Street-or-Treat

Our parents' ward (yes, Ry's parents and my parents are in the same ward, how crazy!)had a really fun Halloween party a little while ago that we were able to attend. They had it out at this really cool barn and since there wasn't a parking lot to "Trunk or Treat" they had everyone take positions around the cul-de-sac and "Street or Treat." We used to live with my parents for a little while when we first moved to Texas so it was great to be back to see our friends in the ward. So here are some pictures of my little Incredibles. Aren't they so cute?
E was so excited to go around and get candy. He still talks about it and wants to go again so bad. Thank goodness Halloween is on Friday so we can take him again. It will be a sad day for him when all the treats end. Here is a picture of him getting candy from both of his Papas.
And here is Maxwell carrying his own candy around.
We had a really great time with our families and our friends and loved the Halloween festivities.

P.S. Maxwell started smiling on Friday, so cute!

Pumpkin Patch

Tuesday was a gorgous day and I really really wanted to take E to the pumpkin patch this year so my mom helped me pack of the kids and we headed out there for a fun morning outing. E LOVED it and it was so nice for me to get out and be a real person in the real world again! We listened to some kids Halloween music the whole way there and by the 8th round of "Adams Family" I was happy to turn it off. E jumped in the the bounce house stuff for quite awhile and just had a blast. Then we took him for a wagon ride through the pumpkin patch and then we let him pick out a pumpkin for Maxwell and for himself. He was so thrilled to pick just the right one and wanted to put it in the car all by himself. So funny! I found this old picture of E at the pumpkin patch 2 years ago, I can't believe how big he is now! Geez!










Then we stuck E in jail and told him to make a sad face. This picture just makes me laugh.
We were going to stay and get snow cones, but the yellow jackets were terrible and I didn't want the E or the baby around swarms of yellow jackets so we opted to go to McDonald's for lunch and to play. Maxwell LOVES the Bjorn so this trip was really easy. He just fell asleep and went wherever we did and didn't make a peep. Thank you makers of Baby Bjorn! E lived in that thing his first 7 months of his life and I have a feeling that Maxwell will follow suit. Anyway...it was a really fun day at the pumpkin patch and we are ready for Halloween!

1 Month Old!!!

On one hand it feels like it has flown by, on the other hand it feels like my days never end. That's the life of a mom! Things have been better the past 2 days so I'm enjoying the break while I can since you never know with babies. My mom says he's just like me as a baby so I guess I'm getting pay back for putting my mom throught the ringer. My mom came up and helped me through the night while Ry was gone and that was soooo nice! She totally understands what I'm going through so it's nice to have her by my side. I got to sleep from 10-4! Heaven! It's amazing how different you feel when you get sleep! I was like a new woman! Max has been sleeping from 10-1 then gets up and sleeps from 2-4 and then stays up for awhile and then crashes around 6...just in time for E to get up. I've been sleeping him in his crib, no more sleeping on my chest or in the bed. It takes quite a few tries to get him to stay in there, but he'll go down after awhile. He still rolls over when you put him on his tummy so we'll see if he continues to do that as he grows. He's gotten really chubby and I'm guessing he's over 10 pounds by now. Happy 1 month little Maxwell!

Baby Incredible!

The other day I put a little red outfit on Maxwell and E asked me, "Oh, does Maxwell have on his Incredible suit?" What a great idea Mr. E! I totally didn't have anything for Maxwell to wear for Halloween and I wasn't really going to worry about it, but E's comment gave me hope. My mom had some felt and she totally constructed the Incredibles insignia and sewed it onto his little red outfit. Didn't she do an awesome job?! Now I have two Incredible boys running around my house these days. Pictures to come!

Workin' Hard or Hardly Workin'

E disappeared into the office before church a couple Sundays ago and this is what I found him doing. He was totally engrossed in his "work" and told me that he was "busy working" and that I needed to leave him alone. I think all he would need is his own blackberry and he'd be set. I just love how hard he's concentrating and you can tell by his tongue in the second picture. I can just picture him at school in a few years doing the same exact thing.

E's First Football Game

Last week E had a fun adventure with daddy. It was so funny to see Ry come home from work and just be thrilled and giddy to take his son to the football game and have the full experience. I thought it was so cute. Ry got tickets to the BYU vs. TCU game so he took E for his very first football game. E talked to me on the phone on the ride home and told me all about it...a big frog, a "tiger" (cougar), football players, hot dogs, cheering, etc. He was so animated and excited to tell me about it. I could tell he had a great time!

