiful and very special! We met Daddy for dinner at Emily's choice of a restaurant..Olive Garden. She opened up more presents from Mommy, Daddy, and John Daniel. John Daniel said "I got you something that you are going to love!" It was really cute. She got a cover for her Bible that she wanted, American Girl accessories, a book, some clothes from Justice, and a funny little magnet game from J.D. We had a lovely evening just the four of us! We enjoyed yummy Italian food and of course dessert and the company of one another as we celebrated Emily's Birthday!

Birthday Happenings!

Today, we will just celebrate as a family...Emily went to school this morning after opening a present from her Daddy. He bought her some jewelry which she loved and a sweet card. John Daniel and I are going to meet her at school for lunch and take a cookie cake to share with her class. She says that Mrs. Dolly will let her pick out a Bible Story to read today as a special birthday treat. We decided to let Emily pick what kind of dinner she wanted. I told her I would make anything she wanted or we could go out to eat to any restaurant. She, of course (being my daughter), wanted to go to a restaurant. It has been a really hard decision for her. First it was Morelia's Mexican, then The wharf for seafood, then Chinese, but now I think she has settled on Olive Garden. So when Daddy gets off work, we will meet him at Olive Garden to have dinner. I think she will be visited by her great grandparents at some point today and probably her Nanny after she gets done with Cheerleading practice. She is so excited about her day and looking forward to her party on Saturday! Happy Birthday Emily!

Happy Birthday Emily!

Today is our sweet Emily's 7th Birthday. 7 years ago today the at 37 weeks pregnant, the doctor sent me straight over to L & D to be induced because my blood pressure had gone up and my feet were swelling. John and I had nothing packed! They had me in triage because there were no beds available in the labor hallway. The nurse midwife decided to try to ripen my cervix first by putting a cervix suppository in. It made me start having contractions but they were not painful. We spent ALL night in triage. We didn't sleep hardly at all. The next morning at about 6 am they finally had a room. Once they got me in the room, the midwife broke my water and started me on pitocin to get the labor going. Then the contractions really started coming! I labored in the shower, on the birthing ball, in the bed, walking around, etc. I had many visitors waiting outside. Finally around lunchtime I decided to have an epidural. It enabled me to rest some and I took a nap. I had the sweetest nurse...a red headed young nurse named Mame (strange I know). She took such good care of me. I will never forget her. When I got the epidural for some strange reason I had what they call a hot spot where a small area on my abdomen did not go numb. I felt every pain there even with the epidural but she helped by putting heat to it etc. at about 3:00pm I asked if I should tell her if I felt pressure, she said YES! Well, the midwife came to check me and to our surprise I was 10cm dilated! All the busyness started. People in and out of the room, baby stuff being set up, etc. They made me start pushing. I did really good if I do say so myself. After working on L & D as a young nurse and seeing so many women in labor I was determined not to yell. I did everything I could do to just focus on the task. The midwife kept trying to get me to look in a mirror or touch the baby's head but I didn't want to...I didn't want my concentration broken. It just so happen that my doctor, Dr. McAlpine, happen to be making rounds as I was pushing so he came in and basically just helped. He wet wash cloths and put them on my head, held my leg, and encouraged me. He said he actually liked delivering babies and missed getting to be in on regular old births. He was so sweet. The midwife knowing John was a paramedic started pushing John to deliver the baby. At first he was apprehensive but she encouraged him and so he agreed. The midwife and Dr. McAlpine started gowning John up and putting his gloves on....then they were like, "oh I guess you don't need gloves", John was like "I want gloves". So my mom held one leg, Dr. McAlpine held the other leg, John's mom had the video camera, and John and Midwife Anna delivered Emily. They kept telling me to look up at the TV and act like I was pushing the baby up out at the TV. For some reason that really helped! After pushing for one hour, her head popped out...I remember the midwife telling John to put his hands on her head and pull and push down. He did it and she was like noooo that isn't hard enough. She put her hands over his and helped. He thought he was going to pull Emily's head off! John put her in my arms and it was over, praise God! Emily Kathryn Gay was perfect, beautiful, and healthy. They let me hold her forever before taking her. She was nice and pink and crying. As they finished with me, they took her and did her whole assessment right in the room. She was 7 lbs and 20 inches. She also nursed for the first time right there. Then they let the crowd in that had been waiting outside. I think there were 12 people waiting outside. All the camera flashes started and she would crinkle her nose. My friend Rebecca came in a braided my hair because it looked really rough! I was a very pleasant birthing experience. Nice and calm. A great way to welcome our beautiful baby girl!

