tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-281430102024-03-12T20:15:27.942-07:00Shaunna FayeShaunna Fayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01788423885826448934noreply@blogger.comBlogger330125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28143010.post-30171226073435363932014-05-07T08:19:00.000-07:002014-05-07T08:19:20.746-07:00My kids aren't always angels, I promise. 4 year and 18 month check-ups. We took Martha to the Doctor yesterday for her 4 year check-up and Abel for his 18 month check-up. You know how your kids will almost always be angels for strangers? This was a perfect example. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the Doctor himself:<br />
<br />
"This is like a dream. I feel like there should be doves flying around."<br />
"You know they're not supposed to be this well behaved, right?"<br />
"Are they always this good?"<br />
"She's so well spoken. It's like she's British or something. Is she watching Downton Abbey in her spare time?"<br />
"Other than being 4 going on 40, do you have anything you want to discuss today?"<br />
"Has she always been this grown up?"<br />
"It's like Abel has two mommies."<br />
<br />
And that's not even all of them. He was seriously amazed at how well they were both acting.<br />
<br />
And I swear Martha's answers sounded rehearsed, but I promise we didn't tell her to say anything. He asked her what she likes to eat and she said she eats lots of fruits and vegetables. He asked her what she likes to do for fun and she said she likes to play outside. He asked her what she does outside...does she ride a bike or a scooter. She said she rides both a bike and a scooter. He asked her if she wears anything on her head when she rides and she told him she always wears a helmet.<br />
<br />
When he was done he asked me and Chris if we had any questions. We both said no. Then he asked Martha if she had any questions and she said yes. With her hands folded in her lap she said "Abel sleeps really well every night in his bed."<br />
<br />
He gave us kudos for whatever we're doing as parents and also said that sometimes you just hit the jackpot with your kids being wired a certain way, so that felt nice.<br />
<br />
I didn't mention that they're not always super great and well behaved children, but it did occur to me that we really aren't doing a terrible job as parents.Shaunna Fayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01788423885826448934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28143010.post-41666011512557104982014-02-18T09:19:00.002-08:002014-02-18T09:19:40.303-08:003 HeartsI have two kids, so I have exposed hearts that aren't my own that are tender and breakable and even saying those words make me want to cry.<br />
<br />
Martha's at the age now (almost 4) where she's having real, back and forth conversations with kids at school that actually mean something. She told me the other day that Joshua was her friend because he said he was but that Kaleah wasn't her friend. I asked her why Kaleah wasn't her friend and she said it's because she said she wasn't and that she asked Kaleah if she wanted to come over to her house and she said no. I also recall her telling me another time that Kaleah told her that her room wasn't pretty because it's yellow. This is my baby. My beautiful, cheerful, full of life, nice to everyone, baby. And another kid her age doesn't want to be her friend. She's mentioned the Kaleah thing a few times, so I know it stands out in her mind more than other stuff, which makes it even more heart breaking for me. When a 4 year old tells another 4 year old that she's not her friend and that her room isn't pretty, it hurts. If you don't have kids that sentence might seem silly to you. Before I had kids I might have thought "Well, they'll get over it." But this is my child. My very own flesh and blood that is PART OF ME. In my mind, everyone should want to be friends with her. She is so sweet and loves her friends so much and it makes no sense why another little girl would say that to her.<br />
<br />
But I did what any Mom would do and told her that it's ok if Kaleah doesn't want to be friends. That you don't have to be friends with everyone and she should still be nice to Kaleah and maybe just play with Joshua instead. (High five, Joshua! I've always liked you.) But on the inside I was saying to myself "Man, screw that kid." But I know how life works. I'm around people at work every day and I'm not friends with everyone. But as an adult, I know how to be pleasant and hold my tongue when I need to. Skills that 4 year olds don't have yet. So I just keep telling myself that.<br />
<br />
I look into the future and see Martha growing up and putting her heart on the line trying to make new friends. As much as she talks, she will no doubt succeed. But then some of those friends might not always be nice. And maybe some other kids just won't like her for whatever reason. And I think I just need to start preparing myself for the heartaches that she will go through and hope I will know what to say to her, or if I should even say anything at all sometimes. Her precious, tender heart will be broken at times and I'm not ready for that. I don't think I ever will be.<br />
Shaunna Fayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01788423885826448934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28143010.post-40888596835015903212013-11-25T06:31:00.001-08:002013-11-25T06:42:49.181-08:00Abel's First BirthdayMy wiggly, rough, typical baby boy turned one year old last month. I'm a little behind documenting it.<br />
<br />
We had a Super Hero themed party. I always do the kids' first birthday big and then scale it WAY down after that. Number 1 is just so exciting, I want to share it with everyone we know! <br />
<br />
Abel is such a typical boy. He's incapable of being gentle, unless he's giving kisses. (Just ask the cats.) He climbs on EVERYTHING. Seriously, I cannot keep him down. And he's always so proud of himself when he successfully gets up on whatever it is he's climbing on. He isn't a big fan of "real" food yet. He prefers jarred baby food, but he's learning. And when he's hungry, you can't feed him fast enough. He isn't a good sleeper like Martha is. He still wakes up once a night about 85% of the time. After a year, you just get used to it. Give him some milk, put him back to bed. I'm slowly figuring out ways to keep him asleep though. I've added 2 more blankets in his crib and that has helped A LOT. Also, feeding him a banana right before bedtime works wonders. I guess he needs to be totally immersed in comfort to get a good night's rest. At this point (13 months old), he's almost walking. He can take about 5-8 steps on his own before he falls. His favorite foods are Cheerios, toast, yogurt melts, and crackers. He's above average on all growth scales. Height, weight, head circumference....he's a big boy. His first word was Mama, but if we're not counting that, then it was kitty. He can tell you what sound a kitty, dog, sheep, and owl make. And my dude is a DANCING MACHINE. Sometimes I can't even get him out of his car seat in the morning because he's dancing so hard to the radio. Kid's got some moves. He loves his big sister so much. Thinks she's the funniest person around. He called her Mama for a while and now he calls her Nana (pronounced Nah Nah). He yells for her when she's not in the room. Adorable. Love that guy.<br />
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Shaunna Fayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01788423885826448934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28143010.post-57847880931779989052013-11-04T08:16:00.001-08:002013-11-04T08:16:29.399-08:00This morning.5:45 in the morning. I'm up and putting my makeup on at the vanity in the bathroom. I'm literally 3 feet from the bathroom window when I hear crunchy leaf footsteps. Two of them, then they stop. Then heavy breaths on the window. SOMEONE IS BREATHING ON MY WINDOW!!!<br />
<br />
I freeze. Not moving a muscle, I don't think I've listened so hard in my whole life. A million thoughts are going through my head. What do I do?! I sit and listen for about 5 seconds, then realize I can't be so quiet because whoever the hell is try to look through my window is moments away from breaking it with me sitting feet away. I jump up, run and turn every inside and outside light on that I can find. Grab the mace out of my drawer. Run to the security system panel and hold my finger on the Police alert button. If I push the button the police will come. I'm now across the house from where I first heard the person, so I have no idea if they ran after seeing the lights come on or if they're still lurking.<br />
<br />
I waited about 1 full minute there with my finger hovering that button. I knew all the doors were locked. Now every light was on. Surely this person isn't going to still be peeking through windows, but I was still too afraid to look. Imagine me pulling back the blinds to peek out and seeing a face. Terrifying. I went back to the bedroom where I mistakenly left my phone, grabbed it, then went back to the security panel. <br />
<br />
I called Chris, who was already at work in Atlanta and told him what happened. He said "I'm coming home." Told me to keep my mace on me and if I heard anything, to push that button and/or call 911. <br />
