...That is the Mommy question of the week.
With the little timebomb inside me now set to detonate probably within a month, I have been scrambling in my OCD and list-maniac ways to get all the things that "need" to be done before baby arrives. Some of those things have been accomplished right on schedule, for example Adaya is reasonably settled into Chloe's room and I am slowly packing our "Honey, it's time" bag, as well as accumulating the necessities for baby: baby book, name letters for the wall, hand and footprint frames, peepee teepees and a puppy dog la-la (baby blankie like A and C have).
I figure some of the rest don't have to be done at least for another two weeks, including washing and organizing baby clothes and blankets, selling off most of our outgrown PINK clothes as well as outgrown maternity items and mentally giving myself a refresher course on all things natural during labor and birth. (eek!)
However, some things on that to-do list are not going as well as planned. For instance, the time is getting close to where I would like to have Chloe in the backseat of the minivan, so the baby car seat can be installed, but the transition is not going so well. Don't get me wrong, Chloe is VERY excited about this, but in order to move into the backseat, she needs to be able to strap herself in (check) and unbuckle herself as well (not check). She cannot seem to press the Graco button down hard enough to release the lower latches of her 5 point carseat and her frustration with that has led her to question if she can even undo the top latch, which only two weeks ago, she was handling like a pro.
But the biggest issue currently on my mind is that Adaya is not yet potty-trained. In fact, unlike Chloe, who was sitting on the potty at 18 months and had lots of peepee and poopoo action there even before she was fully trained at 27 months, Adaya has yet to "make" on the potty even ONCE in her 26 months. However, she is really interested in all things potty; always asking when mommy or Chloe goes, trying to "help" us with toilet paper and even asking to sit on the potty several times a day herself. Just for fun (and also in my true OCD fashion) I decided to run the numbers to see where Chloe was, relative to Adaya at this time and found out that if I was to follow the same potty timeline as Chloe (including Adaya's 5 day advance birthday), Adaya should be fully trained (daytime) by (gasp!) February 18th! That's only two weeks away!!!
Other than their completely different personalities, though, Adaya arrived 5 days before Chloe turned 2 so I knew I would never potty train Chloe before she became a big sister. However, Guppie is due when Adaya will be almost 28 months, so I've always wondered if I could potty train her before the baby comes and eliminate the need to wash DOUBLE the amount of cloth diapers for many more months. Of course, even if I could potty train her in the next month, won't she just regress after baby brother is here, anyway?
So, herein lies the dilemma: should I try to push her to be like her amazingly easy big sister and potty train her now, knowing that regression in a month is likely? Or should I wait for the dust to settle after her baby world is rocked with a litte brother and possibly miss the window of opportunity since she is so entralled with the potty right now?
Gah!
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
The Secret Inside Me
It's been a long (11 years to be exact) journey, but I have finally finished my memoir, The Secret Inside Me. And while I have decided NOT to publish it at this time, I have submitted it to a printer for small-scale distribution. Interested? You can find it here.
I wrote it first and foremost to deal with the shame, hurt and anger of my past, accept Christ's forgiveness and healing as well as to share it with others so I no longer have to hold on to this "secret." Over the course of writing it, though, it also became a tribute to my family and friends who have loved and supported me at that time and all these years since. Finally, as I wrapped it up with a preface and an afterword, I hoped that it could be used to encourage others who may have themselves or possibly know someone who has experienced similar circumstances.
It is the story of myself as a young college coed, who, after making several stupid mistakes after high school, ends up suspended from college at home, trying to regain my parents shattered trust so that I can return to school. But instead, I continued to struggle between my desire to live like the world and the calling in my heart to live a life for Christ. When I end up pregnant, I tell no one but my best friend and cousin, return to school and selfishly do everything I can to make the tiny secret inside me go away. Eventually, I succomb to the hound of heaven and begin to take care of myself and the tiny babe, who ends up safely delivered in my college town hospital and adopted to a wonderful, Christian family out of state.
It is the story of Christ in my life and deals with themes of forgiveness, love and family. Now, eleven years later, I let go of a secret I have held onto for so long, telling only few family and friends and surrendur it to the Lord for His use.
I wrote it first and foremost to deal with the shame, hurt and anger of my past, accept Christ's forgiveness and healing as well as to share it with others so I no longer have to hold on to this "secret." Over the course of writing it, though, it also became a tribute to my family and friends who have loved and supported me at that time and all these years since. Finally, as I wrapped it up with a preface and an afterword, I hoped that it could be used to encourage others who may have themselves or possibly know someone who has experienced similar circumstances.
It is the story of myself as a young college coed, who, after making several stupid mistakes after high school, ends up suspended from college at home, trying to regain my parents shattered trust so that I can return to school. But instead, I continued to struggle between my desire to live like the world and the calling in my heart to live a life for Christ. When I end up pregnant, I tell no one but my best friend and cousin, return to school and selfishly do everything I can to make the tiny secret inside me go away. Eventually, I succomb to the hound of heaven and begin to take care of myself and the tiny babe, who ends up safely delivered in my college town hospital and adopted to a wonderful, Christian family out of state.
It is the story of Christ in my life and deals with themes of forgiveness, love and family. Now, eleven years later, I let go of a secret I have held onto for so long, telling only few family and friends and surrendur it to the Lord for His use.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Happy 2012!!!