Pregnancy

Thought I'd take this day before my Emily's 7th Birthday to talk about my pregnancies. They are rough to say the least! John and I had quit using birth control about 1 year into our marriage because all the pills made me sick (should have been a clue) and well we figured if it was gonna be a long road of infertility treatment or saving up for adoption, then we might as well figure it out early. 6 months later I was pregnant! I was pregnant well before our 2nd anniversary to our surprise. We were both 24 going on 25 years old. I remember waking up feeling very nauseated! John was at work. I called my brother and told him I was going to get pregnancy tests. He was the first to know. I took 3,4,5 tests and all were positive. I couldn't stand it....so I called John at work and told him as he was riding in the ambulance down in Wakulla county. His first words were, I'm going to vomit, I'll call you back! Well that started months of vomiting, not for John, but for me! Immediately at 7 weeks pregnant I started having all day sickness. This got me IV fluids at CHP urgent care once and then admitted to the hospital three days later for IV fluids. About a week later, I was put back in the hospital for dehydration and this time the doc said we are going to have to do something more long term for this. They put what they call a PICC line in me. This is a long term IV that they insert in the upper part of the arm. The catheter threads in the vein and sits right above the heart. I was discharged from the hospital with around the clock IV fluids and vitamins. I literally would vomit all day. I ate phenergan as if they were candy. I had to force myself to eat one animal cracker. Drinking was horrible, I could tolerate ice chips sometimes. I basically spent the first three months of my pregnancy at my parents house because John was doing crazy shifts in Wakulla County and couldn't take care of me. When he would have days off, he would come get me. I took three months off of work. I lost 20 pounds. All the while, my doctor would say that the baby was healthy! About a week after the PICC line was inserted, it got infected. The home health care nurse had to remove it and then they started just putting regular IV's in. My veins became so corded and hard to find that finally the home health care nurses had had enough and couldn't stick me anymore. John stepped in and literally put a new IV in every two days to give me fluids. The IV's wouldn't stay any longer than two days because my veins were in terrible condition. John got me every time though on the first stick. It was such a blessing to have a husband that could do this and of course my OB doctor thought it was awesome. About mid second trimester, I started getting better where I didn't need the fluids constantly. I got rid of that horrible IV pole and we would just start fluids at night if I needed a boost. John and I could pretty much tell and handle it on our own. I still vomited everyday of that pregnancy I think...I know every morning but it got better so that I knew once I vomited, I would feel better and was able to eat. At about 37 weeks, my blood pressure went up some and my legs started swelling...at one of my regular check ups..doctor said this is the day..it is time we get this baby out. So off we went (no bag packed) to L & D. Stay tuned for the story of the birthday of our sweet girl tomorrow.

P.S. a little side note...John tore his ACL playing flag football on a city flag football team when I was 5 months pregnant. This involved him being out of work as well, having surgery to repair the ACL and then needing care himself while recovering. I remember us waking up downstairs (because he couldn't go upstairs) on the sleeper sofa, me having to practically carry him to the bathroom in his cast and brace while holding my puke bucket in the other hand. It was terrible. I also had to bathe him which was a return favor for him having to bathe me during my first trimester b/c I was so weak that I couldn't stand in the tub. For our second anniversary, my Dad brought us Outback steakhouse takeout because we were both laid up!

My date with two cute boys!

