Happy Birthday Stephanie

I know I am a little out of order with the posts, but hey at least I am posting. Stephanie turned 6 years old on January 4th. I cannot believe that she is already 6. I can remember like it was yesterday holding her in my arms for the first time. It has been 6 wonderful years and I am so proud of the young lady that she is becoming. Her heart is open and softening to the calling of the Lord and we pray that soon she will receive Christ as her Lord and Savior. We celebrated her birthday with a party at Monkey Joes. Because there was no school on Monday we actually had her party on that day. She invited a couple of friends from school and a couple from church. All the girls had a blast and we were so proud of Stephanie because she made sure to include everyone and they all played really well together even though they didn't all know each other.

Easy Bake or Not

Stephanie got an Easy Bake Oven for her birthday this year. We had been given one by a friend recently, but it was missing some of the necessary utensils. Stephanie has been bugging me ever since to get the trays so she could use it. After looking at the expense to replace the trays vs buy a new one, I opted to just buy her a new one for her birthday. I remember having one when I was little and I really liked it. Now I must tell you that Stephanie is not know for her fondness of sticking with me in the kitchen. She generally will get started with me and then decide that she is done(way earlier than the task is finished). This is very much unlike Katie who willingly sticks the entire process out! So, I got the Easy Bake Oven set up and we were ready to bake. She chose the yellow cake with the chocolate frosting after no little pressure from mommy that the sugar cookies were too adventurous for our first time. I tried really hard to not just do it all myself and to actually let her do most of it. I am thinking at this time that maybe this will encourage and spark her desire to be in the kitchen more! Well, as our adventure proceeds she begins to get a little frustrated. There was so little batter that it was a little difficult to get out of the bowl and into the pan. She of course decided that she would rather relinquish the duties to me, yet again. This time though I made her stick it out. The finished product in my opinion was not worth the trouble, a little too thin, and not so appealing looking. However, when asked today what she thought of her Easy Bake Oven, she stated that it was awesome. So, I guess that we will attempt this cooking experience again and maybe next time our cake will come out a little fluffier. Maybe we will even attempt the sugar cookies, sprinkles and all!

