To Be A Parent...

Anyone reading this that is a parent...have you ever just looked at your children and felt tears spring to your eyes? It doesn't matter how tired, frustrated, or just sick of it all you are, sometimes, they just make you want to cry with joy that they are yours! Jillian had been screaming since we came home from my MOPS Craft meeting, Layla couldn't decide if she wanted lunch or not and Marshall wanted to eat AGAIN and was crying. I got Jillian down for a nap, Layla chips and salsa (don't ask) and was feeding Marshall when I looked down and him and just felt my eyes tear up. Couldn't help it, almost started sobbing! I guess that is part of being a parent. It doesn't matter HOW crazy they make you, you can't help but love them!

Holy Crap, We Have A Son!!

Yep, you read that right, after 2 beautiful little girls, we have a SON! Marshall George made his appearance into this world on October 26, 2009 at 1:54pm! He was 8 pounds, 15 ounces and 21 inches long! He is a big boy, but not chunky at all, he is really long and lean! He is absolutely beautiful and I spend half the day just staring at him. The girls seem to really like him too, at least they haven't been mean to him yet! :) I'm sure that will come soon.

If you want all the gory details of the birth, here you go. If you don't want to read them, you might want to skip this part, although to be honest, it wasn't all that gory! :)

I was scheduled to be induced at 6:30am on the 26th. Well, by the time they got me into the room and everything, it took a while. My veins suck something awful and after having so many IV's that I have had this pregnancy, the nurses were a little gun shy about messing with them. So, we waited for Dan, who is one of the anesthesiologists. He put in my IV the week before when we thought I might be in labor (but was of course not!). He is SLICK! I didn't even feel it. If you are delivering at Clarion Arnett here in Lafayette, ask for Dan! I didn't feel a thing. He also did the epidural and I didn't feel anything there either! So, it was about 8:30am by the time they started the Pitosin for the induction. The drugs worked pretty quick, but I think it was about 11:30 before I asked or any relief. They gave me a shot of Nubain, but I think that after all of the drugs I have had these past 5 months, it did NOTHING! I got the head rush, but no relief. So, at 12:30pm the nurse checked me and I was at 5 cm, so she grabbed Dan and he came in and put in the epidural. Again, I barely felt anything. He was quick too...he had been heading into a C-section and was trying to fit me in! :) After he was done, he as asking me some questions. It was about 5 minute after the epi was in that my eyes bugged out! He asked, "well, did your water break?" I smiled and said, "Either that or I just wet myself severely!" Sure enough, my water had broken, which was SO weird. I have never had that happen, the doc has always broken it. Weird feeling! Well, about 10 minutes after the epidural was in, I wasn't really feeling the contractions anymore, but felt SO much pressure! It was crazy! Eric and his mom went down stairs to grab a quick lunch and the Doc was next door in the C-Section. My mom sat there and held my hand while I tried to breathe through the contractions. Yeah, the abdomen didn't hurt, but I felt so much pressure in my rear end, I thought, well, I really don't know what I thought, just that it HURT! After about 45 minutes of this, I remember looking at mom and telling her, "Oh My Gosh, I have to push!" She got all serious, and said, "Oh No You DON'T!" and paged the nurse. The nurse came in and checked me and I was past 9 cm., and on my way to 10! She went next door to check where the doc was and he was just finishing up. My mom called Eric and told him he better get back up to the room as it was time! A couple of other nurses came in to help. One of them was one of my sorority sisters Marcia (sorry, I can't remember her last name). She assured me that she had delivered a baby before in case kiddo came fast! Well, everything kind of happened at once! The doctor came in and so did Eric and his mom. The doc checked me out and told me to push! I pushed for about 20 minutes and out he came! He really came out pretty easy. I barely felt him crowning. Well, I felt it, of course I felt it! But, it wasn't as painful as the other 2 were. The worst part were his shoulders because they are really broad. Well, they took care of him and stitched me up (2nd degree tear), but all in all it was seriously a relaxing delivery. Doctor Schaefer just kind of let me push and didn't say much. Once I got over everyone staring at me, all was good! Eric and Mary were huge helps. Mom really just watched, but I think she really appreciated that so she could really watch him being born. Once I quit shaking after the epidural was wearing off, I got to hold him and nurse him. He took to that like a duck to water! He nursed for a long time (and that hasn't changed a bit!). Everyone held him and loved on him. The nurses said he was perfect and that I was an efficient pusher! That made me kinda giggle. I remembered when Jennifer had Dylan that the doc told her that shot put throwers made some of the best pushers. Well, I'm going with that theory! :) Once we got settled in our room, I got a little light headed, but that passed after a bit. It was still just such a shock having a little boy I think!