Life Is Rough...

...for me and for Maxwell. Things have just been really hard these past few days. I haven't really noticed too much of a difference with the reflux medication. He still cries a lot and doesn't sleep at night and it just seems like he's crying in pain. His air swallowing at feedings has gotten a lot better and he's a lot better to burp lately so that's been good. I just don't know what to do for him. He doesn't take a binky for comfort, he'll only take one when he's not crying (go figure). He doesn't really enjoy being swaddled. He eats like a champ and would eat all day long, but he just ends up eating until he's so full that he's uncomfortable and cries and then spits up a ton. He's just one of those babies that can't be consoled once he gets going. I don't necessarily know if he has colic, but it kind of feels like it. His temperament is a lot like Ethan's was when he was a baby, but Ethan was a lot easier to console and he would take a binky and liked to be swaddled. The doctor said it would take 1-2 weeks to see some results from the medication so maybe things will change in the next few weeks. His naps are pretty good during the day. He'll sleep for 2-3 hours in the morning and the same in the afternoon in his bed. It's just that his naps aren't 2-3 hours straight, he's restless and he'll cry and he'll go back to sleep with a little bit of help. At night he only sleeps in 30 min.-2 hour stretches and he'll only sleep on your chest. It doesn't matter how many times you put him down in his bed when he's totally out, he'll be up in 10 minutes. And then when he wakes up it takes a good 1-2 hours to get him back to sleep. I just don't want him to be in pain and I'd love for him to sleep better (so we can both benefit). As bad as this all sounds, he IS the cutest little baby ever and that's probably why Heavenly Father makes babies that way so thier moms would just love them to pieces. Well, send us your prayers and positive vibes!

Halloween Fun

My mom came up today to spend time with the boys and to let me catch some zzz's and while she was here she helped E decorate an edible haunted house. He loved putting candy on the house in different patterns...and sneaking some too.

His mouth was totally purple by the time they were done. I think it turned out really cute and E loved it! It was also quite entertaining to watch him!

Frenectomy

That is the procedure that poor little Maxwell had at the doctor today. Sounds pretty crazy, but it really wasn't too bad. Basically, his frenulum, the little piece of skin that holds your tongue down, was attached all the way to the tip of his tongue (hence the term "tongue tied"). Some babies don't feed very well with it attached and later in life they develop speech problems. Max has been gaining weight just fine so I wasn't too worried about that, but he has had a lot of problems with swallowing air when he eats and then being extremely fussy and not sleeping too well. So I took him in today to see what the doctor wanted to do. She didn't think his tongue was the biggest culprit for our problems, it's acid reflux. So now we're putting him on Prevacid and elevating his mattress. We did clip his tongue though just in case it was contributing to the problem and to prevent any possible issues with his speech when he gets older. The procedure was pretty quick and very little blood was involved just a little clip and he was done. It was also good to see how much he weighed since it eased my mind that his feeding issues weren't causing any problems. He basically gained over a pound in a little over a week! At his last appointment on October 2nd, he was 8 lbs 3 oz and this appointment he was 9 lbs 9 oz. Not bad, little guy! The doctor said it will take a week or two to see results from the medication so hopefully I'll be getting a little bit more sleep at night and little Maxwell's painful moments will end.

Max's Photo Shoot

Well, our cousin Toni is at it again! Last year she did our family pictures (as seen in my header) and this year it's little Maxwell. Go check out her blog for a little preview.

Funny Eism

Today Ry gave me a kiss in the kitchen and E immediately shouted, "Stop kissing, I'm eating over here!" The kid isn't even 3 yet and he says stuff like this? Where does it come from?! He's also started asking "why" all the time...I'm not looking forward to the "why" phase. This should be interesting.

Happy Birthday Ry!

It's Ry's 28th birthday today and in order to celebrate his special day I wanted to make a blog post just for him. 6 years ago tomorrow we got engaged on my 20th birthday and when he proposed he did "20 Reasons Why He Fell in Love With Me." So this year I want to do 28 Reasons Why I Love My Ry." I picked this picture because I think it's hilarious. It's from our trip to Australia and we went to this aviary where the birds are free to fly around and eat food out of your hands and all that. Well, if you know Ry, you know how much he "loves" animals and I can just imagine what he was thinking at the moment this picture was taken. It just makes me laugh. Love you!

