Okay, as I type this, I am 37 weeks pregnant with baby #4...I am so over this pregnancy.  I go to the doctor once a week now and I was already measuring 1cm dilated last week.  I hope there is some progress this week when I go.  I need to start getting out and walking...

Here are my stats from last week - 36 weeks:

Weight: +22 lbs

BP: 101/72 (which is a little high for me)

Baby's HR: 138

Everything is on track for me to have another induction the week of January 17th...at least that is what I am planning.

The holidays were CRAZY!!! We didn't leave the state of Maryland, but managed to travel all over or so it felt.  I felt terrible the whole time and eventually went to the doctor on Monday, the 26th.  Upper respiratory infection - awesome!  Elli then came down with something the week after Christmas - just a virus...

I am now in organizing and simplifying mode - getting rid of all my tupperware (especially the ones with mismatched lids - there is nothing more annoying to me).  I got new pots and pans for Christmas so I am recycling my old ones...I hope you can recycle them - they are in the yellow bins...we'll see if they take it later this week...

Christmas decorations, tree, etc came down after our last Christmas celebration on the 27th, then I got a bug up my butt to sort and organize the kids toys.  We have too much crap.  I need to donate 50% of what we have...it is so hard though...maybe this will be a spring cleaning effort.  

My goals for this new year start with financial stuff - get my financial house in order and get rid of my one credit card...it is annoying that I carry a balance and I really need to get serious about getting rid of it.  I have been following a lot of money saving mom blogs, and hopefully they will give me a jump start and motivation to follow through.  It will be tough for the 6 weeks where I am not working...and our maternity leave plan SUCKS...it isn't a maternity leave plan, it is short term disability and it is just crap.  I love my company (well, I love the people that I work with) but the benefits are not that awesome when it comes to maternity leave...I will keep harping on the President until he fires me or until he retires...

Packing my bag for the hospital - this has been quite a challenge for me.  I think because I am just lazy right now and I keep putting it off because I know that I will probably have to be induced and it will be a night before I am scheduled to have the baby.  The problem is that with my last pregnancies it was always hot out, so I didn't need to really bring anything EXTRA.  This time it will be freezing out and I just feel a little unprepared.  Oh well, my strategy is LESS is MORE.  As long as I can take the laptop and get a connection at the hospital, all will be fine.  I will only be there for a day or two...

I installed the car seat this morning, after washing everything so it smells wonderful!  It will be weird to have 4 car seats in our suburban.  We will no longer be able to take the camry anywhere - for emergency cases, we were able to fit 3 car seats in the camry by slamming the doors shut, but not anymore...no room for 4!

Jake started his new "structured" playgroup this morning.  It is a one-on-one intense learning environment.  He cried the almost the whole time he was there.  The poor guy, in the past month, he has been to a neurologist, he has seen a sensory specialist, Thursday he is having his hearing checked, and we are still waiting on confirmation back from Kennedy Krieger to see if they will schedule us an appointment at their Center for Autism Related Disorders.  The structured playgroup is a free program offered by our county infants and toddlers program.  I love the county program and have been very satisfied with them so far.  Jake is 27 months old and not talking.  He babbles, but he doesn't say "Mama" or "Dada" or "Baby" - none of the words he is "supposed" to be able to say around the 12-15 month range.  So, he will go 3 days a week for 90 minutes each day to be seen by an Occupational Therapist, a Speech Pathologist and a Sensory Specialist.  We have been doing a lot with the sensory "diet" and he seems to be comprehending things more now, but not vocalizing anything...so, I hope this playgroup helps him.  They thought he might be on the Autism Spectrum, and they might still think this.  But, I had him evaluated by Dr. Marc Disabella from Children's Hospital and he said he thinks he just has a developmental speech delay.  More to follow on his progress later.  He is such a sweet boy.

Hank is just as lovey as ever.  He does this "thing" where he kisses my whole face.  He kisses my eyes, both of my cheeks, my chin, my forehead, my nose, and my lips and he is just so freaking adorable.  It just melts my heart.  I hope he always does this to me.  He also tells everyone all the time that he loves them...could there be anything more sweet???

Elli is also doing extremely well.  She was very interested in where Santa lives and why we celebrate Christmas and how old is Jesus?  She is so cute and in this questioning sort of phase right now.  She is also goofy as ever.  

Anyway, this is a long overdue update...

Did I say that I am DONE with this pregnancy???  Who knows maybe I will go into labor naturally???  Ha!!!

