Ten Days

...til my due date. Actually, in a little more than a half hour it will be nine days. I am SUPER excited! Also a little scared as we are not quite ready yet. I still need to wash his clothes. My friend Amy gave me a ton of boy clothes back in July which I promptly washed and put away. But I have yet to wash my own, and I still want to re-wash hers - I mean they've been sitting in the closet collecting dust for heaven's sake! ;) And we still have to put the bassinet in our room, wash the car seat cover, install the car seat base, pack my hospital bag, etc. I don't know where all my time has gone! I thought that I would not procrastinate this time around, but here we are doing the same thing we always do. Waiting til the last minute to get ready for baby. I really, really wanted to buy a new sling or wrap or whatever for this baby, but have decided not to do that. With Christmas coming up, and me not working, I just cannot seem to justify spending the money. Especially because we technically have a Snugli - old and uncomfortable as it may be. I think I will stick it out with that at least until I go back to work in January, then maybe I'll splurge and get something cuter and comfier for baby wearing!

Last week we were semi-social. Our good old friend Ian stopped by with his son for a bit. Then we were supposed to have another playdate with Leah and the kids, but she had to cancel due to homework. Zeke went on his first field trip ever last Thursday - to the downtown library. Very exciting business! Justin got to be social, too! He went deer hunting with one of his old friends all day Saturday. He said he had a couple good shots at a couple of deer, but missed. Darn it! He blamed it on his lack of archery skills - he was hunting with a bow and arrow. He said it's not legal to hunt deer with a gun yet - that comes later in the season, I guess? But he had loads of fun getting to do something he really loves. I am hoping he'll have more of an opportunity to do that occasionally in the coming weeks.

I need to post pics of Isabel's bday, but I haven't loaded those onto the computer yet. Soon, hopefully!

Isabel

In honor of Isabel's second birthday (Nov. 5th), I thought that I would post a few pics of her as an infant and share her birth story. Her original due date was November 7th, 2007. I had a pretty normal pregnancy with her for the most part. We had decided to let her gender be a surprise, but I had a feeling from the beginning that she was a girl. During the last few weeks I had several ultrasounds. She kept flipping - somedays she was head down, others she was breach. At my last doctor appointment (I remember it because it was Halloween), my doctor asked me how I felt about being induced two days before my due date in an effort to avoid her flipping again, going breach, and me having to have a c-section. I said, absolutely. I was already dilated to 2cm, and was ready for her. I was also pretty terrified of a c-section!
So, we went in on Monday, November 5, 2007 at 7am to be induced. Okay, normally I would not advocate induction, but I felt in my heart that it was the right thing to do at the time. If I had to go back and do it again, in that situation, I still would. So, Dr. Sinnott (my OB at the time)

put whatever they put on your cervix to soften it on me. Then I did a LOT of walking. Justin and I did soooo many laps around the entire maternity ward. The nurse encouraged me to move as much as possible. Around 10 am, Dr. Sinnott broke my water. Again, more and more walking. Around noon, they decided to give me pitocin. I think I was around 4-5 cm at that time. Pitocin is the worst thing in the world. Seriously. I had never ever gotten sick during labor, but I actually did throw up awhile after that. Yuck. Labor was starting to actually get intense, and around 2:30, I was 6-7 cm, and wanted an epidural. Yes, yes, an epidural - I am not ashamed! Happy for those who have done it naturally, but I have used the epidural. They told me that the woman next door to me was getting one, and when they were done with her, he would move onto me. TWO HOURS LATER, the doctor FINALLY showed up. I was livid. I had been the meanest I have ever been to Justin - at least during labor :). It was probably the longest amount of time I have ever been in active labor without an epidural. Looking back, it makes me think that I probably could have handled labor on my own...but again, I would not change a thing. So, that was at 4:30. At around 5:05pm, I started pushing, and Isabel Pequetti Brewer was born. She was 8lbs, 3oz and 21 inches long. When she came out, I remember Justin saying, "She's a girl!!! Mary, you were right!" By the way,

the epidural had no effect on me knowing when to push, or feeling what it going on. I have heard horror stories of women being paralyzed and not feeling anything, but that did not happen to me. I always felt exactly when I should be pushing and could feel everything - just a bit less pain than what would have been there.