This has got to be the first year that I was happy when the holidays were over! Seriously! Normally, I take after my dad in stretching Christmas out for as long as possible and I did that to some extent by listening to Christmas music since the beginning of November! But usually, I also like to keep all our decorations up until after the New Year. Well, not this year! The tree, decorations and everything were down and packed away the day after Christmas in the Kaiser home! Call it nesting, call it worry that the dried up tree was going to catch fire, whatever, I was ready to be done and have our living space back. I've also been itching to re-arrange our living room from what it has been for the last 4 years, or so it seems. So much so, in fact, I finally succommed to the idea of purchasing a new TV. Merry Christmas to us, we are now up with the times with a wall-mounted 47" flat screen television! I cannot believe it, but I absolutely love our new living room and the space we now have in the armoir after getting the old tv and stereo equipment out of it. And in true manly form, Jonathan LOVES the HD quality of our big screen and (gulp) new Blu-Ray player!
Next on the list is re-arranging our master bedroom, moving Chloe into the way back seat of the minivan and getting the baby room all set up. I've been slowly trying to make all of these transitions. Chloe was so excited about moving to the top bunk that about a month ago, I changed it from being our extra toy storage area to a more useable space. I put sheets on it and let Chloe practice climbing up and down the ladder and playing up there, but she still slept on the bottom at night. I turned their hope chest into a toy chest to get much of the toys off the floor and the dress-up dresses out of the closet and finally moved the matching dresser out of our room and into Chloe's to join its pair. After that, I slowly began moving Adaya's clothes out of the baby room and into the new dresser. Finally, last night, the move was complete with all her closet clothes in with Chloe's and her toys in the room as well. She spent her first night on the bottom bunk and Chloe slept on her top bunk. I think overall it went pretty well. I put them down at 7:45 and they stayed up talking and laughing with several parental interventions until just after 10pm, when Chloe had enough and wanted to go to sleep. I worried that I would have to put Adaya back in the crib, but even she settled down and fell asleep after a few more minutes. They both slept soundly through the rest of he night until about 7 when Adaya woke up, calling for Mama. I hoped she would go back to sleep, but by 7:30 she had woken up Chloe, who is usually terriffic about sleeping in until her Tot Clock turns yellow at 8. I then had to go in and put Adaya in the crib, at which both girls started crying, but eventually settled back down and fell back asleep until after 8...Phew! Here's hoping that each night (and morning) only continue to get smoother. If not, I am prepared to put Adaya down a little earlier each night. Thankfully, she stays in her bed just like Chloe did at this age and I hope that continues!
Chloe is also really excited about moving into the backseat of the car, but I don't want to make that transition quite until she can unbuckle herself out of her carseat. That way, I don't have to try and reach back to unbuckle her every day with my HUGE 7 month preggo belly! We have a booster for her, which she uses in the truck, but in the minivan she is still in a full point (I always forget if it's 3 or 5) car seat for safety. She is great about getting the top buckle undone, but hasnt quite mastered the strength to get the lower part undone. Hopefully she will have that done in the next month or so, so I can install the baby car seat where she is right now.
In baby news, we are now 31 weeks, yay! It has been an interesting couple of months, though. At 24 weeks, I was measuring 32 and by 28 I was at 38! This cause some concern even after my gestational diabetes tests came back far from risky. My midwife was pretty sure it was just excess fluid levels and not the baby, but just in case, she referred me to a perinatologist in Salem, the one whom they refer all their high risks cases to. After another ultrasound to measure the baby and fluid, it was determined the baby is right on track and looking very healthy, but my fluid levels were at 24...normal for 28 weeks in 8. (gasp!) I wasnt exactly surprised as I've been feeling very large and the baby moves ALL THE TIME (well, and why wouldnt it, it has a big ole swimming pool in there!) Aaanyway, to my constirnation, the doctor reccommeded that I come back in two weeks for a follow-up ultrasound to measure the fluid again and if things are not getting any bigger than perhaps we wont have to come back. I also learned that not only is having a large amount of fluid risky for preterm labor, but can also cause the cord to become knotted or wrapped around the baby's neck, which can be dangerous. Since he put it that way, I agreed to come back in 3 weeks on the same day I had my next Bella Vie appointment so I wouldnt have to make two trips to Salem in two weeks. Over that time, even with crazy holiday binging, I managed to lose 3 pounds and felt a lot smaller. The baby continued to move constantly, which was also a good sign and my feelings were confirmed when I went back in this week and my fluid levels were at 22 AND at Bella Vie they measured me smaller as well! I'm hoping this means that I wont have to go back in for an ultrasound again for another 4 weeks, but Im still waiting to hear back from my midwife about that. I do have to go back to Bella Vie in two weeks, though, but that's normal for the last two months.