New obsession

Confession...I have a new obsession.

After submitting my non-entry (that's what we are going to call it because I hate to get my hopes up that I will actually get picked...because of reasons 1 and 2 from yesterdays post) to Baby Center I found another blog about feeding your baby regular (not pureed baby) food at 6 months of age.  This couple that has a regular blog on Baby Center seemed awesome and they were trying something that I had never heard of...and since my children don't have the palates for all the veggies I would like them to have, the baby led weaning (I think that is the official name) is something that I think I will try with Baby Emma.  So, after reading their success with their baby, it led me to their blog.  WOW!  They are AMAZING!!!  They have totally renovated/redecorated 2 houses.  They are still in progress of their 2nd house, but it seriously looks AMAZING!!!  I want to copy their style and all their ideas.  I LOVE Pottery Barn, and wish I could afford to decorate my house from a Pottery Barn magazine, but the reality is that I am cheap.  The Petersik's have re-designed, decorated EVERYTHING in their house.  They have done everything on a budget and they seem like such down to earth people - I'm obsessed!  AND, they live in Richmond, so we are practically neighbors. 

So, another goal of mine...after baby #4 comes along, of course, is to re-decorate or just decorate considering most if not all of our furniture is hand-me-downs (thanks to our good friends, Mike and Ellen Fergus) and do a little more decorating, painting, DIY'ing.  We'll see if I have the energy after chasing after 4 kids under 4-years-old.  Hmmm...it makes me tired just thinking about running after 4 kids. 

But, we have a lot of work to do in our house (which is only 3.5 years old).  Anyway, their blog is called, Young House Love and it is awesome!!!  They even had their wedding in their back yard!!!  AMAZING!!! 

Check it out, I'm sure you will be obsessed too!!!

Oh, we also had an exciting morning at the dentist.  Hank had a cavity (between his two front teeth, of all places) a few weeks ago when we went for our 6 month check-up.  (Insert Mother of the Year award here:)  So, this morning was the big day.  They don't do Novocaine, they do laughing gas, so this made me a little nervous....OK, A LOT nervous.  But, he did so great!  I was such a proud mama!  The tech turned on Toy Story 3 for him, he put his sun glasses on, and chose to have bubblegum (although he called it Gummy Bear) scented gas mask on and he did great.  The whole process took about 40 minutes.  I asked the doctor if she could shave a little bit of the tooth so I could actually get a piece of floss between his teeth, which she happily did after she couldn't get the floss between his teeth.  (No wonder he had a cavity there.)  And, since he wasn't numb, he could eat right away, so he wanted Dunkin Donuts munchkins after he got 3 prizes, a new toothbrush and stickers from the dentist office.  So, that was our excitement for the morning.  Phew, so glad he did so well!!!

October - where did it go???

So, it is October 21st and seriously, where does time go?  We have had a very very busy October so far.  Starting off we had the boys' combined birthday party which was AWESOME!!!  We knew we were having live animals come out to the house, but Little Barnyard Buddies brought ALL their animals for the kids (and adults) to play with, pet, and even decorate.  It was so much fun and I just want to give a big shout out to the owner, Cindy Jimenez (which turns out she is a mother of 5 and her hubby went to USNA).

Then I was SUPPOSED to host a baby shower for my friend, Emma, but she had the baby the day before the shower - no, I'm not kidding!  She had a beautiful healthy baby girl and she named her Isabelle Edith Martin.  We were so thrilled for her and Doug.

So, since we didn't have the baby shower, we decided to go to the Hank Williams Jr. concert at the Patriot Center that night and we went with my brother, Michael and his wife, Katie, my sister-in-law Teresa and her husband Stuart.  A good time was had by all...a little too good of a time:)  Both of my brothers' and Daniel's birthday are all within one week, so we did that for Michael's birthday.  The following Monday, October 11th we went to the Caps game.  It was my first professional hockey game and it was awesome!  Butch, Stuart's dad, gave us the tickets and we had a blast!

The next weekend on the 16th we went to Old Stein Inn for Daniel's birthday.  A few friends and family joined us and we ate SO much, but it was SO good. 

Lately, I have been going on this website called www.laaloosh.com - a friend at work, Abigail, recommended it.  The owner of the website is also a weight watcher and she experiments with different recipes.  Everything that we have tried so far has been AWESOME!!!  So, let's hope that it helps as the weather gets colder and all I want is pasta, carbs and fattening (Cream-based) soups!

