The Antics of Jill's 'dar ti dar' Life...

family fun

2011-12-29T19:26:00.000-08:00

Here we are taking Avery sledding around the lake. There is hardly any snow on it, so it's AMAZING to ice skate on. We had a blast! I can't wait to do it again! Avery loved it!

1st Grade Funnies

2011-12-11T19:15:00.000-08:00

there are so many of them, how do I choose?

it's clean our desks time, where each first grader gets a portion of a clorox wipe and gets to clean anything and everything that they've ever touched, looked at or breathed on. This is a very good idea because there is a lot of stuff that comes out of those 1st graders noses, onto there fingers and onto desks, chairs, walls, lockers... you get the idea.

While they are cleaning, we get to listen to kids bop-- some catchy pop music of today but kid friendly with all of the bad words omitted.

We were listening to Selena Gomez to all of the little girls delight--they knew every.word and sang right along. We even were having a little dance party when someone asked "who sings this?".. of course all the little girls say immediately... Selena Gomez and then tella everyone and each oother that they have this CD or that CD etc.

after a bit of time, one little boy who is obviously tired of the dance party-cleaning extravanganza---stops cleaning... he sits down.. and declares "I don't like Selena GONAD."

I'm pretty sure that he didn't like Selena Gomez but he REALLY doesn't like Selena Gonad.

first graders.. gotta love 'em

my life in first grade

2011-10-07T20:03:00.000-07:00

We're in the library and they're all looking for the perfect book to bring home. It's check-out time. I'm waiting for the ruckus--when 2 of them want the same book and of course they both had it first-or so they say.

One approaches and says to me, My brother, (pronounced like bwotha) has the diarrhea (diaweea)the wimpy kid.

my brain goes immediately into first grade decoder--- compute compute compute---huh?

my tactic of repeating back their question-just to make sure I understood them correctly doesn't really work this time.. I mean, could I really say "your brother has diarrhea?"--it's just not the question I want an answer too.

Since the 1st grader has a big big grin on her face, my decoder brain tells me that she didn't really say that. (unless she's really glad that her poor bwotha has diawea)

so rather than asking about the brother with diarrhea, I just say--"what did you say about your brother?"

she says through a smile of several missing teeth, "My brother has the diary of a wimpy kid"

(my brain)compute -compute -decode

"oh your brother has that book? The diary of a wimpy kid?"

"yeah"--big toothless(y) grin

oh, neat (and a little random)!

Phew! the brother has the book; not diarrhea.

My life in 1st grade.

my monday night MUST watch

2011-10-03T19:01:00.000-07:00

Are you watching "The Sing Off" on Monday nights?

It's AMAZING!

Watch it! You'll love it too!

oh- it's so good!

year to year

2011-09-28T18:34:00.000-07:00

I started thinking today about how different my life is right now, compared to last year at this time. Here's a list for all of you and for me.

Last June,I was layed off of my job that I had worked at for 9 years and so I don't work at that place anymore. I work at a totally new place--thanksfully I was able to get a job right away!

Avery is no longer a little baby- he's walking and starting to say words. He can say Mamma. Daddy, ouch, sit, dog, ball,

I'm not nursing anymore.

Avery is sleeping through the night, and so am I!

My friend J moved to Denver

We are using the Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover program

We sold our truck and got another car.

We are so close to finishing our family room, I can taste it.

I became a jeweler with Premier Designs Jewelry-doing home shows and LOVING it.

I don't have a pumpkin patch-- right now in the fall season, I'm really missing it.

Well, It's not the longest list--but there have been some profound changes.
I wonder how my life will be different next year at this time?

What's changed in your life?

Big Boy 1

2011-07-13T12:44:00.000-07:00

my poor blog!
how do people keep up with it?
My cute little baby turned 1 on July 3. he's walking, pointing, signing, and being super adorable. I'll have to post some pics soon.
After his first ear infection last week, we learned that he is allergic to Amoxicillin/Penicillin. Annoying for sure!

He got a battery powered 4 wheeler for his birthday, I was not ready for that, but I guess his grandparents were, and thus bought it for him. He loves it of course!

We went to a park today and he loves the slide! It was so fun. I think we'll go again tomorrow, with another little buddy and his mom.

I'm trying to "put my house together" which I have no eye for--- but we're painting the family room now. I wanted a gray--but I'm afraid it's too blue... sigh

We're busy like everyone else, but I love being home with my little cutie pie 1 year old!

Summer!