28 Reasons I Love Ry

1. He loves me for being me- He doesn't try to change me, he doesn't expect me to act a certain way. He just let's me be who I am and loves me for it.
2. He’s a great dad- I always wanted to marry someone who was great with kids and I got that with Ry. He truly enjoys spending time with the boys and he always makes a special effort to let them know he loves them.
3. He’s driven
4. He’s naturally good at a lot of things- It always seems like whenever he tries something, he's usually good at it. I think his brothers got mad at him a lot for always beating them in video games. Thankfully his skills aren't just in video games, he's good at a lot of other things.
5. He’s athletic- He hasn't had too much time for athletics because of his travel and church schedule, but he loves being active and I love that about him.
6. He’s very clever and witty- the next two go together. I just love his quick wit and his clever puns
7. I love his sense of humor
8. He tries to really understand me- Despite the fact that Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus, he really tries to understand where I'm coming from.
9. He’s humble
10. He’s a great teacher- this is one of his great talents in the church and elsewhere. I have learned so many great tips for my Gospel Doctrine class.
11. He looks out for others
12. He faithfully serves in the church
13. He’s always trying to better himself
14. He doesn’t sweat the small stuff- That is something that I always need help with. I'm such a worrier about all sorts of things and Ry is constantly telling me "What's the worst that can happen?" He helps me gain the perspective that I need.
15. He’s a dreamer-This is something that I love and this sometimes is something that I'm not particularly fond of. But for the most part I love that he's always looking towards great things. What is a man without his dreams?
16. His personality compliments mine perfectly- He excels where I lack and vice versa, it's great how that worked out.
17. He gives the benefit of the doubt- He's never quick to judge, he always looks for the good in others and on the bright side.
18. He’s genuine
19. He’s honest
20. He’s a people person- I never have to worry about going to any gathering of any sort.
21. He loves my cooking- thank goodness, and I love to cook for him
22. He’s frugal- and so am I so that makes a great pair
23. He’s smart- He always jokes that I got all the smarts in the family, but he's the only one in the family that ever made the "Dean's List" and he's the only one that was in the "gifted program (LEAP)" so I think the smarts go to him.
24. He’s a great communicator- he's so easy to talk to and he really helps me to be a better communicator too.
25. He’s succeeds in all he does
26. He’s sensitive
27. He’s always fresh- He takes at least 2 showers a day and I love that he's always clean
28. He’s positive- I rarely, if ever, hear a negative thing out of his mouth. He's almost always happy when he comes home, he always has nice things to say about others, and he's happy.

Mr. Smiley

Maybe this little guy just has a lot of gas, but he smiles all the time in his sleep. I know he won't socially smile for a couple more weeks, but I still pretend that he's smiling on purpose. Sometimes he'll just be sitting there asleep and then he'll smile and then do this little chuckle. Maybe his dreams are really funny or maybe he'll naturally be our family comedian. Only time will tell.

2 Week Appointment

No, he's not 2 weeks yet, but today was the only appointment I could get so we went ahead and scheduled. Little Maxwell is 10 days old now and is already past his birth weight. He's 8 lbs 3 oz and 21 1/4 inches. His little cord fell off today so he's been cleared for the tub and everything looks great. Last night we put him down for "tummy time" and he ended up rolling over! I couldn't believe it so we tried it again and he totally rolled over again! I've heard of premies doing this in the NICU so it's just a flukey thing, but he is really strong. I remember burping him in the hospital over my shoulder and he was totally moving his little head around. He'll have to be strong to keep up with his brother so I'm sure he's been blessed in the regards so he can survive around here. Maxwell is a really good baby. He loves to eat and he's pretty peaceful. He just DOES NOT SLEEP! I mean he does, but for only 1-2 hour stretches at night, if that. I'm pretty exhausted and I really don't know how I will be able to function if this goes on for a really long time. Thankfully I've done this before and I know this doesn't last forever. So send your sleep vibes our way!

My Little Hero

Mr. Incredible decided to make an appearance for a brief photoshoot with Maxwell. Quite the hero! Ry headed back to work today so my mom is coming over to help me out this week. Glory day! We took Maxwell to the doctor to get his bilirubin drawn again and everything looks good so that's a relief. I feel like we're going to doctor's appointments or lab draws every day so I'm looking forward to a down day at home tomorrow.

How We've Been Doing

Everything at the hospital went really well. The nurses were great to me and to Maxwell and it was a smooth ride. We had some great visitors come see us including both sets of grandparents, Grammie, and Aunt Suzy. Very fun!