<br />
Martha woke up right at the end of my phone conversation with Chris, so I calmed myself down as much as I could and went to her bedroom to get her up and ready. She saw the mace in my hand and asked me why I was holding a keychain. I stuck it in my pocket when she asked if she could hold it. Told her it was a grown up keychain and had to stay in my pocket. I forced myself into fake, chipper, everything is ok mom mode while my heart is still racing. <br />
<br />
Chris got home right before it was time for me to leave with the kids. He drove around the neighborhood and didn't see anything weird. Looked around our house and nothing looked strange. He's going to work from home today so he can go get some motion detected flood lights to put in on his lunch break. We're also going to finally put up our Security yard signs and window stickers, which we should have done weeks ago. <br />
<br />
If someone broke in, the alarm would have gone off. So I'm thankful for that. But it's still unnerving to hear breaths on your window that early in the morning when it's dark outside and you're home with your two sleeping children. Good Lord. Shaunna Fayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01788423885826448934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28143010.post-83353989889691097052013-10-07T12:56:00.002-07:002013-10-07T12:59:25.483-07:00Dear Braves...My Dearest Braves,<br />
<br />
I love you. <br />
<br />
Ok, I got that out of the way. <br />
<br />
We have had a long history together. Growing up in Nashville, I loved you because my Dad and brothers loved you. When we moved to Atlanta when I was 12 years old, that love only grew stronger because distance was no longer a factor in our relationship. But it wasn't until I was in my early 20's that I actually started putting effort into what we have together. That might have something to do with the fact that I lived within walking distance of Turner Field for a while. (I called in sick to work one day to go see a game with my roommate....Shhhhhhhhhhh.)<br />
<br />
Sure, we've had our ups and downs. Last years "Infield fly" debacle in the wildcard game. Oof! Too soon? Not your fault though, so I'm not placing blame.<br />
<br />
I feel like we need to channel 1995. I mean, obviously that was a great year. Love was in the air, you brought home the World Champion Title, and everything was right in the world. I feel like both you and I were feeling really good about where things were headed in the years to come.<br />
<br />
But I was wrong, Braves. I was very wrong. My heart was broken in 1996, and again in 1999. We got so close, but you were pulling away for some reason. There was no spark. No World Championship Trophy. (It's not about tangible things, I know! - But do you see how that trophy shinessssss? You used to know how to spoil me.)<br />
<br />
Listen, Braves. Honey. Sweetie. We can get through this together. You think it might be too late for us, but it's not! Let's talk tonight. Does 9:37pm work for you? The kids will already be in bed. We can hash things out with no distractions. <br />
<br />
I love you, Braves. Let's work things out.<br />
<br />
This is why we chop, <br />
Shaunna Shaunna Fayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01788423885826448934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28143010.post-3056216250321522772013-05-31T20:19:00.003-07:002013-05-31T20:25:55.320-07:00A letter to myself. Get in the bathtub.Shaunna, <br />
First of all, congratulations on the kids. Adorable. Seriously, you're good at procreation. Secondly, take a bath. I know that sounds silly. No but really...take a bath. Fill the tub with lavender epsom salt hot water goodness, put on some old school Bright Eyes (shut up), and just lay there. Here's what's going to happen...<br />
<br />
You're going to relax. Not like how you relax by watching a show while you get some Etsy orders done after the kids have gone to bed. (BTDubbs, that's not relaxing, but I get it - it has to be done.) You're going to realize that you've not REALLY relaxed like that in about 4 years. Since before you were pregnant with Martha. Sure, you've gone out and had fun. You've laid on the couch and watched tv. But this bath will ease your body down to the bones.<br />
<br />
While you're laying there, a funny thing will happen. You'll look down at your feet propped up and remember that picture you posted on Myspace of your feet in the tub back when you were 22 and had just gotten out of a 2.5 year relationship and you'll laugh. That was during those 4 months that you lived in Marietta in the super nice house with Clara Culpepper whom you never saw again after you moved out except for that one time at Kevin Horan's job at that one bar where all you can remember is there was a lot of champagne.<br />
<br />
Then your eyes will stray from your feet and you'll see your mushy, 2 baby having, stretch marked stomach and again you'll laugh. You're not crazy about it, but you really don't mind that stomach. It'll never, ever, ever look the way it did when you were 22 again, but you'll never, ever, ever care because you have 2 crazy amazing kids that you grew in there. That you GREW IN YOUR BODY, WOMAN! I mean. <br />
<br />
So, you'll soak in that water. You'll listen to The Arc of Time. You'll hear those lyrics and you'll know that you are who you are when you're supposed to be that person. You were the girl that took the bathtub picture of your tattooed feet. Now you're the girl with the mushy belly and happy family. Neither is wrong. There is a place and a time for everything.<br />
<br />
<i>You can make a plan<br />
Carve it into stone<br />
Like a feather falling<br />
That is still unknown<br />
<br />
Until the clock speaks up<br />
Says it’s time to go<br />
You can choose the high<br />
Or the lower road<br />
<br />
You might clench your fist<br />
You might fork your tongue<br />
As you curse or praise<br />
All the things you’ve done<br />
<br />
And the faders move<br />
And the music dies<br />
As we pass over<br />
On the arc of time</i><br />
<br />
When the song is over, get up and out of the bath. Now take a shower because you haven't washed your hair in 3 days and your teething 7 month old will be waking up soon. Chop chop. <br />
<br />
Love,<br />
Shaunna<br />
Shaunna Fayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01788423885826448934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28143010.post-2298905153104040012013-04-16T07:36:00.000-07:002013-04-16T07:36:24.245-07:00Bad PeopleAs much as I complain about the difficulties of raising a strong willed little girl, Martha is so sweet and funny and smart it amazes me. <br />
<br />
Yesterday after work Chris and I packed a dinner and took the kids to the park. Martha played for a little while but then needed a diaper change. I took her up to the bathrooms and was going potty myself when she started to unlock the stall door. <br />
<br />
Me: Martha, close that door and lock it back.<br />
Martha: Why?<br />
Me: Because it's dangerous.<br />
Martha: Why?<br />
Me: Because there are some bad people in the world that might want to steal you.<br />
Martha: But sometimes there are good people that don't want to steal me.<br />
Me: Yes, that's true, but we just have to be careful. Now lock the door, I'm peeing.<br />
<br />
As everyone knows, there were 2 bombs that went off at the Boston Marathon yesterday afternoon. Reports were still coming out when we were at the park, so the conversation with Martha was fitting. I'm always weary because there are bad people in the world that want to hurt people, steal kids, destroy lives, etc. But then there's the good people that want to help and save and keep people safe. <br />
<br />
I'm glad Martha sees the good.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FSRhlqwvoA4/UW1hsddn2yI/AAAAAAAAAkM/FyT-AuYEQAk/s1600/flower.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FSRhlqwvoA4/UW1hsddn2yI/AAAAAAAAAkM/FyT-AuYEQAk/s320/flower.JPG" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Shaunna Fayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01788423885826448934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28143010.post-12463081037230604182013-04-15T07:13:00.001-07:002013-04-15T07:19:02.744-07:00I work too hard to be ballin' on a budget.I mentioned in my last post that I was starting on a new project. Since then, I've started 2 etsy stores. Only one has been successful. I've made almost $500 in 2 months. Not too shabby. Half of that was replacing start-up costs though, so I'm just now starting to see the fruits of my labor. It's nice to have a steady extra income that allows me to live semi-freely with random/small/last minute/unplanned purchases. The majority of what I sell are stencils. I offer some random vinyl decals, but let me tell you....I hate working with vinyl. There's too much room for error and too many steps to the finished product. I like the end result but it's a pain in the butt to get there. Stencils are easy. You make the design, you send it to the machine, the machine cuts, you package it up, you're done. With vinyl there's weeding, transfer tape, blah blah blah. Daniel, you can have it. As long as there are DIY-ers and crafters, people will want my stencils. And luckily, there's not a plethera of options for stencils (especially not custom ones like I offer) on etsy right now, so just by having my prices $1 less than my competitors (which still allows for a healthy profit), I'm getting the majority of the orders from what I've seen.<br />