2011-06-13T19:27:00.000-07:00

Is here!
This summer I'm excited to be on the lake, have camp fires, go camping!
I can' wait to go swimming with Avery, visit some friends,play some ball!We'll go to a Twins Game, Valleyfair
Yay for Jewelry shows, my 6th year wedding anniversary, Avery's FIRST birthday
it's going to be a fun summer.

a new way of life

2011-05-19T19:47:00.000-07:00

doesn't that just sum it up. Maybe you are thinking.. well duh! you've have a baby! That changes EVERYTHING! and it does, and it has.

but really when I was typing the Title, what I was really thinking was
A new way of life; being tired, ALL the time-- but functioning in some normal capacity anyways. It just has become my life--to be tired, and now I'm so accustomed to it... it's like 'yeah, so what'
every parent must be tired, so include me why don't you! :)

Goodnight, I'm off to bed! :)

bling bling

2011-03-06T18:34:00.000-08:00

I'm very excited to share my love of Premier Designs High Fashion Jewelry with you. I'm an independent distributor and if you'd like to know more about our jewelry or would like to have your own party and earn fantastic hostess benefits, let me know!

photos

2011-03-06T18:20:00.000-08:00

If you'd like to see my VERY cute baby-- check out www.momentsintimemn.com/blog
cute cute cute!

what's next

2011-02-21T12:53:00.000-08:00

one thing to the next to the next to the.. you get the idea. I can only see a few days ahead of me, I can only deal with the now, but all the while knowing that there is alot coming later.

I think of my friends. I miss them. Zero time to even think of planning a get together... i can only sigh and keep on juggling.

work has been busy and takes my time, and since it snowed a ton just recently-that will take my husband

4 day work weeks will seem like 8, and the weekend feels gone before it starts.

but SPRING is near, well it's sooner than later--last weeks warm weather gave me a smile.
My baby started crawling, so the chase is on! :) Skiing this weekend was very fun
In the midst of one thing to another to another to another, at least there are some smiles!

2011

2011-01-31T18:52:00.001-08:00

The new year has come, and phew, January is almost over! I'm so ready for spring and bummer- no money to do anything about it. Darn!
I already know that this year will be another huge transition year for my family--last year was a big one due to our cute little dumplin' joining our family and this year I'll see more changes with my job... urg.. more on that another day!

So what has 2011 brought so far?

1)wearing slippers and a scarf, all the time because it's been COLD
2)researching and looking into bigger car seats, because my big baby is soon needing the next size up
3)had my first overnight away from Avery--it went well--planning another one in March. :)
4)making baby food! super exciting- I know. It's so easy! and.. Avery is loving it!

I hope your new year is great!

Avery's First Christmas

2010-12-30T16:56:00.000-08:00

In the mountain of wrapping paper. enjoying himself obviously

our first Christmas as a family

Avery getting smooches from his Daddy!

Baptism

2010-12-30T15:45:00.000-08:00

Avery's Baptism on December 19, 2010 with us and his Godparents.

Reindeer at the mall-nope! pack mules!

2010-12-26T18:38:00.000-08:00

I saw 2 pack mules at Roseville Mall last Wednesday. If you were in the mall on that day, did you see them too? there they were- in the mall-- crazy! I never go to that mall, so i wasn't sure if this was a normal thing to see.
and get this, they were even carrying packs, which is why I guess they are called pack mules. Not only were they carrying packs, but a small child was riding on one of them.
there load increased as they wandered from store to store--- I could tell they'd been carrying that heavy load for a while, they weren't loving their life at the moment- I could tell. Poor things. The mall was super busy with shoppers trying to get from here to there and the poor pack mules were being jostled around.
I wonder why they were there and what the kid was doing with them..

this post was alternately titled, "the day Mike and Jill went to the mall to christmas shop and forgot their stroller"

alternately titled, "when Mike and Jill thought they could rent a stroller from the mall (because they forgot theirs) but found all of them rented already

alternatley titled, " Jill and Mike found wandering around Roseville mall, (a mall in which they NEVER go and don't know where ANYTHING is and have to look at the mall map every 2 seconds to figure out where they want to go, whilst carrying a car seat, a small child, a diaper bag, and increasing numbers of store bags-- all because they forgot their stroller and the rentals were all rented. not to mention they were sweating, and their baby pooped everywhere...

alternately titled, "Jill and Mike are considering changing their last name to Packmule and calling their baby--"child who rides packmules"

Alternately titled, "We were the Packmules!"

pukie baby turned into

2010-12-10T14:50:00.000-08:00

pukie mommy and then pukie daddy!~
I haven't been sick like this in a long time..
I'll looking forward to getting well.. the sooner the better!

i wonder

2010-12-08T10:09:00.000-08:00

what would it be like to have a job in the town where I live and not have to commute-- what kind of savings would that bring.

what I will feel like if we ever finish our basement and use it for living space rather that a place to build piles of stuff that never gets looked through

if we never look through that stuff, do we really need it- should I just throw it out.