My other big news of the new year is that I have finally finished my book! Actually I finished it back in November, but had one more person I wanted to send the manuscript to before submitting it to publishers. They emailed me this week saying that they do not wish it to be published. I was extremely surprised and dissappointed to hear this, because I only speak very highly of them in it and I hoped that they would see my true intentions of it being a tribute and a compliment to them and even a legacy, but I guess I was wrong. As far as I know, they didnt know that I was writing this book and I think that if I was really honest with myself I would have guessed that they probably wouldnt want me to publish it, but I felt strongly led by God that I needed to at least let them read it. It is what it is and despite my sadness over how they took it, I plan to honor my word and not publish it without their consent. In a way, it's also a relief, though, because now, the project is truly finished. I dont have to wait another several months in anticpation of hearing back from a publisher or even deal with the dissappointment of rejection, which for all I know, could be inevitable. I have said from the beginning of this project that it was God-led and I do not think that has changed at all. He knew they would say no, but He still led me on this journey for many other notable purposes. Through writing it, I have been able to own my past, let go of shame and fear of exposing it and ultimately experience healing and feel true forgiveness for past sins. I've also made the decision to print several copies without publishing it, so that I can still share it with others (albeit on a smallers scale than publication) as well as have a daily reminder on my bookshelf of God's amazing grace and small miracles in my life.
I was able to share my story this week at mom's group and open up to some of my closest girlfriends about it and the relief I feel over sharing that 12 year old secret has been amazing! Perhaps someday I can even share it on here....
Until then, here's to an amazing new year filled with new life, happy memories and free of shame and fear!
Next on the list is re-arranging our master bedroom, moving Chloe into the way back seat of the minivan and getting the baby room all set up. I've been slowly trying to make all of these transitions. Chloe was so excited about moving to the top bunk that about a month ago, I changed it from being our extra toy storage area to a more useable space. I put sheets on it and let Chloe practice climbing up and down the ladder and playing up there, but she still slept on the bottom at night. I turned their hope chest into a toy chest to get much of the toys off the floor and the dress-up dresses out of the closet and finally moved the matching dresser out of our room and into Chloe's to join its pair. After that, I slowly began moving Adaya's clothes out of the baby room and into the new dresser. Finally, last night, the move was complete with all her closet clothes in with Chloe's and her toys in the room as well. She spent her first night on the bottom bunk and Chloe slept on her top bunk. I think overall it went pretty well. I put them down at 7:45 and they stayed up talking and laughing with several parental interventions until just after 10pm, when Chloe had enough and wanted to go to sleep. I worried that I would have to put Adaya back in the crib, but even she settled down and fell asleep after a few more minutes. They both slept soundly through the rest of he night until about 7 when Adaya woke up, calling for Mama. I hoped she would go back to sleep, but by 7:30 she had woken up Chloe, who is usually terriffic about sleeping in until her Tot Clock turns yellow at 8. I then had to go in and put Adaya in the crib, at which both girls started crying, but eventually settled back down and fell back asleep until after 8...Phew! Here's hoping that each night (and morning) only continue to get smoother. If not, I am prepared to put Adaya down a little earlier each night. Thankfully, she stays in her bed just like Chloe did at this age and I hope that continues!
Chloe is also really excited about moving into the backseat of the car, but I don't want to make that transition quite until she can unbuckle herself out of her carseat. That way, I don't have to try and reach back to unbuckle her every day with my HUGE 7 month preggo belly! We have a booster for her, which she uses in the truck, but in the minivan she is still in a full point (I always forget if it's 3 or 5) car seat for safety. She is great about getting the top buckle undone, but hasnt quite mastered the strength to get the lower part undone. Hopefully she will have that done in the next month or so, so I can install the baby car seat where she is right now.
In baby news, we are now 31 weeks, yay! It has been an interesting couple of months, though. At 24 weeks, I was measuring 32 and by 28 I was at 38! This cause some concern even after my gestational diabetes tests came back far from risky. My midwife was pretty sure it was just excess fluid levels and not the baby, but just in case, she referred me to a perinatologist in Salem, the one whom they refer all their high risks cases to. After another ultrasound to measure the baby and fluid, it was determined the baby is right on track and looking very healthy, but my fluid levels were at 24...normal for 28 weeks in 8. (gasp!) I wasnt exactly surprised as I've been feeling very large and the baby moves ALL THE TIME (well, and why wouldnt it, it has a big ole swimming pool in there!) Aaanyway, to my constirnation, the doctor reccommeded that I come back in two weeks for a follow-up ultrasound to measure the fluid again and if things are not getting any bigger than perhaps we wont have to come back. I also learned that not only is having a large amount of fluid risky for preterm labor, but can also cause the cord to become knotted or wrapped around the baby's neck, which can be dangerous. Since he put it that way, I agreed to come back in 3 weeks on the same day I had my next Bella Vie appointment so I wouldnt have to make two trips to Salem in two weeks. Over that time, even with crazy holiday binging, I managed to lose 3 pounds and felt a lot smaller. The baby continued to move constantly, which was also a good sign and my feelings were confirmed when I went back in this week and my fluid levels were at 22 AND at Bella Vie they measured me smaller as well! I'm hoping this means that I wont have to go back in for an ultrasound again for another 4 weeks, but Im still waiting to hear back from my midwife about that. I do have to go back to Bella Vie in two weeks, though, but that's normal for the last two months.