We came home on Wednesday afternoon and Ethan came home Thursday evening. We've had to take little Maxwell to the doctor a few times because of his bilirubin levels. They're going up and that's not good. We have to take him back in on Monday to see if his levels are coming down or not. So hopefully he'll be in the clear on Monday. The nights have been kind of long which is what I expected, but the reality of little sleep is showing up and it's not fun. We're all trying to catch naps whenever we can and keep things under control. Maxwell is so cute and such a little peanut! I can't believe how small he feels to me and how big E has gotten in the past few days. It's made me kind of emotional to realize that E isn't my baby anymore and that life is changing, but what a great change to have when you've got such wonderful boys in your life!

Brothers!!!

It's so fun to see our little E interact with his new little brother. Here are some pictures of them together. Before I delivered I had to get him one of those "I'm a Big Brother" t-shirts. I know they're kind of cheesy, but I wanted to wrap it up like a present and have him open it before he came to the hospital to see Maxwell. I know he doesn't look to happy in the picture, but it's just so funny. This picture is the first time he saw little Maxwell right after I had him.

E then came up the next afternoon with my mom. She took E to go pick out a little present for Maxwell and he chose this cute little dog for him and he was so excited to give it to him. E always says, "he's so cute" and that just makes my heart melt.

I just loved having him come see me in the hospital since I missed him so bad. He came and sat with me in my bed and we watched Calliou together and ate candy. What's better than that?

Now we're all home together and trying to get it all figured out. Thankfully E hasn't gotten up in the night when Maxwell cries. That was one of my fears and I'm sure there will be moments when he does wake up, but for now things are good. E wants to help a lot and whenever Maxwell cries, E tells me what I need to do to get him to stop. He'll tell me "my baby needs a diaper change" or "my baby needs a binky." Kind of funny. It will be a lot of fun to see these two interact as Maxwell gets older, I'm sure it will be a fun ride.

And Now There Is 4!

We welcomed our newest family member yesterday afternoon! Maxwell Ryan Elmer was born at 4:42 pm weighing 8 lbs even and was 20 1/4 inches. Everything went really well and relatively easy. I started feeling like something was happening at 3 am and just tried to rest and let things happen. I was up doing stuff by 5:30 since I wasn't comfortable just laying in bed so I got everything prepared to head down to my parents since they only live 15 minutes from the hospital. I was just going to have Ry drop me off at my parents and have him head into work and then I'd call him when I was ready to go to the hospital. Well, we got everything packed up and headed down there around 9 am and we were a few miles away when I just felt like things were progressive enough to call the doctor so they told us to come on in to L&D. So we turned back around and dropped E off at my in-laws and headed into the hospital. When I showed up I was already 4 cm and contracting every 5 minutes so they got me all admitted and IVs going so I could get my epidural. I got my epidural by 11 and then my doctor came and broke my water at 12. So it was just a waiting game until then. Of course, right as my nurse went on break, Maxwell decided he was ready to come. That's usually what happens when you go on break...everything starts happening. My nurse came in and called the doctor and he came righ in and got me set up. So it only took 2 contractions of pushes and he was born. I couldn't believe how quick things happened!



He is so cute and so perfect! I just melted the minute they put him on me! There are a lot of similar features to E, but he definately has his own look. He's healthy and happy and a great eater so far so we're so grateful. E came up to see us while I was recovering and I think he was a little overwhelmed by all the people and gadgets and a new place. He did say "Hello Maxwell" and called him "baby brother" and gave him a big kiss, but after that he was ready to head out the door on a walk. I'm sure this will be a little adjustment for all of us, but we're so excited to have Maxwell here and safe.

A Little Progress

Alright, had my final Dr.'s appointment today, wow! I'm 3 cm, 70% effaced, and at a -2 station. I asked him to strip my membranes so we'll see if that will do anything. With Ethan I had my membranes stripped twice and nothing happened so I'm kind of doubtful, but I'll try anything. So basically it's just wait and see until bright and early Wednesday morning when I will be walking...waddling...in for my induction. I can make it...I can make it...I can make it...

