Barely Keeping Up

I've been a little more occupied than normal, what with a new baby and all, and I feel like I am barely keeping my head above water. My sweet neighbor took my boys for a couple of hours each day this week just to give me time to shower or clean up the house or rest. I forgot how time consuming it is to take care of a little one. Nursing alone takes hours out of my day, but I am really enjoying Kate. She is not quite sure what makes her happy yet, except she knows she likes being held. At her two week checkup this week, she weighed an ounce less than she did at birth, so her growth is normal. My boys love their sister, and are constantly rubbing her head and saying how cute she is and giving her kisses. Tanner loves to hold her and cuddle her. Although the adjustment is a little difficult and tiring, it is so fun having a new baby around.

Because I haven't had time, or an Internet connection, I haven't had time to post about Thanksgiving. We had dinner with the Anderson's on Wednesday night. This was the first time all the new babies had been together (keeping in mind Kate was only three days old). Suddenly, they all looked huge compared to Kate. It was so fun and Christmas should be even better.

From oldest to youngest: Jaeley, Bostyn, Bo, Colt, and Kate

5 sisters with 5 babies in 6 months. This will probably never happen again in our family. We sisters sat around arguing (not really) about who would win in a race between us all and never did anything about it because we are all too out of shape. Except Melissa and Laurie raced and that was enough entertainment to last the night. So now we have challenged each other to a race and set a goal of doing the 5K at the 24th of July!

We had Thanksgiving at the White's and the food and company were great. I spent the morning resting, so I wasn't around to take many pictures. We opted to stay home from the Howell family party so I could rest and recuperate and Anthony played on a flag football team. It was freezing cold. He managed to keep his knee in tact, but totally sprained his ankle and it is still healing. I think he must be accident prone. Overall, it was a good weekend.

Pics of Kate

Well, she is finally here. I don't think I could have lasted much longer because I was getting very uncomfortable. It is good she came three weeks early because she would've been pretty big had she gone full term. I had contractions all Saturday night, but I wanted to wait as long as possible before going into the hospital, and I didn't want to wake up my neighbor to come watch the boys. Finally at 5 am the contractions were getting really painful so we decided to go to the hospital. I was dilated to 6 cm when we got there. After having Tanner natural by default, I thought I wanted to try it again because I felt so much better afterwards. The nurses were very good to help me breathe and I was freaked out of my mind because I had made a conscious decision to go without an epidural and I wasn't sure if I could do it. Well, it didn't take long because she was born at 6:05 am. But I have to admit that it was the worst pain I have ever felt in my life and I didn't think I was going to make it through right there at the end. Anthony says I only had to push through two or three contractions. And I do feel pretty good now afterwards. However, I don't know if I will have the guts to go natural again. We'll have to see next time it comes around. You'll be happy to know that Anthony made it through this delivery without fainting. He is such a good guy and has been a huge help. It is good to be home now and I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed. Grandma and Grandpa Anderson came down to see Kate and they took the boys home with them so I can rest. The hospital is limiting their visitors because of the swine flu, so my boys won't get to see their sister until Wednesday. I am excited for them to meet. Thanks to all those who helped out. What a great little gift for our family to welcome this new sweet spirit. It really is something to be grateful for during this Thanksgiving season.

Waiting to be nursed for the first time, she went to town on her thumb. It was so cute!

Home at last. I know these pictures aren't very good to actually see what she looks like, but I will post more throughout the weeks to come.

Baby Kate is here!

Kathryn Holly White was born yesterday, Sunday November 22, 2009 at 6:05 am. She weighs 6.14 and is 20 inches long. She has dark hair (something new to us since our boys were bald) and and fat little double chin. She is a sweetheart and a cutie. Labor and delivery went well and mom and baby are doing well. I will try to post pics this afternoon when we check out of the hospital. Love you all!

Halloween 09

This Halloween was so fun for me to watch my boys enjoy it so much. Tyson loved handing out the 'trick or treats' to everyone that came. Tyson wanted to be a cowboy and Tanner was a monkey (Tyson's costume from 2 years ago). We couldn't find any boots to borrow that would fit Tyson's fat feet, so he just wore sneakers. It turned out good, though, with all the walking we did. We decided to take Tanner in the stroller because he is the slowest walker in the world. He lasted about an hour and then fell asleep. Tyson was full of energy and wanted to go to every door, whether anyone was home or not. When we finally came home, he wanted to go around our town home complex. With all the walking I thought I was going to go into labor, but I felt a lot better after some good sleep. I can't wait until next year to share this spooky-kooky holiday with my children again.

