5 Little Bugs

I will never forget

2011-09-11T21:02:00.000-05:00

Today is 9/11. We have spent the day trying to explain to our older two girls the importance of what today means to our country. They don't get it. They try but to them war, violence, terrorism happens so far away from thier lives. Those are things that happen on TV and in other countries. I am so grateful that my children's lives are like that, that there innoncence has not been taken by those horrible things in life. But as far as Jeremy and I, we understand. On that day 10 yrs ago, something was taken from us. Maybe innocence is the wrong word, but we know now what we did not know then, the USA is not invincible and terrorism can happen anywhere.

It was the day before my birthday, we were both 20 yrs old and had recently gotten married. I was 11 weeks pregnant for Caroline and was excited about my first dr.'s visit that day. Jeremy was woken up by a phone call from a friend in Mandeville telling him that one of the World Trade Center towers had been hit by a plane. We both jumped up and watch the horror unfold on TV. We both had classes that day but I don't remember making it to any of them. We made it to school but ended up watching the TV at the NCM. I know that as I watched all of it, the magnitude did not sink in, it was surreal.

Later that day, we had an appointment. We both saw Caroline on an ultrasound for the first time. We watched her cut flips, seeing her face, then her feet, then her face again. The moment was so precious to us but the dread that hung over it was awful. After the appointment, we looked at each other and we both had the same question. "How could we bring a child into such an awful world?"

I spent the afternoon at work. I worked at the daycare on campus and I think that is when things began to sink in. I remember moms coming in with huge tears in their eyes asking for thier babies. They could not be apart from them that day.

Today, 10 yrs later, I still cry when I see the footage. I am not a political person but I am a patriot. I learned that day how precious freedom is, and I pray each day that I can instill that gratefulness in my children.

A Walk

2011-09-09T11:04:00.002-05:00

After a long and overwhelming summer, school has started again and so has the urge to blog. I have been so busy, sitting down to blog was WAY at the bottom of my to do list. Now that life is returning to a normal school routine, I realized how much I missed blogging. I know that this means we are in need of an update but today is just a simple blog, the update will come later.

The weather has finally started to cool down and so this morning we decided to go for a walk. My two boys have had some kind of cold and we have been holed up in the house for a week now. The walk was so much fun. Thatcher kept commenting on how beautiful it was outside.

Blake enjoyed riding in the stroller and being pushed by her big brothers.

And Ayden would just plop down in the road and enjoy the view.

At the end of the walk, we realized that somewhere along the way Ayden had lost his pacey. Thatch refused to walk back to find it. Since he has been sick, I didn't push him, so we all climb in the car, drove down the road and found Ayden's pacey. The things mothers do for thier child's favorite pacey!!

Pictures from this week!

2011-05-10T15:57:00.002-05:00

Blake dressed up for Mother's Day.

All the kiddos.

Ayden being a boy!

Notice his fluff!

Our girls!

Naptime and snacks!

Making Friends

2011-05-06T14:51:00.002-05:00

I wrote a few weeks ago about coming out of my fog from years of having babies. Well, my new challenge is I am bored!! I know, I know, I watch 3 kids all day long, I do laundry, dishes, and keep a house clean for 7 people. I am still bored!! Now that I am not overwhelmed with diapers, feedings, and lack of sleep, I want to get out and do stuff. I do have to say, my house is never really clean. I am have come to the conclusion that housework is just not a strong point for me. Maybe one day, I will be able to afford a maid. Anyways, back to being bored. No more fog, means I have to occupy my time more efficiently. I really need to start a hobby. My mom has said she will teach me how to sew, which sounds okay. At least it is something to do. The other thing I would like to start doing is making friend again. I now feel like I could be a decent friend. Before, by the time I finished with all my kids and my husband, I had no energy to be a good friend. I can now officially say, I think I am ready to socialize again. There is just one BIG hiccup in that plan, keeping all my kids well. UGH!! Everytime I have tried to schedule a playdate with someone, somebody in my house has caught something contagious! Last week during spring break, we all had 5th's disease.
I miss going to church! I know I would make good friends at our church but to get there seems impossible sometimes. I guess, this is one of those lessons you learn when you have a big family. Especially when your big family, has little ones in it. Just because your ready to move on to the next step in life, does not mean the rest of the family is. What I do know, is that things continuely get better. A year ago, jumping up and going to the lakefront would have been impossible. Now that is a weekly thing. So maybe by the end of this summer, Jeremy and I will be social bugs again. I have so much faith that God has people out there that are suppose to be apart of our lives. I get all giggly thinking about it. :)

Wonderful Photos from a Great Photographer and friend!

2011-04-29T08:55:00.003-05:00

If you remember a while back, Jeremy and I took Blake and Ayden to take pictures. Well, I must share!! These photos were taken by the same friend who took the other photos shown on this blog. She is unbelievably good!! She has a knack for capturing beautiful pictures, without making small children pose. She is also one of the sweetest people I know! If you are in the Southeast Louisiana area and need a good photographer, she is the person to call!!! (and yes, I am shamelessly promoting her business!)

Here are a few of my favorites pictures from our shoot.

If you would like to see more of her pictures, go to her blog.

ambervphotography.blogspot.com

And now for an update...2011

2011-04-27T22:24:00.002-05:00

Two posts in one day!! I can't believe I am doing it!! So I am sure it is time for an update on The Rich family. Here goes:

Jeremy: He is working his booty off a very long drive away from home. He has had some blows lately. His car breaking and me being sick. He really has been handling alot of stress lately. He is doing well since just having a wife and 5 kids is normally stressful. He is still an awesome husband and Dad!!

Caroline: She is 9 now. :( She is growing up so fast. This is her last year in elementary school and will be going to middle school in the fall. She has lost about 15lbs and is fitting in clothes that were too tight last summer. She looks so pretty and I am so proud of her for working hard to get into shape and be healthier. She is also playing softball. Her team has played two games and not lost yet.

Kylie: She is 7 now. She lost both front teeth. ;) She is so much different than her sister. She is taking tap and ballet and is also playing violin. She excels at everything she attempts without much effort. Her "Make Mandeville Clean" poster won at her grade level for her school. Kylie loves to learn and spends alot of time looking up facts so she can tell us new things.

Thatch: He is 3 1/2 now. He is definitely our comedian. He does anything to make us laugh and is always smiling. He has the biggest heart! He went for a speech evaluation and qualified for a further assessment in articulation. They will also check his fluency at that time. Right now, his two favorite things are superheros and dinosaurs.

Ayden: Ayden is 1 1/2 now. He is much happier than he used to be. He is still my problem child but we do not have days where he screams continually. He is more light hearted and spends most of his time making sure Blake doesn't play with any of his toys. He is starting to talk. His vocabulary is Da-dee, Kylie, Jack, Mo (for Nemo), Bolt, Down, and more.

Blake: She is now almost 9 months. She is the sweetest, happiest baby anyone could ask for. She is round all over and has the sweetest smile. She absolutely LOVES her big siblings and always wants to be in the middle of them. She is crawling, pulling up and has two teeth.

Me: Well, most days I am good. I do get overwhelmed, alot! I was sick with a kidney infection for about 2 weeks. Those things are awful. I am coaching Caroline's softball team and having so much fun!! I still stink at housework but I am working on getting better. I have made it a point to find every way I can save money. Most days, by the end of the day, I am exhausted! Sometimes, I feel like thier is just not enough of me to go around! That is why my house is a mess. (or at least, that is the excuse I am using :)).

The most important thing Jeremy and I have learned in 2011, is how EXTREMELY BLESSED we are to have each other and our beautiful children. They teach us new things every day!

My New Obsession

2011-04-27T08:52:00.002-05:00

It has definitely been a while since I have written and we have done so many things that I should update about. But first, I must get this particular blog out of the way. I have a new obsession!! CLOTH DIAPERING!! WAIT!! Before all of you think I am crazy and on some impractical binge of buying things that I will never use, I must inform everyone, cloth diapers have evolved. But first, let me begin at the beginning.

It all started about 2 months before Blake was born. A very good friend of mine started cloth diapering her son. She began explaining the whole process to me. No more pins, or folding like the old diapers. The new ones have snaps and are as easy to put on as a disposable. The biggest problem (she told me) was the I would have an extra load of laundry every other day. Well, I really considered starting then, but to be honest, I was a grump when I pregnant for Blake. I could not imagine adding any extra housework to my daily or weekly routine.

Fast forward to about 2 weeks ago, and I started considering it again. To be truthful, we are struggling financially in Mandeville. Jeremy drives 128 miles a day and does get mileage, but when gas prices went up, his mileage rate did not. So I started considering CDing again, to save money. Now that I am out of my grump phase, and I actually read all of the info, I am HOOKED!! We figured we would save about $80-$120 a month by cloth diapering. Do you know how much money that is in a year????? I started by buying used ones on diaper swap pages. I got my first "fluff" mail Saturday and I was so so so very excited. I immediately washed them, so we could start.

By Sunday night, Ayden was demanding cloth instead of disposable. (we did not have enough cloth to go a whole day without some disposable use) That was all it took to sell me. Since then, I have been shopping and finding deals trying to up my stash, so we can go solely cloth. And yes, my friend was right, all it is is an extra wash daily (right now, b/c we don't have enough).