The Ultimate Gift...at least for me

My friend and I were talking the other day and realized that this would be the best baby shower gift ever for a "mom-to-be" and that would be...house cleaning! Right now I have 3 ladies here at my house deep cleaning my entire house! My baseboards, windows, floors, bathrooms (it's so hard to scrub a tub 9 months pregnant), kitchen, cupboards, the works are all getting done. Basically my house is getting a thorough rub down and I don't have to do anything! Do you know how nice this is?! As I was looking at the little crumbs underneath E's chair this morning, I just thought how wonderful it was that I didn't have to clean them up today! Wow! Maybe other people wouldn't enjoy this gift as much as I do, but one of the things that I really work on is keeping a clean house and when your pregnant things don't always stay at the same caliber as it usually does. It's just so hard to keep up and things just start to go downhill. I'm used to having a Monday cleaning day and getting my entire house clean at the beginning of the week and then doing a light cleaning on Friday, but since I've been pregnant I've had to break up my cleaning to do little jobs every day so it just doesn't feel like my house is ever totally clean. I hate that feeling! So after today I will have just about my entire nesting list complete and now I'm ready to have this baby. All I have left is get E's birthday stuff and some fall clothes ready, decorate for Halloween, get E a hair cut, and stock up the fridge for when I get back from the hospital. Not bad at all. So happy day for me, my house is getting cleaned and I really wish I had a frozen lemonade to sip right now.

As for the baby update...I'm still pregnant, I'm 38 weeks and I have 8 days until induction day. Glory day! I still haven't swollen up like a blimp yet which is very surprising to me since I had such bad swelling with E. I can totally wear my normal shoes and my wedding ring still fits and I don't have "cankles" so go figure why that's happened. I'm sure I'll get my chance when they pump me full of IV fluids during delivery, that's always the worst! I'm barely sleeping, I hurt, and this baby makes it very uncomfortable to sit, stand, or lay down. Can you say I'm ready?!

Update

Well, I just got a text from the hubster and he's on a plane back home right now so hopefully he'll get home soon. I'm so glad he didn't book his flight for Friday!!! I went to the doctor today and everything looks good. I'm 1-2 cm dilated, 70% effaced, and things are ready to go. I'm on the schedule now for the 24th for my induction so only 13 days or less! So until then I'm working on the nesting list crossing things off left and right.
-freezer meals are done
-my carpets are getting cleaned tomorrow
-I'm also meeting with our new pediatcian tomorrow
-my husband blessed me with a crew of cleaners coming on Tuesday (the best gift of my life!!!!)
-I need to decorate for Halloween
-I need to get some BPA free bottles
-I have to get E's birthday stuff all bought and ready
-get the cars cleaned
-set up baby stuff
The list keeps going and going so I won't bore you, but lots to do, lots to do.

Freezer Meal Info

I've gotten a lot of feedback on the freezer meals and I know many of you want some recipes and tips so I've posted quite a few of them on the Recipe Blog so go check them out. I haven't included all of them so if there is one particular recipe that you'd really like me to post, just let me know. Enjoy!

Not A Good Scenario

My husband is in Houston, Hurricane Ike is coming, and I'm 9 months pregnant...not good. Hopefully he can get out tonight so keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer!

36 Week Appointment

Alright, now I'm down to weekly appointments so there is an end in sight! I'm 50% effaced and not dilated so not much happening in that regard. Everything is right on track and I'm penciled in for an induction on September 24th if nothing happens on my own. So there you it...20 days or less...am I really ready for this?

Freezer Meal Mania Complete!

So over the past week I have completed the rest of the meals that I wanted to get done:
2 lasagnas
2 Mexican casseroles
3 meals of turkey chili
2 meals of shell-less tacos
3 bags of mini quiche
2 portions of Cafe Rio rice
2 bags of chocolate chip muffins
I still have to do the Cafe Rio pork, but I'm waiting for the meat to go on sale and it just has to sit in the crock pot so I'm not in a hurry to get it finished. My freezer is packed to the max and I don't think I'll be cooking for quite awhile.

Off to the Press!

I just finished off my 2nd edition of And Baby Makes 3 on Blurb! I can't wait to get it!

Freezer Meal Mania!

If your bored of my baby preparations, then please don't read. My mind is preoccupied with preparation so thus my blog is too. Sorry.