why I wonder what I will do with all the lottery money, when I hardly ever play the lottery

why many of my really good friends live out of state, and if I'm meant to travel to go see them, then where do I find the money to do so (the lottery..it pops up again)

why my hubbin and I think in completely different ways

If I stayed home and didn't work, would I be efficient with my time, or would I waste away the days

can you get into the christmas spirit without putting up any decorations?

how long my car will last when it has over 200,000 miles on it

i like winter so much more when there are pines heavy with snow, it is SO pretty

what do you wonder?

poor pukie baby

2010-12-08T08:23:00.000-08:00

yep, Avery caught 'something'-- and started throwing up. when it continued for a while I called the nurseline and after some discussion she suggested that we take him in, well since this was at 10pm it meant heading in to the emergency room.

Avery was so.tired. and between pukes tried to fall a sleep, but another wave would come and- well, the cycle went on.
The E.R. people were super nice and determined it was just a bug that had been going around. He should be fine.

he puked again this morning...

it'll going to be a full on mommy love this baby kind of day.

Halloween, posted a little late

2010-11-25T19:35:00.000-08:00

Super man & Clark Kent

Superman, Clark Kent and Lois Lane

funny face

2010-11-25T19:32:00.000-08:00

Here's how he fell asleep on Dad's shoulders.

I took the nukie away and his lips stayed like that. I think it's hilarious! So adorable!

plump little turkey

2010-11-25T19:29:00.000-08:00

Gobble Gobble Gobble Happy Thanksgiving!

we are the t.t's the mighty might t.t.'s

2010-11-25T19:16:00.000-08:00

When our men get excited for hunting season, we get excited for T.T. weekend! We get together everyfall and always, always have blast!
We are friends from college, a very special group, even our professors thought so, and we will always be friends. We've been getting together for 10 years now and as you can see from the pic below our little group is growing. In the pics,we are missing 3 gals, and 3 more cute kids. In all we have 13 kids among us. The oldest being in 3rd grade and the youngest being my little cutie, Avery. I love these gals! to 10 happy, fun years--cheers!

highs and lows from the weekend

2010-11-21T18:59:00.000-08:00

(+)girls weekend in Wisconsin (the gals plus 10 kids)
(-) I wasn't able to leave when I wanted to.. and got there later than everyone else.

(+) staying up late talking with the gals
(-) kids waking us up too early

(+) stopping in to say hi to friends G and S on my way home from girls weekend
(-) not staying as long as I wanted because the roads were icy in Minnesota and had a long drive ahead of me

(+)being away from stress at home
(-)finding stress again when returning home

(+) wanting to talk with Mike, since I didn't see him all weekend
(-)Mike going to bed early cause he was tired and not feeling well.

(-) tomorrow is Monday, back to work
(+)it's a short week. :)

what are your highs and lows from this weekend?

A LOT of little flakes!

2010-11-13T07:50:00.001-08:00

Snow!
what a good excuse to stay at home all day with my cute baby and just veg.
movies, cuddling, and maybe some baked cookies during a nap.
these things make me smile.
too bad my hubbie is out working in this mess plowing. :(

our weekend

2010-10-31T19:51:00.000-07:00

worked late Friday night

made a fruit salad for Saturday

big family get together on Saturday

celebrated a special 60th wedding annivesary

ate good food

got home late

arrived late to church

board meeting afterchurch

hubby didn't stay for it

had to get home to make food

picked up the house

carved pumkins

took pictures of a super cute baby in the pumpkin

the baby was too big for it

covered up the windows to make it look spooky

looked for our costumes

a few last items to gather for them

waited for our party to start

chili

a cowboy bandit showed up first, later a monk, and a bag of jelly beans

superman was by far the cutest!(our baby)

laughter, games and tricks or treats

saying good bye

tired

time for bed

work tomorrow

nope

...

away for the day

2010-10-18T19:47:00.000-07:00

each and every day.. now that I'm back to work. Away from my squishy, cute adorable baby! when I come racing home from work to be with him as fast as I can, he actually looks different to me for a split second. he looks bigger, older, different.
today he looked chubbier.. :)

he's so cute. I miss him all day!

question for YOU!

2010-09-22T17:02:00.000-07:00

what time do you normally eat supper?

It's 7:00 now and even the thought of starting supper this late...ugh.. I don't even want to.
I'd like to be done eating supper so that maybe we could do something else. I'm too tired by 7:00 to think about making a meal. :(

Garage sale mania

2010-09-16T15:35:00.000-07:00

Every fall our community has a city wide garage sale, and it's this Saturday! I can't wait! Even better is that many of the people hosting sales start early--today. so I've been out getting great deals! In years past if a sale looked like it had too much 'kid stuff' I wouldn't stop, I'd drive to another one.
Now I have a kid and I'm looking for the 'kid sales' :) and there are great deals out there. I've already found some cute cute cute outfits for dirt cheap. Lucky me.
If you live in my community, will your be out on Saturday?-- maybe we'll run into each other. good luck in your hunt!