<br />
The first few weeks of doing this etsy store I was working out the kinks and staying up WAY too late EVERY night. I had to set limits or I was going to become a zombie. I only do orders every other day now after the kids go to bed. The other days I try to get on the treadmill or finish up other random projects around the house.<br />
<br />
Speaking of other projects... I finally pulled the trigger on painting the bathroom. It's been cheap beige since we moved in 4 years ago. Boooooy does cheap beige paint get dirty around lightswitches and toddler height spaces. I picked the color the other day and Chris painted yesterday. I love it! The new shower curtain, cabinet, mirror frame, and pictures are ready to go up as soon as I make sure the paint is set in. (I've learned my lesson of putting up a shower curtain rod too soon after painting. Don't look in my other bathroom.)<br />
<br />
Now let's talk about the important stuff. My kids.<br />
<br />
Abel will be 6 months old tomorrow!!!<br />
Martha will be 3 years old 2 days later!!!<br />
<br />
Frilly, girly, pink, sparkles and princess party is happening on Saturday with family and a few close friends. Matha has her special princess dress, tiara, and jewelry picked out. She's going to freak at her princess cake too. Never did I ever think I'd be throwing a princess party. Lord help me.<br />
<br />
Abel is a rolling over fool these days. He can roll all over and scoot himself around in circles. Crawling will be soon. He likes to grab beards, hair, and faces mostly, and man he grabs hard.<br />
<br />
We're still working on Martha's potty training. We've stressed the whole "you're turning 3 and 3 year olds pee in the potty" aspect of it. She will go in the potty every day, but it's never every time, every day. It'll happen when it happens, and I'm not worried about it. I feel like it'll be very soon and thank god I can stop buying diapers for her. <br />
<br />
Look at these fools. So adorable on Easter. Martha loves Abel so much. She still sometimes smothers him and I have to make her give him some space. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IiZDAWyAOdA/UWwK6sGzoMI/AAAAAAAAAj8/1yasbO_GDMc/s1600/Easter.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IiZDAWyAOdA/UWwK6sGzoMI/AAAAAAAAAj8/1yasbO_GDMc/s320/Easter.JPG" /></a><br />
Shaunna Fayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01788423885826448934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28143010.post-75091180770196482602013-02-14T11:29:00.000-08:002013-02-14T11:29:04.565-08:00How does this work?Let me break this down for you.<br />
<br />
4:30-5:00AM - Abel wakes up to eat<br />
5:30-6:00AM - Get ready while Abel watches Sesame Street<br />
6:00-6:30AM - Get Martha out of bed and ready<br />
6:30-6:45AM - Drive kids to wherever they need to go<br />
6:45-7:30AM - Drive to work<br />
7:30AM-4:00PM - Work<br />
4:00-5:00PM - Drive home<br />
5:30PM - Dinner<br />
6:00-7:00PM - Play with the kids<br />
7:00-7:30PM - Kids baths<br />
8:00PM - Put Martha to bed<br />
8:30PM - Feed Abel<br />
9:00-9:30PM - Abel goes to bed<br />
9:30-10:00PM - Pick up toys and straighten up house<br />
10:00PM-4:30AM - Sleep<br />
<br />
Look at that schedule. This is what happens Monday through Friday. Now when am I supposed to get ANYTHING ELSE DONE? <br />
This is why we have cleaners. <br />
This is why I do laundry on my "work from home" day once a week.<br />
This is why the dishes aren't always done.<br />
This is why I'm exhausted all the time. <br />
<br />
I have a new project I'm starting on. Well, that I'd LIKE to start on. Something that allows me to be a little creative. To get this effort going, I need time. But when can I do anything when I don't get into bed until at least 10:00 every night? And do you see that up there? 6.5 hours of sleep. And that doesn't always happen eighter.<br />
<br />
I need 27-30 hours in a day. <br />
<br />
I need more time to sleep, more time to do fun things, more time to spend on projects, more time for everything.<br />
<br />
(If you're wondering where Chris is in that schedule, he's the one waking up at 4:00AM, picking up the kids in the afternoon, making the dinner, helping with one kid while I'm helping the other, and trying to get in bed by 9:00 so he's not exhausted too.)<br />
<br />
How am I supposed to function like this? <br />
Shaunna Fayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01788423885826448934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28143010.post-51004512354238398132013-01-03T11:01:00.001-08:002013-01-03T11:01:05.130-08:00A New YearI don't want to jinx it, but Martha's been crazy good lately. I know, I know. "It won't last." I'm aware that a toddler's temperament changes by the second, but I can safely say that she hasn't had a major meltdown in about a week. Trust me, Chris and I were amazed when even one day went by without a colossal fit. We were talking to each other about it in hushed tones as to not spook it away.<br />
<br />
I started reading a book called The Happiest Toddler on the Block and although I haven't finished it yet (what mom of 2 with a full time job has time to read?!) it definitely has given me a few tips on calming a crazed toddler and even preventing a crisis when you see it coming. I've tried it on Martha twice and it really does help. One time she even looked at me kind of funny and almost started laughing because the way you have to talk to them when they're losing it is in "caveman" terms. Everything very simple and broken down. She already has such an extensive vocabulary that she probably thought I was crazy talking to her like that. Either way, it calmed the situation and that's all that matters.<br />
<br />
Anyway. We had a great Christmas and New Years and we're all trying to get back to our normal schedules now which means I haven't been on time to work all week. Anyone have a tip on how to get a 2 year old to move faster in the morning? It really shouldn't take 30 minutes for her to brush her teeth and put clothes on. Right now it takes about 10 minutes to get her out of the bed, 5 minutes to brush teeth, 10 minutes to put clothes on, then 5 minutes to put on her coat and get out the door. I get it... Waking up at 6:00 AM sucks, but there's just no way around it. Waking her up even earlier is a terrible idea cause then she'll just be more tired and cranky. <br />
<br />
All in all, we're all doing really well right now. I feel like everyone is adjusted to having Abel around. But if you ask Martha if she wants another little brother or sister she'll tell you "No, just me and Abel."<br />
Shaunna Fayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01788423885826448934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28143010.post-13681468421483569262012-12-18T18:40:00.002-08:002012-12-18T19:13:57.428-08:00At my wit's end.There was once a time when every single day with Martha was 100% joyful and perfect and I couldn't soak up enough of her amazing spirit. Then she turned 2. And all hell broke loose. Now there isn't a day that goes by that I don't have to stop and say a silent prayer to help me through the next five minutes without totally and completely losing my mind.<br />
<br />
I'm convinced that these aren't normal toddler fits. They can't be. If everyone's toddlers acted the way that Martha does on a daily basis, the world's population would come to a screeching halt because pro-creation of a second child would be absolutely out of the question. No one would voluntarily put themselves through this more than once.<br />
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Yeah, I got pregnant with Abel before the freak show started.<br />
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If you ask me right now if I want to have a third kid, my answer would be an astounding "HELL NO." I'm already dreading this stage of Abel's life. I look at him now and think that there is no way he could ever be as defiant as his sister, but I have a feeling I'll be looking back at this post in 2 years laughing. (Laughing because I've gone insane.)<br />
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Tonight I found myself googling the phrase "defiant toddler." While I was trying to put Martha to bed, I tried harder to keep my cool. I tried some of the tips that other parents gave on dealing with a child that does the exact opposite of what you need them to do. They didn't work, so I took my own approach. I let her win some of the battles.<br />
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It went against everything I believe in. I don't know if by doing so will make tomorrow harder because now she knows that she CAN win. But at least, for tonight, it got her in bed. It took another 20 minutes to convince her to let me lay in bed with her for a few minutes, but I knew it needed to be done. <br />