So you ask? How did it turn into an obsession? Well, cloth diapers are expensive to get started with. Most name brands run about $20 a diaper. So I really had to shop to find good deals. Well, as any girl knows, finding deals is so much FUN!! I have gotten diapers as cheap as $5 a diaper!!!

This new adventure had done so much for me! As a SAHM, finding something that makes you feel accomplished is very hard. Cleaning does not do it for me. I have too many kids, so once my house (or I should say a room) is clean, it takes about 5 mins before it is messy again. This CDing is helping me save money and help out the enviroment!! Can't get any better than that!!

Hello, my name is Kendra and I am a cloth diapering addict!!!

2011-03-23T09:56:00.002-05:00

The truth of the matter is we all have something that is a weakness. For me it is my weight, I like to bake and cook but I also like to eat those things too. Add in the genetics of a slow metabolism and here I am, overweight. But that is something,that if I work hard enough, will go away. I can be thin and in shape, with enough willpower, dieting, and workouts. My husband is not so lucky.

Jeremy stutters. His mom noticed it when he was about 4. She noticed he was trying to say something but his mouth just wouldn't let it come out. I don't know all the history but I know that when he moved from New Iberia to Mandeville, the stress of the move effected him and he was considered a severe stutterer. He has told me horrible stories about being bullied. Stories of no friends and crying himself to sleep. Junior high was miserable for him. Somehow, in high school, he fell into a group called Pride. This group gave him the confidence he need to beat back his speech problem. By the time he was a senior in high school, most of his friends did not realize he stuttered.

When Jeremy and I met, he had just moved to college and the stress had gotten to him again. He could no longer hide his stuttering. It got better as he became more comfortable with us (his friends) and school. After we married, Jeremy grew up alot very quickly. One of the things he had to face was his speech. It was one thing that was holding him back. It took a lot of praying and conversations with God but Jeremy finally realized that his speech was a part of him. That for whatever reason, God had given him this " thorn in his side" and that Jeremy would have to embrace it.

At the begining of this year, Jeremy started a support group for young stutterers. He has two little girls that go. They talk about how they are treated in school and how they can make people understand what stuttering is. He is starting to consider talking to different school kids so that he can maybe help childern understand stuttering and stop some of the bullying that goes with it. I can not express how unbelievably proud I am of him.

Now, I know that stuttering is not as horrible as everyone thinks it is. In fact, I go to Jeremy's group with him and try to help teach these kids that stuttering does not have to define who you are or what you are going to do with your life. But there is a hiccup in all of this, Thatcher has begun to stutter. Not nearly as bad as Jeremy did or even does now, but we have seen it. When he is nervous or scared, we see his mouth and neck tighten and nothing comes out. Now, with all the facts I know, I am struggling with this alot. I don't want my sweet little boy to get picked on. I don't want him to have all those problems his daddy had with friends and school.

I know that I will have to turn this over to God. I knew when Jeremy and I started having children that this was a huge possiblity. I guess, I am just shocked at how much it really does bother me.

Our day of fun!

2011-03-20T11:59:00.002-05:00

For Christmas, I got Jeremy an aeral flight tour over New Orleans and the Mississippi River. (and before you think I spent a ton of money, it was through groupon.com) He was suppose to do his tour yesterday morning. Well we decide to meet him afterwards and spend the day (or most of it) at the zoo and having a picnic. Well, the flight got cancelled and we ended up driving over there all together.

We made it there 15 mins before the zoo opened. Gosh, I really didn't realize how crowded the zoo was on a Saturday. It was hectic but we made it through about half the zoo in 2 hours before the kids got hungry. Our kids had a blast at the zoo. They love animals and had the best time looking at everything. The hardest part was that we have little ones that just like to look at the animals and move on. Then we have two big girls who like to read all the information on the signs and watch any presentation on the animals imprompt to or not. Lets just say J and I had our hands full. Thatcher was so excited. We learned while we were there, that it was Earthfest and Ironman, Spiderman, and the Green Goblin were there. Thatch got to take a picture with them! He was so excited he could barely talk to them.

By noon everyone was starving, so we left the zoo to find a place to have a picnic. The picnic was a blast. Last year I bought this picnic blanket that zips up into a pouch and can handle any spills. It is a great investment if you have kids. Our thing is we probably need two now. LOL!! The kids ate and then ran around for a bit. We then headed home.

At home we opened these kits we had bought. It was dinosaur bones in a block of clay. You dig the bones out and then put the bones together to make a model dinosaur. Kylie and Thatch are into dinosaurs right now, so they had a blast. Caroline even had fun. It took forever to get the bones out of the clay so we are going to build the dinosaurs today.

Overall, we had a blast yesterday!! Life it getting easier for us everyday, as Ayden and Blake get a little older. J and I enjoy our family so much, we would never change a thing. It has taken a while but we are finally seeing the benefits of those sleepless nights with babies and so many dirty diapers. Life is great!!

Our Week

2011-02-19T19:22:00.002-06:00

I am interrupting this month of blogging about love ones to write a little bit about Jeremy and I's past week.

Thursday, Jeremy took the day off to spend it with me. It was our late Valentine's date. Our morning started with a photo shoot with Amber V. Who, by the way is AWESOME!! She got some great photos of Blake and Ayden. Midday was spent mostly buying stuff for Kylie's birthday party. The Valentine's date was to be Thursday night. We were going to the Winter Jam, a christian concert featuring 10 different artists/bands. We got to the concert early, since it was general admission and we wanted good seats. We stood in line for about 15 minutes when a man walks up to us. He explains that some of the volunteers for the concert did not show up and they needed extra help. He wanted to know if we could help. Of course, Jeremy and I said yes. We understood that we would miss some of the concert, well it ended up being most of the concert. We stood at the door taking admissions money for most of the night and then helped with the love offering the rest. Our date night turned into a work night. I did get to see Francesca Battisteli (who is my favorite) and Jeremy got to see Kutless ( who is one of his favorites) but it was definitely not the night we were looking forward too.

The next two days (Friday and Saturday morning) was dedicated to Kylie's birthday party. She is turning 7 on Tuesday and wanted an Alice in Wonderland Tea Party. I think I did pretty good considering we started everything Wednesday. We had about 10 kids show up and they had a blast! I have to admit Jeremy and I had a blast too.

Kylie in her dress

The Cake Table

The Table

Two Views of the Cake

Jeremy and I are so tired but it was all worth it!!!

Jeremy

2011-02-15T09:42:00.002-06:00

Since yesterday was Valentine's Day, I figured I would write about my one true love. And that of course, would be Jeremy. There is not much to say that I haven't said before about how we met and fell in love. So I decided to write about the man he is today.

He is a wonderful father. He plays with our kids and tucks them in at night. He cleans puke and dirty diapers. He helps with homework and listens when one of them has a problem. He cooks dinner, washes dishes, and clothes. He helps me in whatever or whenever I need help. He is also the spiritual leader of our house and keeps God at the center of our marriage and family.

People joke about how much I enjoy our quiet time together at night. They say things like "that's why you have 5 kids" or "uh oh, here comes another baby". The funny thing is that our quiet times don't involve that part of our relationship. Sometimes, they are long serious chats and others all we do is laugh and giggle at our own silliness. We are not only husband and wife but best friends. Now of course we fight. There are times when I wonder how I could love and hate someone so much at one time. But when we fight, I never worry that he will leave and not come back. I know that he will love me no matter how many times we argue. He is the first person I have shown every side of me and yet, he still loves me. And of course, I love him more than any words on this blog could ever describe.

Thatcher

2011-02-07T20:47:00.002-06:00

I remember every time my mom was pregnant for one of my little sisters, I prayed and prayed for God to send me a little brother. Then for both Caroline and Kylie's pregnancies, I was sure each one was a boy. I wanted a boy so badly. Then God sent us Thatcher, and all I can say is that he is well worth the wait. He was a very laidback baby, who slept alot. Little did I know, he would become the sweetest little boy. I know all mothers think thier little boys are the sweetest but I don't think all little boys act like Thatch. He always says "thanks you" and "please" with out prompting. He sits by me and say " I wuv you, Mommy. " for no reason than just to say it. When Jeremy is away for work, Thatcher automatically steps into Daddy's place. He sleeps with me to make sure I am not lonely and makes sure all day long that I don't need any help.
Lately, he has started helping me bake and he loves it. He loves to beat box and dance. He also loves superheros. He is always saving someone or something. He is very comical and is always doing something to make us laugh. Anytime we go to the park or McDonald's to play he makes a dozen friends.

He really is my sweet little boy.

