Mondays are for Memories - Shotgun Wedding Part II

This week is part II of memories from my wedding day. If you missed part I, you can click here.


Last week I left you hanging. We had 3 days to plan our big day and not a clue where to start. The first thing we did was call our family and friends to let them know to clear their schedules for Saturday. Then we began making arrangements. We called around a couple of places to see if they had any availability and after a few calls and no leads, we decided on the back patio at our church . The guest list was short, immediate family and close friends, so this was the perfect setting. We also decided that instead of having a traditional reception that we'd go out to eat. Our first pick was O'hana at the Polynesian Resort at Disney, but they were booked. Our second choice, Boma at The Animal Kingdom Lodge was available, so we quickly booked a table for 25. I called an old friend's mom who is a florist and she was able to put together a couple of bouquets and boutonnieres for us.  We bought an runner, rose petals, some Christmas lights to put in the trees, and a wedding ring and suit for Matt. Matt's Grandma gave me her wedding ring to use until we could find one that matched my engagement ring (since then we have not been able to find one we like better then the one she let us use and she has so graciously given it to me). I made a hair and nail appointment and bought a dress to wear to the dinner. Other than that we really had nothing else to do but wait for Saturday! 


The Friday before all of our friends joined us for dinner at The Cheese Cake Factory and because our wedding was so small we didn't have a rehearsal. Matt and I hugged goodbye that night and didn't see each other again until I walked down the aisle. 


Everything was perfect that day! My hair turned out right, the bouquets were beautiful, the weather was gorgeous, and the sky the perfect shade of pink as the sun set that evening. I wouldn't have changed a thing and never looked back at our original wedding plans. We had a blast at dinner with our friends and family and a beautiful couple of days together at Disney. We stayed at the Contemporary and spent the day at the parks. In April of 2006 we had a huge reception where we showed the video of our wedding and shared the story of why we pushed the wedding up. (I think some people still think we are hiding a child somewhere, we're not!) One year later we took at 7 day cruise on the Freedom of the Seas and had a blast! 


It's hard to believe it was 5 years ago and here we are 3 houses and 2 kids later. While so much has changed in our day to day lives, so much is still the same. We love each other and are still as committed as we were the day we said "I do." 

Here are some of the pictures from our big day. Sorry for the low resolution. I couldn't find the digital pictures and our scanner was taking FOREVER to scan them in a high resolution. These should do.

My Daddy walked me down.

This is my favorite picture from the entire wedding.

 

Our families.

Me with Jill (Oh, what would I do with out this girl).

Mitch married us and Jayci was my Matron of Honor.

Us with Mike (3 of the original Fab 5).

Me and Jessi (We've known each other for almost 15 years. She's one of the best friends I've ever had.)

Jill caught it and got engaged less than a month later!

It's legal!  

Going through the bag of inappropriate items our friends picked up for us. 

Chowing down at Boma. 

They made us some yummy treats since we didn't have a wedding cake. 

We had no idea they were going to do this for us!

Yes, we were those people who wore those hats! We still have them and Landon likes to wear them now.

Our cruise! 

Hope you enjoyed !!

Here's to the rest of our lives! I'm in!

*Disclaimer: Once again my editor (Matt) is asleep next to me, so I apologize for any typos! I could read this 100 times and miss them all. 

My Kids Will Never Act Like That and Neither Will I - Ha!

As a Florida resident and Disney annual pass holder we frequent the place where "dreams come true" often. Pre-children, a trip to the "happiest place on Earth" was just a wee bit less complicated and usually delivered a "happy" time. It was also a time for Matt and I to observe other families and say the famous lines, "our children will never act like that!" If you have children, you know why this is funny. If you don't,  keep saying it. Reality will strike you down one day.