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Laying in bed with her with the lights off is the one place that I feel we can really connect and that maybe, just maybe, she will listen to me. The girl that just an hour earlier was kicking, screaming, hitting, taking off her diaper, and yelling at me to "GET OUT!" was now sharing her pillow with me, covering me up with her blanket, touching her nose to mine, and staring into my eyes not saying a single word. I grabbed that moment and told her how much I love her and how much Daddy loves her. But I also told her that it makes us very sad when she yells at us and doesn't listen to us. I said "We've had kind of a rough week so far, huh?" She said "Yeah." And that was it. <br />
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This is, by far, the most difficult time I've had being a parent. I've been told (by my parents) that it won't be the worst. If that's true, I'm going to need a lot more patience. Or knowledge. Or a miracle. <br />
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Shaunna Fayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01788423885826448934noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28143010.post-22775063613010443072012-12-14T09:54:00.002-08:002012-12-14T09:54:56.965-08:00Black FridayIt was "Black Friday." All the crazy people were out getting deals at the crack of dawn. I was at home packing our bags for me, Martha, and Abel to ride up to Nashville with my parents to go visit. I had called my mom earlier that morning to see what time they would pick us up. She called me back a little bit later and said that Noni had just called her. That Paw Paw had collapsed and was on his way to the hospital. She said she wasn't sure what was happening so she would call me back when she knew. I stopped packing. Then a few minutes later my phone rang.<br />
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Me: Hello<br />
Mom: Hey<br />
Me: Hey<br />
Mom: He died<br />
Me: ……what happened?<br />
Mom: He had a heart attack. After he collapsed at home the paramedics came and they were never able to bring him back. <br />
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After I got off the phone I went into Abel's room because no one was in there and there's a thing on the doorknob that prevents Martha from opening the door. I sat down on the foot stool and cried.<br />
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Martha had been running around the house all morning being so excited to go see Noni and Poppywaw. (The grandkids call him Paw Paw, but the great-grandkids call him Poppywaw.) She wanted to give Poppywaw a painting she made "to make him feel better" because she knew he'd been sick recently. I told her that I bet he would really like that. I still think he would have.<br />
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After I dried my eyes I went back into our bedroom where Chris was and told him what happened. Then asked him "What am I supposed to say to Martha now?" There's no easy way to say something like that. And 2 year olds don't grasp the concept of death too well. Martha knows that Harley and Grandmother are in Heaven. (Granddaddy too, but she was a baby when he passed away so she doesn't remember it.) I started telling her that we weren't going to go to Tennessee today. That we'll go in a few days instead. And "Remember when Poppywaw was sick? Well, sometimes when people are sick they don't get better and they go to heaven. Poppywaw went to heaven today."<br />
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She said "ok."<br />
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Knowing that she didn't really get it, I had to go on explaining that when people go to heaven we don't get to see them anymore. So when we go to Tennessee in a few days, we don't get to see Poppywaw. I feel like that's as well as I could have explained it. Chris had to jump in there and help me when I started crying. I didn't want to freak her out. She's only see me cry a few times in her life. Chris tried to help me talk to her, but we both just couldn't keep tears back. <br />
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When we all went up to Tennessee for the memorial service I started getting more and more information on exactly how things had been the past few months and the events that happened on the day that he died. <br />
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My cousin Nick has always been close with Paw Paw but before he died they'd become more than just Grandfather and Grandson, they'd become friends. Best friends. Nick was one of the people that stayed overnight a lot with him when he was in the hospital to make sure he was always ok. I always saw pictures Nick would post on Facebook and Instagram of them and comments about the conversations they would have sometimes. I recall leaving a comment on one of the pictures that said I'm sure that Noni is really proud of him for helping out so much and being there. Nick was at their house when Paw Paw collapsed and the paramedics came.<br />
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When Noni's house was flooded with family and friends the day that we got to Tennessee I heard her tell the same story to at least 10 people about how much of a blessing Nick is. She said that is one of the main things God had shown her when Paw Paw was sick...that Nick had a big heart and she was so proud of him for stepping up like he did. <br />
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I feel like I saw that side of Nick when we were growing up too. I remember one time when we were all kids, everyone wanted to play Twister. I said I didn't want to play because I was too embarrassed to admit that I didn't know right from left. Without hesitation, Nick picked up on my reluctance and gave me stickers that had "R" and "L" on them that I could stick to the tops of my feet so I would know and could play with them. He told me that he forgot sometimes too so the stickers helped him. How cool is it that a little boy could pick up on my hesitation and turn it around so I wouldn't have to feel embarrassed? That just shows you how genuine he is. I'm glad he didn't lose that compassion over the years growing up like so many people do.<br />
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I wish Paw Paw could have met Abel. That's who he's named after, after all. (James Abel) I couldn't have asked for a better grandfather. I'm kind of mad that he's not here anymore. I really wish I could see him again because I know he would say something that would make me laugh. But I also know that he was starting to not be himself anymore, so maybe God took him before I could see that other side and have an altered memory of him.<br />
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Before we left Tennessee to come back home, I took Paw Paw's slippers and one of his hankies. I wanted something of his to keep. Chris and I slept in his room while we were there. It made me feel a little bit connected to him. Everything was still in its place and it was eerie, but also comforting. <br />
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This has been a hard death for me to deal with, but the memories I have of Paw Paw will never go away. And I'm glad I have siblings and cousins that can help me remember how awesome of a guy he was too. We'll never forget how much he loved us.<br />
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Shaunna Fayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01788423885826448934noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28143010.post-62752096692528396962012-10-30T10:55:00.000-07:002012-10-30T10:55:41.812-07:00Abel's Birth StoryAbel is 2 weeks old today and I'm just now finding the time to sit down and write about the morning he was born.<br />
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For some reason my kids like to make their way into the world late night/early morning when Chris is already asleep.<br />
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I had my regular doctor's appointment Monday morning (the 15th). I was 38 weeks along at that point. Chris actually came with me that time because they were doing another ultrasound to check Abel's weight to see if they wanted to induce early if he was getting to be too big. I can't remember exactly but I think they said he was looking to be a little over 9 pounds. 9.3 maybe? Anyway, we saw a different doctor that day and she wasn't ok with setting an induction date until I hit the 39 week mark which was a week later. She asked if I wanted her to do the membrane sweep/strip to see if it'd help things move along. It's as painful as it sounds like it would be, but when they did that when I was pregnant with Martha, I gave birth 4 days later, so I was more than ok with doing it again this time.<br />
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She did it quickly but lord almighty it hurt even more than I remembered. Chris was in the room when she did it and he can attest...I almost came off the table. Aaaaaanyway. I left the doctor's office really bummed and feeling all crampy like you're supposed to feel after something like that. I thought I'd be setting up an induction date the next week for sure.<br />