Changing the boy diapers has been an experience too! I've learned to cover up the penis or risk getting wet, and even that doesn't always work! Dealing with the circumcision has been interesting, but we are getting there. We are all learning as we go I think!

I am so glad that we have a little boy. Don't get me wrong, I would have been perfectly happy with another girl. But I am excited that not only Eric has a son, but my Dad has a Grandson. Being the only kid and being a girl can put some pressure on you and now I am really glad my dad has a boy to love on. That is why his middle name is George, after my dad! My dad started crying when he heard this. We didn't tell him Marshall's name until he got to the hospital. It was one of my greatest joys to hand my dad his grandson and telling him to meet Marshall George! So cute! The name Marshall came from this show that we watch called "How I Met Your Mother!" We have been watching this show for several seasons and I have always liked the name of the character! To make it even more perfect, the characters full name is Marshall Ericson. Too perfect! Marshall is most definitely Eric's Son! :)

As for me, I am feeling really good. One week after Marshall was born I was in a real pair of jeans. They aren't a perfect fit and are probably the ONLY ones I can wear, but who cares! They have a button and a zipper! :) I think I look pretty great after just having a baby. My only problem has been a condition on my hands. It has a big long name, but most people call it PUPS. My hands itched and swelled and hurt. It has really sucked big time! But, the doc put me on steroids and it is helping. My left had is completely better and my right is on its way!

Well, I think that is all. We are all loving the addition to our family. He fits right in! We are complete! I know we may not have planned on the addition of Marshall, but I am SO glad that the good LORD knew better than we did! He is wonderful and we couldn't love him more! Thank you Lord!

Still Here, Going Crazy!

OK, so we are still here, I am still pregnant, and things just keep getting crazier. I am not going to retype everything that I already put on the family blog, so feel free to check it out here.

I go in on Monday to be induced and will be so glad when this pregnancy is over. I am so ready to meet my little one, I can't stand it. We are as ready as we are going to be I think.

I am still coming to terms with the fact that I am going to be a mother to 3 little ones (all under 4!), but am slowly getting there. My family is my joy and I just have to keep remembering that.

So, watch for new pics and new stories as I will be up all night doing night time feedings for the last time (Eric is getting fixed after this kiddo is born!).

Hope you are all well!
Love,
Theresa

Long Time (copied from The Crowell Family)

OK, OK, so I know that it has been months and months since I have been on here, but life just gets crazier and crazier. The girls are doing really well. Sometimes I can't get over just how big they are getting. Layla is 3 1/2 going on about 20, but is so darn cute. She is so smart. Sometimes I just can't believe how intelligent she is. She is very into puzzles right now. She has 2 large ones that she does on the floor. She insists that she needs help, but almost always ends up doing them on her own. And she is obviously so proud once she completes them. She has a map puzzle too and knows where we live and where Florida and usually California are (Disney World/Land). It is really funny. She loves books and can often be found chillin' on the couch reading her story books. I am going to have to figure out how to start teaching her phonics so that she can start to read by herself. She has several books memorized like "Go Dog Go", "Goodnight Moon", and "A Woset in the Closet". As you read them to her, she says them along with you. It is very cute. She is such a beauty too. As she gets older, we are really in trouble. But, that is probably going to be the case with both of the girls. Oh, Layla loves jokes too, her favorite is "Knock knock", "who's there?", "Olive", Olive who?", "Olive you!" It is so very cute.Then there is Jillian. I swear that girl just LOVES to laugh. She is really ticklish and loves to laugh at her daddy and sissy. She is loving riding around on the play tractor and she really likes books too. It is so funny to sit and watch her "read" them. Well, and then she tears them up, but oh well, that is what a little girl is supposed to do. :) She is getting big, sometimes it is difficult to believe how big she is getting. She runs all over the place, says "Dada" and "Mama" and sometimes we swear she says "Layla", "sissy", and "I Love you". She is such a loving little girl and is always ready with a hug or kiss (although, we are still working on kisses, she usually just gives you her forehead).The baby is doing well. This kid is as strong as a horse. And, it is a good thing because we have had a lot of complications over the past couple of weeks. On Father's Day, I ended up having to come into the ER at the hospital with big time abdominal pain. They sent me home that morning, but after throwing up stomach acid for 5 hours, I knew I was dehydrated and wasn't getting better, so back to the ER I went. Turned out that my appendix needed to come out! Can you believe it? I mean weren't the kidney stones with Jillian enough? Apparently not. So, I had the surgery that Sunday night. It turned out that the appendix burst as the surgeon was taking it out, so I had the further complications of a drainage tube and such. I went home that Wednesday, but never felt better. I felt like I would take 3 steps forward and 10 back! The last straw was about Thursday or Friday and I started having what I thought were stomach cramps, but as I started paying more attention to them, I realized that they were about 1 to 3 minutes apart. Eric and I headed back to the ER about 1am Monday morning and have been here ever since. The doctors FINALLY were able to get the contractions to stop completely last night, but the medicine really made me feel awful. But, it did stop the contractions and that is what matters. Luckily the contractions were NOT productive and I wasn't actually in labor, just in a lot of pain. I am feeling better now, but am REALLY sore. I feel like I went to the gym for the first time in like 5 years and worked myself to death. The doctor should be here soon so hopefully I will know what is going on. I am just praying that I won' t have to be on bedrest as I am not sure how that works with 2 little girls at home. I guess we will see though. I think Eric is doing ok, I know he is stressing about all that is going on. Especially since things at work are FINALLY picking up, he is trying ot balance everything. Please keep him in your prayers as I know he is working really hard to keep the family going and I love him more for it every day. He is such a wonderful man and I think GOD for bringing him into my life. Thank you for all of the well wishes, the support, and the prayers. They are all greatly appreciated. I am a very lucky women to have such great friends and family.