Trips to Disney these days include: a 2 year old and a 7 month old, a double stroller, a camera bag, and 2 gigantic bags of stuff. "Stuff" includes but is not limited to: diapers, wipes, baby food, puffs, spoons, bibs, protection place mats that stick to tables to keep the germs at bay, sanitizer, multiple changes of clothes for all children, snacks, sippy cups, baggies created just for accidents (some even smell powder now), toys, teething toys, Band-Aids, and a Moby (baby wrap so you can strap a child to you). I also utilize our bags for my own stuff which may include: lip gloss, a wallet, sunglasses, grown up snacks, an extra shirt (just incase), keys, & a phone. While the majority of the time we have a great time at Disney regardless of the effort it takes to get there, get in, and to make sure everyone is fed, changed, and happy it's worth it to us. Our 2 year old is a pretty big Mickey fan and that's an understatement! We do realize that he will soon need a lesson on idolatry, but we are holding on to the fact that each night when we pray Landon chooses to thank God first, for Jesus and then for Mickey and Elmo, but I digress!

I've always said even before we had children that it makes me laugh when parents try to force their children to do things that their children could really care less about. Let me give you an example.

Child: Mommy, I'm so hungry and thirsty and I really have to go potty.

Parent: Honey, we've only got 45 minutes left in this line! We have to get a family picture with Mickey! Aren't you excited to see him?? We came all this way just for you to see him.

Child: I'm still hungry, mommy and it's okay if we don't see Mickey.

Parent: Well, I can't do anything for you. You're just going to have to wait. We didn't come this far for you to whine the whole time!

45 minutes later: Screaming child who wants nothing to do with Mickey. Embarrassed and angry parent who scolds child for acting like a baby.

In my own opinion that parent set them self up. The whole situation could have changed if the parent made sure the child's basic needs were taken care of before forcing them into something they didn't really care about in the first place.

Here's another example and this one is a true story! I witnessed this at the Animal Kingdom just as the parade was starting.

Parent: Don't go to sleep!! Wake up!! WAKE UP!! We've been sitting here waiting for the parade and you're not going to miss it now! Wake up!!

Child in stroller: No words. (Gives the parent a look and eyes roll back into head out of sheer exhaustion - almost like when you just can't help falling asleep).

Parent: WAKE UP! (At this point the man starts lightly slapping the child in the face trying to get him to wake up).

I could not believe my eyes!

I think that sometimes we get our roles as parents mixed up. We try to be the event coordinator to our children's lives! We live for these perfect little moments that turn into disasters because we forget what's most important for our children. We get so wrapped up in it all that we forget to feed them, or change them, or remember that they didn't get their usual nap in and that the crankyness may be kicked up a notch. We forget that they're 2 and we just can't understand why in the world they are acting out.

Today I found myself in a couple of these moments with our 2 year old, Landon. We decided to go to Hollywood Studios to see the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights. We figured we'd catch the usual Playhouse Disney show and maybe go see Mickey and the other characters too. During the Playhouse Disney show (which we've sat through so many times before) Landon suddenly starts crying, almost screaming and saying, "I'm scared." Matt quickly hugs him and I say, "Honey, you love this show. Sit down and watch it. You're not scared. There's nothing to be scared of." He says back, "Out there, out there," while pointing to the doors. Followed by, "Go, go, I scared." Matt asked him if he wanted to see Tiger and Pooh and he said yes, so we told him we'd have to stay if he wanted to see them. Landon settled for a minute or two and then resorted back to, "I scared," while screaming at the top of his lungs in terror. We got up and left.

We went and visited Mickey next and Landon was great. He gave Mickey a huge hug and saw a couple other characters. The park was busy though, and the lines were long so we tried scooting out on some of the characters without him noticing. He noticed and tried pulling me toward them, but I said, "It's okay honey, we'll see them next time. We're going to see the lights!" Landon wasn't too insistent but he did express to us that he would like to stay and see more characters. We didn't.

When we finally got to the lights. The place was packed full of people and the music was playing loud. Landon again started screaming at the top of his lungs. He jumped out of the stroller into my arms and wanted to go. We couldn't understand what was going on. He never acted like this and we thought he would love it. He's seen it twice before when he was younger and had so much fun, but he was not digging it this time. We tried to stay, but he just kept screaming and asking to go and telling us he was scared. We left.