Pud and JC

2011-02-05T10:22:00.003-06:00

The next two people I love are not exactly family. Well, that is, if you consider blood relations family. So no, that are not related to me but they are more apart of my family than some people that are actually related.
Before I was born, my mom became friends with JC and his wife, Pud (and yes, that is thier nicknames) at the place where she worked. Pud and my mom became best friends. After I was born, and then my sister, my parents divorced. We had no place to go and they took us in. Not for a week or a couple of days but for 6 or 7 years. They became our surrogate grandparents. We stayed with them when my mom went to college and after she graduated they helped us get our own house. Even after we moved into our own house, we would spend weekends at thier house while my mom worked.
Some of my favorite memories as a child involve Pud and JC. Pud use to go outside in thier driveway and play one on one basketball with me, coaching me the whole time. JC use to read to us and he taught us how to change the oil in a car. Even now, they are a part of my children's lives. My kids don't understand why every one doesn't have a Pud and JC.
One of the most important things they taught me was unconditional love. They have loved me through my mistakes and triumphs. Even today, we butt heads but I know they still love me no matter what. They gave up thier home and thier lives to help us. I know Christ as my Savior because they taught me about Him. There is no way I could ever repay them for all they have given me. All I can do is hope that one day, when God calls me give, I can give as unconditionally and lovingly as they did for us.

JC holding Blake

Pud holding Blake

The ones I love...Blake

2011-02-04T15:53:00.002-06:00

February is the month that we celebrate love. I figured I would dedicate my blog posts to the people I love in my life this month. Hopefully, by the end of February, I will have had a blog on everyone. The first up is the newest member of our family, Blake.

Blake stole my heart the moment she was born. I know I cried when I found out I was pregnant for her and it was so not worth it. She has been a joy from day one. A happy baby, that is always smiling and being silly. She has these HUGE blue eyes (that we are still trying to figure out where they came from) that light up when she sees me. When she smiles, she squinches up her nose, which makes her so much cuter. She is rolling over and cooing. She adores her older siblings and loves to be apart. I can not seem to hug or kiss her enough. I also can't wait to see the little person she will become. God has blessed me beyond measure by giving me my Blake.

Coming out of the fog

2011-02-03T12:40:00.002-06:00

Well, hopefully life has calmed down enough for me to get back to blogging more frequently. Blake turns 6 months on Saturday and it feels like I am finally coming out of the fog. Jeremy and I are both basically getting full nights sleep and this is making a world of a difference on our attitudes throughout the day.

I find myself having a little bit of free time during the day and I am rediscovering me. For the past 9 years, I basically have been a mom. I have had no time for anything else. Now, with no more pregnancies and no more infants, I am starting to remember those things I use to love dearly. I am starting to want to make friends and actually feel like I could be a decent friend now. I have been drawing again and remembering how much I loved it. Shooting basketball with Caroline has made me realize how much I miss those pick up games I use to play. Jeremy and I both miss playing volleyball and softball. All of these things and more are starting to pop back into our minds and some back into our lives.

I was 20 when I found out I was pregnant for Caroline, 21 when I had her. I had barely started to figure out the person I was to become. Now I am 30, and all I have done for the last 9 years is be a mom and a wife. Even though, I love those two parts of me, I don't want to be defined by just that. I also want to be me. Now, I guess is the time to figure out who me is.

2010-12-11T12:09:00.002-06:00

Most years, I LOVE the holidays. I like to cook Thanksgiving dinner and have everyone over at my house. I love decorating the tree and doing our Christmas traditions with the kids. I usually always send out Christmas cards and prepare for Christmas day all of December. This year, it just wasn't there. I was avoiding the holiday season like the plague. All I could think about was trying to afford all the Christmas gifts for my kids on our salary or disappointing/upsetting someone when we chose when/where we were spending Christmas. I spend most of my days very tired and all the extra work did not sound fun to me this year. My idea of a good Christmas, was my warm bed and a good book. I basically had turned into a Grinch. Well, obviously God had other plans for me.

It began with a Christmas concert Jeremy and I had bought tickets to about 2 months before. It was a Chris Tomlin concert with Christy Nockels and Louie Giglio (sp?) was speaking. We almost didn't make the concert, Caroline came home from school that day with strep. The music was wonderful and it helped me remember how much I love teaching my children all of the Christmas carols. Then Louie stood up and spoke. He basically hit home. He spoke of the true meaning of Christmas in a way I had never heard it presented. He spoke about the verse in Luke that talks about God's word becoming flesh. I immediately felt humble, realizing how many things I should be grateful far and how my complaints had little to do with the actual meaning of Christmas. I went home from that concert with a more open feeling about Christmas and a desire to make sure my kids understood the true meaning.

To be honest, I would have been good with just that kind of reminder, but there was more. A few days later, I find out that an internet buddy, with whom I had met while pregnant with Thatcher, little boy (who is the same age as Thatch) was diganosed with leukemia. Now, I am watching through Facebook this family battle this news so bravely. They seem to be taking it all in stride and all I could feel at first was guilt. My problems with Christmas seemed to be so insignificant now.

The last thing that happened was so heart wrenching that I still tear up thinking about it. I grew up with a couple who were not family by blood but helped my mother raise me. Pud and JC were like a second set of parents for me and I always knew that they love me like one of thier own. Because we were so close to Pud and JC, we were also close to thier relatives. Last Saturday, Pud's brother Pat was in a hunting accident. Pat was not injured but he accidentally shot his 42 yr old son, Kyle. Kyle died leaving a wife and 2 sons.

All of these events, have affected me in so many ways but most of all I am no longer a Grinch. I look around my house, with the Christmas tree and stockings hung from my fireplace, and I have so many things to be grateful for. I have a husband who is so wonderful and loves me unconditionally. I have five healthy, sweet, beautiful children who think I am the greatest mom in the world. But most of all, I have a God that sent his only Son as an infant into a world full of sin. This Son, Jesus, gave his life as the ultimate sacrifice for my sins, so that I could live an eternity with God.

Life is too short for us to spend the holiday stressing about buying the "perfect" gifts, what parties to go too or how much we will get from everyone. We should spend our holidays, enjoying family traditions, making strangers smile and most of all spreading the love that Christ brought to earth for all of us.
So from my family to yours

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Basketball Season has begun!

2010-11-04T10:11:00.004-05:00

Since the time I found out Caroline was a girl, I have waited for this moment in life. It is winter basketball season, Caroline is playing and I get to coach her!! I don't know what I would have done if she really didn't like sports. I am so excited about coaching. The age group is 7/8 yr old girls and I have 8 girls varying in skill level. I only knew a few girls from our summer session, so I basically guessed on who to pick. There are 9 teams, and only 2 other female coaches. The men coaches seem to be a little competitive, but they seem very nice.

As far as teams go, my team seems to be decent. We have only had 2 practices. My girls are sweet and mostly well behaved. The parents seem to be very nice too. I have so much I want to teach my girls. I want them to be great ball players, but I also hope to show them how much fun basketball is. I am so nervous about our first game, it is a little over a week away and I am already planning. LOL! Part of me doesn't care if we win, because all I want is my girls to learn and improve. The other, more competive me, wants to wipe the floor with all the other teams. Especially the teams coached by the guys. I get the impression that they think the "chunky girls coach" doesn't know much about basketball. Now that is just a feeling I get, no one has said anything outright. Maybe it is my insecurities playing out, not sure. All I know is that this is gonna be FUN!!

The TV Monster

2010-10-25T11:49:00.003-05:00

I know it has been awhile and I should probably do an update but this is a topic that I would like some help on.

Our summer was a complicated one, with me being pregnant and Ayden getting HFM disease. We spent alot of time inside or with company here to help me with the kids. One of the results of this past summer is Thatcher watches way too much TV. And of course, Ayden is not far behind him. Now that I am feeling better and getting a handle on having 3 little ones at home, I would really like to cut down the TV watching time during the day. That is where I am stumped!! I run out of things for them to do. I need things that they can do while I clean or take care of Blake and also things we can do together. Also these things need to be things we can do at home.(taking all 3 to the park by myself is a task I only take on occasionally) Any suggestions?

Here are some things we already do together:
playdough
coloring
They both "help" me clean when I can let them.

Please post your comments on things for us to do, any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Blake's Story

2010-08-17T14:15:00.002-05:00

A week before Blake arrived, I started having strange symptoms. I felt achy and would break out in cold sweats. After a day in the hospital, I was diagnosed with pregnancy induce hypertension and sent home on bedrest. I have to say, that bedrest, is AWFUL! My mom was at my house to help. It was very hard to watch her do everything while I sat in a chair and did nothing. I did not feel bad unless I got up and moved around. The dr. told me when I was released from the hospital that, he was gonna induce at 37 weeks because of my PIH. Well, 37 weeks also happened to be the week before school started for my older girls and we still needed school supplies and uniforms. So Monday afternoon, August 2nd, I went to Target to get uniforms with Jeremy and the girls. I was suppose to ride one of those carts that you drive around but they were both being charged and I figured if I started to feel bad I would just sit down. The shopping trip went well and I had no trouble.

The next morning about 3 am, I woke up to go pee and when I sat on the pot, there was gush, that was not me peeing. I was a little confused but still half asleep so I ignored it and went back to bed. Well, at 5 am when I woke up again to go to the bathroom, the gush happened again. A little light went off in my head and I realized my bag of water had a leak. So I woke Jeremy up and we headed to the hospital. There we found out that, my water was leaking and I was admitted. My dr. let me go until noon, to see if I was going to start labor without any medication to help. At about 1 pm they started me on pitocen. Somewhere in the trips to the bathroom, my bag of water broke completely. It wasn't until about 7 that I started to really feel the contractions. I got my epidural at about 8:30 or 9:00 pm when I was about 5 to 6 cm dialated. I was ready to push at about 11:45 pm but the dr. didn't get there until 12:20 am, so I waited. Once everything was set up, I pushed 3 or 4 times and Blake came!! It was my easiest delivery!