On Valentines Day John was in Ocala riding in The Croom (a 50 mile bike race) with my dad. Emily had been invited to her friend Olivia's birthday tea party so I invited Olivia's younger brother, who also happens to be John Daniel's best friend, to lunch and to play while the girls had their party. So John Daniel, age 4, and Cooper, age 3, took me to lunch at Zaxbys. I tried to get them to go to Chick-fil-a because I thought that would be their first choice but they, after much deliberation, decided on Zaxbys. Cooper was the most vocal about the dining choice. He first wanted to go to Steak-n-shake, then it was Costco to eat pancakes (?), then red elephant. John Daniel saw the Zaxby's sign on N. Monroe street as we were driving and that did it for both of them. It was really fun being with just the two of them. I love listening in on their conversations! Their older sisters are almost always around and well they talk ALL the time so it was neat that the boys got to have a say! We talked about planes, the radio tower and blinking light outside the Zaxby's window, their grandmas, the mailman, mushy french fries, eating chicken....it was all very interesting. Boys also burp a lot. I don't think I have ever heard Emily burp loudly but both of the boys, while eating, burped continuously which was of course very funny to them! While driving in the car, they both were singing along to "103.1 the wolf" and Tim McGraw's "today" song. You can tell their mommies both listen to the same country radio station! After lunch we went over to my mom's house to play with some new toys she had that were hand me downs from a co-worker. The toys were mostly trucks, tractors, farm equipment, animals, police vehicles, etc. The boys were enamoured with them and did not want to leave. Boys are so different than girls...they played together and described all the trucks and what they were used for. They also both made all the sounds that trucks and tractors were to make. I find this most interesting. Girls do not do this but boys make those engine sounds as if they were told to do this. Brrrrrr, grrrrr, runnrunn...you know what I mean. It is just so different than girls. I feel very blessed to have both a boy and a girl. I love seeing the difference in play. And I am so glad John Daniel has a best friend to play with.

Who's number One?

I'm in a solemn mood today so forgive me if I am a little somber. In talking with some really good friends about marriage and husbands, I have stopped to think a lot about who is number one to me. To be quite honest, John, is number one is my book a lot of times. This doesn't sound so bad does it considering he is my husband but who is suppose to be number one...God. During times in our marriage, I have realized that I am hurt or sad because I have put my confidence, security, faith, and strength in John and not God. This, of course, will always cause problems because humans no matter how wonderful they are (I think my husband is pretty wonderful) will always let you down. During those times I have felt totally devastated and then I realize it is because my security amongst other things is shaken because I am not depending on the ONLY one that can provide that perfect security--the one True God! Don't get me wrong, John is amazing, he is a rock, he provides for us and makes me feel secure but he can't be perfect!

Yesterday, a dear friend and fellow church member lost her 45 year old husband to cancer. They have three beautiful children ages 1, 4, and 6. She is only 34. He has battled cancer for over two years now and this is not the only battle with it he has had. He, during the course of the past two years, accepted Christ as his Savior, baptized his own daughter, and lived his last 6 months as a hero in all of our minds as he battled this horrible disease in great pain. He won his battle yesterday as he entered into the wonderful hands of his Lord and Savior! I have thought about this friend and how she deals with this and what she must be going through. She has been so amazing through this and continues to be grateful for the miracles such as her husband becoming a believer through the disease. Now he is gone and she has to raise these three children on her own...how in the world....but I know she is depending on God to give her strength, peace, and comfort. God is her rock and not the man that is now gone.....this continues to make me think about who's number one in my life and am I really willing to give up everything to follow him!

Extreme Home Makeover!

Well you might be thinking that I am talking about some of the stuff we have been doing at our house...but I am NOT..I am actually talking about the Real Extreme Home Makeover show with Ty Pennington. The show is coming to Tallahassee to help one deserving family of true heroes! Our church has become a big part of it and we are all so excited to get to help. Jake Myddelton and John Parker of Parker Myddelton Builders were asked last month to build for the project and they are members of our church. They have enlisted the entire church body and community to chip in to help this family. I am very excited personally b/c of the church body being such a big part of it...well the show (you would think) couldn't help but talk about Christ and how God's people are being used. The Pep Rally for many of the suppliers, builders, etc is this morning at Bradfordville. They are holding the pep rally inside the sanctuary...too cool! The mayor and other dignitaries will be there. I really never knew what went into this show and it has been very interesting to get just a little glimpse of the makings.....

First, everything has to be donated...the builders time, cost, supplies, workers etc. They pay NO ONE! The builders have to find suppliers to donate the lumber and everything that goes into building the house. I thought this was amazing. Leon County Ambulance Service is donating a truck and two paramedics 24 hours a day for 5 days for the build (very expensive) as stand by in case of emergencies! Many other community businesses are donating things. Parker/Myddelton Builders have asked the church body to head up some of the major things like supplying food for everyone and getting unskilled workers to help. All food has to be donated as well by community restaurants...what an undertaking for someone to organize all this!