My other big news of the new year is that I have finally finished my book! Actually I finished it back in November, but had one more person I wanted to send the manuscript to before submitting it to publishers. They emailed me this week saying that they do not wish it to be published. I was extremely surprised and dissappointed to hear this, because I only speak very highly of them in it and I hoped that they would see my true intentions of it being a tribute and a compliment to them and even a legacy, but I guess I was wrong. As far as I know, they didnt know that I was writing this book and I think that if I was really honest with myself I would have guessed that they probably wouldnt want me to publish it, but I felt strongly led by God that I needed to at least let them read it. It is what it is and despite my sadness over how they took it, I plan to honor my word and not publish it without their consent. In a way, it's also a relief, though, because now, the project is truly finished. I dont have to wait another several months in anticpation of hearing back from a publisher or even deal with the dissappointment of rejection, which for all I know, could be inevitable. I have said from the beginning of this project that it was God-led and I do not think that has changed at all. He knew they would say no, but He still led me on this journey for many other notable purposes. Through writing it, I have been able to own my past, let go of shame and fear of exposing it and ultimately experience healing and feel true forgiveness for past sins. I've also made the decision to print several copies without publishing it, so that I can still share it with others (albeit on a smallers scale than publication) as well as have a daily reminder on my bookshelf of God's amazing grace and small miracles in my life.
I was able to share my story this week at mom's group and open up to some of my closest girlfriends about it and the relief I feel over sharing that 12 year old secret has been amazing! Perhaps someday I can even share it on here....
Until then, here's to an amazing new year filled with new life, happy memories and free of shame and fear!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
It's a....
Sorry, can't tell.
Jonathan and I made a pact over two years ago when we were pregnant with Adaya. I really wanted to find out the sex. He did not. I mean REALLY did not. So, we compromised by me finding out and then keeping it a secret from everyone. Yup, everyone.
Well, I was able to do it then and I can do it now! So, you will find out if we're having our third girl or first boy next March.
The important thing is that he/she is very healthy, growing well and squirming all over the place ALL THE TIME! Actually, I found out that with this baby the placenta is toward my back so I feel every kick, every flip and every tremble magnified! Both Chloe and Adaya's placenta were toward my front so it acted like a buffer, but not now!
In other news, fall has been absolutely beautiful this year. An abundance from our garden, now either canned in our pantry or frozen in our freezers, peaceful frosty mornings and 82 pounds of deer meat from Jonathan's successful hunt! Finally, after three years of no luck, Jonathan shot a 3x4 point buck on the last day of the season last Friday! He was so happy! What a lucky man he is...brand new Ford Truck and another trophy pair of antlers!
Artisans in the Grove wrapped up our summer market season in October with a ton of rain...kind of like how we started in June and we just had our first Holiday Market of the season last week...24 vendors and a great turnout for a cold and wet Wednesday night! We are already sold out for our December market with 25 vendors and a waitlist of another 6! And there are still 3 more weeks left!
It was a lot of work, but well worth it and I feel blessed to be a part of this new endeavor. Unfortunately it doesn't leave me with a lot of free time like I used to have. Between teaching Chloe and Emma DuPont homeschool preschool twice a week, Chloe's Art Smart on Tuesdays and Mom's Group on Thursdays, I hardly feel like I am home anymore. So starts having school-age children, I guess!
Homeschooling has gone terrifically! Ive been using a combination of a couple different curriculum and adding in a bit of my own creativity as well. And I have to say I am really enjoying it as well! Who knew?! But don't think that means I want to do this for the rest of their educations. I feel pretty confident in preschool and perhaps kindergarten, but after that, I think I will leave it to the professionals!
Art Smart has been great for all of us, too. Chloe gets good experience of learning from another teacher, meeting new kids and she looks like such a cute little artist when I pick her up and she's covered in paint! Those three hours a week have been great for me and Adaya as well and I'm enjoying having one-on-one time with my "middle child." Since it's all the way in Beaverton we usually run errands, grab lunch and just spend quality time together. It reminds me how much I cherished this age with Chloe before the horrific terrible two-and-a-halfs and threes came! I am thankful I get a couple more months with her at this fun age before her little sibling arrives.
Writing-wise, I finished my third draft of the book at a whopping 101 pages, added a dedication, preface and afterword before sending it out to my third wave of readers: Kaylin, Ken and Heather and Eric. I decided to one more read-through while awaiting their opinions and boy am I glad I did! I've caught a ton of typos! I've also been working on a cover, adding a little scrapbook of pictures in the back and doing a little research on publishers. If all goes well, my deadline goal is the first of the year to begin seriously submitting it as a manuscript. If I cannot get a publisher, I will look more into self-publishing. Either way, I hope to have it published and marketed by March, so I can concentrate on my newest job: mom of three! But, all in God's hands and I trust His infinite wisdom and timing.
Jonathan and I made a pact over two years ago when we were pregnant with Adaya. I really wanted to find out the sex. He did not. I mean REALLY did not. So, we compromised by me finding out and then keeping it a secret from everyone. Yup, everyone.
Well, I was able to do it then and I can do it now! So, you will find out if we're having our third girl or first boy next March.
The important thing is that he/she is very healthy, growing well and squirming all over the place ALL THE TIME! Actually, I found out that with this baby the placenta is toward my back so I feel every kick, every flip and every tremble magnified! Both Chloe and Adaya's placenta were toward my front so it acted like a buffer, but not now!