Not much...

To report! Basically, things have been really busy, but to much to report. We did have a great birthday party for Jillian. I can't believe my baby girl is 1 and she will be a big sister by the end of the year! Crazy. Again, other than that, not much to report. I feel like crap, Kids drive me nuts, I love being a mom.
Theresa

Good Lord, Is Life Busy Or What??

I'm not sure even where to begin! So much has happened since I last posted. I know that I am WAY behind, and I will try to do better in the future. We have just had so much going on, I just haven't had a chance to really sit down and write. So, this might be a little bit of a long post, I have a lot to write about. So, better get started.

Well, a couple of weeks ago, we got some bad news. Two friends of mine from my prior job were killed in a car crash. It was so sad. One of them was my office mate and the other was one of the nicest people in the world. They were both my age. Jessica was married and Julie was engaged, preparing to get married in May. Both of their significant others went to the hospital with minor injuries, but were otherwise OK. It is just really difficult to believe. I was able to go to Jessica's viewing, but not Julie's. I have said many prayers for them and their families, but it still makes me sad to think about. If you think about it, please say a prayer for them.

After that, we found out my Grandmother was in the hospital. She had fallen walking in the front door and then started mixing up her words. So, they took her to the hospital. They were afraid that she had had a stroke. Turns out she didn't. She did have a broken pinkie and a lot of bruises, but other than that was able to come home because she was all right. So, at least that was a relief.

What else? Hmm...Well, Books, OK. Well, I finished Knit 2, Plum Spooky, read Unravel Me, re-read Confessions of a Shopaholic. I just re-checked out Pride & Prejudice, so hopefully I will be able to actually finish it now. I'm not going to to book reviews for all of them, but know that I read them and enjoyed them.

I know that I am behind on recipes too, but those are going to wait until next Monday if that is OK.

What else? Oh yeah, our weekend. We celebrated our 5th anniversary Friday and for the weekend. It was wonderful. We took the girls down to my parents' house to stay. Then we headed to Indianapolis, checked into our hotel then headed out to eat. We decided to eat at the Fox & Hound English Pub because we thought that they were sure to have a Reuben sandwich on the menu. I have been CRAVING one of those, but corn beef is so expensive. So, I was hoping they would have one, well they didn't. I was sad, but got over it. We had some pretty OK food, but I will say that the cheese fries were AWESOME!!! Probably some of the best I have ever had! Then we went back to the hotel and went to sleep (how sad are we?) cause we were both just exhausted! Saturday morning we got up, went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. That is something we used to do a lot before we had kids, but haven't done it in a while. It was fun. Then we went and roamed around Kohl's and then decided to go to a movie. We went and saw Watchmen. I didn't really know much about it, but it was pretty decent. Long, though, we sat there for about 3 hours. I would like to read the book though now that I have seen the movie, just to see what I didn't exactly understand. It will be interesting to read a Graphic Novel, I have never done that. Then we went to Borders and then off to Cold Stone Creamery for "lunch". It was awesome, I had never been there before. I ordered the Birthday Cake Revisited...it was YUMMY! Then we chilled in the hotel room and then headed out to dinner with our friends Jen and Bill at PF Chang's. It was great, I had been in the mood for it. Bill had to go do some work then so Jen went with us to a bar to hang out a little bit more. Then on Sunday we headed to my parents' house to get the girls. We had Cake and Ice Cream for Jillian's birthday with Dad's side of the family. It was a lot of fun. Jillian was really cute to watch eat cake. Feel free to check out our family blog for pictures.

