I AM A PIONEER WOMAN!

I'm very temped to delete my last post so I can say this hard core chic went all natural with Maggie's birth.  But, well..... let's keep it real.  I did manage to skip the drugs this time, but more about that later.  I'll post the birth story in white at the bottom for those who aren't interested all the lovely details.  (Just highlight between the *s to reveal the full story.)

The BEST NEWS is here!  

Margaret Raye has arrived!  

June 7, 2010.  At 8:33 AM

She was 8 lbs 10 oz, and 21-1/4 in.   

Maggie has dark hair, those steel baby blue eyes, and has won the hearts of the whole family- especially new big sister Virginia.

Our family of 6 feels pretty great.  It doesn't even feel like there is a lot of adjusting to do.  But maybe that is because Troy has been super amazing.  I don't think I washed a dish or made a meal for the kids the whole first week (and I didn't even have to ask him!).  I pink puffy heart that man!

But forget the new baby, everyone wants to know what happened to the splinter, don't you?  None of those recovery nurses would do anything about it!!  They kept saying, "Wow, that is bad.  I bet it hurts.  You should do something about that...." WHAT?  Well, here comes the REAL pioneer woman story.  I got it out MYSELF!  Look at that baby!

And the feet are STILL swollen.  The tooth pain has elevated to an insane level (the surgery is set for Friday).  I decided I am not a pioneer women, so I can complain about it.  Ahhhh- it hurts!!!!!

Back to the baby.....

*Tues, June the 1st was my last OB appt.  The Dr said don't bother making another appt since I was 2 cm dilated and ready to go.  If she hasn't come by Monday, call in and we will talk about what to do next.  I have been having Braxton Hicks contractions for a month now, and lots of "is this it?" times when the contractions where happening hard and close, but not regular.

Monday morning at 2AM I woke up with contractions that were 6 mins apart.  I waited about 45 mins before I decided that "this was it" and started making calls.  I called my friend Jacquie first, but it went to voice mail.  I called a few other people I don't mind waking up in the middle of the night, but more voice mails.  So, I called Jax's sister, Aly and asked her to wake up her sister.  ha ha.  In record time that girl was here to surprise the kids when they woke up (I still need to get that story, but I've been a terrible slacker in the communications dept).  Troy and I took our sweet time getting to St. Joseph's hospital since the contractions weren't bad.  We got there at 4AM.  I was only 5 cms.  

Now I have a terrible concept of time, but the events followed like this- got into the L&D room, water broke, I was past the point of getting an epi, so that was decided.  I was NOT prepared for the continuous pain after that.  Before, I had those lovely in-between-contraction rests to refocus and prepare for the next one.  The epi really dulls the in-between pain and you just feel pressure with contractions.  With no breathers, I felt like I was losing it.  Troy and the nurses said I was not bad, but in my mind, it wasn't the controlled birth I imagined (or like the previous births).  

The worst was that I don't remember a lot of it.  Troy said the nurses would ask me to turn over, or move this way and I would just say, "Ok, ok, ok....." or and not do it.  I don't remember them asking me.  And I didn't know that Troy got to deliver Maggie until the next day when he told someone who was visiting!  I didn't even know the cord was around her neck until a week later!  I'm still getting the whole story.  So much for a no drug, clear minded birth.  :(

 Even the recovery was not as nice.  I really felt the placenta this time.  I forgot about that and it scared me!  And those after birth pains.... UGH!  With each kid they get worse, and the 4th time is NOT when I suggest going drug free!  I couldn't even hold Maggie right away.  Again, I don't know how long it was, but it seemed like forever.  Once the Percocet kicked in and I had Maggie in my arms, I felt much better. *

But, no matter how she got here (Praise the Lord for no complications!) or what I remember, Maggie is a sweet, perfect addition to our family.  She is snuggled in my sling as I type and I love this feeling! 

The Count Down

I figured I better record this before I give birth, miraculously forget the rough parts, and proclaim that I'm a pioneer woman when it comes to having babies!

Yesterday was not pretty.  Let's start with the bottom.  My feet look like this-

EW! and OUCH!

Then, I got this big, completely embedded splinter in my elbow.  You can see the outline, feel it, but it is implanted, like a sci-fi micro chip.  I refuse to take a picture for the faint of hearts who might be reading.  Double EW!  (I'm planning on keeping it clean and asking the hospital nurses to take care of if after delivery, lol!)