He's Here

I know it has been a long time since I last posted, but I suppose you could say that I have been a little busy. Our precious baby boy arrived on Wed, Dec. 16th at 3:48am. While we were anticipating his arrival that week by induction, he decided to make his appearance a little earlier than scheduled. I thought I might share the story with those of you who may be interested and haven't yet heard it. I really want to write it down for myself though so I don't forget it. I was scheduled for an induction on Thursday, Dec 17th which was 9 days before my due date. My plan was to work on Monday and Wed and then have the induction done on Thursday. I went to the doctor on Monday feeling pretty bad with some very uncomfortable back pain that had been lingering on for several days. I was having a rather difficult time working due to the pain. The doctor checked me and I was no further along that the previous appt(about 2 cm). They hooked me up to the monitor just to make sure that I wasn't having any regular contractions and of course I wasn't. So my doctor bid me goodbye and said he'd see me bright and early Thurs morning. Since I was just so uncomfortable, I decided that it was best to call it quits at work so I proceeded home for my last few days before the induction. On Tuesday, I decided that I really needed to bake goodies for people at Chris's work so I embarked upon Wamart to shop for supplies. My intent was to finish early in the day and relax, but for those of you who know anything about my Tuesdays, there isn't much time in the day for doing much. So, at 10pm when Chris came home from his dinner meeting I was still cooking. He sat down at the table with me and I finally finished up at 11:30pm. I arranged and rearranged the refrigerator until I finally had all 5 platters strategically placed and carefully shut the door. I then walked over to the stove to finish cleaning up and ..... "I think my water just broke." No exclamation just a calm statement and then I proceeded to tell Chris to call K. as I walked into the bathroom. A few minutes passed by and I said to Chris, Did you call K.? To which he replies what for? I think that I ignored this and waited a few more minutes and then asked the same question again to which he responded "Why in the world would I call K.?" To this I boldly exclaimed that my water had broken and we had two children sleeping upstairs and we needed to go to the hospital! Now, I will say that once in the car Chris did apologize saying that he just couldn't understand why he should call K. as he was thinking all along that she was in school and he needed to call someone else instead..I like to believe that he was just in shock and not sure what to do as this had never happened to us before quite like this with our other children. And as he said, we didn't discuss who to call because this isn't how it was supposed to happen! I guess that God just knew that it was time for us to welcome Andrew in our arms a little earlier. We are so glad He did! So we proceed to wait on K. and I change my clothes and finish gathering my things, straighten the house and take out the trash(YES! I took out the trash). At this point I was not having strong regular contractions so I was just busying myself. "I think my water just broke." No exclamation just a calm statement and then I proceeded to tell Chris to call K. as I walked into the bathroom. A few minutes passed by and I said to Chris, Did you call K.? To which he replies what for? I think that I ignored this and waited a few more minutes and then asked the same question again to which he responded "Why in the world would I call K.?" To this I boldly exclaimed that my water had broken and we had two children sleeping upstairs and we needed to go to the hospital! Now, I will say that once in the car Chris did apologize saying that he just couldn't understand why he should call K. as he was thinking all along that she was in school and he needed to call someone else instead..I like to believe that he was just in shock and not sure what to do as this had never happened to us before quite like this with our other children. So we proceed to wait on K. and I change my clothes and finish gathering my things, straighten the house and take out the trash(YES! I took out the trash). At this point I was not having strong regular contractions so I was just busying myself. On the way to the hospital the contractions were about 4-5 minutes apart, but still very tolerable in pain. When we got there I was at 4cm and in 1 hour I was at 8cm and waiting on an epidural...I have never gone this far without an epidural and it was not my intent to do so this time either. I finally got my epidural and a little rest for about an hour and then my sweet boy arrived at 3:48am! He is precious and we adore him. That's his birth story and I just wanted to share it with everyone. Here are a few pictures of our little man!

Just waiting

I thought that while I had some free time I would update my 2 readers(who already know this anyway). I am scheduled to be induced on Thursday. I went to the doctor on Wed. and I had dilated 1-1.5 cm and was 50% effaced. I go back on Monday for another appointment and then induction on Thurs. I am doing pretty good. I had pretty noticeable contractions on Wed and Thurs morning and again in the evening, but nothing really regular. I am scheduled to work on Monday and Wed, but I am taking it one day at a time. As of right now I will be at work on Monday and see what the doctor says before I make a decision about Wed. I am actually pretty impressed with how ready I actually am. All my Christmas presents are bought and wrapped with the exception of just a few. All the Christmas decorations are up and I have done some Christmas baking and put it away in the freezer. I have all the teacher gifts ready to give with the exception of a few minor details like needing saran wrap to wrap the plates in. The nursery is ready, Andrew's clothes are washed, folded and put away, and the car seat is installed in the car. So, now I am really just in wait mode. I am actually quite glad that most things are done because the motivation right now is zero and I am exhausted. I think that the 'nesting has left and now I am just tired. Well, that is my update on me. I will do my best to let you know when my little man arrives, complete with pictures as soon as I can.

Andrew's shower

I had my baby shower for our sweet little boy just 3 weeks ago. It was an awesome time and I was so blessed to have so many people show their love for us. I was overwhelmed at the turn-out and I still am. 34 weeks My roommate and very good friend from college came to spend the weekend with me and go to the shower. She brought her two precious children with her as well. She and I were together thru thick and thin in pharmacy school and have remained in touch since. I am so glad she was able to come. Surprise! Yes, this is my best friend from NE and I couldn't have been more surprised to have her arrive at my house on Friday night unannounced. Her husband made the arrangements with mine and everyone did a great job keeping the secret.(a hard thing to do where I am concerned) Look at all those gifts! My mom and Vicki of course came for the shower as well. In case you haven't figured it out yet, this made for a very full house for the weekend. It was great though. I love to have company and what better time to be surrounded by so much love..... As if the day hadn't been wonderful enough, I was blessed to have my dear friend J. and her two children there as well. J. and I are very excited to have the privilege of having two little boys that will be just a few months apart. However, J's baby G. is living proof that GOD IS SO GOOD. G. is her little miracle after 7+ years of infertility and I am so blessed to say that I have been able to witness what God has done in this family's life. I can't wait for Andrew and G. to meet!