In other news, fall has been absolutely beautiful this year. An abundance from our garden, now either canned in our pantry or frozen in our freezers, peaceful frosty mornings and 82 pounds of deer meat from Jonathan's successful hunt! Finally, after three years of no luck, Jonathan shot a 3x4 point buck on the last day of the season last Friday! He was so happy! What a lucky man he is...brand new Ford Truck and another trophy pair of antlers!
Artisans in the Grove wrapped up our summer market season in October with a ton of rain...kind of like how we started in June and we just had our first Holiday Market of the season last week...24 vendors and a great turnout for a cold and wet Wednesday night! We are already sold out for our December market with 25 vendors and a waitlist of another 6! And there are still 3 more weeks left!
It was a lot of work, but well worth it and I feel blessed to be a part of this new endeavor. Unfortunately it doesn't leave me with a lot of free time like I used to have. Between teaching Chloe and Emma DuPont homeschool preschool twice a week, Chloe's Art Smart on Tuesdays and Mom's Group on Thursdays, I hardly feel like I am home anymore. So starts having school-age children, I guess!
Homeschooling has gone terrifically! Ive been using a combination of a couple different curriculum and adding in a bit of my own creativity as well. And I have to say I am really enjoying it as well! Who knew?! But don't think that means I want to do this for the rest of their educations. I feel pretty confident in preschool and perhaps kindergarten, but after that, I think I will leave it to the professionals!
Art Smart has been great for all of us, too. Chloe gets good experience of learning from another teacher, meeting new kids and she looks like such a cute little artist when I pick her up and she's covered in paint! Those three hours a week have been great for me and Adaya as well and I'm enjoying having one-on-one time with my "middle child." Since it's all the way in Beaverton we usually run errands, grab lunch and just spend quality time together. It reminds me how much I cherished this age with Chloe before the horrific terrible two-and-a-halfs and threes came! I am thankful I get a couple more months with her at this fun age before her little sibling arrives.
Writing-wise, I finished my third draft of the book at a whopping 101 pages, added a dedication, preface and afterword before sending it out to my third wave of readers: Kaylin, Ken and Heather and Eric. I decided to one more read-through while awaiting their opinions and boy am I glad I did! I've caught a ton of typos! I've also been working on a cover, adding a little scrapbook of pictures in the back and doing a little research on publishers. If all goes well, my deadline goal is the first of the year to begin seriously submitting it as a manuscript. If I cannot get a publisher, I will look more into self-publishing. Either way, I hope to have it published and marketed by March, so I can concentrate on my newest job: mom of three! But, all in God's hands and I trust His infinite wisdom and timing.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Our Little Family of Four...NOW FIVE!
After three months of trying and subsequent disappointment, I can now say, "We're Pregnant!" We found out this weekend while away at the beach. Its been on my mind, counting the days until we could take the test and since I think I'm on a 31 day cycle, that meant not until Monday, July 4th. However, while touring Newport on Sunday, we found a Dollar Tree and stopped in to by a test and some baby wipes. Trying to be funny, the clerk said, "you know, sometimes the results of this (the test) can keep you from needing these (wipes)." I guess the huge grin on my face wasn't big enough for him to see that it was a very much PLANNED and even more WANTED pregnancy!
Anyway, we were going to wait until the morning to take the test, but in true Kaiser tradition, we couldn't wait and took it the evening before, after we put the girls down. We waited the 3 agonizing minutes with the test high on a shelf so we couldn't peak and after the time was up, I let Jonathan do the favor, begging him not to joke with me. When we saw the two pink lines, we hugged and cried together, woke up the girls and told Adaya she was going to be a big sister and Chloe would have another little sibling. Then we called our family. Tracy, first, who was in Canada so had to find out from Facebook, even though I promised her she wouldn't. What could I do? Internationally charges! Then Jim, then Papa, Grandma Cheryl, Grandma and Grandpa Kaiser and finally Grandma Beka. Chloe got to tell all the grandparents, saying "Mamma's gonna have another baby!" It was so exciting for everyone.
After that, we posted it on Facebook and have been receiving so much love and congratulations. Most of our friends are done having kids now, so this might be my first pregnancy where no one else close to us is pregnant too. Hmmm, maybe we can start a trend for all our friends with only two???
Anyway, we were going to wait until the morning to take the test, but in true Kaiser tradition, we couldn't wait and took it the evening before, after we put the girls down. We waited the 3 agonizing minutes with the test high on a shelf so we couldn't peak and after the time was up, I let Jonathan do the favor, begging him not to joke with me. When we saw the two pink lines, we hugged and cried together, woke up the girls and told Adaya she was going to be a big sister and Chloe would have another little sibling. Then we called our family. Tracy, first, who was in Canada so had to find out from Facebook, even though I promised her she wouldn't. What could I do? Internationally charges! Then Jim, then Papa, Grandma Cheryl, Grandma and Grandpa Kaiser and finally Grandma Beka. Chloe got to tell all the grandparents, saying "Mamma's gonna have another baby!" It was so exciting for everyone.
After that, we posted it on Facebook and have been receiving so much love and congratulations. Most of our friends are done having kids now, so this might be my first pregnancy where no one else close to us is pregnant too. Hmmm, maybe we can start a trend for all our friends with only two???
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
April Showers Brings May Motivation?