We came home about 2 days later. Life has been hectic since. We have had Ayden's 1st birthday, party, since Blake was born on his birthday. Lots of people came to visit and see our new baby. Now it is just us! It goes pretty smoothly most days. Jeremy caught a cold, now Ayden has it. The girls started school. OH! And Caroline's team won thier league tournament, after placing 4 out of 5 for the season. Hopefully with all that is going on, I can keep up with the blog too!

And then there were 5

2010-08-10T13:42:00.003-05:00

At 12:40 am on August 4, 2010, Blake Mykal was born. She came into this world weighing 7lbs 2ozs and was 18 1/2 inches long. She is a beautiful baby. Her due date was August 23 but obviously she doesn't like schedules. We are home and doing well. My family has left so now I get to experience the joys and hustle of being a mother to 5 children 8 and under. We are so in love with this little miracle that I can not imagine how we ever thought we were done with Ayden. Her birth story will show up in the next few blogs. I am just too tired to blog anymore.

So very excited!!

2010-07-19T19:36:00.002-05:00

God has played a very HUGE role in both Jeremy and I's life. But I have to admit, as far as church attendance, we have not been the greatest. In Monroe,we had a student ministry that we were very involved in. When we moved to Jennings, we tried Bethel, where the girls eventually went to school. I hate to admit it but Bethel was never really a church home for us. We always felt like we didn't quite fit in and so it was a real struggle to attend church on Sunday or Wednesdays. Jeremy became a member at Bethel because that is where he was baptized. I still remained a member at the church I grew up in.

This past Sunday, we joined a new church. We have visited it several times and it was so welcoming from the start. Everytime I would leave thier church services, I always wanted to go back for more. I wanted to join after the second visit but Jeremy was a little more cautious. Finally, Sunday, he was ready to join too. The people there are so nice and welcoming. I am ready to become involved and meet people. It hasn't been since high school (at the church where I grew up) that I had a REAL church home. I miss the friendships and the learning experiences that come with going to church regularly. I also want my kids to grow up with a church family that will teach them and support them.

Finding a church is another step towards making Mandeville our home. We are still adjusting to this new home town and hopefully this is a good step forward.

Thank goodness June is over!!

2010-07-02T11:13:00.002-05:00

Well our June started off really nice with our vacation but then everything went down hill. The last day and a half of our vacation, Ayden began to run a pretty high fever. It got to where we were rotating Motrin and Tylenol every 2hrs just to keep his fever down. On the 3rd day of this fever(we were home by this time), his lips broke out with what looked like fever blisters. I had never seen a baby have fever blisters so young but I am prone to having them and so is Caroline so I thought maybe b/c his fever had gotten so high he broke out. At the end of the 3rd day, we realized that not only were the blisters on his lips but also all over the inside of his mouth.
So the next morning, Jeremy brought Ayden to the dr. He had hand, foot, and mouth disease. If you don't know what that is, LOOK IT UP, if you have kiddos or want them in the near future. Caroline had it when she was little but not nearly as bad as Ayden. I didn't think it could get that bad. For a week, unless he was sleeping he was crying or laying on my lap. He was HORRIBLY sick!! It actually took 2 weeks before he was getting back to normal. But let me take a step back, a week after Ayden started running fever, Thatcher started. So I had two sick kids for another week. Thatcher was not nearly as sick as Ayden but he ran the high fever and was miserable for about 2 weeks.
Now everything was getting back to normal this week when our A/C went out. It has been HOT HOT HOT at our house for about 3 days. The guys are here today fixing it. So yesterday, we used some of Jeremy's hotel points and stayed at a hotel with an indoor swimming pool so the kids could swim and sleep in a cool room. We all had a blast!!
July started yesterday and I am looking forward to this month being a little easier. Caroline has started basketball and is loving it. By the end of the month, I will have a nephew, Gabriel and next month Blake comes. We got some good news about Blake. They are looking at an induction date of Aug 15th or around there. I am really looking forward to the last part of our summer being less stressful than the first part!

Our trip to the beach and a Baby Blake update.

2010-06-13T20:25:00.002-05:00

Today, I am 30 weeks pregnant. Everything seems to be going great. I lost 11lbs at the very begining of this pregnancy then gained it back. Today, I found out I lost 2lbs of the 11lbs that have returned. As far as weight gain, this has been my best pregnancy so far. I also found out Blake sounds healthy but is measuring at 33 weeks. Looks like we are gonna have another big baby. SURPRISE!! No, not really. Blake is measuring like Caroline did and Caroline was 9lbs 7ozs, which is big but not Thatcher big. So I am okay with it. It is very strange to thing in September, Jeremy and I will be the parents of 5 children.

On to our beach trip... WE HAD A BLAST!! We spent a ton of time in the pool and on the beach. Thatcher and Kylie loved the pool b/c the waves were extremely high on the days we were there. The red flag was out everyday except the last day when it was a yellow flag. The vacation started out with Kylie clinging to us in the pool scared to let go. By the end of it, she was doggie paddling across the whole pool without holding on to anyone. This was Thatch's first time in a big pool and he loved swimming with his daddy. He was very relaxed in the water. Caroline is our little water bug. She could swim constantly. She went out on the beach with me and I taught her how to body surf and the next day, Jeremy taught her how to dive under the waves to see what fish were swimming around through her goggles. Ayden was not bad but did not enjoy the water all that much. He had a hard time with the sun being so bright. He ended up running a high fever the last day but that is a whole other post in itself.

Since we have returned from vacation, life has been hectic to say the least. But that story is for another day.

Summer has begun

2010-05-29T22:30:00.002-05:00

Well, it is official school is out. I am loving it. I like not having to be up at a certain time in the morning or having to be home at a certain time to see the girls off the bus. My big girls also help alot at home. Now I can go to the bathroom and Caroline can watch Ayden. They also help me pick up. I have horrible back pain with this pregnancy so bending and picking up toys or anything else kills me. The girls do most of the picking up for me.

We have been on our own pretty much for the last two weeks. Jeremy has a job that is last minute, so basically, all he has been doing it working either from home or at the office. It has been a bit overwhelming for me. Jeremy is a HUGE help. He takes a lot of stress off of me when he gets home from work. Lately, he gets home, eats, and gets back on his laptop to work some more. The kids are having a hard time b/c they miss playing with Daddy. Thank goodness it will all be over in a couple of days.

We are all very excited about going to the beach. My wonderful inlaws have rented a condo for a week on the beach and we are going to stay with them for 4 days. The kids are so excited!! Jeremy will be finished with this project so we will all be able to relax for a little while and enjoy each others company.

Right now, my mom and younger sister are visiting. It has been nice b/c they are helping out when Jeremy is working. My kids love when Granny and thier aunts come to visit. Another exciting news is Jeremy's sister will be coming home for awhile. She may even get a job here and stay. YIPEE!!

So as you can see our summer is moving forward pretty nicely. For our Baby Blake update, she is doing well and such a wiggle worm. I think she may be a soccer player. She kicks hard for only 28 weeks. Thatcher seems to have taken to this pregnancy much better than with Ayden's. He kisses my belly and asks what Blake is doing all the time. I am feeling okay. I have started walking more and it helps alot. I still have days where I feel very overwhelmed and totally exhausted but they seem to come less.

Our First visit Home..

2010-05-17T10:44:00.002-05:00

As most of you know, we moved across the state over last Christmas. Since then we have been extremely busy unpacking, adjusting, and trying to make new friends. A couple of weeks ago, I took the boys with me for a couple of days during the week and went back home to visit my mom and her family. Well this past weekend, we were suppose to go back. It started with a canoe trip, that I desperately wanted to go on. The problem is that I can not, at 6 1/2 months preggo, sit in a canoe for 8 hours. My hips and back would not like me for awhile after that. So it was decided that Caroline (she didn't want to go canoeing), Ayden (he is too small),and I would travel home while Jeremy, Kylie, and Thatch went camping and canoeing over the weekend. That was the plan anyway, until Tuesday of last week when Kylie woke up with a horrible stomach virus that lasted 2 almost 3 days. We then decided that the canoe trip would be cancelled and Kylie and Caroline would come home with me. Being in a canoe all day, would have been too hot for Kylie after a week of being so sick. Jeremy would stay in Mandeville with the boys. Somehow, when our car left on Friday at 4pm, my whole family was in the car.

Our weekend was such a good one. Caroline was able to meet with her old school friends for lunch. We hung out with my mom and sisters and other close family friends. On the trip over there, when we got into Jennings (the town where the girls attended school), it was like they were at Disney World pointing out all of the sites that interested them. They squeeled when they saw thier old school. I overheard Kylie telling Caroline "Sissy, Mandeville is our fake home but Roanoke is our real home!".