My first project as a kindergartener

If you are a mom and you have school age children then you will so understand this. Stephanie brought home her first 'project' just prior to Thanksgiving. Inside her folder I found this shape(supposed to be a turkey, but I had to be told that to figure it out) made out of poster board and a detailed letter from the kindergarten department explaining what she was supposed to do with it. The letter went something like this...'As a fun project we would like each child to decorate their turkey as either a pilgrim or an indian.....' So, hence began MY first kindergarten project as a 32 year old mom. Stephanie chose to decorate her turkey as pilgrim and while this required lots of my so called 'help', I must say that she did a rather good job. I of course had to find patterns for pilgrim clothes and then 'draw' them out. Now, if you know anything of my drawing skills then you know that this pilgrim was by no means dressed by the finest designer. Artist I am not!!!! Anyway, I then proceeded to cut them out and trace them on felt and then it was time for Stephanie to work her magic. She then cut the out herself and glued them to the 'turkey'. I believe that between the two of us we did a pretty good job given my lovely skills. I will say though that this was definitely a project that looked the work of a kindergarten rather than that of the professional. That's what it was supposed to be right? Never mind the fact that the mom did actually contribute a lot of help to the whole endeavor. As I said, I am no artist. Looks like I will have many opportunities though in the years to come to polish those certain skills that obviously missed during my own schooling years. Why you say? Well, I officially believe that I being said parent have entered into kindergarten again!

Cute as a Cupcake

Okay, so I will admit that I have the same problem as many other moms...I like to dress my girls alike. Sometimes this is a love shared by my two growing girls and other times not so much. This was one of those particular days though when I was able to convince the two to wear their coordinating outfits. I bought this outfits last year and couldn't wait for it to get cool enough outside for them to wear them. In case you can't read the shirts, they say "Cute as a Cupcake". And I must say that I believe they are indeed just that cute...the clothes yes, but the girls definitely!

Best Friends

These pictures are just too cute not to share. This is Katie and her best friend, L. L. and Katie are in Mother's Day Out together as well as the same class at church. Katie goes home with L. on the days that I work and then we try to have L. over here some as well. The two are very inseparable and I just love L. She was one of my Puggles in AWANA last year and one of my Cubbies this year. I fell instantly in love with her and she and Katie were fast best friends.

Katie's New Found Love

I know it has been a long time since I blogged and I apologize. I am just a little busier than normal if you can actually believe it. Please cut me a little slack though as I am preparing for our new little bundle as well as trying to wrap up last minute details for the holidays. But I am ready to catch my few readers(very few I am sure) up with some pictures and stories. So hang on as I have a few posts coming up. First up is a new found talent for my Katie Bug. Katie and I have gotten ourselves into a rather good routine in the mornings. I get both girls up at the same time and they get dressed and have their breakfast. So once Stephanie is on the bus, Katie and I have about and hour before we have to leave to drop her off at school and me at work. So, I usually sit down and work on my Bible Study and while I am doing that Katie generally will join me at the table. She has become quite a good colorer staying in the lines and just really producing some very good pictures. Now though, she has found a new love of puzzles. She likes to put them together and is very good requiring little help. So, here are her latest creations.

Halloween

We had our traditional halloween with the Maxwell family this year. We have been trick or treating with them for four years now and have officially named it a tradition. We began our evening with dinner together as we watched the rain fall outside the dining room window. The rain settled down just in time for us to head out, but we had our umbrellas in hand just in case. Just as we were finished with our last row of houses, it began to rain. So up went the umbrellas and off we went. Stephanie was a pajama girl Katie was Cinderella It is kinda hard to tell from this picture, but Cinderella is not so very happy. She had to trade her glass slippers in for pink tennis shoes as her Cinderella shoes were hurting her feet and not up for the journey! We call these the after Halloween costumes. As J. says, this was the result of too much candy! We had a great time and while the kids enjoyed the trick or treating, we adults just enjoyed the time together.