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We went and picked Martha up from my parent's house and spent the rest of our day like it was any other day. Later that evening I was feeling some light contractions but they would go away when I stood up and walked around. I still felt like I should get prepared though...maybe I really knew deep down that something was happening. So while Martha and Chris were in bed asleep, I was getting last minute things together. <br />
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Contractions got stronger quickly and weren't going away anymore so I woke Chris up (twice because he fell back asleep after the first time - he says he doesn't remember me waking him up the first time) and called my Mom. She and my dad came over to the house. My dad stayed there while Martha slept and my Mom followed us to the hospital in my car. I swear, I couldn't get out of the house fast enough. Contractions are no joke, y'all.<br />
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We got to the hospital and into a room a lot faster than I expected, thank God. I got changed and all hooked up. They told me I was about 45 minute away from an epidural though because there were several people in line before me. Uh oh. They offered some other kind of IV pain meds to take the edge off. Praise Jesus! It held me over until the wonderful epidural man came and made all my dreams come true of not feeling a dang thing below the waist. We'd find out later that the epidural was a good one because I literally couldn't move my legs an inch on my own for much longer than normal. And forget about feeling any sort of pressure that would let me know when to push. Ha ha. The nurses had to tell me when I was having a contraction so I could push.<br />
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And here's the awesome thing...There was a clock right in front of me on the wall. I looked at it when I started pushing and it was 7:00 AM on the dot. Abel was born at 7:13 AM. 13 minutes of pushing and he was out. Hallelujah! <br />
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They put him up on my belly so I could see him and he looked just like I thought he would. They took him to do all the cleaning up and weighing and all that stuff. Chris and my mom got lots of pictures while all that gross "after having a baby" stuff was going on with me. I'll spare you.<br />
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Chris and I took our turns holding him a while, of course.<br />
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While my mom was holding him a little later on, one of the nurses noticed that Abel was breathing a little fast, so she called the baby nurse back in to check on him. He was having a little trouble, so they told me that they were sending him to the NICU to get checked out. I didn't let myself worry. They told me that some babies just have a little trouble transitioning. While he went up to the NICU I was taken into the room I'd spend the next 3 days in. Turns out it was the EXACT room I stayed in when I had Martha. <br />
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We finally got an update on Abel. He was still doing the rapid breathing thing and he also had low blood sugar, so they were going to keep him in the NICU for at least 24 hours to observe him and get his blood sugar normal. Chris went down there often to hold him and feed him. I made it there as much as I could but it seriously took FOREVER for my epidural to wear off. He got moved to the NICU Annex on Wednesday which was nice because it was right around the corner from my room instead of on a completely different floor. Much easier for me to get to. <br />
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Update after update from the NICU was frustrating because we would be told that maaaaaybe he could come out of the NICU in 24 hours, then it was maybe tomorrow morning, then it was maybe in the afternoon. It just kept getting pushed back. Finally it was time for me to be discharged on Thursday (a day later than I really should have been) and Abel was still in the NICU. Let me tell you...it's weird leaving the hospital without your baby. That night at home was strange. We kept ourselves busy with Martha and she was so excited to get to meet Abel, but we just had to keep telling her that he was still at the hospital and it might be a day or two before she could see him. (She could only see him through the window at the hospital because kids aren't allowed in the NICU and also because she did have a little bit of a cold.)<br />
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Side note - when you're told that you have to leave the hospital without your 3 day old baby, it's hard to keep it together. Neither Chris nor I cried at that moment, but I will admit to breaking down later on that night when I was at home and by myself for a few minutes. <br />
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Friday morning we took Martha to my mom's so we could go see Abel and on the way there got a call from the NICU nurse saying that he would be allowed to go home that day so we should bring all the necessary things to take him with us. Woo hoo!!!<br />
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I still get nervous when I see him breathing a little fast, but I know he's ok. He's a perfect, sweet boy and I'm so glad to be this little family of 4 now. <br />
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We're still not sure if we'll stop now or if we'll have one more. Our minds change about that on a daily basis. I guess only time will tell. If we decide that this is it for us, I'm 100% ok with that. I feel complete as a family as it stands. But, we'll see. <br />
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Things at home over the past 2 weeks have been good. He's still sleeping a ton during the day and not so much during the night, which I'm hoping will stop sooner rather than later, but other than that we've had no problems. <br />
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Martha is so sweet with him and wants to help out all the time. Sometimes too much. I had a break down moment when she was throwing a fit about something and accidentally hit him. No one was hurt. She barely touched him. But we had to get on to her for something like that happening so she'll learn to be careful around him. She was SO UPSET that she hit him that she started crying, which made me cry. She kept asking where she hit him and if he was ok. She has such a tender heart and it made my heart break that she was so broken up about it. I had to hand Abel over to Chris and cuddle her and cry with her for the next half hour to just get it all out of my system. <br />
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So, as you can see...my hormones are still leveling out. Ha ha. I'm getting the hang of having 2 kids. I really look forward to when Abel is a little older and can really recognize what's going on around him because he's going to love Martha so much. She can't wait to play with him. She reminds me of that every day. Shaunna Fayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01788423885826448934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28143010.post-64589213868928708892012-10-15T14:05:00.001-07:002012-10-15T14:05:32.961-07:0038 weeks38 weeks and 1 day. <br />
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I'm 3 cm and 80% effaced. Had the membranes stripped and it HURT LIKE HELL, as I remembered. <br />
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I have another appointment on Thursday if he hasn't come on his own by then. At that point Dr. Arona said we could schedule an induction for Monday the 22nd. <br />
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Pleeeeeease God let this be over soon. I'm really going to lose my mind with all these unknowns. I guess now I can at least know that Monday is the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm trying to hold on to my sanity until then. Shaunna Fayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01788423885826448934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28143010.post-6257284873386848082012-10-14T06:44:00.001-07:002012-10-14T06:44:45.134-07:00FrustratedI'm breaking. 38 weeks and I don't want to do this anymore. Sitting around with a moody toddler with nothing to do except stir isn't helping. I've had so many signs of labor happening soon but it's just not happening. I'm so distracted by the possibility of labor at any second that I can't think of anything else. Martha's in the kitchen pulling all the tissues out of the tissue box right now but I'm just letting her do it. I can't stand to be like this another day. I hate the waiting and not knowing when something is going to happen. <br />
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I have an ultrasound at 11:00 tomorrow morning to check his weight again then my regular appointment after that. I'm praying that they tell me something will happen within the next few days. I really just can't take it anymore. Shaunna Fayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01788423885826448934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28143010.post-63171813242963508212012-09-17T08:36:00.000-07:002012-09-17T08:37:12.761-07:0034 WeeksI've hit 34 weeks in this pregnancy and I'm still amazed and how easily I'm getting around compared to last time. Still minimal swelling, which is probably the best part if we're comparing the two pregnancies.<br />