I thought that I would take 4 days of full out meal making to complete my freezer meal needs, but after I spent Saturday making Chicken and Dumplings, Homemade Chicken nuggets, and brisket...I was spent. I decided that I would only do one entree per day in order to lessen the time in the kitchen. It works out pretty well since most of this stuff makes a ton anyway so we eat some for dinner and then the rest is frozen.
So here's what I have completed:
3 meals of chicken and dumplings
2 meals of Homemade chicken nuggets
3 meals of Chicken Enchiladas
2 meals of Oriental Beef Strips
3 meals of Calzones
8 apple turnovers
Pesto for pasta

Here's what I have left to make:
Shell-less taco mix
Mexican Casserole (Ry's favorite, gag)
Lasagna
Mini quiches
Cafe Rio Pork
Turkey Chili

Tomorrow I'm doing all the hamburger meals to get them all out of the way and that way I just have to cook up all the hamburger at once. I think I'm also going to pick up a couple of rotesserie chickens and shred up the meat and freeze it for quick soups or other chicken meals. I am soooo happy I have an extra freezer, it's quite a step up from apartment living like last time! It's slowly filling up, but it's getting there. If you have any additional freezer meal ideas and recipes send them my way!!! I'd love to try out some new ones! It's also been fun for E since he always loves to help out in the kitchen and be in the middle of the action. Last night he helped me make calzones and was all about the rolling pin and eating pepperoni.

A Little Bit of E

I've been wanting to write a post about what my little E man has been up to lately. I need to write it so it goes into the blog book before I send it in to be published. Plus, I just want to write about him before his little brother gets here.

E is quite the active kid and is always in the middle of doing something. He's very persistent and can be stubborn at times, but for the most part he's really sweet. It's very funny to step back and just watch him because he's just so entertaining. I call him my "little parrot" since he repeats everything anyone says and there are so many times that he'll come to me and I'll just say to myself, "he must have heard that from me." He can pretty much rehearse our exact bedtime routine and put you to bed just like I do and tell you exactly what I say.

He still loves to play all sorts of sports, especially golf. Ry takes him out golfing to a local golf course whenever he gets the chance and they always have a lot of fun. He also goes with Ry to morning basketball to watch his dad play and pick up some moves.

We spend a lot of time together doing all sorts of things. He loves to cook with me, play tickle/kiss, go to the library, do puzzles, dance, swim, read books, play toys/games, and sometimes he just likes for me to hold him (for like 1 minute, but I'll take it).

His favorite person at church is our bishop. I don't know what the deal is with him, but he'll run at the bishop and jump into his arms like he would with his dad or his grandpas. Every time we head to church, he asks if he'll get to see bishop. Then he'll wave at the bishop or give him thumbs up during sacrament meeting. The bishop gets a kick out of it...I hope.

I've noticed that E has been really sensitive to sounds lately. He's always asking, "what's that noise?" or he covers his ears when he hears something he doesn't like. I swear he could hear the smallest noise and he always notices it. I have no idea what that means, but it's kind of interesting.

As for right now, I'm considered his "best friend." He tells me that daily and I love hearing that! I will cherish that until the day he wants me to drop him off 3 blocks from the junior high and I'll realize that he's a little embarrassed of his "best friend."

I just think my little E is the cutest little kid! Supposedly the Young Women in the ward think so too. I guess there is some list of the cutest kids in the ward and E is one of them. I know I'm biased because I'm his mother, but look at those eyes and that little face!

Crazy List Lady

I'm down to only 4 weeks so that means it's crunch time for pre-baby preparations. If you know me really well, you know I'm an insane list maker and I kind of go overboard with preparing for certain events...so why would having a baby be any different? It's kind of funny because I wasn't like this too much with E at all. I wanted to get things set up and get the carpets cleaned, but that was the extent of my nesting for him. This entire pregnancy I have had a continuous Microsoft word document that I add/delete things daily. So now that I only have 4 weeks left, each week has a certain amount of tasks that have to be done that week. It's kind of ridiculous, but it makes me feel better and makes me feel prepared. Here's the plan
4 Weeks to go:
-makes some freezer meals
-finish my blog book
-pack hospital/E's to go bags
3 Weeks to go:
-more freezer meals
-renew my nursing license
-work on deep cleaning the house
-shop for E's birthday gifts
2 Weeks to go:
-get carpets cleaned
-pick up needed baby items
-keep deep cleaning going
1 Week to go:
-major major deep clean
-stock pantry and fridge
-set up any needed baby stuff

So this is what I'll be doing for the next 4 weeks. It's going to be crazy busy, but maybe it will make me go into labor early. Wish me luck, I think I'll need it.

A Little Love From My Boys

Last week my hubby came home with a little surprise for me and when I say surprise, I mean way surprised! He handed a little box to E to give to me. When I opened it up, I was totally thrilled! I told Ry a long time ago how much I love Lisa Leonard's jewelry and that I would love a necklace with the boys' names on it. Well, low and behold, he totally got me the necklace that I had my eye on!