After she was all cleaned up, she had her first nursing. Justin had called home to let Chiara and Zeke know that their sister had been born. They had been babysat all day by my brothers Matthew and Eric. Justin ran home and got them, and I had sooooo many relatives in the delivery room by 7pm. The first arrivals were my sis -in-law Courtney, her husband Dan, and their son Harper (who was only 2 months old at the time). My mom was arrived next - she had just gotten off of work. But I didn't let any of them hold Isabel until Chiara got there. We had promised Chiara that she would be "first" to hold her new baby. Justin, the kids and my brothers arrived shortly thereafter, and three year old Chiara sat in a chair and held her sister for the first time. It was truly precious. Then everyone else passed her around. My mother in law Patty was the last to show up, right before I was moved to recovery. (The pic below is Dan holding Harper, my mom

holding Isabel, and them letting the cousins "meet" for the first time.) My mom, Justin, the kids, and Patty went with me to the recovery room. They stuck around for awhile, and then Justin had to get the kids home for bed. Zeke SCREAMED his head off. My mom helped Justin get them to the van. Patty stayed a bit longer, and then it was just Bel and I. She was such an easy baby. Just ate and slept all the time. My other newborns had not been like that, and I remember actually calling my mom after we'd been home a few days to see if it was normal the way she slept so much!

Above: a picture of my mom holding Isabel in her absolute favorite position as an infant. Anytime she was fussy, we'd hold her like that, and she was instantly soothed. Now, two years later, she is still just as sweet and easy going as she was as an infant. I have to admit, she does have a bit of a mean streak at times - probably thanks to her brute of an older brother. :) But she is such a joy of a little girl!

My all time favorite picture of the girls.

Halloween Weekend

Here are our little trick-or-treaters! Chiara is a hippie, Isabel is Snow White, and Ezekiel is Leonardo the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. They each picked out their own costumes - I got to have absolutely no say in it whatsoever. I thought I would at least have one more year with Isabel, but once she noticed that the other two were choosing their own costumes, she decided that she had her own opinion as well. I think that they all turned out super cute!

We had a busy weekend. On Friday, we met up with my cousin Anthony's wife, Leah and their two little boys for a "playdate." We decided to meet at the mall play area, and it was the busiest that I have EVER seen it! I usually only bring the kids there to play during the cold months, so I hadn't been there in awhile. The kids had fun, though they really did not play together! Zeke found two other boys his own age to run around with. Isabel did play with A.J. and Andrew a bit, but I don't think that they were too interested in her. We are going to meet again this Friday, but this time Leah and the boys are coming over to our house. Chiara is excited because she has Friday off of school for whatever reason, so she will get to see the boys. She adores little kids. A.J. is two years old, and Andrew is one year old, so they fit the bill. It was nice visiting with Leah, too. Nice to have another mom to talk to once in awhile!

Saturday, of course, was Halloween. Justin took the kids out to his parents' to carve pumpkins. Unfortunately, he forgot the camera, so we have no pictures. Maybe his mom will give us some of the ones she took. Patty (my MIL) told me that Isabel could not get enough of digging into the pumpkin guts. Chiara of course, hates to get dirty, so she was not as thrilled. Zeke was pretty enthusiastic as well. Harper was also there, and I guess Isabel started bullying him around. I know that she loves him, though, she probably just wanted some attention.

Then we took all of the kids to the mall for their trick-or-treating. We have done this the past few years. I like it because then the kids don't have to bundle up and cover their costumes - what fun is that? And really, after an hour of walking around the mall, they are pretty much done. Harper decided that he did not want to wear his costume. :( I think maybe if he had gotten ready with the other kids, he might have been persuaded to put it on. Oh, well.

Yesterday was spent just trying to get the house in order and prepare for the arrival of our baby. I've still got a few things left to do, hopefully we will be ready on time! I have less than three weeks til my due date, though I am sort of thinking I'll be a week late. I'm thinking Thanksgiving weekend might be the time, but we'll see. Justin has been talking to the baby, trying to "convince" him to come out on a weekend ( like a Friday night) so that he doesn't have to miss as much work. Ha ha. As much as I would like for that to happen (especially since his company give no sick or vacation time, so any day he is off would be unpaid), I doubt our little angel will comply! :)

Thursday is Isabel's birthday!!! How can she already be turning two years old???

Baby News

I went to the doctor yesterday. I am 1cm dilated, 75% effaced. Not too bad for having a little more than four weeks til due date, I think. I am not one of those people who think that just because I've started dilating, I will go into labor anytime soon. I remember being two and a half centimeters dilated for the last SIX weeks that I was pregnant with Ezekiel (and he was a week LATE, at that). But I am happy to have some progression because that means I have one less cm to worry about when I am actually in labor. Woo-hoo! Only nine to go! :)

In other baby news, while I was at the Women's Clinic, my friend Ashley was right next door at Home Hospital giving birth to her baby. Seriously, right at the time of my appointment, she was being delivered! So, congrats to our friends David and Ashley on their new baby!!! This is baby #4, but their very first daughter - so exciting! She is quite the little cutie pie - from pics I saw on FB, anyway. Can't wait to meet her! David called Justin yesterday afternoon, and was absolutely ecstatic about his little girl. Yay! If she was born just 12 hours earlier, she would have been born on Justin's bday.