It wasn't until we were on our way home and Landon was holding my hand that I realized I was trying to be a controlling (force it on you) kind of parent. I felt so guilty. There were some other factors that played into his behavior that I missed too. The kid was hungry. It was a couple hours past dinner when we finally did eat after leaving the lights in a panic. He was tired too. He woke up at 5 this morning and caught an early nap.He was almost ready for bed by this point. During the Playhouse Disney show I tried telling him that he wasn't scared and that there was nothing to be afraid of, but seriously how do I know what he is or isn't afraid of? I also tried telling him he loves the show, but really, maybe he doesn't. Maybe he's getting old enough to express himself enough to say, "hey, I want to go." On top of all of that, one of the things he wanted to do, (see more characters) we didn't do. And of course, we then forced him into something he didn't want to do at all. None of this crossed my mind in the moment. My poor baby!

Tomorrow I'm going to make it up to him by giving him a bit of a lazy, you choose day. (I didn't plan on making it to church with the kids anyway since they've both had runny noses and coughs and we didn't want to spread the wealth to our Sunday school classes). While I completely believe in boundaries, rules, and consistency, I also believe in having some fun and letting our kids learn how to make some choices of their own even if that does mean watching a couple of shows in the morning (not a big fan of letting them watch TV, but they love it). I'm also going to be a lot more committed to evaluating situations like these before I react. At the age of 2, the world is so different. It can be a lot more scary and can be very confusing. Our children give us cues or try to tell us when they are uncomfortable or need us and I think too often, we miss it. I'm making it my goal from here on out not to not miss it for my children. They need me to be a parent to them, not the event coordinator I was being today.

Ever seen a crazy situation play out between a parent and a child like the ones I described above? What are your thoughts on this? How do you handle situations like these? Would love to hear from you other parents out there!


*Disclaimer: If you know me, you know I have issues with typos. My editor is asleep next to me, so I apologize ahead of time if you find any.

Mondays are for Memories - Shotgun Wedding

This week I'm remembering one of the best weeks of my life! 

On Friday, Matt and I will be celebrating 5 years of wedded bliss and there is quite the story behind our big day. It's so fun for me to share it and to remember it, so this week I'm pretty excited to be blogging about it! 

Matt and I met in our youth group my sophomore year of high school [his freshman year] which puts us back oh, only about 12 years ago. I have to be honest... I wasn't exactly a fan! In fact, I thought he was a stuck up little punk. To be fair, he wasn't entirely into me either. He swears, I was goth [I was absolutely not goth] and I guess you could say I wasn't really his type either. To make a long story short, after we really got to know each other we became best friends. Eventually, that friendship grew into something a lot strong and the summer before my senior year he asked me to be his girlfriend. [Awww right?]

I always knew I'd marry Matt and after almost 4 years of dating he proposed on April 9, 2005 [total shocker too, I didn't see it coming, but that story will have to wait for another blog]. I was to say the very least, SOOOO excited. After I got a manicure, we started planning the big day! 

By the end of the summer we had the entire thing planned. Our destination wedding was set for June 3, 2006 at The King and Prince Resort in St. Simons Island. The time was set for 10:00am and the brunch menu was something to drool over! The reception room [The Solarium] was absolutely gorgeous [so elegant and polished] and the view of the ocean was like the perfect touch to an already stunning room! If you really want to see it all you can check it out here http://www.kingandprince.com/weddings.php. Deposits had been paid, save the dates had been sent out, and the wedding dress had been purchased, little did I know God had planned a very different wedding for us.

It all started in October when Matt's parents decided to sell their house for something smaller. They put their house on the market, sold it with in a few days, and bought something in Lake County. After a lot of thought, we decided that Matt would need to get an apartment closer to his job and to where we wanted to live after we got married and so we started the searching process. We found a winner, put our deposit down, and were set to move Matt in December 9th [how I remember all these dates is besides me, but I do]. This was all still 6 months before the wedding!

We were having a lot of trouble with the whole concept of Matt having an apartment [which would become our apartment] and me wanting to stay there, but with us not being married we knew it was something that couldn't happen. We began tossing around the idea of getting married legally on paper and living together in separate rooms until the wedding, so that the white dress held true to it's meaning. Then we decided we didn't like that idea. We also thought about maybe pushing the wedding up, but we couldn't figure out how that would work with Thanksgiving and Christmas, finals for me and the start of a new school for Matt. Plus, there were no open weekends available at The King and Prince, so that option was out. It was all getting to be a little insane. Can you say bridezilla?