Second, they are asking for people in the community to come and watch this amazing feat. It truly is amazing...tearing down a house and putting one back up in 5 days. They are expecting thousands of people on a daily basis. John's last two staff meetings at work have been about the safety of people and the masses that they expect. They work 24 hours a day! They basically shut down the entire neighborhood.

I am very excited to be a part of it...John Parker is mine and John's Deacon family and in our Sunday School class..he is a great guy and I am excited for his company. I think it is wonderful to show the community that a church family and a body of believers will chip in no matter what...we don't even know who the family is yet! They keep the identity of the family a secret until surprise day which is the 20th.

Our church has set up a ongoing 24 hour a day prayer vigil....members have signed up in 30 minute slots and have committed to pray for the family, workers, builders, and crew as they take on this massive build.

I also get to help in the VIP tent serving food....wonder if I will get to meet any VIPs??

So you may here more February 22nd-27th as Extreme Home Makeover Visits Tallahassee....check out ParkerMyddelton builders online for more info!

Snow Day!

John Daniel got to participate in his first Snow Day today! Snow Day is something that Celebration Preschool has done since Emily was two. They have an Ice supplier come and unload huge amounts of ice/snow on the hill in the back of the school and then let the kids play in it and slide down the hill on sleds. The kids in all the classes have been studying about winter, snow, weather, snowmen, animals that live in the snow, etc. and then they end the winter unit getting to play in the snow.....or what really is ice. I never understood the difference in real snow (like the fluffy kind) and the ice type of snow until we went to Colorado last year but there is a BIG difference. The kids don't know and they had a ball! John Daniel went down the snow hill at least 9 times with his friend Jack. They were laughing and yelling the whole time. Some years they have had to be bundled up in jackets and gloves and hats....but not this year. We were actually sweating standing in the sun watching them. Some of the kids were in shorts and completely wet! It was fun to watch and see all the happy smiling faces!

A little taste of Cheerleading!

Emily is now (at least for two short weeks) a Junior Charger Cheerleader. CCS does, what I think is just perfect, in having Junior Charger Cheerleading for two weeks. The girls age kindergarten through 5th grade have the chance to get a little taste of cheerleading without all the commitment and time. They practice 4 times after school and then cheer/dance for the student/faculty basketball game on the 20th.

The "Older cheerleaders" along with the cheerleading coach teach and lead them. Emily was so excited and of course wanted to do it and we figured with as little time as it will take, why not! She went to her first practice today and came home giggling and showing us all that she learned. They are divided up in groups by age and each have what they call a "sister" which is basically an older ccs cheerleader to help them learn the cheers and the moves. She learned a dance, some short cheers, and a longer cheer. Who knows what this has started but she sure is having fun.

Sorry uncle Nic...we know that you wouldn't approve :) We will get her on the brain brawl team as well one day :) and discuss with her the importance of being the Valedictorian.

Picky eaters or NOT

My kids are fairly good eaters...I don't consider them picky at all. Now they like the normal kid foods like chicken nuggets, hot dogs, and ice cream but they also eat a lot of other things. I have been asked before how I got them to eat good and I really don't know. I always kind of thought it was because John and I are not picky and we like to try new things. Maybe genetics??? I gave them a lot of different foods when they started eating and I never made them a "separate" meal from John and I. The only thing I would do is let them have a yogurt if they didn't like the dinner I made. I love that for the most part they will try new things. Emily in particular is really good about this. My mom has always told her that she should try everything..even if she didn't like it in the past b/c our taste buds change.

Emily eats salad, any casserole, ribs, eggs, veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, etc, Chinese, Mexican, kiwi fruit, soups (even cabbage soup), fish, shrimp, grilled veggies, bread with olive oil dipping sauce like at italian restaurants, red beans and sausage, black beans and rice, wraps, and will try most anything you put in front of her.

John Daniel loves meat...ribs, sausage, spicy things, coleslaw, squash and zucchini steamed, cherry tomatoes straight out of the carton, kiwi fruit, broccoli, salad with balsamic vinaigrette, fish, shrimp, Mexican, Chinese, bread and olive oil dipping sauce, red beans and sausage, black beans and rice, celery with dip, and any breakfast food.