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Abel's room is complete, minus the changing pad, which Martha is still freaking using because she's still in freaking diapers. I know she can do the whole potty thing...I just wish she would stop saying she will go potty "when she's bigger." That's what she says for everything despite the fact that we tell her alllll the time that she's a big girl. I'm trying not to push the issue. We'll just try again in a few months. Newborn + potty training a toddler = tons of fun.<br />
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I still feel Abel in all kinds of crazy positions. Stomping on my bladder, nudging himself into my hips, butt poking out right in the middle of my belly. So clearly he's not taken his head down position yet. I know he has time, but I was expecting him to get there early like Martha was. I swear she was head down and stayed that way by this point. My doctor says around 37 weeks he might get that way, but he has right up until the day of delivery to get there. Fingers crossed that no c-section is needed. That would be the worst. This dude needs to be an easy delivery like Martha was.<br />
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I'm packing my hospital bag early. I like to be prepared. And I have to pack a small bag for Martha too. I'm still not quite sure where she's going to end up when labor starts. I guess it depends on what day and what time of day it happens. My mom will need to be in the delivery room with me, so Martha may end up with my Dad if Daniel and Kimberly are at work or something. I honestly have no idea what's going to happen. I think it'll all just work out in the moment. She'll be with someone somewhere and then she can stay a night or two with my parents until we're allowed to go home.<br />
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It still doesn't feel normal that I'm going to have 2 kids in less than 6 weeks.Shaunna Fayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01788423885826448934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28143010.post-26302136673717271042012-07-24T07:23:00.000-07:002012-07-24T07:27:29.620-07:00Big Girl Bed and PottyI had to get these words out into the universe before I forgot and would kick myself for not documenting it.<br />
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Martha graduated to her "big girl bed" about 3 days ago! She was a little apprehensive the first night so Chris laid in there with her for about 20 minutes or so. I took a picture of it on the monitor cause it was so cute. After he left the room she got out of bed but when she realized she couldn't leave her room (we put one of the safety door knob things on the inside - sneaky) she got right back into bed. She read a book and played with her stuffed animals for a while then laid down and went to sleep. Since that first night she hasn't gotten out of the bed at all once we lay her down. Woo hoo!<br />
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THEN....yesterday Chris had just finished going to the bathroom and Martha said out of nowhere "I want to pee in the potty" so we took her diaper off and sat her up there and she totally peed in the potty. Just like that. No struggle. And I wasn't the one to initiate it! I guess she just decided that she was ready. We've tried a few more times since then, but she hasn't gone anymore. She's very excited about it though and will sit there and she wants to pee, but nothing happens. My mom is going to put underwear on her a little while at her house today and see how that goes. So I guess this is the beginning of potty training. And praise the lord for that because I wasn't stoked about buying diapers for two kids at once. Also, we need her changing pad for Abel's room. Ha ha. <br />
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If yesterday wasn't a good enough day with the whole potty thing....Chris got a raise! A REALLY good one! Totally out of nowhere! It brought so much relief when he told me. We are SO tired of this yo-yo credit card thing that we do. We pay down the CC to almost nothing and then a billion things come up at once and it gets almost maxed out again, then we start the process all over again. It's happened like 3 times since we've been married. So frustrating. I want it paid off and to not have to rely on it unless absolutely necessary. Aside from the hospital bills (who knows how much that'll be) we should have things paid off in about 5-6 months. Then we'll take every big of this extra money from his raise and put it into savings. We'll need a new car in the next couple of years I'm sure, so having a nice cushion and a substantial down payment will be amazing. Here's the problem with raises though...we always get super excited when one comes along and then somehow it just disappears and it's like nothing changed at all. It gets sucked up into regular daily living and whatnot. Luckily, this one is substantial enough to make a big difference, so we're determined to stick to our current budget and put this extra money where it needs to go...debt.<br />
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Anywho...That's that.Shaunna Fayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01788423885826448934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28143010.post-65069898755434840042012-06-06T07:26:00.000-07:002012-06-06T07:26:20.486-07:00PromisesI want to just go ahead and promise the world that I will never go "Gluten Free."
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Now, for a pregnancy update. Mostly for my own good because I know there aren't a ton of people out there that care that I'm huge right now.
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I know I've said it before but this pregnancy is SO DIFFERENT than my last one. At this point last time (almost 20 weeks) my hands and feet were super swollen and I was still nauseous every day. Thank goodness I'm not experiencing those things right now. I can tell that my ring is getting a little tighter, but so far the swelling is under control. And the nausea ended a while ago.
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Maybe it's the fact that I am chasing around a 2 year old every day this time around, but I feel like my body is in much better shape to handle a pregnancy. I can feel the weight of my belly but as long as I don't over-extend myself, then I still feel good at the end of the day. I've had my moments of sciatica, but I just have to be more careful with how much bending over and physical exertion I do. I know I'll have to slow down a little more in the these last 20 weeks, but right now I'm getting around ok....just no laying on the floor. I learned that the hard way.
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I'm still organizing Abel's room and trying to get all the craft supplies/sewing things/toys/tv/table/junk out of there. It's a much larger task than I expected. I figure I'll have it all done by next weekend though.
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Oh, by the way, did I mention we'd settled on the name Abel? I'm pretty sure we're going with James Abel Turner. Martha knows her baby brother's name and she'll talk to him in my belly, but really only when we prompt her to. On the regular, she doesn't think about him much. I'm trying to keep him in the forefront of her mind though so she's not blindsided when he's finally here. I'm still wondering how in the world we're going to manage a 2 and a half year old and a newborn at the same time. When it's just me with the kids, it's hard to think about how I'm going to do things. Hopefully Martha's helpfulness will kick in and she will be cool with "helping" with Abel. Which really means she'll be cool with acting like she's helping when really I just need her to be in my eyesight.Shaunna Fayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01788423885826448934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28143010.post-37618340473200539542012-05-18T09:16:00.000-07:002012-05-18T09:23:24.989-07:00A non-run-on blog.My last few posts have been giant run-on thoughts it would look like. Sorry about that. I usually blog from work, which only allows Internet Explorer, which Google hates and REALLY limits what you can do on Gmail and Blogger.
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Since I worked a half day from home today I'm able to update on Chrome. So hopefully you can see specific paragraphs this time.
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I have my doctor's appointment today at 2:30. 16 week check-up. Another ultrasound will be done to check the cyst. I've had an ultrasound at every single appointment so far and will have another one next time because I'll be 20 weeks then and that's standard.
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We go to the private ultrasound place tomorrow morning to find out if we're having a boy or a girl!!! I'm planning on trying to make it a big deal to Martha so she'll be excited about it. She rarely thinks about being a big sister. The only time she acknowledges it is when I point it out to her and then she tries to look in my belly button because she wants to see the baby.