Matt left for a conference in Nashville and on this day 5 years ago while he was gone he called me and said, "Why don't we just get married on Saturday?" Uhhh, what??? I was at a basketball game, could hardly hear him, and did not like the idea since, HELLO we already had our dream wedding planned! I was also a little bit skeptical because I thought maybe this idea came from the guys he was with and I didn't like it! My exact words to him were, "Are you serious?? Who have you been talking to?!" I told him we'd talk about it later on that night, when I picked him and the boys up at the airport and talk we did. Around 3am, we finally decided that we WERE going to get married that Saturday. We didn't know where or any of the details, but we were getting married in less than a week [oh, and one of those days was Thanksgiving].

To say the least, we had a lot to do and only 3 days to do it all! And we did, but you'll have to wait until next Monday to read how it all went down and see all the pictures from our big day!

To be continued!

Our Christmas Card 2010

Here's our Christmas Card this year! Figured I'd share just incase I forget to send them out again this year [NOT going to happen!] or incase yours just gets lost in the mail [wink wink].  (:

What A Year Christmas Card

Get custom photo Christmas cards online at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

Confession Session Catch up

I could seriously have a confession session daily, but at the end of the day my brain hurts and I've forgotten everything I wanted to share. I'm also doing my best to keep my priorities straight [God, my family, my home, and then my blog] and 9 times out of 10 the kitchen needs a whooping! Any how, here are today's confessions...

• Matt got the Christmas decorations down for me almost 3 weeks ago. I've been slowly but surly getting everything in place, but I'm still not done! Maybe by New Years I'll be finished.
• I got my Christmas Cards done already [woohoo] and since I didn't actually send out our cards last year, I'm thinking about putting them in with this years. 
• I think I have been too hard on Landon lately. He has been acting out but I think it's my fault. The past two days I've done my best to avoid the word no and to find other ways around it. Definitely an improvement and my sweet boy is back. I expect so much of him since he's the big boy, but I have to remember he's only 2! 
• Matt watched the kids so I could get blood drawn this morning. I drove slow so I could have more "me time." I sang at the top of my lungs to The Frey, but was wishing so badly I had John Mayor's Battle Studies in the car! When I got to my location, there was a guy who was definitely checking me out. Made me feel good to know I still got it. If I had my kids in tote, he wouldn't have given me a second look. 
• Some of our neighbors drive me crazy! They're all a lot older and always looking down on us. Today instead of smiling and waving, I so badly wanted to stick my tongue out at this one lady. I refrained. 
• I stole puffs (snacks that dissolve in your mouth, made for infants) from Publix today. It was totally on  accident. Luckily, a good friend of ours [love you Kate] carried our groceries out and was able to take the money in for me. 
• Matt's birthday is Sunday and I still don't know what I'm going to do for him. This is so not like me! Hope you are not reading this, Matt :) I love you! 
• I think about Thanksgiving dinner about 5 times a day! I'm not eating any Turkey this year. We're eating at the Portifino and I'm so having crab legs! 
• I'm slacking on my showering commitment. Haven't taken one since Monday :0 *bout to get one in now though!

I'm sure there are more, but this is all I got right now. Would love to hear your confessions too! We all need to vent and get a good laugh in at the end of the day! Plus, it's nice to know we're not alone! 

Mondays are for Memories

Okay, so this Monday I'm remembering what it is like to spend some time with my husband and to go to bed in a room without a baby waiting for us in a pack-n-play! 

Tonight we began the process of letting Chandler learn how to self-sooth [in her crib] in the kids room. The kids share a room, but we have yet to put her in there because well, it's crazy to think that a 2 year old and a 7 month old could share a room, but... it's time and they can! We need our room back and I'm sick of glaring and shhhhing at my husband every night when we go to bed. It is a fact men don't know how to be quiet and to be honest they shouldn't have to be in their own bedroom! Thanks for putting up with me all these months, Matt! It's definitely been weighing on both of us having her in there and she really is waking up every night when we go to bed! 