It is so hard as a parent to hear things like that. My kids did a wonderful job adjusting to thier new school and home, but I know if they had a choice, they would jump at moving back. In my heart, I know that God's plan is for us to live here. I know that having thier Daddy home every afternoon means the world to my children. I just wish there was a way I could save them from the heartbreak. I wish I could save them from the tears and cries as we pull out the driveway to head back to Mandeville. I guess as a mother, I just want to shelter them from any hurt or ache. The reality of it is that all I can do is show them that sometimes we don't understand why God puts us in places until much later in life, sometimes we never know. But no matter what, He is there holding our hands and helping us through every step.

Mothers' Day

2010-05-16T21:28:00.003-05:00

My Mothers'Day weekend was wonderful!! I recieved everything I wanted. Jeremy came home early the Friday before to hang out with me. Being a stay at home mom, I get very bored for adult company sometimes. Well while he was home, I got a delivery from FEDEX. It was a beautiful bouquet of tulips.(they are my favorite!!). Saturday we did softball games in the morning. After we came home and napped from the very HOT morning at the park, we went shopping. Our favorite place to shop is Target, so of course, we had a blast. I had been thinking of getting a Shark steam mop for our kitchen and bathroom floors. Well Jeremy, got the mop while we were at Target. That mop is AWESOME!! It uses just water, no chemicals and cleans like a fool!! I have had it for about a week and I have mopped my floors 3xs.(this is coming from someone who hates to mop) On Sunday, we spent the day at my inlaws. My kids played in thier sandbox and the little plastic pool they have. Jeremy and I fished for a little while. The weekend was so wonderful.

Being a mother, has taught me so many things. But most importantly, it has taught me to value every single moment, all of the hugs, kisses, and "i love yous". I love the "AH HA" moments when they figure out something on thier own. I have also learned that no matter how old you are or how many kids you have, you can never be an "expert mother" and know everything. Every day and every child is a new learning experience.

Softball Season

2010-05-07T22:08:00.002-05:00

Let me start off by saying that for those that don't know, Rich baby #5 is a GIRL!! We are so excited and can't wait to hold our little girl. Her name will be Blake Mychal. Secondly, I know in my last post I mentioned writing a blog on just Caroline my oldest. I can't seem to have the time to do it and I wonder about security for my child. So I am postponing any blogs about individual kids until I think about it much further.

Now on to the topic of the day. Softball season in our house has begun. Neither of my girls were too excited that Mommy forced them to play this year. I felt they needed something besides school to keep them busy and help them make friends. Well needless to say we are very busy.

Kylie is playing t-ball. She is (if you don't already know) our girlie girl. But she seems to be handling it pretty well. She enjoys her practices and games. She daydreams ALOT and we have to remind her to run or watch the ball continuously. Most of the other little girls are about the same in skill level, so Kylie doesn't stand out as a good or bad player. Even though she whined when I told her she was going to play, now she asks when her games are and gets excited.

Caroline is our athlete, so I thought when I mentioned softball she would be so excited. I was completely wrong, all she cared about at the time was soccer. Caroline is playing 7/8 yr old girl coach pitch. She took to catching and throwing naturally. Her batting needed a little work but Caroline has the knack of being taught something only once and remembering it always. It took us one afternoon to get her to understand when she batted to swing not just with her arms but with her hips too. She has played about 4 or 5 games and has fallen in love with the sport. She is begining to get all of the rules. She is an above average player for a first year. (if I do say so myself) She usually plays 1st base, 3rd base, and occasionally left field. She was so excited the other night, she tagged a runner that had stepped off of first and got an out.

Now I know you have to go be thinking what about the other two Rich kids. Well the boys are being toted to the field frequently. They do pretty well. Where Caroline plays there is a little playground with slide and monkey bars and that keeps Thatcher pretty entertained. Ayden usually naps or snacks and watches the game.

As far as Jeremy and I, we are usually exhausted at the end of softball days. If the girls games overlap then we each grab a girl and a boy go to a game. One afternoon, Jeremy was late getting home from work so I had all 4 at the park by myself. That was a very unique afternoon. I had two on the playground, one playing softball on the field, and a fourth demanding my attention.(all of this being 6 month preggo.)

But to be honest, with as exhausting as it is, we love every minute of it. We love forward to practices and game days. The smiles on our girls faces when they get an out or hit the ball, is priceless.

An update

2010-03-17T21:31:00.002-05:00

Since my last post, I have to admit my mood has brighten. I have started to feel much better and not so exhausted all the time. We have had some bumps along the way but I seem to be handling everything a lot better than I was. My normal optimistic self is returning.

So I finally made it to the dr. for baby #5. I called one dr. last Monday and they had to approve me, so I waited for a call back. I called back Wednesday, just to make sure they had not forgotten me and they promised to call me back that afternoon. Needless to say, this Monday I finally, just called another dr. They got me in very quickly b/c I was already about 17 weeks. So Tuesday, we met my dr.'s nurse practitioner. She is AWESOME!! The office is not csection happy, which is great since I tend to have large babies and most dr.'s want to csection large babies. She worked over time with the doppler to hear our little one's heartbeat b/c he/she would not keep still. I felt very comfortable and am scheduled for a ultrasound Monday. So maybe Monday, we will know what baby #5 is. We are all hopeing for a girl but will be blessed with whatever God gives us. I am also measuring a little bigger (19 weeks) so they may move my due date up.

I am sick with a sinus infection so my mom and little sis, Madison came for a couple of days to help me out. Pud (an old family friend) is coming tomorrow to help out with the rest of the week and weekend.

Big news for our family, Jeremy's brother Jason and his wife, Sheri are having a baby BOY!! My first nephew, I am so excited about having a nephew!!

The rest of my crew is doing really well. My next blog will be about my big girl, Caroline. She is growing up so fast and accomplishing so much. I need to give her a whole entry.

Lately....

2010-02-27T22:10:00.002-06:00

Lately, I have been in what you may call a funk. My life, since Ayden has been born, has been extremely hectic. I was sick, then Ayden was sick, then we packed up and moved across the state. When we moved, I was so excited. I would be were there was daycare available at the gym, so I could actually go work out. I was done having babies, so now I would have time to make friends. I would have neighbors that were my age and not retirees. My husband would be home every night. All of these bubbles were popped in about 2 weeks time.

I guess my biggest blow was finding out I was pregnant again. I know it is a blessing but it is still very hard for me to wrap my mind around. In my head, I was done. I had my family and was quite content. I still get very overwhelmed thinking about have an infant, a 1 yr. old, a 3 yr old, a 6 yr old and an 8 yr. old. Right now there never seems to be enough of me to go around. To add someone else who needs me just blows my mind. Add to this, that now Jeremy works in Houma and it just gets more overwhelming by the minute. Now don't get me wrong, Jeremy is home every night but Houma is 2 hours from our house. So he is lucky to be home by 5:30 or 6 in the afternoon.

Now I know my life is not horrible and I have tons to be grateful for but these few things really sent me down. I have a hard time thinking about making friends because I would be a horrible friend. I spend so much time taking care of my family, I barely have time for myself. So I have basically pouted for the last month.

Next week starts a new week and hopefully a new outlook for me. I will be 15 weeks pregnant and I can not spend the rest of this pregnancy feeling sorry for myself. I am going to work harder at trying new things around here and being more active. God has blessed me in an abundance and I am very grateful for all of it.

I am not sure why I have written all of this. Maybe just so those other mom's out there that feel overwhelmed like me know that they are not alone. Maybe I feel like if I write down my new outlook, I am more likely to follow through with it. My new verse is
" I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13

Saying Good bye

2010-02-08T15:26:00.002-06:00

Last week we lost a very important member of our family. Our dog, Ava. Ava has been Caroline's dog for 4 yrs now. We got her for Caroline's 4th birthday from some people down the street who were giving away free puppies. She was the sweetest dog any of us have every had. This was Jeremy and I 's first experience of parenting a child through the loss of a beloved pet. It was definitely one of those days, we wished our kid came with a manuel.

Her day started out normal with us letting her out of the garage to go back to the back yard. I looked out several times that day and saw her playing in the backyard. That night Jeremy went out to feed her and everything seemed fine. 15 minutes later, he went back out to bring her in for the night and she was dead. The best the vet can figure without autopsy is that her intestines flipped and she died suddenly.

We all cried! In fact, we still tear up b/c she is not there when we open our back door. She was so wonderfully obedient and sweet. When we would bring the boys outside when they were babies, she would sit at the foot of thier jumpers or swings like she was babysitting them. She is and always will be missed.

Here are some memories of our favorite pooch:

Exhaustion

2010-01-21T22:09:00.002-06:00

I remember being pregnant for Caroline and thinking I was so exhausted. I was working full time and going to school. I thought there was no way I could get any more tired. Then I discovered a whole new realm of tired when I was pregnant for Kylie and chasing a two yr old Caroline through the house. Each pregnancy has taught me new things about myself. This one is teaching me how tired I can actually be and still function. Jeremy is a wonderful help and gets up most night but I am at that point in pregnancy that you are always tired. Add to that two school age kids with homework, a toddler that likes to climb, and a clingy 5 month old and you get a very exhausted Mom. I am not a a very good house wife to begin with, never really wanted to be one just kinda fell into it. So add in my exhaustion and that is not a good combo. Thank God, I have a wonderful husband that doesn't expect a perfect household.