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Being the super-duper planner that I am, I'll be starting immediately on decorating the new baby's room. I think the more prepared we start being, the more aware Martha will be that a change is coming. She'll be losing her precious play room FULL of toys and her own private TV, but she gets to graduate to a big girl bed and I'm thinking of ways I can make a sort of tent/fort thing that can stay up all the time in her room.
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Things that I want to remember:
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1 - Martha LOVES to hide right now. She'll just hide under her blanket and giggle away when you do the whole "Where's Martha?" bit. I really think she thinks we can't see her. It's not just the blanket though....she's hidden from my mom at her house and under our bed here at home. She won't answer you when you call her too, which can be scary for a second, but I have pretty much stock piled all her favorite hiding spots in my brain since this is a daily thing now.
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2 - While other 2 year olds are learning to talk in sentences, I can't get her to shut up. In the car yesterday she went on and on, paragraph after paragraph telling me stories. It's trying <strike>sometimes</strike> all the time. Ya know, sometimes you just have to continually say "uh huh, yep" and pretend that you're listening when you're really tuning her out so you can keep your sanity. Some people wouldn't believe that she talks so much because she gets shy around strangers sometimes, but Lord Almighty, we know how things really are. Oh, and I think this morning she officially started asking "Why?" to everything. I complain about the talking, but really I'd rather it be this way than her not talk at all. So I should be grateful that I don't have to figure things out with her...cause she'll straight up tell you what's up.
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So, that's it.
I'm just super pumped about finding out tomorrow morning if I have an Abel or a Fiona in my belly.Shaunna Fayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01788423885826448934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28143010.post-90241670234081069862012-05-14T06:03:00.001-07:002012-05-18T08:56:52.925-07:00Weekend StaycationI am swimming in a sea of snot. I believe it's been 3 weeks now. I'm pretty sure nothing will make it stop and Chris is getting really grossed out by all the coughing up phlegm I've been doing. God, I just want it to stop. Sleep is hard when you feel globs of mucus sliding down the back of your throat.
ANYWAY
Chris and I took our summer vacation/mothers day celebration/Chris's birthday present weekend the past few days. We left friday afternoon and SURPRISE, Chris, we're staying in Atlanta! Ha ha. I'm glad he wasn't disappointed that we didn't go somewhere else. The fact is, we both needed a relaxing weekend. If we stayed in Atlanta, we could afford to stay in a super nice hotel because we're not paying for gas to drive somewhere. There are plenty of places that we always want to go eat at but never want to make the effort to drive down there with Martha in tow (or pay for a babysitter every weekend), and this way we can take the time to hang out with some friends too if we wanted to.
We go to the hotel Friday evening, checked in, oooooed and ahhhhhed at the fancy hotel (thanks, Priceline), then went to little five points to eat dinner at The Porter Beer Bar. By the time dinner was over, we were exhausted because we'd both been up since 4:00/5:00 that morning and worked all day. So we headed back to the hotel and passed out.
Our bodies are trained to be up early, so we were awake by 7:45 AM Saturday morning. We were supposed to meet David and Tanya at West Egg for breakfast but we got trapped in our hotel by the Susan G. Komen 5K. There were literally 18,000 runners running on both sides of our hotel. We had to wait until they were done and the roads opened up to leave. There was lots of sitting in the car and calling Tanya to update her. Finally we got to West Egg and thankfully right before all the runners did. I got to play with the twins and have a delicious breakfast.
After that, we went over to Atlantic Station and saw The Avengers. Chris loved it (nerd). I thought it was just ok. I wasn't familiar with all the characters. Hawkeye? Never heard of him. Thor was sexy though.
Right after the movie let out we booked it over to Turner Field where we caught the last tour of the day. We were the only ones, so it was pretty awesome to be able to walk around without tour guide and get undivided attention. We got to see the locker room, got to walk out onto the field, sat in the press box, walk into the dugout, and all kinds of other cool places. It was really awesome and definitely worth your time if you’re at all interested in baseball.
We went and grabbed some lunch at Victory after that. Chris finally got his Jack and Coke slushie. They have delicious sandwiches. The lady took our order thought Chris was trying to pay with his ID (he was showing it to her because he ordered an alcoholic beverage) and never figured out that she was the one that was looking like a fool. Well, she was the embarrassed one in the end when I accidentally opened the stall door on her in the bathroom. Ha ha ha.
After that, I couldn't keep my eyes open so Chris dropped me off at the hotel so I could go take a nap. He went out comic book shopping and I slept for 2 hours. I met him down in the hotel bar later on and we went and had a yummy dinner at Leon's in Decatur. It was rainy and we had to wait an hour for a table, but it was worth the wait.
By the time dinner was done it was about 11:00, so we went back to the hotel and called it a night. We placed our order for room service breakfast the next morning to arrive at 9:00. It was SO good. I don't know what kind of coffee they gave us but I could have had 5 cups of it. I limited myself to 1. Room service is expensive but worth the splurge.
After we checked out on Sunday we went to go pick up Martha at my parent's house and spend some time with my mom on Mother's Day. Brent, Cyndi, Daniel, Kimberly, and Cohen were already there. Daniel and Kimberly with their new car and Brent with his new swan tattoo. Very nice.
It was a great weekend. The hotel was super nice. I've never stayed in a 4 star place before. You definitely get spoiled. And we had a fun time doing things we don't normally get the time to do in Atlanta.Shaunna Fayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01788423885826448934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28143010.post-82827963597069212882012-05-07T12:23:00.000-07:002012-05-07T12:48:49.856-07:00AntibioticsIf it wasn't for this dang upper respiratory infection, I'd be in my "comfortable" stage of pregnancy. Nausea is gone, heartburn is only every now and then, and I'm not big enough to be in pain yet. Martha had this cold first. It was impossible for me to not get it, especially since I can remember the exact moment she coughed literally an inch from my face. I knew then that I'd be getting sick. I took her to the doctor because she kept saying her back hurt (which was really the only reason I took her since the cold was just a cold) but the doctor didn't see anything wrong. Was probably just muscle aches from the cold. I was worried it might be a kidney infection. Funny thing - Brent can't take Ibuprofen because it makes his kidneys hurt. That's what we'd been giving Martha to keep her fever down for a few days. I'm wondering if she has this weird ailment that Brent has. To be safe, we switched to Tylenol. I took her to the doctor the next week for her 2 year check-up and she had an ear infection that she didn't have literally 5 days before that. So, she's finishing up her Amoxicillin soon and besides the random cough or snot running down her nose, she seems to be doing a lot better.
When my cold turned so bad that I actually had to use a sick day for being sick, I went to the doctor. I had a lovely upper respiratory infection. The safest antibiotic for a pregnant lady is Amoxicillin, but lucky me is allergic to it. So, they gave me a Z Pack. I called my OBGYN and checked with them first before I started taking it. I'm usually a stickler about taking any medication when I'm pregnant besides regular Tylenol and Zantac (and the promethazine I took during my first pregnancy so I could function without puking). I don't like taking any OTC stuff for colds or anything. My lady parts doctor said the Z Pack was fine. I've finished the pills and I'm still waiting for complete relief. I'm still using the humidifier every night and am coughing up nasty stuff, but it's slowly getting better. With taking any medication, I always worry that it's effecting the baby. I've started to feel random pokes and movement from the dude though, so I always give a small sigh of relief when I feel something...it means he's still doing ok in there. (I know I wouldn't be this paranoid if I'd never lost a baby before.)