This is one gift that means a lot to me and I will treasure forever! Oh, and by the way, we finally decided on a name...Maxwell Ryan. So there you are folks, the child has a name and there is no turning back now it's already printed on the necklace. Thank you Lisa for doing such a fabulous job!

Too Much Olympics!

Ethan has picked up a few things from watching the Olympics with us every night. He now tries to do his "nastics" and flip over his bar on his bed or he does the pommel horse on the ottaman. Yesterday he was swimming at my parent's and he started pushing off the wall backwards like the backstroke swimmers. He wanted my mom to count down and then he'd push off and then try to swim, the floaties got in the way but he didn't seem to mind. I don't think his body type will allow him to be the next Michael Phelps, but he certainly loves to swim and that's all that matters.

Post Influx

You might notice an increase in postings over the next few days and they'll probably be really random, but it's that time of year again. Blog publishing! I'm trying to get my blog book all put together and sent off around Labor Day so I've got to get all my posts up so I can include them in my book. I publish using Blurb in case you're ever interested in publishing a hard copy of your blog. I highly recommend them! Now on to some posts.

34 Week Appointment

I just got back from my appointment and ultrasound. The doctor did all the measurements of the head, abdomen, legs, and amniotic fluid. It looks like he's already 5 1/2 pounds which is large for 34 weeks, but consistent with me having a previous 9 pound baby. With the rate the baby is going, my doctor has no problem inducing me about a week early. He's looking around the 26th of September, give or take a day. It just all depends on how ready my body is to having a baby. I don't want to sit around at 3 cm and feel super uncomfortable if I don't have to. But I also don't want to induce too early when things aren't quite ready to go and end up with a c-section. So we'll see how it goes and we'll know more as things get closer. I'll keep my fingers crossed that I'll go on my own around 38 weeks...we can only hope! Anyway...the ultrasound was really fun to see! It's so amazing to see how big he's gotten in the past 20 weeks! He also has hair! That's right, the doctor pointed out his locks floating in the amniotic breeze! I never thought you could see that on ultrasound! The doctor says the baby looks great and is right on target so only 1 month to go! We're almost there!

Metalsgirl Winner!

I entered a contest a few weeks back for a really cool necklace. All I had to do is pick a color scheme that I really liked. Well, my color choice was the one selected as the winner and here is the necklace!

Go check out her
blog and her website! What a fun piece of jewelry, I totally love it!

I Know an Olympian...AND SHE WON GOLD!!!

Anna became the first U.S. woman sailor to win gold since 1988! I checked the results this morning and was ecstatic! I am so happy for her and so proud to call her my friend! Anyway...here is a link to see some pictures of her gold medal moment. Way to go Anna!!!!

I Know An Olympian!

I just have to say how cool all this Olympic stuff is and I'm loving the nightly cheering sessions for Michael Phelps. So much fun! But I do have to say that I'm also totally enthralled that my high school friend, Anna made it to the Olympics for sailing! How exciting! Her event is the Women's Laser Radical and she's doing really well so far so I'm checking my computer often to see how she's doing. Anyway...go check her out and cheer her on! Go Anna!

Feelin' The Love

I just have to say how overwhelmed with love I feel from my childhood friends! I just got a surprise package in the mail today from my wonderful friend that I've known the longest, Caetie. If you know anything about my childhood and youth, you know that I moved around a lot so most of the people I know, I've only known for a few years. Well, Caetie and I go all the way back to the sandbox. My family moved to Ohio when I was 3 and we moved away when I was in 1st grade. Then we moved back when I was a freshman in high school and then I left when I graduated. So Caetie and I lived only 1 door down from each other in our younger years and then we I moved back we were in YWs and went to high school together and we even roomed together Spring term at BYU. We've had way too many funny memories and let's just say I have way too much YW sleepover video footage to prove it.

Sorry for the my ramblings, I'm just sentimental these days. Well, all I have to say is that my friends are super crafty and so thoughtful! Caetie sent me such a cute and soft outfit for "little guy" and it is so nice because it's a bigger size! Since E and baby were born around the same time, the clothes are plentiful but not in the larger sizes since E was pretty messy and rough on his older sized clothes.

She also sent me the CUTEST wipee case! What a crafty girl! I've seen a couple girls with these cases and I've really wanted one. I'm so lucky! Anyway...I'm not trying to brag, I'm just so touched by my friends. It's so fun to grow up with such great girls and then be able to see each other on the blog go through motherhood since we're all miles apart. It's pretty amazing! Thanks Caetie, love ya!