The last couple days have been hard for me to keep motivated. I seemed to come to a huge, stumbling road block in my driven weeks of the past. I keep telling myself that I shouldn't be too harsh, as I've already gotten my garden in the ground, much of the home re-organized and I'm on my third draft of my book...yes, book. I am writing a book! Wow, it still is so freeing to utter those words into the web oblivion for all to read!
For nearly seven years now I have been writing a memoir about a huge event that happened in my life ten years ago. God has called me to bring this "Secret" out into the open and I have been amazed at the lessons He has taught me through it. The first and hardest of which was making the decision to call it a memoir and not a novel and to come to trust Him with what it might mean to no longer carry this secret from most of my family and dearest friends. It has been such a liberating journey, leaving my worries of what people will think of this story, and as such, me. God has taught me that this is not my story, but His and to Him be all the glory and praise for it. The future of this work is still a mystery to me. Will it be published? Widely distributed? Will He use this in other's lives to help girls in the same situation as I was ten years ago? I am not sure. He has not revealed that to me yet. Right now, I'm just writing and leaving the rest to God. Perhaps it will go no where, just privately published and distributed around to family and friends. If so, I will be okay with that. It is God's story and I leave it in His capable hands.
I write when I can, usually during the girls' tv time or naps or after they're in bed for the night. Pretty much when I can squeeze it in around my other mom and wife duties or when I'm not completely exhausted. It certainly makes the days fly by. I cannot believe how quickly this spring seems to be passing. Before we know it, summer will be here! Im so thankful that despite crazy business, the garden is mostly done. All seeds are either in the ground or germinating in th greenhouse. Most of the beds are prepped or planted and I have high hopes for produce this year after taking much advise from Garden Wisdom and Know-How and Backyard Farming.
Easter was fun for our family. The girls got dressed up and took pretty pictures together on Saturday and then opened bunny baskets and found hidden Easter eggs on Sunday. Then, we spent the afternoon with family on the east side for a large dinner.
The previous week the girls and I spent a few days in Bend with my dear friend and cousin Tracy and her family. We got snow while there, which was cool, and spent much of the days playing, talking and wiping noses, like we often do when we get together.
Our being gone allowed Jonathan to catch up on much work without distraction at home. We had planned on taking that trip a couple weeks ago, but had to cancel because of colds. Jonathan still needed time to work at home, so we spent that week at my parent's instead. It turned out to be a good thing as my mother had fractured a rib and was given strict doctor's orders to lay low and rest until she healed.
Jonathan has been so busy at work lately because in a recent re-org he was given many many more employees to manage. Hopefully, they will eventually make things easier on him in the future, but until then, he continues to put in many hours in Salem as well as at home. The weather has been nicer lately, though, allowing him to ride his motorcycle more often to work, which has been nice on our gas budget! I've also been able to ride a couple times with him since we got me a helmet and jacket and we even had ourselves a little "Motorcycle date night" where we hired a sitter and everything!
Despite his business with work, Jonathan continues to improve his talent in beer and wine making, most recently, he has been working on my Eagle Creek Blackberry Wine, which probably still wont be ready for another six months. Other works he has in mind include an Earl Grey summer beer and perhaps even a batch of Mead!
In March we took a trip to Seattle, just the two of us, while my parent's watched the kids. A friend of mine was getting married and it was nice to attend the wedding sans kids! When we got home, though, we had to put our Big Kitty, Sylvester down. He had lost ten pounds in less than a year and had a mass in his abdomen. It was very sad.
Adaya continues to blossom into a little girl, standing up and cruising all over the place. We are certain it wont be long before she is walking unassisted. In Bend, she learned to crawl backwards down the stairs and since we have been home has been perfecting her new skill almost constantly! She continues to say more and more new words each day. Last week, we packed up her high chair and she is now sitting in a booster at the table with the rest of the family! It's hard not to think of her as baby Adaya anymore, but she really seems to be adjusting well into her little girl role.
Big sister Chloe is such a help and joy around the house. She picks up after herself so well, is getting better at listening and obeying and loves to play and pretend. For Easter she got a Tangled doll and takes her wherever she goes. I find it harder and harder to keep up with all her questions and endless energy. She is definitely ready for some summer parks and rec activities as well as preschool next fall!
With both our girls growing up so fast, a part of us is excited about bringing another baby home and we think May might just be the right month to start trying! It would be so easy to stop at two and while some days I cannot imagine bringing another baby into our crazy lives, but at the end of it all, both Jonathan and I know we want more that two kids.
So, here it is, almost May...the days are getting longer, the garden is sprouting and it, spring cleaning, my book and babies are constantly on my mind. And yet, I have no motivation. Instead, it is 11 am and I am still in my pjs, drinking coffee and blogging, when I have a thousand things on my mind I should be doing. Reading my Bible, cleaning, cooking, packing away winter stuff and bringing out summer stuff, doing laundry or writing. Oh spring motivation when will you hit me again?
For nearly seven years now I have been writing a memoir about a huge event that happened in my life ten years ago. God has called me to bring this "Secret" out into the open and I have been amazed at the lessons He has taught me through it. The first and hardest of which was making the decision to call it a memoir and not a novel and to come to trust Him with what it might mean to no longer carry this secret from most of my family and dearest friends. It has been such a liberating journey, leaving my worries of what people will think of this story, and as such, me. God has taught me that this is not my story, but His and to Him be all the glory and praise for it. The future of this work is still a mystery to me. Will it be published? Widely distributed? Will He use this in other's lives to help girls in the same situation as I was ten years ago? I am not sure. He has not revealed that to me yet. Right now, I'm just writing and leaving the rest to God. Perhaps it will go no where, just privately published and distributed around to family and friends. If so, I will be okay with that. It is God's story and I leave it in His capable hands.