Speaking of weight....ugh, I have been hovering around the 147-148 mark...which is fine, I would be happy at this weight....BUT, I am obsessed with the number 140.  And, I have no idea why??? 

After all the showers, I opened up my own Etsy shop to sell the cake pops, cupcake pops, oreo truffles, and I am also going to try brownie pops this weekend.  I haven't gotten any hits yet, but maybe when the holidays start approaching.

Holidays - I have already started shopping for the kids - I PRE-ordered Toy Story 3 from Walmart's website.  It was only $16, so I am sure it will probably be a HOT item this year.  It will be hard for me to hold off until Christmas, but I have the will power (I think...:)

I am going to Virginia Beach this weekend for my girlfriend Andrea's baby shower.   She is also having a girl in December.  Her husband, Josh (one of my best friends from NAPS) is a SEAL deployed to Afghanistan.  I think of Josh almost daily and hope that he is okay.  I have heard that they (SEALS) have been very busy...

Well, I am excited to get a night's sleep without a toddler on top of me, or kicking me or asking me for juice, water, etc.  And, the shower is at a wine bar, so I am sure that I will have a glass or 10!  ha! 

Hope this finds everyone well! 

Quick update on the kids:
Elli had her post-op with Dr. Som (who I secretly have a crush on:) and everything went great!  She did so well throughout the process.
Hank is saying more words everyday and he will be switching school from one full day to 2 half days a week starting next week.  He is still in the Infants and Toddlers program and he is improving everyday.
Jake is ALMOST walking...he has taken a few steps, but it hasn't been more than 3 or 4.  I'm not in a rush for him to start walking...

Alright, talk to you soon!

Weekend

Happy 2nd Birthday, Hank!!!!  We celebrated with a cake, but the party is next weekend.  We are having a barnyard (blue and orange) themed party for both the boys with a Mini-cow, goat and pot belly pig going to be making an appearance!  We are so excited!!!  I had this girl on Etsy - Chickabug (Heather from Ellicott City) design the cupcake toppers, favor tags, buffet cards, water bottle labels, etc.  I wish I had talent to design my own paper goods...maybe one day!

So, I am listening to Elli sleep....she doesn't snore anymore...but, I secretly wonder if she still has sleep apnea.  I will talk to the doctor at her post-op.  They just got home this afternoon.  Daniel took the kids to the beach this weekend in order to help me out.  What a sweet guy! 

Siobhan's shower was a big success!  I felt a little frazzled at first because people started showing up and I was not FULLY prepared!  So, I put my great friends from high school to work - thankfully they were asking what they could do to help - how wonderful!  Crazy that I have known Siobhan for 30 (THIRTY) years!!!  THIRTY YEARS!!!  I can't get over it.  We met when we were Elli's age and now she is having a little girl too!!!  Now, Emily just needs a girl and the Trio will be complete - hee hee! 

I fell asleep last night at 8:30pm and tried to sleep in, but was up at 7am.  I tried to have the whole house in order when Daniel got home.  All the laundry was done, all the dishes were cleaned and now I have all the kids clothes to put away from his two day trip. 

This week is going to be HUGE!!!  HANK starts school on Tuesday!!!  Can you believe it???  I won't even be able to see it since I have a business trip and have to leave VERY early on Tuesday morning:(  This is me whining:(

Anyway, so excited for the boys' birthday parties!!!  I am going to attempt to make a big barnyard cake, with some interesting cupcakes....I might try the cake pops from Bakerella with the cows, pigs and chicks....but, we'll see...not sure if I will have time!

Hank's playgroup on Fridays is going GREAT!!!  FABULOUSLY!!!  His speech is improving everyday.  Right now his favorite toy/character is Buzz Lightyear!!!  It is so cute how he says Buzz!  I have packed his backpack and got his lunchbox ready for his full day of school on Tuesday!!!!  Oh, and he has been going pee and poop on the POTTY!!!!  He even went today when we were at Siobhan and Jason's!!!!  CRAZY!!! 

Just bought this....for the kids!!!  Elli is so cute, she has been singing along with all the songs from the Disney DVDs....so I love Beauty and the Beast, so I can stand to hear the songs over and over!
Alright, I'm gonna finish watching Brothers & Sisters and then go to bed! 

Weight Loss - Almost there!!!

Okay, so I can totally put my weight on here because barely anyone reads this blog...right???