As much as I swore that I learned my lesson [with Landon] when it comes to rocking a baby to sleep, I must not have because I let this go on a lot longer with Chander than I did with Landon. Landon was 6 months when we started letting him self sooth (a.k.a cry and torture ourselves) and even though I dreaded it, it only took a few nights and he never ever cried more than 10 minutes. The first time we let him cry [was for a nap] he slept for 2 and 1/2 hours (before this, he was taking like 30 minute naps and was sooo over tired all the time). He was also night waking or just waking up way too early, but after we started the self soothing, he began sleeping great and his time awake was happy time because he wasn't over tired. 

Chandler and Landon are very differnt. She's a lot more persistent then him and much more of a mama's girl. I also nursed her up until 2 weeks ago [when I hurt my back and had to go on some serious meds] so she was still night waking to eat (mostly out of habit) and she wasn't napping well. Since she's been on formula she's been taking great naps, but I've still be rocking her to sleep for them. Her nights have not be good though. She's been waking up a lot and only wants me! We're not night feeding her anymore, so I had to rely on rocking her, patting her butt, and/or shhhhing, but last night she wasn't having any of it. She was ready to party and I was helpless. What's crazy is the first few months of her life, I didn't rock her at all, I would lay her down and for the most part she'd be out no problem, but things have changed. With two, it became easier for me to just rock her, know she was asleep, and move on to taking care of Landon or the house, or for me to lay down and catch some zzzzzzz too! 

Last night was the decider in the "time for self soothing" decision. It was the worst night we've had since she's been born and she's 7 and 1/2 months old! For a while there, she was sleeping though the night, but for about the past 4 nights it's been ROUGH! 

So tonight I was dreading it, but we did our night time routine, I rocked her her chair for a couple of minutes, kissed her, and laid her down in her crib. She laughed at me, spit her paci out, and started rolling around. Her tune changed when I told her I loved her, that she needed to go to sleep, and walked out. She cried and cried hard for about 20 minutes. I went in about every 5 minutes and told her that we loved her and that we'd see her tomorrow and to sleep she went. I have to admit I thought I might have to leave the house if she kept it up, but it worked and she's still out! Praise God! 

Here's to a good night sleep and a room to ourselves!! 

Note to Self

Dear Self,

You are blessed with two beautiful, healthy children. You've got an amazing little boy who is almost 2 & 1/2 and a sweet, smily little girl who is 7 & 1/2 months old. Life with two is (too say the least) chaos (but it's beautiful chaos)! You are cherishing every moment of this life you've been blessed with, but you need to file these times away for future viewing!

[I'm writing to you so that in 5 short months when your youngest turns 1 you will remember how life with small children can be. This blog will help you shut that voice inside up, (the one that tells you you should have another one) and to remember how great it is to have potty trained kids and that are becoming more and more self sufficient. After reading this blog, you will go hug your children, and go do all the things you can't do when you have a baby! I am the voice of reason! Listen to me and read this often especially when it seems like everyone around you is having babies.]

You wake up busy, you go non stop all day, and at night you are lucky to get an hour to put your feet up before you CRASH! Most nights you get about 7 hours of sleep and that's if you're lucky. With a baby and a preschooler you just never know who might wake up needing something and lately you're having trouble falling back to sleep, so if one of them does wake you up, it takes about an hour or 2 for you to fall back out. Usually by this time, it's almost morning anyway.

Your house is always messy. When you clean it, it takes on average a day and a half for it to look like it hadn't been cleaned at all and you always swear to yourself when it's clean that you're going to keep up with it. Then you realize... that's IMPOSSIBLE! Toys have taken over. You trip on them daily. It doesn't matter how many times you clean out the toy room, toys keep coming. Your in-laws and parents continue to fill your house every time they visit. It is their goal to watch you swim in toys.

If you want to leave the house, you start getting ready about an hour and a half before you have to be there, mostly because it takes that long to get everyone and everything ready and loaded up! You currently need 2 large bags for all the "stuff" aka diapers, wipes, blankets, sippy cups, snacks, toys, & oh, how the list goes on!! You have to decide between 4 strollers when you go out. You must decide between 2 singles and 2 doubles and once you do, you must load and unload the trunk (after of course, you've loaded the kids in). By the time you get in the car you are a sweaty mess!! You no longer have a say on music in the car. Occasionally, you listen to the Z (safe for the little ears), or a CD your husband burned for you, but for the most part you are limited to Mr. Richard, Disney Tunes, or other toddler tunes that you find yourself singing in the shower.