I write when I can, usually during the girls' tv time or naps or after they're in bed for the night. Pretty much when I can squeeze it in around my other mom and wife duties or when I'm not completely exhausted. It certainly makes the days fly by. I cannot believe how quickly this spring seems to be passing. Before we know it, summer will be here! Im so thankful that despite crazy business, the garden is mostly done. All seeds are either in the ground or germinating in th greenhouse. Most of the beds are prepped or planted and I have high hopes for produce this year after taking much advise from Garden Wisdom and Know-How and Backyard Farming.
Easter was fun for our family. The girls got dressed up and took pretty pictures together on Saturday and then opened bunny baskets and found hidden Easter eggs on Sunday. Then, we spent the afternoon with family on the east side for a large dinner.
The previous week the girls and I spent a few days in Bend with my dear friend and cousin Tracy and her family. We got snow while there, which was cool, and spent much of the days playing, talking and wiping noses, like we often do when we get together.
Our being gone allowed Jonathan to catch up on much work without distraction at home. We had planned on taking that trip a couple weeks ago, but had to cancel because of colds. Jonathan still needed time to work at home, so we spent that week at my parent's instead. It turned out to be a good thing as my mother had fractured a rib and was given strict doctor's orders to lay low and rest until she healed.
Jonathan has been so busy at work lately because in a recent re-org he was given many many more employees to manage. Hopefully, they will eventually make things easier on him in the future, but until then, he continues to put in many hours in Salem as well as at home. The weather has been nicer lately, though, allowing him to ride his motorcycle more often to work, which has been nice on our gas budget! I've also been able to ride a couple times with him since we got me a helmet and jacket and we even had ourselves a little "Motorcycle date night" where we hired a sitter and everything!
Despite his business with work, Jonathan continues to improve his talent in beer and wine making, most recently, he has been working on my Eagle Creek Blackberry Wine, which probably still wont be ready for another six months. Other works he has in mind include an Earl Grey summer beer and perhaps even a batch of Mead!
In March we took a trip to Seattle, just the two of us, while my parent's watched the kids. A friend of mine was getting married and it was nice to attend the wedding sans kids! When we got home, though, we had to put our Big Kitty, Sylvester down. He had lost ten pounds in less than a year and had a mass in his abdomen. It was very sad.
Adaya continues to blossom into a little girl, standing up and cruising all over the place. We are certain it wont be long before she is walking unassisted. In Bend, she learned to crawl backwards down the stairs and since we have been home has been perfecting her new skill almost constantly! She continues to say more and more new words each day. Last week, we packed up her high chair and she is now sitting in a booster at the table with the rest of the family! It's hard not to think of her as baby Adaya anymore, but she really seems to be adjusting well into her little girl role.
Big sister Chloe is such a help and joy around the house. She picks up after herself so well, is getting better at listening and obeying and loves to play and pretend. For Easter she got a Tangled doll and takes her wherever she goes. I find it harder and harder to keep up with all her questions and endless energy. She is definitely ready for some summer parks and rec activities as well as preschool next fall!
With both our girls growing up so fast, a part of us is excited about bringing another baby home and we think May might just be the right month to start trying! It would be so easy to stop at two and while some days I cannot imagine bringing another baby into our crazy lives, but at the end of it all, both Jonathan and I know we want more that two kids.
So, here it is, almost May...the days are getting longer, the garden is sprouting and it, spring cleaning, my book and babies are constantly on my mind. And yet, I have no motivation. Instead, it is 11 am and I am still in my pjs, drinking coffee and blogging, when I have a thousand things on my mind I should be doing. Reading my Bible, cleaning, cooking, packing away winter stuff and bringing out summer stuff, doing laundry or writing. Oh spring motivation when will you hit me again?
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Christmas turns to New Year and soon it's...March?!
Yikes, I am embarrassed how much time I have allowed to pass without a post. Prepare yourselves, this is gonna be a long one!
We had a fantastic time with family in California over the holidays. Our drive there and back went well, again through the night so the kids could sleep. This time we left a bit earlier so we could arrive earlier and get more sleep, but the kids did not do well being put back down...even at 4 in the morning. As you can guess, we were not very happy. Lots of fun times with family and a car full of presents later, we found ourselves heading back home.
A couple weeks later, we celebrated my 31st birthday at my parents with Tracy and her kids, then Jonathan took me to get Adaya's footprint tattoo and then on a surprise overnight trip to Bridal Veil Falls B and B while mom and dad watched the girls. When we came back, we all went out to lunch and even Eric joined us!
In February, Adaya taught herself to climb up stairs and to finally pull herself to a standing position! And while, she absolutely refuses to walk or sign, her vocabulary is much more advanced than Chloe was at this age. Among others, she says "Mamma," "Dadda," "uh-oh," "night-night," "thank you," "doggie," "bye-bye," "cracker," "papa," "belly," "shoe" and just yesterday "ball."