"The Happiest Baby on the Block"

2010-09-16T15:26:00.000-07:00

If you are a new mom like I am, or know a knew mom-- I would recommend this movie. I've been attending an "Exploring Newborns" class and during one of the classes we watched part of this movie (we'll watch the next part next week). The tips and techniques for calming a fussy baby were fantastic. The techniques work like magic. :) I started to implament some of the techniques with my 10 week old-- and it's been working great. There is a book by the same name, but I would recommend the movie, because it shows you step by step how to do it.

Intruder or forgetfullness Part II

2010-09-10T12:13:00.000-07:00

an option that wasn't listed was e.) call my mom-- and that's really what I did. She had been in town and I thought she could come by and we could swing bats together if there was an intruder, but she was almost home when I called, so she handed of the situation to...MY DAD. so option B is the right answer!

My Dad came into town to check things out for me. He didn't even bring a bat. :/
he just walked in, in a no big deal kind of way, like no-one-would-be-in-there-lurking or hiding.

When I followed him through the door with my cell phone loaded and ready to call 911 if needed.. he said, "THEY RANSACKED THE PLACE" I looked around and everything looked just as I left it. It was just (very)messy as we hadn't picked up the place in a while.
very funny Dad.. very.funny ......
I guess to an untrained eye it COULD HAVE looked like someone had ransacked the place, but not in this case.

Together as a power house team we checked all the nooks and crannies. However, my dad didn't think to look under the bed. How can you forget that? everyone knows that is THE place for monsters and robbers and bad people to hide is under the bed, right? I kindly reminded him to look there.

The place was safe! phew

but on edge as I was I knew I couldn't stay there over night. I knew that any noise or creek would put me over the edge, so I packed up some stuff and went back to my mom and dad's to spend the night. It was 1:00 in the morning before I was settled in my old bedroom at my parent's house. what a night!
I guess I did forget to shut the garage door. oops!

In the Big Boy corner weighing in at...

2010-09-10T11:37:00.000-07:00

15 pounds 13 oz is Avery!! He's 9 weeks old and getting pudgy rolls that his mom LOVES!

Intruder or forgetfullness

2010-09-06T19:08:00.000-07:00

Mike was out of town so it was the first time Avery and I would be spending the night alone together in our house. I wasn't that worried about it, but thoughts did cross my mind.
I went to my parents house for a movie night and at around 11:00pm I headed home. When I got home though the garage door was wide open. I never leave the garage open, so I was instantly alarmed. I was not comfortable bringing Avery into the house when I wasn't sure why the garage was wide open. We live in a house with 4 levels, so there are many places someone could be lurking.

I knew logically that probably everything was fine and I probably for the first time left the garage open, but my mind was all over the place so what do you think I did?

A.) being the brave woman that I am, went inside and searched every level with a baseball bat to make sure things were safe

B.) called my Dad to come and search the place for me

C.) called the police to have them search the place for me

D.) called Mike to come home right away because of the situation

Make your guess.

the answer and the rest of the story to come...

thinking ahead

2010-09-01T15:26:00.000-07:00

My favorite holiday next to the 4th of July is Halloween. I always have a chili family/friend get together and this year will be no different. I love Halloween. I'm starting my search early for my little Avery's costume. Does anyone have a costume for an infant and willing to loan it to me? I'd love to see what you have in order to make my choice! :)

Recent pics

2010-08-30T16:24:00.000-07:00

Avery has become so animated and interactive. He's 8 weeks now. :)(sorry pics didn't rotate)

aaahhhh, I love this little boy!

Maternity Leave

2010-08-30T15:51:00.000-07:00

All of my work friends went to work today. I slept in, between feedings and then thought of them as I went to breakfast with my mom and ate a giant pancake that covered my plate.
Happy Maternity Leave!

too tired

2010-08-26T15:31:00.000-07:00

During the day, when my energy is up I think of all the things I'll do in the day--run all my errands, go through paper work, you know catch up with everything that I've let slide each and every day. I know I'll feel great when I can cross off some of the things on the list. I really have a great list of things going, but then I hit the wall of exhaustion and I'm just too tired to even look at my list. Darn-- another day--the list remains-- and I'll probably add to it-- oh well, I know I'm not the only one.