Yesterday I weighed in at 148...woo hoo! I have lost 34 pounds...that is the size of my oldest child. Seriously, I have never felt better about my body! I weighed about 140 in college, but that was with the huge obnoxious boobs I had.

Not sure if all of you know this, but I have a particularly large upper body. Well, in 2005, I had TWO breast reductions. The Navy paid for me to get my breasts reduced because I have bulging discs in my lower back (L4-L5 and L5-S1 for those that also have back issues). The doctor told me that the reduction probably wouldn't help with my back, but I wanted it done and the Navy paid for me to go to a non-Navy plastic surgeon. Luckily my boss at the time was so cool with it because his wife had also had reductions and she gave me the book about breastfeeding after having a reduction. I thought it was weird at first, but looking back appreciate it a whole lot more. So, after my surgery in June, I felt good, but I started off at a 36G, and wanted to be a 34 or 36 C. Needless to say, I was not a C....so back I went in September for another surgery. This surgery was a lot harder on my body and I don't do well with the drugs...this time I told the doctor that I didn't want any boobs...he laughed and I cried...in total, I think the doctor took about 7-8 POUNDS off my chest....and for those of you at the reunion, I still have quite the shelf...just not as bad as it used to be:)

So, dealing with the weight, obviously the boobs grew with all the pregnancies and I was able to breastfeed (not exclusively) but I was happy. This has been such a journey. I never thought it would happen overnight, but once I stopped breastfeeding with Jake, the weight just started to fall off. This whole process has been life-changing for Daniel and I. We are eating more vegetables and whole grains, limited processed food.

Talking with our Weight Watchers leader yesterday, I am trying to pick a goal weight. Something that is not going to kill me. I thought all along that it would be 145, but now I am thinking that maybe I should let my body decide. My leader said that her body naturally plateaued and that her body chose the weight she was supposed to be. I would be happy at 140 or even 145...I am just so happy that I am so close...

Anyway, I have a busy busy weekend ahead. Daniel is taking the kids to the beach on Friday until Sunday. I am hosting a baby shower for Siobhan on Saturday. I am so excited!!!

Today Miss Kandy from Infants and Toddlers will be here - Hank is doing amazing and saying A TON more words. He even says, love you! I love that! It melts my heart! Then Hank has his hearing test with Dr. Som at 11am and then who knows what we will do, the weather is not cooperating with us! Have a great day everyone!

Slacker...again

Okay, so I don't even know if anyone even reads my posts, but I have been a BIG FAT PREGNANT SLACKER!

Where did June go? July is shortly going to be over too!

Updates about the kids - they both had check-ups in June.

Elli weighed in at 28.5 lbs, and was 35 1/4 inches tall. She is doing great and the doctor was so impressed with her verbal skills.

Hank weighed in at 22.5 lbs and was 30 inches tall/long. He has 3 teeth now and the teething is kicking our butts.

We just got back from a trip to NC for our annual 4th of July celebration. It was great to see all of Daniel's family and it wasn't THAT hot down there this time. My parents also came down and we enjoyed the fact that they stayed at a hotel with a pool. We definitely used that to our advantage. I bought Elli a swim vest that you

zip up over her suit and by day two she wouldn't let anyone hold on to her. It made me a little nervous at first, but she did great. I think she swallowed half the pool the first day....but that's okay.

We have a wedding this weekend - thank goodness that it is in Annapolis. I am so excited. It is our friend's Doug and Emma. I am sure that it will be quite the USNA 2000 reunion. I am in the wedding and just picked up my dress tonight. I also made sure to get a matching tie for Daniel so that we can at least be color coordinated! My mom is going to watch the kids for us on Saturday, but they will come with us tomorrow night!

Elli went pee pee on the potty today and she peed A LOT! She almost filled the little potty up. I was so proud of her. But, not more than an hour or so later, she had on her training underpants and she peed all over the kitchen floor. I guess I got my hopes up that this was it!!! I need to remember to buy more treats at the store so when she does go pee pee I can give her the same thing every time instead of offering her whatever I have on hand.

Here are some pictures of us from NC.

Update

Just a simple update to what has been going on in our lives.  I have no idea where April went, it seriously flew by.  

Last Friday, Elli went pee pee on the potty for the first time.  It was very exciting and she also went once on Saturday as well...but then, we let her run around naked and she pooped in our room.  Daniel said, "no more no diaper."  It was pretty funny...because she was so sneaky about it!  You have to laugh, right?  