They both love water. Emily is a better Milk drinker but J.D. will drink it. Emily would rather drink water over juice anytime. John Daniel is not crazy about casseroles but will try them most of the time. They both will devour any fruit that you put in front of them.

The craziest thing that they eat and get all excited about is.......Black Olive Hummus from the deli section at Publix with bare naked pita or bagel chips. This is hilarious to John and I. I put hummus on the table as a side with lunch and they run to the table screaming....HUMMUS!!!!! I think I just tried hummus like one year ago. This one bizarre food liking is the main reason I wanted to write this post. I find it so funny!

Night Owl

Tonight is the first night of John's new night shift schedule as a captain. He actually will be going back and forth for the next month most likely until they get all his day shifts covered but tonight he is working nights. We ate dinner early, he left for work, I bathed the kids, read books, and now kiddos are in bed. It was really neat b/c Emily read to me and John Daniel two different books as we all sat on the couch with Lena in laps. Sometimes (actually a lot lately I hate to say) we fore go reading at night on John's work nights b/c we usually were eating at 7:30 and by the time dinner was done...it was time for baths and bed. So it was nice to have a relaxed evening.

As for me...I am a night owl. I actually could most of the time get a lot done in the evenings and night like my mother and brother but most of the time I opt to sit on the couch with John and go to bed when he wants to. So now that he is working at nights...I might actually do some stuff like fold laundry, clean up, read a good book, type on my blog, take a long bath, etc. I have been known to clean bathrooms at 11:00 at night. It is something about the quietness of the house that causes me to get busy sometimes ....at least when I am not pooped. I guess that is how most morning people feel about their morning time when they are alone in the house before everyone has woken up.

bunkbeds

Last night we finally got the bunk beds put up in now what we are calling the "big kid's room". We got new carpet in all the bedrooms, painted our wonderful hand me now bunk beds (thanks Paul and Ann) and now they are assembled and the kids slept in them last night. Pop Pop came over to help John assemble them and thank goodness Pop Pop had a paint sprayer machine or they might of never gotten painted. The kids were so excited that they could hardly contain themselves. Emily literally was giddy when she saw them. John Daniel said "how cool!" I remember having those moments as a child, where you couldn't control your excitement! Like when you first walk in to Disney World. They hopped up in them and slept all night! They are so excited to share a room and I hope this lasts. Thank goodness their room is big because the bunk beds are quite large. They have drawers, shelves and a desk with them. We are very excited for Emily to have a desk to do her homework on. Their room is coming together very nicely. John and I are not the decorative creative type but our decisions have turned out well...green paint with blue and pink accessories to bring out the boy/girl theme to the room. I even found the cutest "sea creatures" at Ashley furniture and Havertys to decorate the walls. We have three matted pieces of artwork that are the blue/green/pink colors of an octopus, whale, and fish. Then when we have this really cool colorful crab and fish to go on the wall. So I guess their "theme' is Sea Creatures! It really is cute! Now to work on the baby's room and mommy and daddy's room.

Baby Girl

I had my last ultrasound on Friday before delivery. I am now 32 going on 33 weeks and baby girl (we cannot disclose the name per her daddy) is now about 4 lbs. I always like when I get to this stage in the pregnancy b/c you can kind of relax knowing that she is big enough and mature enough to most likely survive if I went into labor although I know it is still too early. She was quite the acrobat during the ultrasound. I had had some coffee that morning from Starbucks but it was decaf....Dr. Hume kept kidding me about it b/c they couldn't get the girl to be still. She was kicking and moving and flipping like crazy.

She also was making some of the cutest faces. She would open and close her mouth, make a frowny face and ball her fists up and put them in front of her face. She actually opened her eyes too which the doctor and ultrasound tech said was pretty uncommon to see. You could actually see the lid open and close and her eyeball moving from side to side...kind of freaky actually. They kept calling her nosey. I was by myself so no one got to see it but the tech did make a video tape of it for me. She has big chubby cheeks and peach fuzz on her head. Still don't know if it is red! They said she looks healthy and all looked well. Can't wait to meet my little gal!