that time of year again

2010-08-26T12:47:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year when the doom of going back to work approaches. If I check my calendar I can see that it's Aug 26 and there are just a few more short days until the school year will start for staff because workshop week is right around the corner. If I didn't have a calender to check the date I could also tell that going back to work was approaching because of the dreams I have. I always dream about work-- just before I'd due to show up there. For the last few nights I've been having those dreams - but his year is different. I have a little 12+ pounder that wakes me up at night and who's smile makes me melt. Because of him I don't have to go to work next week--or the week after, or the week after that or the.. you get the picture. my maternity leave starts next week and I couldn't be happier { well I could be if I was getting paid during that time :) }
I'm so excited to have some more time with my little boy! let's replace the work dreams with Avery dreams shall we?

short changed

2010-08-25T15:07:00.000-07:00

My total bill was $12.84 I paid with a $20 so I should have gotten $7.16 back. However, I only received the $7-- which means .16 cents were kept by the waitress. I know it's only 16 cents-- but it's not her 16 cents to keep-- it's mine and I think she should have given the total change back and not just the bills.
Is this a new trend going on? If you have change coming--- you just get the bills back and the "change" is kept by the wait staff? I have had it happen once before and thought it was strange then as well. Has this happened to you?
Why did she keep my 16 cents--- I'd like to know. I'm sure if I would have only paid the $12 instead of the full $12.84 they would have come after me for the 84 cents.. and I'd like to go after her for my 16 cents. :)

He is so fantastic

2010-08-20T15:58:00.000-07:00

my sweet baby is all smiles and coos and little adorable laughs.
so cute, i can't get enough

from garbage to Dish?

2010-08-20T15:35:00.000-07:00

I remember when Mike and I finally took the plunge and ordered garbage pickup at our house. We had just been married and for several weeks we didn't have garbage pick up. What did we do with our garbage?... I reallly don't remember but I'm sure we just brought it to either our parent's houses or to Mike's work at the time.
we finally made the call and the garbage man brought our can-- and the glorious day the garbage man came to collect our can-- I felt like a real adult married couple..
yes- we too, had garbage pick up just like our established neighbors. :)

fast forward 5 years and we still have garbage pickup-- and recycling too-- we're that kind of couple. :) but what we don't have is Dish TV. (cable, satelite...you know--- a zillion channels)
I am resistant to this as I think I already watch too much bad tv, but Mike would love to have it and I would like it for 2 reasons. 1) to watch the Twins all the time and B) to get in on the home decorating/improvement channels-- i don't even know what channel that would be but I know I would love it.

the Twins is the core reason. We listen to it on the radio (we're that kind of couple too) and watch it at our parents homes but we would love to watch it in our own home, thus this urge to get Dish TV---the games are only shown on boring regular tv on Sunday's.

of course just as with garbage pick up-- once you get it---you'll probably always have it and with it comes a bill every month. this is why i'm resistant. I don't want another bill every month-- even when it might be only $20 or something per month... it's still $20 every month. yuck!

so for now we just talk about how cool it would be to have Dish TV and luckily baseball season is almost over (october) so we can not be tempted. but until then.. it sure would be nice to have Dish TV... (oh and netflix -wink)

the small things

2010-08-16T14:42:00.000-07:00

-I arrived at a job early, so I was able to go browsing in a boutique shop beforehand.
-the job went great, I love freelance interpreting work.
-the job finished early, so I called a friend for an impromptu coffee get together.
a nice 3 hours!

now back to my newest and greatest love.. my baby Avery!

someone is listening!

2010-08-16T07:51:00.000-07:00

I'm sure there are many people like me who think a small sized Dairy Queen Blizzard is just too much ice cream. Finally someone is listening to us. Have you tried the Mini Blizzard? It's fantastic and the perfect size! I had one yesterday and I actually ate all the way to bottom of the cup. I love the mini!

birth announcements

2010-08-13T11:50:00.000-07:00

When you had a baby, did you send out a birth announcement?
If most/all of your family and friends had already met your baby, would you still send one out?

I had always planned on doing a birth announcement-- you know with a picture... kind of like a christmas card, but most of our friends and family have already met Avery so I'm not sure if we should or really need to do it. should I do it anyways? I've been looking through pics trying to find the one we want to use...

of course no one really NEEDS to send one out- I know its always optional, but I always wanted to and always thought I would. but it's just another expense and maybe that's making me double think it-- we have a large family, so I'm sure that it wouldn't be cheap... blah blah blah.
I guess i'm just thinking out loud

your thoughts?

hurray!

2010-08-11T10:08:00.000-07:00

My blog is back..
Man that was SO annoying to have it messed up!
Thanks for all of your advice on how to fix it. I took away "the cutest blog on the block background and vwalah! we're back in action.
so catch up on the reading of the posts that wouldn't show during the 'dark days' of the blog. enjoy!
thanks for sticking around.. more posts to come!

any one know how to fix my blog? I don't know why that little box shows up--saying that photbucket has deleted it.....