And then there were 5

2010-01-07T21:30:00.002-06:00

Alot of things have happend since my last post. We are now in our new home and the girls have start thier new school. We celebrated Christmas and New Years with wonderful family. Then we found out the astounding news. We are expecting..... AGAIN!! No this was not planned and yes we know how it happens. BUT... we also know all those proventive methods and were using all of them. We don't have insurance so we were saving for Jeremy to get snipped. Well... obviously God had other plans. I have to admit, excitement was not my first reaction. I have been pregnant for 3 of the 8 yrs we have been married. I was looking forward to getting back in shape and enjoying my family, that felt complete. The hope that I cling on to is God knows what he is doing. He has a great big plan for our family and we should always trust in Him. Now this is all being said after about a week of prayer and doubts going His way. Jeremy and I have always said that our verse is "Walk by faith, not by sight". God seems to remind us of that alot.

Thoughts

2009-12-08T21:38:00.003-06:00

No one told me that when you have 4 children, there is never enough time or energy to go around. Especially when you are the only parent most of the time. Lately I feel so pulled in so many directions. Ayden and Thatcher are still very little so they need lots of attention for every day things. Caroline and Kylie are older but they need help with homework and they need to study. They also need to chat about thier friends and thier day. By the time they go to bed, I basically just sit very still and try to empty out my brain. I am usually physically tired but not as much as I am emotionally exhausted. I have also learned that no matter how good a husband you have they will never take the place of mom. Trust me, I have one of the best guys out there and yet I still am needed more than he is.

My next thought revolves around our move. It hurts my heart to see Caroline tear up when we talk about moving. She is so grown up about it and understands we have to do it but the bottom line is she is only 7 yrs old. This house is her home. She is very close to my mom and sisters. Then she loves her school, her friends. She has some very special little girls as her friends and it tears me up that I have to take her away from them. I know that this is all God's will and this will all work out for the good. I have explained that to Caroline a million times. The problem is no matter how great it will be down the road, it is going to be miserable right now. The mother in me does not want my precious little girl to hurt at all. I am very thankful that we have been able to teach her about God and how he can be a rock when you need someone to lean on. I hope that by giving her that gift, she will lean on Him and he will comfort her. I am trying but I am not quite as powerful as He is.

My brave little girls

2009-12-02T20:38:00.003-06:00

I must confess. I am a horrible mom when it comes to keeping my kids up to date with thier shots. I have torn opinions about vaccinations. I just worry about giving my babies so many vaccinations at one time. I also HATE bringing my kids to get a shot. Well due to this, my girls are behind on thier shots. This has not been such a big deal, since they go to private school and the school doesn't push the issue. Well as of January, we are going to public school. I brought them on Monday to get shots. It worked out okay, Kylie had to get 3 actual shots (not sure how many vaccinations) and Caroline had to get 4 to catch them up to date. I had promised them that if they did not pitch a huge fit we could go get ice cream afterwards. I was pretty sure Caroline was going to be okay. She is my little toughy. Kylie, on the other hand, I feared for the nurse's life. She is our drama queen by far. So I have to admit, that I was more than impressed when neither of them cried, screamed, or hit the nurse. In fact, neither of them even flinched. My kids surprise every day.

In other news, we close on the house tomorrow. I go next Mon. and Tues. to clean the house, and tour the girls new school. Then 1 1/2 week from today we move all of our things over there. The kids and I will come back for thier last week of school. It is very exciting and terrifying at the same time.

Everyone has been sick.

2009-11-13T18:23:00.002-06:00

It all started two weeks ago, about 4 am on a Saturday morning. Ayden woke up whining and breathing rather funny. He would grunt like he was in pain and then just constantly whine. We gave him his bottle and he eventually went back to sleep. Well he woke up again at 6 am and was doing the same thing only this time he felt warm. We took his temp and it was 99 degrees. I started rocking him and trying to comfort him. I was moving his limbs trying to figure out if maybe something hurt. He continue to whine and grunt and he was constantly getting warmer. His fever spiked from 99 to 104.6 in 20 mins. I remembered my mom telling me that babies under 2 months do not run fever that high unless something is seriously wrong. So Jeremy packed him up and took him to the E.R.. About 9 am, Jeremy texted me to let me know that Ayden was being admitted and they thought he had pnemonia. Of course, I called a babysitter and headed up to the hospital. Over the next two days, we learned that he did not have pnemoinia but Group B strep. Something pregnant moms can give to thier babies when they deliver. I was tested for it and my results came back negative but I was told I could be a carrier and it would not show on the test. We spent Sat. through Thurs. in the hospital rotating between the hospital and home. Jeremy spent most nights and I did the days. My mom and Pud came over to help when we need them. Ayden spent 6 days on IV antibiotics and then we took him up to the hospital for 8 days to get antibiotic injections. He had a spinal tap but they were not able to get enough spinal fluid so they are treating him like he has menigitis.(which is what most babies get with Group B Strep). He goes to get his hearing checked next week to see if his hearing was affected by any of this. We thank God every day, this could have been so much worse.

While we were in the hospital Kylie developed a cough and then it turned into a fever and a cough. That Wed., Jeremy took Kylie to the dr. to find out she had an upper respitory infection. Friday, Caroline was running fever. Saturday, Thatcher woke up breathing like Darth Vader. We watched him closely and took him to the dr. on Monday to find out he had croup. Then Caroline started to run fever again on Wednesday, only to find out she had bronchitis.

That has been my last two weeks. I have been to the dr. for each child and to the Walgreens pharmacy every day this week. The pharmacist knows me by name now. Everyone has been on antibiotics and it seems like it is all starting to look up. All the kiddos are feeling better. Now you notice through all of this, I have not been sick. This worries me, because what usually happens is everyone gets better and I get sick. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hopeing that I might have just missed being sick this time.

Even though the last 2 weeks have been rough, I have been reminded every day that we are truly blessed. My kiddos made me smile and laugh when I was so tired. My husband helps in so many ways and gives me a break anytime he can. Hopefully now we can get back to packing, enjoying our last holiday in this house and moving on to our new home!

A big change is coming!

2009-10-25T21:49:00.003-05:00

It has been awhile since I have written anything on here. I seem to have all these great ideas on things to write but never quite enough time. I figured that we should update everyone on what is going on over here.

Over the majority of the last 3 years, Jeremy has worked away from home for 5 days a week, only coming home for the weekends. It has been estremely hard considering I was pregnant through 18 months of that. His home office is in Metaire but his job takes him to different courthouses in LA and TX. I have to say the reason he has stuck with it this long is because he loves his job and is very good at it. We always said that we would move closer to his office eventually, but we live close to my family and have had lots of help while he was away. I was always scared we would move over there only for him to go to work in some place like Shreveport and not be any closer to home. Well in Aug. his boss told him that the majority of the work he wanted Jeremy to work on would be in the New Orleans area.

So we sat down and went over everything and well we figured out finiancially we couldn't move. I was really bummed. It looked like it would be at least 2 more years before we could move over there. Jeremy was going to miss everything from soccer games to first steps. I remember crying to my mom about how we were never going to live together again, about how I had not signed on to be a mom with a husband who "visits" on the weekends. My mom (who is rather wise sometimes) reminded me that when it was in God's plan things would just fall into place. That night Jeremy called me to let me know his mom and dad had decided to help us buy a house in Mandeville (about 30 mins. from Jeremy's office). I was dumb struck. I know I should know by now that God can do all things but I guess, I am still learning.

Since then everything seems to be moving kinda fast. We decide that we would try to be over there by the time Christmas break was over so the girls could start school at the begining of a semester. We made a bid on one house, only for it the fall through. We are now negotiating on our second house, which I might add, is our favorite. It is going to be very hard, my kids family is here. I will miss my sisters terribly. Caroline is leaving some very good friends. It is one of the hardest things I have had to explain to her. But overall, I know God has a plan for my family and I and I am very excited to start this new adventure in our lives.

Funny things

2009-09-14T12:15:00.004-05:00

Everyone knows that when you have children, you never know what will come out of thier mouths and when it will happen. I thought it would be funny to share some of the things said at our house. With 3 kids talking, we have plenty to share.

Mommy: "Kylie did you go to speech class this week?"

Kylie: "nope"

Mommy: "Are you sure?"

Kylie: "no mommy, I didn't go."

Mommy: "Are you sure Kylie? The speech teacher said she would start this week."

Kylie (said with exasperation): "Does it sound like I went to speech class?"

We have a refrigerator where you can get water out of the door. Kylie is waiting for her turn behind Jeremy. Jeremy is filling up a huge cup. Kylie's comment" Daddy, hurry up! You are holding everyone up!" A few seconds later from Kylie "Daddy thats enough water, you are going to teetee in bed!"

I asked Caroline the other day if there was a little boy in her class named Cameron. Her reply is "yes, and he is, like, sooo in love with Mia (caroline's best friend). It is just so awkward when he is around." Later that night she asks me "Mommy, what does awkward mean?"

Kylie: "Caroline, do you know what daddy does for a job?"

Caroline: "Nope"

Kylie: " He is a Landman. That means he goes out and finds land for other people."