Time to yourself is rare. I'm talking RARE! You are lucky to get a shower every two days and you seriously need to pluck your eyebrows right now. I'm shocked that you actually shaved your legs yesterday. Way to go on that one. One of your favorite things to do is grocery shop, mostly because you usually go alone or only take one of the kids along. You are trying to hard to find time to workout, but are failing miserably and now that you pulled a muscle in your back (from lifting babies up and down all day) it's going to be a little while before you can anyway. Praying, reading, and blogging are your outlets and you are so blessed to have a Jill (one of my closest friends who also has two kiddos, 2 years and under).

Your poor husband works his butt off all day only to come home to you so ready for a break! You're lucky you have a good one, because sometimes you are grumpy, demanding, and no fun! He takes good care of you and the kids and you should probably tell him how much you appreciate him a lot more!

Mommy guilt eats you up. You often feel like you can't give your kids everything they need when they need it. You always feel like one is missing out because of the other. You never feel like you give enough attention to either of them and it feels like a juggling act sometimes. The TV is your friend because you know you can catch a shower or get in a half an hour of quick cleaning or cooking if you need it, but then you feel bad because (if you didn't already know) it's not good for kids to watch TV according to everyone on the face of the planet. You pray for patience and need more of it! It's not easy with two at their ages. At the end of the day you regret raising your voice over silly things and not hugging your kids nearly enough! You realize they will only be this age for such a short period of time and you will miss this stage one day. It's then you begin to count your blessings and reflect on how you can do things better the next day.

You are head over heals in love with your children and they love and need you so much! Love on them, love on them, and then love on them some more!! If you start to feel the itch for a baby read this blog and try to remember how rough your last pregnancy was! And of course, remember that if more are in God's plan, you'll know. He gave you Landon and Chandler in His perfect timing and if He wants you to have more, you will. Enjoy every day with them, even the ones like today when you feel on edge and tired!! Life is short and time is flying!

Last but not least, go to sleep already!

With lots of love,

Yourself at age 26 {almost 5 years married with a 2 year old and 7 month old}

MMMBop!- Mondays are for Memories

In a world where Titanic topped the box office and Tamagotchi pets were a must have accessory, there was a girl in 7th grade who fell in love with the pop group, Hanson. (I know, I know!)

In April of 1997 the single MMMBop was released and my world would never be the same. You could say I was (a little) obsessed with the lead singer of the band. My walls were covered with Taylor posters and every night you better believe I was listening to the Hot 9 at Nine on XL. Teen magazines, Bop and Tiger Beat were must haves and I was begging my parents to take me to Best Buy to get my hands on the album Middle of Nowhere as soon as it was released!

Wow. Who would've thought that 13 years later I'd be sitting at Epcot with my husband and TWO children reminiscing about those times!

Last night, Hanson preformed at Epcot's Food and Wine Festival and we were so there! We got to the park, took the kids to see Mickey and to ride Nemo, and then we booked it over to get a good seat! Right away though I was feeling out of place. As I sat there surrounded by grown woman in there twenties and thirties, some wearing Hanson shirts, others wasted and clinching their cameras to get a snap off as soon as the band hit the stage, I realized I'm all grown up, and I'm pretty sure that's a good thing! When the boys came out and got to singing I had to admit I began questioning my sanity at the age of 13. In my mind back then, I was going to marry Taylor Hanson. Last night, I was glad I married Matt! It's funny how much things can change in 13 years!

Oh yeah! Rocking out! You can hardly see them, but they are there!

The boys put on a good show and I resisted singing along for at least half of it, but man, I felt like a nerd! At one point, and I kid you not, I looked over my shoulder to see about 5 woman doing a choreographed dance to one of the songs. In the middle of it, one of them actually had to stop to discipline one of their children! Are you serious?! At that point, I looked at Matt and down at my kids and decided it was time to get out of there!

While I had a great time last night, it wasn't because I got to see my teen heart throb. I had a great time because I got to spend a fun night out with my family.

If only we could know then what we know now! But we can't! And so for all you Beiber fans out there... rest assured that you can rock out to him on the Epcot stage in about 13 years and realize how silly you were over a decade ago.