2010-08-02T13:48:00.001-07:00

4 weeks

2010-08-02T13:44:00.000-07:00

Avery is already 4 weeks old!! what have we been doing for the past 4 weeks...? well I know what I've been doing.. breast feeding. LOL
What a committment that has been. I knew it would be, but wow--when my baby eats EVERY2 HOURs...holy smokes it's a lot of time.

Other than being a milk machine-- I've been LOVING my adorable baby. He is such a joy- with the little sounds he makes, and faces-- oh man he melts our hearts!

what's up with my blog?

2010-07-27T17:27:00.001-07:00

things aren't showing up when I post. Has this happened to anyone else..
what's going on- I'd like to know..

:/

the stroller

2010-07-26T18:30:00.000-07:00

We bought a jogger stroller for the baby. It's got 3 big wheels and the car seat attaches too it.. it's great-but recently we found out that it doesn't fit in my trunk--- at all. it's just a little to big to get down into the trunk.

what?

we didn't think that we would need to try to fit it in my trunk before we bought it.. so now what? If we want to bring the stroller places, we have to use the truck. When it's time to buy a new vehicle.. we'll have to bring the stoller to see if it fits..

annoying...

4th of July 2010

2010-07-14T13:15:00.000-07:00

our little firecracker on the 4th of July-- already making adorable faces!

Delivery Day! July 3 2010 continued..again

2010-07-14T12:58:00.000-07:00

Happy Happy Family

Here he is!

sweet little baby

scrunched up and settled in!

Delivery Day! July 3 2010 Continued

2010-07-14T12:53:00.000-07:00

soon after Avery was born

Proud new Dad!

Our sweet new little baby!

Cute!

Delivery Day! July 3 2010

2010-07-14T12:49:00.000-07:00

(condensed version)
I started having contractions at about 5:45 am. They were mild, and about 11 min apart. I told Mike that I was having timeable contractions and we both thought it was a good idea to rest a while if I could. I stayed in bed until about 7:30 when I got up and showered. At about 8:00, the contractions were holding steady at 10 min apart-I told Mike I thought he'd better get up and get ready in case things kept on. We ate breakfast, and cleaned up the kitchen, all the while the contractions went from 9 min to 5 min where they stayed. At about 10 a.m. I called the hospital and told them I was 41 weeks pregnant and that I had timeable contractions for a few hours and that they were steadily 5 min apart for a while. They told me to come on in. We were checked into the hospital by 10:30 am. Our midwife met us shortly after. She checked my dialation and I was at 5 cm. Not bad seeing as I had just checked in and was already half way dialated. :) We walked to halls, used the birthing ball and my favorite spot-- on the edge of the bed--I was at 7cm by early afternoon and still doing quite well. By about 2:00, one of my contractions was "different". Rather that the start, peak, and relax of a contraction, this one was hard and intense and then a peak right at the end. I thought it was a good time to try out the bath tub to ease the contractons. My midwife felt that the 'different' contraction was my transition and she and another nurse got the room ready for delivery. When I got into the tub, within a minute my water broke and then everything changed. I threw up, and felt like I had to push. I got out of the tub and when my midwife checked me, I was at 9 1/2 cm. It was time to push and deliver the baby!!! I breathed through a few more contractions until I was a full 10 cm. At about 3:00 I started to push, and 20 minutes later, our sweet baby boy was born. Avery Michael Bratvold was 8lbs 12 oz, 22 1/4 inches long and born at 3:21pm. He was adorable and has a full head of light brown hair. We fell instantly in love with him.
We couldn't be happier how things progressed. On the way to the hopsital at 10:00 ish, Mike and I were asking ourselves if we thought we would deliver by midnight. We knew it could take a while. We were very surprised to have everything happen in about 5 hours. Also I was very open to all things in pain management department. (drugs)...so I was completely surprised as well when I did it all on my own without the need of drugs. I think Mike was even more surprised! Everything went SO well and now we have a beautiful baby to keep us up all night. :)

blink

2010-07-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

whoa! what a blurr..
over a week has been since my baby was born.
I'll get some pics posted soon.
soon.
soon.

he's worth the wait.. he's SO cute. well- at least I think so. :)

Just a short note for now

2010-07-06T08:35:00.000-07:00

HE's HERE!
HE.
There was a boy in there the whole time... Wow.

Avery Michael Bratvold
Born July 3, 2010 (Saturday)
3:21pm
8 lb 12 oz
22 1/4 in long.