As you can tell our comedian is Kylie. She doesn't mean to be but she seems to think much differently than most 5 yr olds. Caroline is our reasonable one and Thatcher is our stunt man. Only time will tell were Ayden fits into this group.

The end of a very long month...

2009-09-05T20:47:00.002-05:00

I have considering writing a blog about the events of August. For some reason, the task is just too overwhelming so I decided to give you a summary of everything that has happened.

Begining of August: Ayden is born.
Kylie starts Kindergarten.
Caroline starts 2nd grade.
Jeremy celebrates his 28th birthday.
End of August: Jeremy gets a raise.
We celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary in the ER.
Kendra is extremely sick for a week due to gall stones left
from a former surgery and the wrong medication.
Thatcher turns 2.
We all recover and prepare for Jeremy to go back to work in
New Orleans.

Now here are some pictures from August:

Little Ayden has arrived!!

2009-08-08T17:34:00.005-05:00

Ayden James made his appearance into the world on August 4, 2009 at 2:37 pm. He weighed in at 8lbs 1oz (exactly what the ultrasound said the day before) and was 20 inches long. I went in Monday, August 3rd at 10 pm. They hooked me up to a monitor and said his heartbeat was a little strange so they were going to watch him for awhile before the induction. We did not start the induction until about 2 am. I had my water broken about 9 am and my epidural in at about 11 am. I have to admit this was my hardest labor yet. The contractions seemed to start much stronger than the other times and they didn't seem to make as much progress considering how much they hurt. I do not know how I did it mostly natural with Caroline. The only thing I can figure is that when you go in with your first, you are much more rested. I was exhausted before I even stepped into the hospital. My epidural did wonders and took most of my pain away. The delivery went smoothly and my dr. was prepared for my tendency to hemorrahage. So when I started, I got tons of drugs to stop the bleeding. Needless to say, I was horribly sick for about 30 mins. after the delivery. Overall though, it was very nice to have a normal delivery without any big complications.

We were able to go home the next day and everyone is doing fine. The girls love having a baby around and even Thatcher has taken to Ayden. Thatcher points at Ayden and says "my baby, mine." Ayden is much different than Thatcher already. He seems to be fiestier, LOL! He does not like being messed with, so he screams when his diaper gets changed or we change his clothes. Everytime he opens his eyes, he wants food. Kinda funny since, it seems like he eats more even though he is the smallest of them. Here are a few pictures of Ayden.

Separation Anxiety

2009-07-13T21:55:00.003-05:00

Well Monday afternoon my girls left with their Daddy. Jeremy works closer to his parents house, so during the week he stays with his mom and dad versuses driving home each night. The girls are going with him this week, since I can't really travel and they really love visiting G.G. and Paw. I have to admit,I started to miss them on the first night. Thatcher is still with me (I just couldn't let him go, he is too little still). Since they have left, I have spent my days gathering the rest of all the things I need for Ayden. (and some of the things I want). I also got my hair cut, which was much needed. I have talked to them each day and it seems to be going very well. They have been so cooped up b/c of me being preggo and the heat. They call me each night and recap thier days.

Thatcher and I have been doing well. This morning I thought I would attempt potty training, HAHAHA!! I thought that if he did not have the girls around as an audience maybe he would do better. Well I am sure he would do fine, if I could make it through it. The wet big boy pants are not the problem, it is the dirty ones. For some reason, cleaning them makes my gag reflex go crazy. So after about 2 hours of potty training I threw in the towel. I guess he will just have to wait until after Ayden gets here.

On a last note, Ayden should be here pretty soon. I go Friday, the 25th to do all my preadmitting at the hospital. Then the next week we will have an ultrasound to see what size he is. If he is like his sibling he should be here by the end of the next week. We are gettting down to the wire and are very ready for him to make his appearance!!

Caroline's First Swim Meet

2009-07-04T10:04:00.004-05:00

This morning was an early morning for all of us. Jeremy got Caroline up and at the pool for warm-ups at 7am. I had the other 2 little ones dressed and at the pool for about 7:50 am. The meet began at 8 am. Caroline was chosen to be in a the 100 yd freestyle relay for girls 8 and under. To prove to you guys how new we are to this whole swimming thing, Jeremy tells Caroline she was chosen to swim on a relay team. Caroline's response "What's a relay, Daddy?".
Now I must warn all you swim fanatics that we swim for a very small team and it is very laidback.

Caroline was the 3rd leg in the relay. Well the race began, and as a mother(and a non swimmer) I don't understand everthing those coaches do but the first little girl that swam was a considerable amount smaller than the other girls on her team and even in that heat. So the other teams wiped her out and Caroline got confused. When all of the girls that were on the block with Caroline jumped in, Caroline assumed she was suppose to go, even though her teammate was no where near touching the pool on Caroline's side. BUT Caroline swam an excellent leg, so we were very proud any way. She didn't even know she messed up until Jeremy told her. The other race she swam in was the 25 yd freestyle. On this race she knew what she was doing and she came in 3rd in her heat. Overall, Caroline came in 24th out of 40 girls 8 yrs and under. Her time for the 25 yd freestyle was 31.99 which is a whole 10 secs off her practice time.

She beamed when she got out the pool and handled the whole day so well. She loves to swim and seems to be very good at it. We are so thankful she has found a sport that she loves that much. Overall it was a wonderful day, filled with nerves that mostly came from Jeremy and I, Caroline was just as calm as you can get.

The pool area in Jennings is small so here are some of the pictures I could get.

Waiting her turn.

Waiting on the block for her turn on the relay.

Getting ready for the 25m Freestyle.

Waiting patiently.

Diving in...well her attempt at diving.

Swimming to the finish line.

Almost there

2009-06-28T21:10:00.002-05:00

Well this week I will be 34 weeks pregnant and I have to admit the nerves are kicking in. This pregnancy has been probably my easiest. I still had some problems with my hips and back but for the most part, I have felt well. Ayden is going to be our fourth baby and he seems to be progressing in the same fashion that all the others before him did. He is going to be large, we just don't know how large yet. Caroline and Thatcher were both well over 9 lbs and Kylie was just under it weighing in at 8lbs 12 ozs. He seems healthy as far as all the ultrasounds have gone but the worrying has begun.

If anyone has ever had a complication during pregnancy or labor, they know that the next pregnancy they wait fearfully for it to happen again. When I had Caroline, I hemorraghed and lost about 2 pints of blood. There was no one to blame, since there is no warning of hemorraghing until it actually happens. It doesn't matter, it makes you feel awful afterwards. I was green after I had Caroline and it took months for me to gain the energy I lost from losing all that blood. With Kylie, it didn't happen, well I should say it started slightly but the doctor caught it quickly and gave me a shot and that was it. It was wonderful, to feel so good after a delivery and be able to go home and enjoy my baby. Then came Thatcher and it happened again. That time, it took two shots, 3 pills and two iv bags to fix it. I lost 2 more pints of blood. So needless to say that I am terrified of it happening again with Ayden. We do know now that it has to do with the size of the babies. (the bigger the baby, the more likely to have problems) I am not afraid of death or anything that horrible. I am afraid of the feeling of exhaustion that comes with the blood loss. This time I will have 4 kids, I won't have time to be that tired.

Along with the medical fears that come with this 4th baby there are other psychological fears running through my head. Caroline and Kylie will be in school next year. How am I going to take care of a baby, a 2 yrs old and help them with thier homework? Jeremy is gone most of the week, so it is just me most of the time. How am I going to stretch myself that thin? I know I am not the perfect mother, in fact, I know I am not close but I do try and one of my biggest fears is neglecting one of my kids. I was the quiet one in my family and I was always pushed aside for those "squeakier wheels". I do not want to do that with any of my children. Sometimes with just 3, I feel pulled and stretched from so many different directions and now we are adding another.

I guess I should put a disclaimer at the end of this. I am not complaining about having 4 kids. We wanted all of our children and God seems to always know the best time for us to have each of them. These are just somethings that run through my head lately. Do other moms have these same fears? I always feel like the frazzled mom while all those other moms have time and money to get thier nails and hair done. They always look put together and I, well.... I always seem to have a few hair out of place. Did I miss some mommy 101 class, that gives you hints on how to handle all this and do it while looking your best? It is only by God's grace that I seem to keep it together, which I guess is more than enough.

A puzzle

2009-06-19T22:49:00.002-05:00

Ayden will be arriving in about 6 to 8 weeks and Jeremy and I are having to deal with what feels like a jigsaw puzzle at our house. We live in a small 3 bedroom 1 bath house. The puzzle is how to best fit all of us including the 6th member of our family comfortably into this little house. We would love a bigger house but in the process of making our family larger we did not realize one important factor. We out grew a starter home before we actually bought a starter home, so now we are scrimping and saving so that we can maybe buy in about year, until then, we are stuck here.

So back to the jigsaw puzzle... where does everyone, and all of thier toys go? Right now Thatcher's toys are in the living room and it makes our living room really crowded. He and Ayden were going to share the smallest bedroom but we are not so sure anymore. All of our babies spend the first 5 or 6 months in our room b/c I don't like depending on a baby monitor. So Ayden's crib is being transferred into our room. The girls have the biggest bedroom which works out nicely except Thatcher usually wants to go to bed with his sisters. So we are looking at putting the girl's and Thatcher's bed all in the big bedroom along with the girls dresser. The little bedroom will become a toy room for all. Hopefully this will also helps with us being able to keep up with cleaning too.