OK, so last but most definitely not least, we are expecting! This has been quite a shock for us because we thought we were done having children. We aren't really sure how it happened. Well, OK, so we know HOW it happened, but aren't sure how it happened. I was on Birth Control and used it exactly like I am supposed to, so I guess all is just meant to be. I am now 5 weeks along and it looks like I am due November 9th. The puky feeling started yesterday evening, so that sucks, but I know that is a part of my pregnancies, so I know what to expect. Wish me luck with the pregnancy. Layla and Jillian are going to be such cute big sisters!

Well, I think that you are pretty much caught up. If I forgot anything I'll put it in next time. And I PROMISE to not go so long next time in between postings!

Love,
Theresa

Catch up, lots to do! (book review and recipe)

OK, so I am way behind on what has been going on in my life. First off, I did something Saturday that I have never done before. I went to the Opera. One of our movie theaters here shows a live broadcast from the Met in New York. We saw Lucia di Lammermoor. It was wonderful. You can read more about it all here. I didn't know if I would like the opera...turns out I do. :)

Now, for my book review...

I am still putting Pride and Prejudice on hold as I still have books on hold at the library. But, my neighbor told me I could borrow her copy whenever I was ready to finish it. Thanks Sue! So, I just finished Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. It is the final installment in the Twilight series. Here goes (SPOILER):

Breaking Dawn
By Stephanie Meyer
I really enjoyed this book, I think that it was my favorite of the 4. She really wrote it well and was EXTREMELY descriptive. I was very glad that she made Bella be strong as a vampire since she was SO not strong as a human. In fact, her character really irritated me throughout the whole series, she was very unselfaware. I will say that this book I was able to connect with her a bit more. She gets pregnant, and no matter what anyone tells her, she is determined to keep the vampire baby, even if it kills her which she knows it probably will. I think this is how people that WANT to be mothers feel. You just want that baby no matter what the consequences to you are going to be. She loved her baby and that was all there was to it. I knew that the connection with Jacob the werewolf was going to be. It had to happen. He hadn't "imprinted" on Bella as they say so there had to be a reason that relationship was so strong. Of course he was going to "imprint" on her daughter, it was very predictable. Again, thoughout the book she was strong and I liked that. It made up for her weakness in the other books. If you haven't read this series, I suggest it. Yeah, it is about vampires and werewolves, but it is a good read. I really want to see the movie Twilight to see how it compares to the book.

Now I am reading The Friday Night Knitting Club: Knit Two by Kate Jacobs. I read the first one last year and it was SO good. So, of course I had to read the sequel. I also have Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich in the waiting. I love her, she is SO funny! Then, I have nothing else on hold and WILL read P&P.

Finally, I forgot about recipe Monday. So, I am going to post two today. We had Recipe Club here this morning with Death By Chocolate. Only one other person showed up, so here are our recipes:

GERMAN'S (R) Sweet Chocolate Pie
Prep: 15 mintues plus freezing

1 pkg. (4 lz.) BAKER'S GERMAN'S Sweet Chocolate
1/3 c. milk, divided
4 oz Cream Cheese, softened
2 T. sugar
1 tub Cool Whip
1 Graham Cracker Pie Crust

Microwave chocolate and 2 T of the milk in large microwavable bowl on HIGH 2 minutes or until chocolate is almost melted, stirring after 1 minutes. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.
Add cream cheese, sugar, and remainig milk. Beat with wire whisk until well blended. Refrigerate about 10 minutes to cool. Gently stir in whipped topping until well blended. Spoon into crust. Freeze 4 hours or until firm. Garnsih as desired. Let pie stand at room temperature or in refrigerator about 15 minues before serving for easier cutting. Makes 8 servings.
**Weight Watchers--6 pounts for 1/8 of pie**

Striped Snack Mix
1 box Rice Chex
1/2 bag pretzels
jar of peanuts
large package of M&M's
1 pound white chocolate bark
1 pound chocolate bark

Mix chex, pretzels, peanuts, and M&M's. Melt white chocolate according to package. Poor over snack mix and stir until coated. Poor out onto wax paper in one layer to let dry. Melt chocolate bark according to package. Using spoon or fork, drizzle over snack mix in stripes. When completely dry, break up and store in airtight container. Enjoy!

Hope everyone is doing well. Take care!
Love,
Theresa