Is it just me...or can I blame it on the pregnancy?

So I have been contemplating whether or not to start a new blog for the sole purpose of having a place to complain and put my pet peeves and writing about things that bug me. It seems I am more irritated lately (due to the fact that I am fat and tired), but maybe I really am just an ornery, uptight, beastly person. I can guarantee many posts of this new blog, if I actually started one, would be about the neighborhood children around here. Is it so wrong for me to want to go outside and play with my own children once in awhile, without being ambushed or mauled by 10-12 other kids who, in my opinion, have no idea what a personal bubble is, and furthermore, must have been trained by experts in the art of bugging people? Maybe these kids just crave attention so badly because they don't get it at home, that they can't help butting into whatever it is we are doing. My first thought is that they are the rude ones, but then I think maybe I am the rude one and I always end up giving in. I don't like being scrutinized by a 4 year old who is constantly asking me what I am doing, why I am doing it, and where I am going. Finally today I told him it was none of his business. Am I horrible or justified? I guess that is what you get when you live in a town home, and had I known it would bother me so bad we never would have purchased one. I long for my OWN back yard where I am in control of what happens and who comes and where I can do things with my own kids, undisturbed. I could go on and on about community living, but that is not the only thing that bugs me. Even little things that people do and say have been driving me crazy, even when it has nothing to do with me. I constantly catch myself thinking how stupid people are and why can't they just think rationally? I really am not a hater, and I would like to blame it on the pregnancy, but I think I really have this disposition and the pregnancy just magnifies it. So, I want to change. I want to be more positive and one of those 'nice' people who never have anything bad to say about anything. However, I know I can't change overnight, and I probably won't start a new blog, so don't be surprised to hear a few more gripes from me at least until I no longer have a bulging belly and I feel like I am more normal.

Sharing my woes

I am now 30 weeks pregnant and everything seems to be going fine. This baby moves a lot like Tyson did, so hopefully that means she will come 3 weeks early as well. A girl can dream can't she? I do have a few hang ups (as always) that I want to share:

• I passed my glucose test with flying colors, but my iron level keeps dropping. They will check it next time and I may or may not have to start getting iron shots.
• I have sciatica from the top of my butt down to my toes on my right side. Not fun.
• When I sit at the computer my left arm goes numb.
• Getting myself dressed and ready is a rare occasion. I'm trying to work on this one.
• I let my kids watch the same movie three times in a row just to keep them occupied and give me some time to do what I need. Right now the favorite movie is Mulan 2. However, Tyson has picked up a song from it called "I want to be like other girls" and goes around singing it. People probably think he is going through an identity crisis.
• I am lacking motivation in all things right now.
• I think I am getting a receding gum line and am long overdue for a dental checkup. Man, I wish we had dental insurance.
• I brushed my teeth so hard that I slipped and gouged myself, which formed a canker and is killing me days later.
• Tyson is 2 for 2 in breaking 2 dishes in 2 days.
• I know I have been slacking in house work, so I got up early before everyone else was awake and deep cleaned the bathroom downstairs. It must have shocked Anthony because he asked me if I was nesting. I better step it up.
• After last weekend, all four of my sisters have had their babies, leaving me to be pregnant and miserable all alone for the next 2 months. Thanks a lot!

All whining set aside, I am actually feeling pretty good and am enjoying life with my little family. I am looking to do a few small projects before the baby comes and am staying busy with family things. Life is good and I am so grateful for all the things I have been blessed with.

Tyson's birthday

Tyson's birthday was simple, yet he was completely satisfied. We just stayed home and played around and took it easy. His birthday kind of snuck up on me so I didn't plan a formal party or anything. I wasn't about to let all the stray neighborhood kids in my house, so I made cupcakes for Tyson to take outside and share with his friends. He thought that was so fun. He is such a giving person. No doubt I ended up with a herd of kids at my door asking for more cupcakes. Sorry, when they're gone-they're gone. I opted to do a simple cake this year. A regular old 9x13 but I decorated the top like a small race track and put cars on it. I even forgot to take a picture of the cake by itself, probably because it didn't live up to any of the previous cakes I made. Anyway, Tyson got all the Disney Cars characters and couldn't be more thrilled. They are his favorite thing and he kept saying "oh my gosh" and "oh my goodness" and "wow". It is so fun when they are so happy. We had our cousins over for cake and ice cream and we had a great time playing and visiting. One thing that made Tyson laugh especially hard was having his cousins sing Happy Birthday to him on the phone. Thanks for the presents and calls and helping us celebrate our sweet boy's special day.