The kids were being B.A.D. (enough said)

And I've been dealing with some tooth pain for a couple of weeks now.  I knew my wisdom teeth had to come out, the Dentist already gave me a referal for after the pregnancy.  But then one of my half exposed wisdom teeth broke!  It didn't hurt then, but a couple of months later.....um.  Let's just say I'm trying very hard not to snap at everyone.

It got so bad yesterday, my vision was getting blury, my head was throbbing, I couldn't eat, AND I was having all those other fun things happening to my body.  I sent all the kids to bed for mandatory rest time and called the oral surgeon.  When she said there was nothing to be done I broke down.  I actually cried!  The poor lady!  I had to ask her what her name was since I was using her as a therapist.  Embarrassing.  She put me in for a Tues appt, but I didn't remember until I hung up that my OB said to call him about inducing if Maggie hasn't shown up by Monday.  Oh well, I cried, I'm in the books, I can reschedule, I felt a little better.

Oh, and do you want to know the kicker?  The Tylenol I was taking wasn't working because it was 2 years expired!!!!  You would have thought I would have checked the adult meds when I checked the kid ones after that last recall 3 weeks ago.  Up to date pills made all the difference! 

So, for today- my feet are still on the verge of exploding (gross visual, I know).  I decided to fix some food for the kids so I don't have to get up 50 gazillion times.  We have lots of these little Starbucks sample cups from my grandparent's house (no idea how they got there, but we use them as bathroom rinse cups) and I pre-filled them with some yogurt, fruit, and dressing for dipping.  I pre-cut some cheese, a cucumber, peaches, pulled down all the bags of cereal, crackers, and got a sippy cup ready for Ginnie. I even poured some milk in creamer cups so the kids could pour their own.  They can always get water out of the fridge door.  

I think I *might* be able to stay off my feet for most of the morning!

Now all I need is some more contractions to come!

Summer Fun

School has been over for Liv for a while now.  George just finished his last day on May 28th.  He can't quite grasp that we (and half the rest of the free world) are taking a summer break.  He says he has waited soooooo loooooong to finish school so he can do homeschool now.  He begs for it every day.  I can't say I've been as eager to create some lessons for him, as I do the bare minimum on my swollen feet, achy everything, and incredible tooth pain (I have a cracked wisdom tooth that can't be looked at until after the pregnancy). 

Poor kid.  His mother won't educate him.

In a compromise (since he wants to learn more about letters, sounds, and numbers), I have been offering up info that I know, using resources I don't have to search through, and will keep Liv happy also.  Art lessons! 

We have done an Impressionism lesson with chalk painting, and learned about Monet.

We have learned about murals and even looked at a local muralist's work online (Michael Owen.  I connected him to the Mt. Washington mural gig!).  We picked a theme for them all to work on (they chose animals) and went to town.  If it wasn't so close to lunch, they would have painted more.  Poor timing on my part.

And free art time!  Liv has gotten incredibly creative lately.  She designed George a pirate costume with sticky foam sheets and markers, complete with a parrot and map!

We have been doing other fun stuff just because we can.  I love summer time!!!

Backyard fun- including the sand box, water table, sprinkler, slip and slide, swing set, bug catching.....

and the Boumi Carnival!

The First (and Last?) Dance Recital

Livia has taken Ballet and Tap all year at A Step Ahead Dance studio with her friend Julia.  I thought her interest was peaked by the amount of ballet books she would check out at the library, but come to find out, she might not be as interested in it as we figured.  As we were explaining to her that the recital was the end of dance class for the year, she was more than fine with it.  I asked her if she wants to do it again in the Fall and she said, "No thanks."  (What???)

She likes to dance but doesn't like people watching her.  Hmmmmm..... 
She loves seeing Julia but would rather meet at our/her house or a park so they can talk.  Makes sense......
She is awfully concerned with what we should do with her costume now that we don't need it any more.  Way to think green!
She really doesn't want to wear mascara for another recital.  I think that is the kicker.....  :)

Well- a year of phys ed for the homeschool records, some coordination training, and some culture, including french words, gave us a better understanding of Liv.  Not to mention some cute pictures!

The kids really want a puppy....

Cowboy George in Time Out