He's got great, wild hair and some dimples that peak out with the right kind of face.
We fell instantly in love!

stay tuned for pics!

tell me what you know

2010-07-02T06:40:00.000-07:00

Of course we are still hoping that I will go into labor without intervention but at some point we'll have to start thinking about how to start the process if things just stay as they are now. So, I would like to know from all of you knowledgable ladies...

option: stripping membranes

option: induce with Pitocin

should we strip membranes? should we just go for the pitocin?

what was your experience?

40 weeks pregnant

2010-06-30T09:35:00.000-07:00

we made it to 40 weeks!

5 year anniversary

2010-06-30T09:32:00.000-07:00

It was a great day. The weather was BEAUTIFUL, so we spent it swimming and boating on the lake. It was wonderful. After some fun in the sun, we went out to a nice dinner together, where the food was equally fantastic. It was a great anniversary!

39 weeks pregnant

2010-06-30T09:25:00.000-07:00

5 years

2010-06-24T09:07:00.000-07:00

He is quiet, doesn't draw attention to himself.
He is smart in so many ways.

He likes all things outdoorsy.

He has a great relationship with his family and mine.

He is genuine.

He doesn't get razzled, he's even tempered.

He loves God.
He let's me be crazy me-irrational, loud, scatterbrained emotional etc, but doesn't make me feel bad about all of that.
I knew the day we met that he was something special.

I knew I would marry him early on in our relationship.
Our wedding was amazing-I'll never forget that day. June 24, 2005

He is my husband of 5 years today.
I'm one lucky lady!

He'll be a great Dad too, in a few short days.
I can't wait to see that side of him-I'm sure it'll blow me away.

I love him- he is amazing!

Happy 5 year Anniversary Mike!

3 am

2010-06-17T01:24:00.000-07:00

Good Morning- yep it's 3 a.m. and here I sit in the living room trying not to wake Mike or the cat. It's too late for the cat though, here she comes. It doesn't matter with her, she seems to like it in the wee hours. I've heard her before.

The baby must have wanted to pull an all nighter jazzersizing, or doing some old school-sweatin' to the oldies, because there is some not stop action going on in there. Since there is ZERO room left in there, I can feel every.single.twinge-turn-flex and it's keeping me awake.

As I laid in bed forever I rubbed my belly and that seemed to quiet this little one down, but it didn't have the full effect I was looking for, so I came downstairs to sit and have a snack of some freshly picked strawberries. If you are a berry picker.. now is the time, they are ready and fantastic!

I made some jam yesterday- strawberry rhubarb, definitely yum and 2 pies of the same. I'm going to give one to my friend Adam because he gave me all the rhubarb I needed. He doesn't know it yet though. :) It'll be a surprise in the morning. They were a 1 crust pie, and it had some glaze that oozed all over, overflowing, when I put it in the fridge to set. They aren't the prettiest pies in the world, but hopefully looks won't really matter in the end.
I have my own rhubarb plant but it's not the best, I think I might need to move it to a more sunny spot.

Well my 3 am friends, which is no one because everyone must be asleep-- I'm going to head back to bed and see if 4 am is better.

Nursery Pictures

2010-06-15T12:05:00.000-07:00

Maternity Pics

2010-06-15T10:21:00.000-07:00

Mike and I really wanted to have some Maternity Pictures taken. We have a very creative friend who we knew would do a fantastic job-- and she more than exceded our expectations. Here are just some of the great pics our friend took of us. We couldn't be more happy with them!

Pregnancy in Review-38 weeks

2010-06-15T10:01:00.000-07:00

Pregnancy in Review-9 months

2010-06-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

Pregnancy in Review- 8 months

2010-06-15T09:55:00.000-07:00

Pregnancy in Review-7 months

2010-06-15T09:52:00.000-07:00

Pregnancy in Review-6 months

2010-06-15T09:51:00.000-07:00

Pregnancy in Review-5 months

2010-06-15T09:49:00.000-07:00

pregnancy in review

2010-06-15T09:48:00.000-07:00

4 months

17 days

2010-06-09T20:10:00.000-07:00

17 days until my due date... wow!
soon soon Soon.
wow!

and b.t.w.

2010-05-31T08:51:00.001-07:00

I'm feeling great!
dealing with a small cold, but I'm feeling great as far as the wee babe is concerned!
My leg ailment is doing better, I haven't had any episodes since the first experience--but my back is still an ongoing issue. :(

some people have asked if "i'm ready to be done".. my answer is no! I like being pregnant and I'm not uncomfortable, aside from a few things here and there.

we'll see how these last few weeks pan out as far as discomfort.