Chris and I are taking a trip this weekend. He doesn't know where we're going. I've planned it all and he won't know until we get in the car on Friday to leave. It's to celebrate his birthday, Mother's Day, and our Anniversary. This will pretty much count as our summer vacation too. I can't handle the heat of Savannah this year (I get nauseous if I get too hot), so we won't be doing a lot of outside things. Or if we do, there will always be a place nearby for me to go and cool off if I need to. I'm pretty excited about it.
We find out the gender of the New One next Saturday. I'm ready to get started on the nursery!Shaunna Fayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01788423885826448934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28143010.post-91055414893488317442012-04-23T08:37:00.000-07:002012-04-23T08:37:49.923-07:00Second TrimesterI'm 13 weeks along now and I'm AMAZED at the lack of nausea I've been experiencing the past few days. It's almost non-existent. C-razy!
I had another ultrasound done at my visit last week and the cyst on my ovary is still there. Same size as before, 3.9 cm. They said it's not big enough to cause any problems and they wouldn't try to do anything about it unless it was 9-10 cm. They're going to do another ultrasound at the next visit at 16 weeks to check on it again. I suppose it'll either go away on it's own or stay there and hopefully not cause any problems and who knows what will happen after I have the baby. Funny how something always come up that causes me to get WAY more ultrasounds than I'm supposed to.
I saw the dude move around on the screen at this last visit. I told Chris afterward that I forgot that they move around so early. I was still expecting to see a motionless bean shaped thing. But at 12 weeks, it's beginning to look more like a baby than a bean. And he was dancing around in there. I can't wait to see that again next time. I might let Chris come with me next time so he can see it too. Usually I don't let him come cause it's boring stuff that wouldn't matter if he's there or not. He only needs to be at the important appointments.
We're going to a 3D ultrasound place to get the gender determination done right before I'm 17 weeks (May 19th). We did the same thing with Martha. My mom doesn't know why I can't just wait until my Doctor's office tells us at 20 weeks. See, I'm a MAJOR planner. I need to know as much information as early as possible so I can be overly prepared. The sooner I can start working on the nursery and buying cute baby boy clothes, the better. Plus, there are a lot of gender neutral clothes that Martha wore when she was younger, so there's about a BILLION tubs of clothes and baby things in the garage that I will need to go through. It's literally going to take me a month to that that part alone.
I think we (and by "we" I mean "Chris") are going to re-paint Martha's room whenever we paint the new baby's room in a few months. I want to do her room a really pale yellow. We're going to switch her to a big girl bed late this summer, so I figured a nice, new color scheme would be fun too.
We had Martha's 2nd birthday party yesterday. I kept it super small this year. Just family and the Gordon's. Kelli couldn't make it because her Mom is having surgery tomorrow in Macon and she's crazy busy and stressed driving back and forth and everything. Martha LOVES LOVES LOVES the microphone that Brent and Cyndi got her. She sang and danced for everyone. I NEVER would have done that for a group of people at 2 years old. Whose kid is this?! She got so many other awesome toys and clothes. She'll be playing hockey and tee-ball after we put the stuff together.
It was a great, but tiring weekend. It's nice to get back to a regular schedule this week and not worry about the house being clean or doing random projects.Shaunna Fayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01788423885826448934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28143010.post-74213329571167883922012-04-11T05:16:00.002-07:002012-04-11T05:26:08.410-07:00New newSo here's a weird little thing...<br />At about 10 weeks I started noticing my mouth was really dry. I thought it was because of the zantac I was taking every day. But then I didn't take zantac for 3-4 days straight but my mouth was still SUPER dry.<br />I did some googling and apparently it's another normal pregnancy thing that a lot of women experience.<br />What the hell?<br />This is just another thing to add on to why I think I'm having a boy this time. I never had this problem with Martha.<br /><br />Speaking of Martha...while I don't love a clingy baby, sometimes it feels nice to be wanted/needed. When I dropped her off at my parent's house this morning she wanted me to stay and watch tv with them. And when I couldn't, she followed me to the door and then cried when I tried to take her back over to my mom. She wanted me to hold her so I did for a minute then passed her off with a promise of Nana getting her a snack. So sweet that she wanted me to hold her. She's usually the complete opposite. (Wonder where she got that from. Ha.) So, I took advantage of the moment of sweetness because it won't come around again for a while.Shaunna Fayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01788423885826448934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28143010.post-59786177866479778932012-04-06T06:38:00.002-07:002012-04-06T07:00:58.288-07:00Birthday Antiquing and HiccupsChris planned a whole surprise day for us to celebrate my birthday. We both took off work yesterday (my actual birthday is Saturday) and he finally told me over the most amazing breakfast at Mimi's Cafe what we would be doing the rest of the day. Antiquing!<br /><br />We went to Athens and hit up about 4-5 places. Had lunch at Trappeze. Did so much walking, but I had lots of water and Poweraide so my hands wouldn't swell. I ended up having to take my ring off, but the swelling wasn't too bad.<br /><br />I had a budget of $200 that Chris had saved and the $120 that I had saved. I only ended up spending about $150 I think. Got some cute new things that I'll be using in the new baby's room (a hippo print to frame and hang and really old Coca Cola and 7-Up wood crates), a silver 3 tiered stand that you can put cupcakes or whatever you want on, a cabinet with tin in the doors for the kitchen or bathroom, and some vintage airplane pajamas for Martha. Pretty good stuff. Oh, and Chris found an awesome World Series Braves shirt for only $5.<br /><br />I'll start looking for an antique dresser to use as a changing table in the baby's room as soon as I have saved up about $300 for it. I want a good one, so I'll have to spend a little more on it. I'll hit up more antique malls as soon as the room is ready for it.<br /><br />I googled hiccups in pregnancy because I had this problem with Martha too. Not where the baby gets hiccups, but where I'll have a random 1 or 2 really loud and strong hiccups randomly throughout the day. Thankfully, I'm not the only one. No one ever really said what causes it but the best guess I found was that the diaphragm is being softened by the relaxin in your body causing the random hiccups. Makes sense.<br /><br />Still feeling nauseous, but mostly in the evenings now. It's the worst around 5:00 PM which is terrible timing because that's when I get home from work and have to pay attention to Martha and bath time and dinner time and bed time. At least I've been able to go to bed around 8:00-9:00 to get a lot of rest. I did have to leave work early a few days ago because I was on the verge of puking, but that was a fluke incident. I went home, ate some cereal, slept for 2 hours and I felt much better.<br /><br />I'm so excited for the Easter Egg hunt on Saturday and getting to spend some time with my family!Shaunna Fayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01788423885826448934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28143010.post-64769537338830825992012-04-03T18:51:00.002-07:002012-04-03T18:57:20.862-07:00Well crap.Did I jinx myself by saying that I was JUST nauseous? Cause now I've thrown up the past 2 days. I read that this week is the high point for the sickness. Lord Baby Jesus Almighty in Heaven I really hope this stops soon. I haven't had my emotional "I can't take this anymore" crying break down yet but I feel it coming on soon if the puking continues. <br /><br />Crackers and water before bed. <br />I'm still deciding if I should take my prenatal vitamin tonight. I had to skip it last night because I was so sick. <br />Not sure how it'll sit in my stomach tonight. <br /><br />Goodnight.Shaunna Fayehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01788423885826448934noreply@blogger.com0