A tough adjustment

This has been a rough 3 months for us here. As everyone knows, Stephanie started kindergarten in August. What an adjustment that has been! We have had ups and downs since August, but recently I, and Chris, took a good look at the past 3 months and realized that we have really had a whole lot of downs and not so many ups at all. Ever since school started we have noticed a significant trend in rebellion for Stephanie, whining, crying etc. At one point I finally admitted that the hardest part of the day was the moment she arrive home from school. The question of what would set her off today was very prevalent in my ind and I never quite knew what to expect. She cried or whined about the littlest things, out right refused to do other things and was just rebellious. Getting dressed in the mornings was always a battle as was the evenings. I was missing my sweet Stephanie and experiencing a side of her that I really wasn't prepared for. All that said, I assumed that all of this was just the beginnings of a new stage, or just kindergarten in general. Now let me say also that Chris was out of town a good bit over the course of a month. This certainly didn't help with the attitude. That is not to say that I can't control my child, but there is definitely something to be said about a child who knows when they can press the limits! Well, as discouraged as I was, I refused to give up and just say that this was the way it was going to be. We recently decided after much prayer that it was time for Chris and I to step down from choir for a while. It was just getting too hard to be gone the extra night every week. I work on Wednesdays and it was just grueling on me to have to leave work, eat on the way to church and then wait until after church to see the girls only to merely bring them home and put them to bed. So we stepped down. Well, still after trying to slim down our activities and be home more I was still seeing the same response from Stephanie. So, I gave it some thought and talked it over with Chris and we decided to try and implement something else. We both agreed that while Stephanie denied being tired(I mean really, what 5 year old says they are tired?), that a lot of her attitude and rebellion had to be directly linked to exhaustion. We both agreed that as hard as this would be to do, we had to make a conscious effort to give it a try. So, we have now backed up bedtime to 7:30. This really means that most nights she is in bed by 8 with the occasional 830. But this is way better than 830-900 every night. Guess what? Yes, it has been successful. We have seen less temper tantrums, crying, whining, and much less rebellion. Now yes, daddy is no longer gone on trips which helps, but we both believe that a large part of the problem was just exhaustion. So, I say all this to say that we now have seen a return of our sweet, compliant Stephanie( for the most part!) and we are both so thankful. Now our challenge is to keep it up and make a habit before we throw a baby into the mix in just two short months!!!

GO Gamecocks

Chris decided that it was time for all four of us to go to a Gamecocks game together. He picked a great weekend. It was a night game and the weather was perfect. Chris had an overnight trip to Boston on Friday so friend graciously volunteered to give the girls and I a ride to the game, complete with a pit stop at a hotel to drop off our stuff. Thanks to our friend, he not only took us by the hotel,but also he and his daughter helped to give my kids a shoulder ride into the stadium--a life saver for me by far. The girls and I got to the game and were seated just as kick off was about to take place. We successfully climbed up to row 39(or maybe I should say I did) and had great seats in the lower level on a row with extra foot room. A major plus since we were cramming 4 people into two seas. The extra space gave the girls room to move around. Aside from being next to the visiting band the seats were pretty good. We only have 2 season tickets and so these were the extra tickets we bought. Chris decided to use these seats instead of our regular seats since ours are in the upper deck. I must say that this was a great decision on his part! Chris arrived shortly after the game started. The girls were excellent. As I said earlier, the weather was great and it was nice and cool. The girls made it thru the whole game and were dancing and everything else to the music. Stephanie even got into the gamecock cheer. After the game we walked back to Chris's car which was not a close walk(at least as far as the girls and I were concerned). Chris alternated piggy back rides for the girls while myself and the other girl held hands and walked the distance mostly down a rocky railroad track. No complaints whatsoever were uttered from their mouths. We were so proud of them and will definitely plan another game for next year.