Cheers!

Mondays [are still] for Memories [just not this week]

It's been a crazy 7 days since the last time I sat down to blog! I pulled a muscle in my back last week. How? I don't know, I just woke up in pain. Awful, terrible, horrible, worse than natural labor PAIN! The pain got worse and worse and worse and by Wednesday night after I put the kids down I realized just how bad it was. I called my brother and his fiance and they so kindly took me to the ER. Matt walked in the door just in time to kiss me goodbye and take care of the kids if they woke up. Long story short, the meds they gave me in the ER did nothing! I came home, got no sleep, and ended up at the doctor's office after no relief came. My doctor is my hero! He gave me a shot of pain medicine (the good stuff), and some steroids to work as an anti-inflammatory. That night Chandler slept 11 hours straight and I was able to get in a good 9!! Answer to prayers! All in all, I am feeling much better. Still taking it easy, but I am up and at em again.

I do have a fun memory to share this week, but I couldn't get it in since I experienced it tonight! All I'm going to say is that I had a fun flash back to a time when Teen Bop Magazine was one of my favorite reads and posters of teen stars filled my walls. You won't want to miss this, but you'll have to come back tomorrow for the fun memories, my epiphany and a photo or two!

For now, it's off to dream land for me!

Nighty night all.

Mondays are for Memories

*Warning: this is a long one, but I couldn't help it. 

Today is November 1st! I can hardly believe that my baby girl, Chandler Rae, is 7 months old today! I finally got started on her baby book and her 1st year calendar last week (took me long enough, I know) and so I thought I would take this Monday to remember my pregnancy, labor and delivery, and my sweet baby girl's first 7 months of life! 

We found out we were pregnant on August 10th, 2009, just 1 month and 1 day after our boy Landon Joseph turned 1! Crazy right? 

Landon loving him some cake at his first birthday! 

My pregnancy with Chandler was rough!! I was constantly nauseous and threw up frequently! I didn't even start gaining weight until almost the 3rd trimester (but don't worry, I packed it on after the puking stopped). 

We found out we were having a girl on November 17th. I was 18 weeks pregnant. We were stoked! Matt could not wait to have a little princess! 

It's a girl!

This is the first outfit we bought for her. She is our Princess!

Here is her profile.

20 weeks pregnant. Landon is giving his sister a kiss. 

26 weeks and 1 day pregnant. Landon was 18 months here. 

Good friends of ours put on a "sprinkle" for us at our church on February 21st, I was 31 weeks pregnant. Unfortunately, I am waiting on the photos from my sprinkle, so I have none to share, but I hope to have them soon. I'll throw them in here when they come! 

Two days after my sprinkle, I was admitted to Winnie Palmer Hospital with a stomach virus. I was so dehydrated that I was (to my surprise) in early labor. When they hooked me up to the machines my contractions where pretty intense and it turns out I was already 3cm! The fluid that surrounded Chandler was low, which is one of the reasons I had Landon 3 weeks early. That would have to be monitored the remainder of my pregnancy. When the doctor told me that they were going to have to admit me, I had a major breakdown. Landon and Matt were both at home sick with the stomach virus too and my boys needed me! (I think it was God preparing me for what was to come. With a newborn and a one year old, I had to learn to let other people help and to let go of my need to control it all!) I was moved to the 5th floor where they gave me some serious drugs to stop labor. I have to say it was probably the most painful experience I've ever had (aside from having natural labor with Landon)! My Mom stayed at the hospital with me and took care of me the way mommies do and Matt became super Dad for Landon. Fortunately, I was discharged in 2 days, but put on bed rest until I was at least 37 weeks! Yes, bed rest with a 1 year old! It was not an easy task to say the least! I wanted to take care of my boys and our home (especially since we had just moved into a new house less then a month before my big hospital sleepover). What I had to learn very quickly was that I would love Chandler just as much as I loved Landon and that if rest was what I had to do to keep her safe, then rest is what I would do!! Luckily, I have a great husband, amazing family and friends, and a very generous church family to take care of me through it all. I could not have done it with out their prayers, love, visits, meals, and support!! 

Landon liked to decorate my belly. Here, he is putting stickers on it. 