We switched Pediatricians (again) and have decided to catch Adaya up on all her immunizations, except for Hep B and the flu, just like we did with Chloe. In her 15 month appointment she was 18 pounds, still 1 percentile, but growing fast and I am certain she will catch up in size to her peers very soon.
We got three different snow falls just in February, the most we had all winter and Chloe got to enjoy playing out there for several days. Adaya not so much.
Chloe continues to grow into a very smart and sometimes frustrating preschooler. She is enjoying learning more about letters and their sounds in our pre-preschool coop with three other families and I think we will be ready for a more advanced preschool curriculum next fall, supplemented perhaps by some preschool arts and recreation classes around town. She is learning to pray, understand more about God, Heaven and the Bible and is (usually) a very thoughtful and protective big sister.
She had her first swimming lessons, which started out really well, until it was time to get her ears wet and dunk. She did not "pass" and we will be waiting awhile before we put her back in, and it won't be at Forest Grove again, either! (But that is loooong story)
February also marked an entire month of Chloe waking up dry, so she now sleeps in panties, even at Grandma and Grandpa's which has been very exciting. She is also growing like a weed in length and almost outgrown all her 3T pants and size 8 shoes!
The first of March found me in jury duty, but I was dismissed before noon and had the rest of the day to myself and evening alone with Jonathan, which was awesome!
Jonathan has been working long hours and still commuting to Salem four times a week. he was feeling very weary of his job and even considered leaving towards the end of last year and earlier this year, but several perks and good marks have led us to believe that God still wants him there, even with the long and frustrating commute. With gas prices raising fast, the gas guzzling truck is getting a little scary to drive, but thankfully his shoulder has healed better and faster than expected and his physical therapist has cleared him for riding the motorcycle again, yay!
The housing market continues to keep up thinking we will be staying put in our little home, so God is teaching us to appreciate what we have and wait on Him and His timing.
And as spring draws near, it has us thinking warm weather thoughts, making plans for the summer, including taking some much-needed family vacations, planting a garden and looking to the future. I am starting to get bitten by that "baby bug" again and I wonder if we will have a boy, how the girls will do as big sisters and if we will burst the seams of this house!
We had a fantastic time with family in California over the holidays. Our drive there and back went well, again through the night so the kids could sleep. This time we left a bit earlier so we could arrive earlier and get more sleep, but the kids did not do well being put back down...even at 4 in the morning. As you can guess, we were not very happy. Lots of fun times with family and a car full of presents later, we found ourselves heading back home.
A couple weeks later, we celebrated my 31st birthday at my parents with Tracy and her kids, then Jonathan took me to get Adaya's footprint tattoo and then on a surprise overnight trip to Bridal Veil Falls B and B while mom and dad watched the girls. When we came back, we all went out to lunch and even Eric joined us!
In February, Adaya taught herself to climb up stairs and to finally pull herself to a standing position! And while, she absolutely refuses to walk or sign, her vocabulary is much more advanced than Chloe was at this age. Among others, she says "Mamma," "Dadda," "uh-oh," "night-night," "thank you," "doggie," "bye-bye," "cracker," "papa," "belly," "shoe" and just yesterday "ball."
We switched Pediatricians (again) and have decided to catch Adaya up on all her immunizations, except for Hep B and the flu, just like we did with Chloe. In her 15 month appointment she was 18 pounds, still 1 percentile, but growing fast and I am certain she will catch up in size to her peers very soon.
We got three different snow falls just in February, the most we had all winter and Chloe got to enjoy playing out there for several days. Adaya not so much.
Chloe continues to grow into a very smart and sometimes frustrating preschooler. She is enjoying learning more about letters and their sounds in our pre-preschool coop with three other families and I think we will be ready for a more advanced preschool curriculum next fall, supplemented perhaps by some preschool arts and recreation classes around town. She is learning to pray, understand more about God, Heaven and the Bible and is (usually) a very thoughtful and protective big sister.
She had her first swimming lessons, which started out really well, until it was time to get her ears wet and dunk. She did not "pass" and we will be waiting awhile before we put her back in, and it won't be at Forest Grove again, either! (But that is loooong story)
February also marked an entire month of Chloe waking up dry, so she now sleeps in panties, even at Grandma and Grandpa's which has been very exciting. She is also growing like a weed in length and almost outgrown all her 3T pants and size 8 shoes!
The first of March found me in jury duty, but I was dismissed before noon and had the rest of the day to myself and evening alone with Jonathan, which was awesome!
Jonathan has been working long hours and still commuting to Salem four times a week. he was feeling very weary of his job and even considered leaving towards the end of last year and earlier this year, but several perks and good marks have led us to believe that God still wants him there, even with the long and frustrating commute. With gas prices raising fast, the gas guzzling truck is getting a little scary to drive, but thankfully his shoulder has healed better and faster than expected and his physical therapist has cleared him for riding the motorcycle again, yay!
The housing market continues to keep up thinking we will be staying put in our little home, so God is teaching us to appreciate what we have and wait on Him and His timing.
And as spring draws near, it has us thinking warm weather thoughts, making plans for the summer, including taking some much-needed family vacations, planting a garden and looking to the future. I am starting to get bitten by that "baby bug" again and I wonder if we will have a boy, how the girls will do as big sisters and if we will burst the seams of this house!
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