32 Week Appointment and Craft

I had another Dr. appointment today, the usual. Next appointment he'll do another sonogram and measure everything and see how the baby's fluid levels are doing and all that. How exciting! I'm still feeling pretty good right now. I have started getting the heartburn more consistently, but the Tums are still working. They make me so happy! This 100+ degree weather isn't too fun and it's hotter than blazes down here in Texas so I'm really surprised that I'm not swollen like crazy. I'm still sportin' the wedding ring so that's quite an accomplishment. I think I had to take it off around 27 weeks with E. No preterm symptoms or anything so I think I'm in the clear for now. So the doctor says everything looks great and I'll see him in 2 weeks.

I usually make a day of being down at the Dr.'s since it's about 30 minutes away so I always spend the day at my mom's. We always have something brewing so this time she helped me with these cute burp clothes that I saw on one of my favorite blogs Make and Takes. Marie always has great crafts and fun ideas for kids. Go check it out! I am not a seamstress at all so my mom had to help me out, but I did it! The black one is the one that I made, the other two were done by my mom. I still have 9 more clothes to do, but we're trying to find some other cute things to put on them so we'll see what we come up with. Fun fun day!

Freezer on the Brain

To me, this entire pregnancy has been all about nesting. I'm sure my husband would agree with me on that. Every month there has been some sort of project or task to accomplish in order to get ready for this baby and I just haven't stopped. Right now I'm working on getting my freezer stuff eaten up so I can start making up some freezer meals and restock with the necessaties. Tonight I was talking to one of my friends on the phone and I saw that I still had a box of puff pastry in my freezer and I happened to have 2 Granny Smith apples laying around so I decided to make up some apple turnovers tonight. Am I psycho? The great thing about these turnovers it that you can freeze them! Then when you have company come over, you set them out to defrost for 20 minutes, sprinkle them with cinnamon and sugar, and then bake for 25 minutes. Voila, you have homemade apple turnovers and they're really not that bad to make. Here they are, ready to put in the freezer...

Homemade Apple Turnovers
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
1/2 cup white sugar
1 TBL fresh lemon juice
1/8 tsp salt
small container of applesauce
box of puff pastry

-follow directions on puff pastry box for defrost instructions. I usually just let them sit out on the counter for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
-put apples, sugar, lemon juice, and salt into food processor and pulse for about 5 pulses. Let sit for 5 minutes.
-put apples in a strainer over a bowl and save the reserved juice for later
-roll out puff pastry to 10x10 square. Cut into 4 5x5 squares.
-place 1 TBL of apple mixture and 1 TBL of applesauce in the center, brush with reserved apple juice, fold over, and then crimp with a fork. Transfer to a wire rack.
-put apple turnovers in freezer for about an hour and then transfer to a freezer bag and store.
-to cook, preheat oven to 400 degrees and let apple turnovers defrost for 20 minutes. Brush with a little water and then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake for 20-26 minutes, until well browned.
-serve with vanilla ice cream, enjoy!

The Early Bird Catches the Worm...and Makes Parents Very Tired!

E has always been an early riser. I don't think he's slept past 7:30 a day in his life, but lately his wake up times have gotten to be ridiculous. Ever since we've been back from Florida, he has has been coming into our room once during the night around 2 am and then again at 5:30 or 6:00 wide awake and ready to start the day. Unfortunately for Ry, his side of the bed is closest to the door so he's the one getting the wake up calls and when he's out of town then I'm the lucky one. It doesn't matter what time his bedtime is at whether it's 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11...he's always up around 5:30! What in the world?! So I've been racking my brain of ideas to help alleviate our early wake up calls. I finally came up with a plan this weekend. I went out and bought one of those electronics timers that turns on your Christmas lights or any kind of electronic device at a certain time. Then I picked up a fun nightlight that he'd like. So we told E that when the nightlight was off then it was "sleepy time" and he had to stay in his room. His special light would turn on when it was time to wake up and he wasn't to come into our room until his special light turned on. So Saturday morning was the first test to see if it would work and it totally did and it's been working every morning since! I think he's still waking up that early in the morning, but he just stays in his room and hangs out until his light turns on (at 7). It's working for now, I'm just wondering what will happen when the baby comes. My guess is that I won't be getting much sleep for awhile.