35 Weeks and counting! I was exhausted! 

The weeks passed by and I was having lots of contractions! Every night I would wake up with them and think it was time to go, but then they would stop and back to sleep we would go. At my 37 week appointment I went in hoping that it might be go time. I had Landon at 37 weeks, so in my mind that was when I would have Chandler too. After a long morning of monitoring her and checking my fluid, the doctor decided it was safer for her to be out than to be in, so off to Winnie Palmer we went!! We were so excited!! My mom and dad were on Landon duty for the next couple of days so we had no worries about him, but of course we were going to miss him too! 

We got into our room around 4pm. I was given pitocin shortly there after, and progressed to 6 cm within a couple of hours. The doctor on duty decided that since I was only 36 weeks and 6 days pregnant that he would like for me to make it to 37 weeks exactly, so he slowed down the pitocin. His plan didn't stop my labor though! My water broke when I got up to walk around and I moved to 8cm! At that point my contractions were getting intense, but I still kept thinking to myself, I can do this. It wasn't in my "labor plan" to go natural, but my epidural didn't work with Landon, so I already knew what I was in for. I stayed at 8cm for an hour and decided around 11pm that if I didn't have to feel the pain anymore, I didn't want to! It was epidural time for me! The epidural actually worked this time around and so quickly that it threw me into a panic attack. I was so numb (duh, that is what is supposed to happen), but it freaked me out. My blood pressure started dropping, and I began to dry heave. My nurse gave me some oxygen and I was able to calm down. Within 20 minutes of all that, I began to feel some pressure, but it was nothing like what I felt with Landon, so I figured it was nothing. I laid back and closed my eyes and about 20 minutes later I decided I should maybe call the nurse. She came in, checked me, and her exact words were, "okay, close your legs please, your baby is falling out, do not sneeze, do not cough." I was pretty surprised by this considering with Landon I called my nurse in and pretty much told her to get the baby out NOW! I knew it was time with him and there was an urgency to get him out! Chandler was a whole different ball game and I have to admit, it was awesome! The nurse called in the baby team and my mid-wife (they didn't have time to get a doctor, but the mid-wife was 100% better than my doctor with Landon anyway). My mid-wife had me push for a few seconds and stop and then push for a few more seconds and stop and out came Chandler Rae Sanders at 12:32am. She was 6lbs 12 oz and 20 inches long. She was born exactly 3 weeks early just like her big brother. 

Oh please take more pictures of me, Matt. I know I look great. Yeah, right!

There she is. No pain at all! 

As soon as I heard her cry, I could breath again!

Daddy with his Princess.

In love, all over again.

Our new family of 4!

I have to say over all the second time around is so much easier! My labor and delivery was a breeze compared to the first time and as far as taking care of a baby, we already knew what we were doing. The first few weeks at home where challenging though. Just figuring out how to take care of not one, but two children and our home as well, not to mention myself took some getting used to. One of the hardest experiences I have gone through as a mother happened when Chandler was 6 days old. Landon of course, caught a cold and it turned into croupe. At Chandler's 1 week check up, the doctor advised us to take Landon to be admitted to Arnold Palmer Hospital for treatment. The croupe had turned into strider and was causing Landon to have a hard time breathing. I had to drop my boys off and take Chandler home since we didn't want a brand new baby sitting in a hospital full of sickies. It broke my heart to leave him, but he was in good hands with Daddy and again, I think it was God once again preparing me for what was to come with a new baby and a toddler.

 As the weeks go by, it only gets easier and easier. Chandler is now sitting up, eating baby food, taking baths with Landon, and SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT! (When I wrote that last part I sang it in my head because it is such a glorious statement!) I'm also giving her bottles too now since she has become little miss nosey and doesn't want to be covered up anymore! Life with two kiddos definitely has it's moments, but I wouldn't trade it for anything! Here is just a glimpse of Chandler's first 7 months...

Landon giving sissy some love just 2 days before he was admitted to the hospital. He wasn't even sick yet. 

What do you think, tired much?

Chandler's first bath.

Daddy is in love.

Rocking her sweet bow!

I don't think they could love each other anymore than they already do!

Sweet girl.

Chandler's first trip to the beach.

Happy 7 months baby girl!! We love you and could not imagine life without you!