Well, lots to do today. I better get a move on. Four weeks from today is my last day of work!!!! :)

Weekly Update

I seem to only post once a week these days. Maybe I am slightly bored with blogging...

My hubby turned 26 today! So now we are the same age...until March when I turn 27. He loves to point out that I am older than him. That does not bother me, at least not right now. We'll see how I feel when I turn 30...

I made Justin a cake (with Chiara's help). That's pretty much all I did for him. Oh, and I made him enchiladas for dinner - his fave. I also gave him $10 and time to hang out with his friends tonight. Funds are tight, and he was glad for this gift. I think he had a pretty good day. The kids made him cards, and his parents came over for a bit. And it was nice weather for a good birthday!

This afternoon we went to Chiara's first ever parent-teacher conference. Is it weird that I felt so grown-up now that I have important parent-teacher conferences to attend? I was SO excited for it. I have been looking forward to this thing for weeks! I am such a nerd. Anyway, she got her first ever REPORT CARD! Yay! She is doing sooo well. Her teacher said that she just loves having Chiara in her class, and that she has pretty much mastered everything so far. I know I am bragging/gushing, but I am proud. And this is my blog, so I can brag all that I want, hehe. She said that Chiara is such a "good example" of behavior to the other kids. Always kind to others, and she is very respectful at prayer time - never acting up. She said that whenever Chiara gets stuck or does not understand a new concept, she always lets her teacher know she needs help. Her teacher said that she thinks it's adorable, because Chiara tells her that she is there to learn, and if she is confused, she will not learn. She is such a little adult! The only thing that we need to work on is her lowercase letter "i" in her name. It is a bit too tall and uppercase-looking. Other than that, her teacher said that Chiara is progressing very well, and is a good little student.

Today was also the first day ever that Chiara stayed home sick from school. And she was NOT happy about it! I could tell something was wrong immediately this morning when I went to wake her up. She did not jump right out of bed like normal days. She laid there a good ten minutes longer, and then reluctantly got up. She was a little warm, but no fever. She looked miserable. I asked her if she felt alright, and she said that her tummy hurt. When I suggested she lay back down and stay home, she burst into tears. That little girl did not want to miss school. It became apparent, however, that she did need to stay home, so that's what she did. She was very disappointed because today was "Crazy sock day" at school. It's Red Ribbon Week, and each day there has been some sort of little accessory that the kids could wear in addition to their uniforms. Today was the day she was going to wear these argyle tights that my mother had given to her, and she was so excited to pair them with her jumper (though they do not match at all.) I had mentioned this to her teacher when we were leaving the school this afternoon, and she said to tell Chiara that she could wear the tights tomorrow (Thurs) since she missed out on the fun today. Let me tell you, she was pretty excited to hear that!

Isabel has started to say "I love you." It's so cute!! I cannot believe that she is almost two years old! How did that happen??? Slow down, time!

Ezekiel absolutely lives for preschool. He was so excited on Tuesday, because his class visited the school library for the first time ever. He got to choose his own book, and he was so proud when he showed me his selection. We have read it multiple times since then! He is growing up so much, but he is definitely still quite a strong-willed child. Nothing wrong with wanting to do things your own way, right? :)

Today marked one month from my due date. However, I am betting on having this baby somewhere between Nov. 28th-Dec. 2nd. Just my feeling on it. People at work bet sooner, but there is no way - I don't have a history of that. I am growing pretty tired of this heartburn, and my stupid leg. And it will be nice to lay down comfortably at night again. Plus, I am dying to meet this little boy! I tried to make a deal with Justin the other day about a name for him. I say, if he has dark hair, we name him Isaiah. If he has blonde hair, then the name that Justin wants (I don't know if I am allowed to disclose it). If he has red hair - then I don't know...maybe my pick, too! :) The fun part about this is that this child could technically have any of these hair color possibilities. I think it's fun that none of my three kids have the same color hair - variety!