Our bedroom is going through a makeover, it is getting a new paint job and maybe the floor will get painted also, since the carpet is old and ugly. The only really nice thing Jeremy and I own together is our bed, we bought it about a year ago. Our room is usually the one that gets neglected. So we are trying to make it more of an escape haven (well except the crib will be in there.). So today we spent the day painting and moving stuff out of our room. I have felt so good this pregnancy that I didn't realize how easily you can tired in your 8th month. Thank goodness Jeremy is so easy going and willing to help where ever he can.

Hopefully by the end of this weekend there will be pictures to post of our new arrangement in our house.

And time goes by....

2009-06-12T22:59:00.002-05:00

I can not believe that it has already been a week after Thatcher's surgery. He is doing very well, in fact, probably much better than I ever thought it would go. He still needs his pain meds every once in awhile but it seems to get further apart with each day. He is eating pretty much everything and drinking great. He has lost some weight, so he looks like a runt. I call him Chicken Little, because he looks like a little rooster walking around with his skinny shoulders and pot belly.

On to the girls, Caroline is doing swim team this summer. I have to say she is making me so proud. Each time we go to practice, it seems like she improves 100%. She is in the youngest age group right now because we can't seem to convince her she is good enough to move up. Her stroke is beautiful and Thurs. at practice they had a mock meet, she wiped out everyone who she raced by half a lane. It is hard to believe that she is getting so old. Her and Kylie are both doing Terrific Tuesdays at Bethel (the church we attend). It is alot like bible school but is only on every Tuesday of June instead of just one whole week. Kylie is having a blast, making new friends. I get nervous leaving her because I have never really left her with people she didn't really know. She seems to handle it very well and is growing so fast. Her thought process is so deep and different from Caroline's that she is constantly surprising me with comments and questions she asks. It is so nice to have them both home this summer and I am kinda sad to think they are both going to be in school this August.

And then there is Ayden.... for those of you who don't know, Ayden is our 4th and has yet to be born. He is doing well and I am down to two week appointments at my OB. My last appointment was Tuesday and we got to see some of him on the ultrasound. He is already all folded up and we discovered that I am basically all baby. I am at 31 weeks and he is measuring 33 weeks, so it looks like is going to be another big one. We will be doing a ultrasound at about 36 or 37 weeks to determine his actual size and the dr. will decide then how early he will let me deliver. We are doubting he will make his due date, he may not even make it to August.

Finally there is Jeremy and I. Jeremy is still working 4 days a week across state. It gets harder each time he leaves but we are so blessed that he still has a job with this economy, that we can't complain. He stays with his parents, so he gets to hang out with Jason a lot and they are playing touch rugby together. Jeremy is really enjoying spending time with his brother and he really loves his job. As far as me, I am doing okay. Some days I feel like I am going to lose my mind but most of the time I am just thankful that this pregnancy I feel so good. The last week has been hard because we have been waitng for Thatcher to recover, so we are stuck inside alot. He is also very demanding and when it is just mom around, I get all the attention. (maybe too much sometimes).

So that is what we all have been up too. Time seems to be going by so quickly, I can't believe it is almost the middle of June. Jeremy and I are trying very hard to make the best of those days our family are all together. We know our kids will not be this age forever and these memories are not ones we want to miss. We feel each day that God has blessed us beyond our wildest dreams.

Our experience...

2009-06-04T18:56:00.002-05:00

Thatcher had his tonsils out Tuesday and after spending Tuesday and Wednesday at the hospital he came home today. The whole experience was not as horrible as I thought it would be. My son is such a wonderful little trooper and he never cried for more than about 5 mins. He is like his momma and doesn't like to be messed with when he feels bad, so that was probably the worst part. He did not like the blood pressure and temperature checks nor did he like some strange lady shoving medicine down his very sore throat. Tuesday afternoon and most of Wednesday he refused to eat or drink but I think it had alot to do with his pain medication. Once they changed it, and had him on a normal schedule with it, he improved abundantly. Thank goodness today, the dr. realized that Thatcher just might need to go home to do any better. He was right. We have been home and he is playing with his big sisters whom he missed horribly. He is asking for drinks and food. It seems the worst is behind us... Thanks to all who kept him in thier prayers. Here is our visit in pictures.

Waiting for surgery with Daddy.

He got a little loopy with thee meds they gave him.

Me and my "high" little man

After surgery, sleeping it all off.

Keeping himself entertained with a book.

Posing with Daddy.

Posing with Handy Manny.

Finally deciding that popsicles are just not that bad.

Needing Prayers

2009-05-28T21:08:00.002-05:00

There are days when you think you are prepared for anything as a mother and then it is kinda like life throws you a curve ball and all those feeling go out the window. We had to bring Thatcher to the ENT today. He has not ever really slept through the night for more than one night here or there since he was born. He tosses and turns and seems to never really fall into a deep sleep. Last week when he went in for his upper respiratory infection, Jeremy commented on his sleeping habits and our dr. noticed he had extra large tonsils for his age. So we did the next logical thing and made an appointment with the ENT. Now my mom and stepdad are both nurses so I basically gave them the third degree hoping to be prepared for any option this doctor tossed my way. I knew when we walk in to the exam room today that Thatcher was going to most probably have to have his tonsils out. What I didnt' know was that I was going to be given two options and the decision would be left up to me.

The dr. basically told me that Thatcher's tonsils and adnoids were huge and needed to be remove. The catch is that most of the time they wait until kids are almost 3 to do this surgery. (for those of you that don't know Thatch will not even be 2 until Aug. 09). He continues to tell me that Thatcher is bad enough were he is comfortable with doing Thatch's surgery now. It is all up to me and what I am comfortable with. He then gives me all the pros and cons and looks at me like "you decide". "WHAT?!?! ME?!?!?" So I took a deep breath prayed for some insight from heaven and said "Now, I guess".

So Tuesday, June 2, 2009 my almost 2 yr. old will be having his tonsils and adnoids out. I do feel like God has his hand in this, due to how quickly it was all scheduled and fell into place. But I have to admit, that I am also terrified. It is very scary to think your baby will be put to sleep and cut on. A small part of me, kinda laughs when I think about being upset about this bascially simple surgery, knowing there are children out there that have gone through much worse by the time they are Thatcher's age. I know God has his hand on all of this and I need to basically let him take care of Thatcher.

We would much appreciate all prayers said for Thatcher in the next few days. I promise to keep everyone updated as soon as I can.

Our week in photos.

2009-05-23T14:23:00.002-05:00

Alot of things happened this week so I thought I would share with more pictures than words.

Thatcher got sick and did his first round with breathing treatments.

The girls finished school so we had some fun fingerpainting.

They put a play on for Jeremy and I. They both were stars in space!

Being informed

2009-05-20T21:30:00.000-05:00

I have to be honest and say that God has truely blessed Jeremy and I with very healthy children. We have bascially never had any serious health issues until lately. It all began probably at the begining of Christmas break 2008. Caroline went from having a very bad cough one night to waking up the next morning running a 102 degree fever. When we got her in to see the dr., she was diagnosed with bronchitis on the verge of phenomia. We did breathing treatments (which was new to me) and I have to say I honestly feel sorry for those parents that have to do that to infants. It must be horrible. Caroline's got better rather quickly but her cough never really went away. Then over Easter break we went to Jeremy's parents for the week. The first night we where there Caroline woke up and sounded horrible. She would gasp for air and then cough. Her cough sounded something like a seal barking or croup (for those more experienced parents). The whole ordeal really scared me but she ended up waking up the next morning acting normal.

About two weeks ago, we started her on the Jennings swim team for the summer. About the third day of tryouts, I could tell she was already not feeling well and then they moved her into the big pool. She freaked!! My very mature, reasonable child became very out of control and unresonable. She cried and started with the barking cough again. I sat there and watch my 7 yr old struggle to breath, and I knew something was wrong. The next day we found out Caroline has allergy and exercise induced asthma.

I felt like a horrible parent because now I look back on certain days when Caroline acted aggitated and out of the norm and now realize that she was actually having trouble breathing. Now I feel like I should shout it from the roof tops that every mom, new or old should be well aware of the symptoms of childhood asthma. Sometimes the signs are not as obvious as Caroline's were but they are still there. Asthma is very common and treatable but I feel like someone should have warned me along the way to watch out for the symptoms in any of my children. From one mother to another please get informed!

Come be apart....

2009-05-20T10:03:00.000-05:00

I know I have tried the blog thing once before but this one will hopefully turn out differently. I struggle alot with the fact that close friends and family now live so far away from us. I feel like with this blog we can keep everyone updated on our kids as they grow and experience new things. I am going to try to post a blog once a week, with pictures. This blog will revolve mostly around our kids and the joys (and sorrows) that come with parenting 4 little ones 7 yrs. and under. Please, leave us feedback. I know I will write more if I get some sort of comment. Hopefully this will help those that live far away still be apart of our family.