I was really excited when the weather started to get nice because I was able to get out and about in our neighborhood and meet some of the neighbors and their kids.  We have been invited to a birthday party about every weekend...so that should be fun for Elli to interact with new kids.  

We also found a church that I really love.  It is literally right up the street from where we live, so it is very convenient.  The people are great and Elli spent the whole service in the nursery yesterday.  They have so many toys that she didn't even realize that I was gone!  Then they served lunch afterwards.  It was a good thing too, because I was STARVING!  They are having a Mother's Day service next week and giving out tomato seedlings, which is great because I got myself one of those topsy turvy tomato planters and am going to try and grow my own tomatoes this year.  

Hank is just about to start crawling, I swear, any day now.  He manages to get himself around okay by rolling everywhere, but before we know it, we are going to have a crawler.  He is also very squirmy when you hold him.  He likes to move!  Hank still has only the two teeth that came in around the 6 month mark, but he is drooling like crazy and putting everything into his mouth.

Life is great right now.  Busy, but great.  I am feeling great.  Our sonogram is scheduled for the 13th of May, so 9 days away.  We are NOT going to find out the sex.  I know, so unlike me...but we are going to make this one a surprise!  We have one of each, so we are just hoping for healthy!

Hank is 6 months old

Hank just turned 6 months old on the 26th.  It is crazy how fast time flies.  He weighed in at 19 lbs, 6 oz. (85th percentile) and was almost 29 inches long (over 95th percentile.)  He also just got his first two teeth, on the bottom.  It has been a little rough at night with the teeth coming in, but other than that he is a BIG healthy baby boy.  

Elli is talking more and more.  She is constantly pointing out people in pictures and saying so many words.  It is the cutest thing when she says, "please" and "thank you."  I love it!

Anyway, just about 13 weeks now and wish I could say that I haven't been sick, but I have had morning sickness.  I am also very tired, especially when I am home with the kids.  I try and nap but to get both of them down at the same time is a challenge in itself.  

We are hoping for nice weather this weekend.  Hopefully we will catch the last home Navy lax game and possibly Navy rugby on Saturday.  

Slacker...

So I was able to schedule Hank's induction on the 25th of September.  They scheduled me at 7pm that Thursday evening.  I asked for an epidural right after they hooked me up to the pitocin, before the doctor checked my progress.  That was probably the smartest thing that I did.  I got the epidural and then about 4-5 hours later, I was ready to push.  I actually watched the birth of Hank.  The delivery was much easier this time around.  The recovery was 100% easier as well.  I didn't have to use any ice packs and the bleeding was not as bad either...

So, Hank Daniel Oxendine was born on September 26th at 2:35am.  He weighed in at 8lbs, 14oz.  and was 20 inches long.  He was a BIG baby.  

We went home on Sunday, September 28th and have been busy ever since.  

Another big happening is that I went back to basics with Elli sleeping in her crib.  Ever since we went to Mexico in March Elli had been sleeping with us in our bed.  Mostly because I was pregnant, tired and lazy (I didn't want to hear her cry).  On Thursday, I started putting Elli back in her crib and staying right by the crib until she fell asleep.  It took her 45 minutes to fall asleep that first night, then 25 minutes on Friday night and last night it only took 18 minutes.  I have been re-reading "Good night, Sleep tight" by Kim West to give myself the motivation and kick in the pants I needed.  

I thought that I would wait until we moved into the new house, but I thought we would have already been in the house by now.  I wanted my bed back.  Hopefully tonight will go as smooth as last night.  I am going to keep putting her in her crib and going to stick to our schedule.  She thrives when she is on a schedule.

We met up with some friends last night that we hadn't seen in  almost 2 years.  JD and Lora have a beautiful 1 year old, Daniel and it was great to see them last night.  Lora barely looks like she has had a baby in her skinny designer jeans.  Daniel was so adorable, despite being  on west coast time.  It was great to see them!!!

We are rooting on the Redskins today, they play the Lions at 1pm today.  It is a beautiful day and after the game we may try and venture to downtown Annapolis just to get outside and walk around.  They have a wonderful playground for children that Elli really enjoys.

On the double stroller front...it is between the BOB and the Phil and Ted Sport.  Argh it is so hard to decide between these two strollers, but they are so expensive and such a big investment...I am leaning towards the Phil and Ted's just because of the width...

Anyway, less than two weeks until our trip to Tampa...should be exciting.