October Madness

Our weekend was jam packed full of fun things to do. On Saturday, we got up early and started working on food for the "birthday" party for the kids. Justin made chili in the slow cooker, and I started baking a ton of cupcakes for the cupcake cake. Then we rushed out the door to head to Chiara's soccer game, which apparently had been cancelled due to too much water on the field from the previous days' rain. None of the parents had been notified of the cancellation, however, and I was pretty annoyed that we had to drive all the way out to the field for notthing. But, we came back home, had lunch, and I continued on the cake. The theme of the party was 'fall,' so I had wanted to make the cupcakes form the shape of a tree, with some othe cupcakes forming the shape of fallen leaves. I think it turned out okay. Not perfect, but I never expected it to be. I did my best. My oh-so-supportive husband and brother told me that it looked more like a brown cactus, and Justin even MOVED part of my tree, and re-shaped a branch. Thanks guys. But, that does not matter, because the critics whose opinions I was hoping to be favorable, were very pleased. Chiara kept complimenting me over and over, "Oh, Mommy, it looks so great!"

We had the party at Happy Hollow Park, and it was COLD!!!!! The kids did not seem to mind, probably because they were too busy running around to get too cold. I was glad that Justin had thought of making chili to have out there in the cold. I also made a couple of sandwich platters and a veggie tray. I have pictures to post, but not a whole lot. My batteries died in the middle of the party, so I missed out on a bunch of photo-ops. As soon as I find some more batteries, I will upload pics. One cute part was Isabel when opened up a present from her godmother, Alison. It was a baby doll, which is Isabel's current favorite genre of toy to play with. She tried to pull the baby out of the box, and was not happy until someone helped her get her baby out of there. Then she carried the baby the rest of the party. So adorable! She and 'baby' have been inseparable ever since.

Sunday we went to the Feast. It was fun, but still cold. It was the kids' first time at the Feast. In reality, we probably would not have gone this year due to finances, but we had a FREE family pass!!! A lady I work with gave me a family pass that she had won and was not going to use. Sweet! Chiara said she was "in love" with all of the costumes that she saw people wearing, and she said she wished that she had been wearing a "pretty dress with an apron and bonnet." Zeke pretty much complained the entire time that he was thirsty. I had left juice boxes in the van, and when we got all the way back to the van, he was no longer thirsty. Go figure.

Yesterday I felt miserable and tired and unable to function. I pushed myself to get all the housework done, and eventually had to go to work in the afternoon. It was rough. My body is just tired, and sometimes that makes me feel sick. Six more weeks until my due date. It feels like forever, but I know once he is here, I will think that time had flown by. I can't wait to meet my baby!

The kids have fall break starting tomorrow. I had planned on taking them to my grandpa's for a visit tomorrow, and we have a playdate with my cousin's kids on Friday. Now I am starting to re-think those plans because Isabel woke up today with a really awful runny nose. Chiara had been sick for the past couple of weeks with a cold, but has gotten better this week. I guess I'll wait and see. I don't want to get anyone sick.

Today is my sis-in-law's bday. I mailed her card yesterday. I don't know why I am so bad at that. I even had the card written in LAST week. Well, I guess she gets to celebrate a little longer with my late card. And speaking of birthdays, Shantale's birthday always reminds me that Justin's is right around the corner. His is always exactly one week after his sister's bday. Maybe I should start thinking about what the kids and I will give him for a present...

Please Make Me Sleepy!

I really hate nights when I get home from work and cannot make myself go to sleep. I don't get home until around 11pm. I have to be up at 6:30am to start getting the kids ready for school. I end up being really exhausted.

This weekend we are having the kids' "birthday party." It's going to be at Happy Hollow late Saturday afternoon. I am going to attempt to make a cupcake cake. We'll see how that turns out. I have never ever been even remotely interested in baking or cake decorating up until recently. Betty Crocker I am not. But, for some reason, I've wanted to do it more and more. Maybe it's because of all of the times I am forced into the bakery at work. The bakery associates leave hours before deli, but customers still come up and want orders taken and cakes/cookies/cupcake cakes to be written on. I actually detest doing this, simply because I am NOT bakery, and I have enough of my own work to get done before 10:30pm when my shift ends. But, I never turn a customer away, and thus my writing in icing has vastly improved over the past year and a half or so. Plus, I have watched the cake decorators techniques and that's kind of informative as well.

I made a date with my mom today. On November 21st, we are going to the McCutcheon Fall Play. A couple of weeks ago, one of the cashiers at work made my mother promise that she would come and see her in the play if she (the cashier) had gotten the part that she was trying out for. My mom agreed, Caitlyn got the part, so now she has to go. I told my mom I'd go with her. Now, technically, November 21st is my due date. However, I really do not anticipate being in labor on that day, nor do I think that the baby will come before that day. So, we are going to have dinner and a show together. I am looking forward to it! It's good my mom lives so close, otherwise I'd never have a friend to do anything at all with!

I am going to try to go to sleep now. Goodnight!