Happy Birthday Callie!

"Callie what do you want for your birthday?" "BALLOONS!!!" So she woke up to lots of balloons the morning of her birthday! She was so happy!!



I got her a super cute zebra/pink pettiskirt and made her a couple of matching tops so I had to make her an over-the-top bow to match! I had never made this type of bow but found them online for $16.95 for ONE, so I decided to give 'em a whirl! I also found a little boutique that had a bottlecap with the zebra and a pink "C" so I had to make adjustments to attach it to one. I think they turned out pretty good. She got lots of compliments on them, so I think I'm gonna start selling this style too!


Here she is sporting her new bows---I did her hair and she hadn't seen her bows yet but said "Where's my birthday bow??!!" So I went and got them and her eyes lit up so big and got a huge smile and was so excited about them---made all the work sooo worth it!





We had a little swim party at Grandma Gum's house with her cousins....here's Kate, Chloe, and Jocee waiting for pizza!



Getting ready to blow out the candles!


I don't know why Joc is sticking her butt out like that but I just love the joy in Callie's face that I had to post it. She kept saying "It's my birthday! It's my birthday!" all day long! She really did have a great day.
The party guests....
Opening presents! A tea party set from Chloe!

Her brother, the Rockstar!

Grandma Ellen and Callie


Her new outfit!! I think she's so freakin' adorable in this outfit!! She just loved prancing around in it at home!

A few modeling pics...



Twirling her skirt!



She had a super great day!

The next morning she said "It's not my birthday anymore."

Baby News

I am behind on my blogging, sorry. But the biggest news is that Jordan will be getting his little brother!!!! All the kids are very excited for their baby brother. I happen to be on Craigslist last week looking for some gifts for the kids and came across a really cheap wooden toddler bed and mattress so I had to get it! I wasn't planning on that expense till after Christmas but I knew I wouldn't find anything as cheap so I went ahead and splurged. Luckily the boys (ok, young men) down the street were kind enough to follow us to the lady's house with their truck and bring it home for Callie. She was SOOOO excited for her new bed! That night and every night since she has had no problems going to bed. She now points to the crib and says "Baby brother's bed!" I will probably be moving her to Jordan's room and moving Jordan to her room, but we're waiting till after the holidays to do that. That way she gets one change at a time. She loves to kiss my belly and say hi to her brother. I took her to Once Upon a Child today and she saw a baby swing and said "Baby brother swing!"
No, we don't have a name picked out yet. :)

6 More Days!

Okay, so we're just a bit anxious to find out what the baby is! We are going to take Jordan to his first ultrasound because he's very excited to know whether he's getting a brother or not. Whatever it is, we will be happy for a healthy baby!

Trip to Orthopedic Doc

I went to the Orthopedic dr on Monday to see what was wrong with my knee. I signed in and sat down. A few more people came in and the X-Ray tech came out and said "Chad." So this guy got up and went to get x-ray'd. I didn't think much of it--Chad is a pretty common name. So on the way out, I was standing at the counter making a follow up appt and the sign in sheet was right there and my mom said "Why did you sign in as Chad?" I was like "What? I didn't." So I looked down at the sign in sheet and sure enough, 3 people after me was "CHAD GARDINER!!!" The odds of actually meeting someone with the same name (spelled the same too) are pretty low and then for him to be at the same dr at the same time as me I thought was incredible. My dad said "He stole Chad's identity!"
Anyway, the dr said that since I'm preggers, he wasn't going to do an MRI (which my ob today said was ok to do), but he did different movements with my knee/leg and felt around and asked what hurt and he thinks either 1. Partially torn medial collateral ligament that would heal on its own in 4-6 weeks OR 2. tore my meniscus which would require surgery to repair but couldn't be done till after I have the baby---and how will I have a newborn and 4 kids, then go have surgery and be down for days?????? So I'm hoping that it is #1 and I will be healed and not need surgery (and not continue to have knee problems as my weight increases with each passing day!) So that's the update on that problem. (I won't give details about my horrid evening last night but am thankfully feeling better than I was thanks to some meds the dr gave me today.) What else is going to happen to me this pregnancy? Geez!

Weekends are Weekends!

Last week Chad got a page from his "duty officer" (boss) that said "call me." So he called him and he was offered a new position as an O2 driver, delivering oxygen tanks to patients and picking them up. One of the perks is that he works Mon-Fri and gets Sat and Sun off!!! Woo hoo!!!! We are all so excited to have Daddy back on Saturdays! He has been doing it for a week and says it is so easy and is the same pay that he was already making. What a blessing!

Pain Woes

It hasn't been a good last couple of weeks for me physically. It started with nausea for the last 6 weeks or so. Then daily headaches for the last 3 weeks. Then a Sinus infection last week--still can't breathe through my nose which is awful and makes for chapped lips and a sore throat.
Then Saturday morning I woke up to my knee hurting really bad. So bad that I was limping on it at first, then it started throbbing really bad and I had to sit down and put it up and ice it. Of course with 4 kids at home, I could only do that for so long. The icing I did do, seemed to help with the swelling and I was able to do what I needed to to get thru the day. Sunday was okay--still bothersome but not throbbing like before. Then it seemed ok for the next couple of days. Wednesday was Kate's birthday so we went to McD's for lunch and it wasn't bothering me too much. But after I laid down for about an hour, I got up and it was killing me again!! Luckily my mom and dad were here so I could elevate it and ice it while they tended the kids. It was swollen again and throbbed so bad and I could barely move it. My dad left to go ref and my mom left with my sister to go to Brad's concert at about 6pm so I was left to bathe the kids and put them to bed all the while hobbling along. The icing helped numb it so I was able to make it through putting them to bed. (I forgot to mention that also over the weekend I developed another not-so-pleasant infection--that I won't name--that I had to deal with too!) By the time they were all in bed, it was throbbing SO badly!!! I was on the couch with ice on it and could not move. Finally about 9pm, Chad, my sister, and my parents came home and were so worried about me because I seriously could not move it an inch without it killing. I took some Tylenol that seemed to help just slightly, not nearly enough to relieve the pain.
Let's just say that I did not sleep very much last night and was in tremendous pain. Thank goodness Chad had today off so he could help out. Today I am able to limp for a bit but then when I sit down, it starts throbbing and paying me back for being on it when I was. I've considered going to urgent care but I think they will just say that I strained a muscle or something and to ice it and rest it. I don't know if they would prescribe me with any pain medication since I'm pregnant. So basically I'm icing it and elevating it as often as I can. I can't get in a comfortable position to sleep so I'm sure tonight will be another nightmare.

Sick and prego=overwhelmed Mom

With being sick and pregnant, my house has been neglected for a while. This morning I am feeling a bit better and am just walking around the house thinking "I need to do this and this and this and this and this and this...." Now I'm completely overwhelmed and don't know where to start. Once I start one task, I get distracted and start working on something else. I feel like I'm making no progress and I still have to go to the grocery store with the 2 girls (which I'm not looking forward to). Not to mention that I still have 2 girls at home who constantly need my attention--give baths, clean poop off the floor, change diaper, feed, get drinks....
I'm hoping the "nesting" instinct will be coming to me soon and I'll feel like I can conquer the world and be somewhat organized again. Right now I just feel like I'm hangin' on by the skin of my teeth! And I hate that feeling.
If I could afford one, I'd definitely hire a cleaning person to come in the morning once the kids are off to school and then come again after dinner to clean up the kitchen (I never feel like doing dishes after eating dinner, who does?).
I know I'm not the only mom who feels this way, but it's nice to get it out of my system.