wowza

2010-05-31T08:48:00.000-07:00

36 weeks= 9 months of being pregnant!
I can't believe we're here already.
just a few weeks left!
tomorrow is June 1.. I'm due June 26.
27 days! (i'm fully aware that I could go before this date or after, but it's fun to have a ballpark number)

late pregnancy ailments

2010-05-18T14:25:00.001-07:00

ailment #1
I've been having back..um.. spasms-- I guess you'd call them, in the middle ride side of my back. it happens any time that I sit for more that 15 minutes. My drive home from work is terrible! I get relief if I can stand up, but sitting is painful- and it's been bad for weeks now. I can't find "the spot" to massage it to bring some kind of relief.

ailment #2
On Sunday I was at my mom's when my right leg 'gave out' and I lost my balance and almost fell. Luckily, I was able to catch myself on a piece of furniture and my mom was right there and 'caught' me too. While at work yesterday it happened again, in my office, and this time my co-worker assisted me.

from my perspective, my pregnancy has been going very well and I've been feeling fine... for the most part.
I had a routine appt with my midwife yesterday, I was telling her about these-- little annoyances (again from my perspective)-- that have started to plague me late in my pregnancy. (I am 34 weeks.) I described them like they were no big deal to my midwife, but she had a much different perspective. she was very concerned, especially about my leg/balance/ almost falling issue.

maybe I just think she's probably heard so many issues that she probably wouldn't think that these 2 issues would be that big of deal. I guess these 2 ailments aren't "no big deal"!

so if you ask me how I'm doing, I know I'll say.. I'm feeling really good, but what I really mean is I'm feeling really good... except when my back is killing me and my leg won't work like it should and I almost crash to the ground at any given moment :)

It's a Twister!

2010-05-10T16:40:00.000-07:00

that's what I say about his baby inside.

it twists, turns, moves, aLL thE TiME.
:)

these are great

2010-05-03T15:29:00.000-07:00

1. red vines, a tasty licorice snack, seriously yum!

2. frog tape , worked fantastic in our striped nursery!

enjoy!

among the plants

2010-05-03T15:12:00.000-07:00

Since we bought our house over 5 years ago, I've made a few flower gardens in the yard. I hardly know what I'm doing but seeing things actually grow up from the ground is very rewarding for me.
I grew up watching my Grandma in her veggie garden. Her garden was quite large, and I hardly know what she did with all of the food she grew-- oh that's right, she canned a lot of it. She also had beautiful flowers, but it's the veggies that I remember most.

My mom too, now has quite the gardening bug, but with her it's not tasty veggies, but beautiful flowers and plants. Her gardens expand each year and I walk among them admiring all that is beautiful.

with my flower gardens at my home and my pumpkin patch/veggies at a different property, I get excited when things actually grow up and I can either eat it, carve it for decor, or put it in a simple vase for some showy color. One draw back- the weeds. I hate pulling and trying to keep up with the weeds--except for today--
it felt so good to be out in my flower garden pulling weeds. With my 8 month pregnant belly, my mobility is becoming more limited but today it was refreshing to be in the dirt pulling up the weeds. I loved it!

:)

8 months!

2010-05-03T14:47:00.000-07:00

32 weeks.

We've taken our child birth classes and our baby care classes.
The nursery is painted and the crib is assembled.
Time for some pictures!

as soon as I get around to it. ;)

all my baggage

2010-04-22T18:59:00.000-07:00

Everyday I bring 3 bags to work with me. My purse, a work bag loaded with my lunch, water, etc and I also bring my laptop. It's a hefty amount everyday and with my belly getting bigger and bigger it's becoming more work to make it from the car to the office everyday. I'm not sure how to lesson the load, and I figure it's good practice for when the wee one comes and we'll need to lug around all the 'stuff'-- I'll be in good practice.

I work at a high school and sometimes I see and hear a lot of stuff that really makes me shake my head in disgust. Earlier this week something happened to brighten my perception of high school students who usually are so self centered.

I was lumbering with all of my baggage into the building, just getting into the first set of doors. I rounded the corner and was about to enter into a busy hallway when a girl stopped on her way up the stairs and asked me if she could help me carry all of my bags. such a small gesture.

I think it took me a second to really process what this girl was saying. It was SO NICE and very unexpected and not the norm for my day.

I thanked her for being SO NICE and told her that it meant a lot that she offered, (really I was blown away) but that my office was just around the corner and that I should be okay.
I'm sure there are more like her walking the halls of my school, but I don't often see them.
I wanted to hug her ...or something, because the gesture was so thoughtful, and I wanted to write a note to her parents about the great daughter they have.
That gesture made my day. I've been thinking about that all week.
:)

29 years old

2010-04-18T12:20:00.000-07:00

Birthday Fun!
Red Lobster for dinner on my birthday Yum- I hadn't been there in ages!
Friday night * Twins Game at Target Field with some good friends. b.t.w. Twins won, the food at the stadium was fantastic and it was so. cool. being there!
Saturday* family get together that lasted well into the night. Very fun!

Fun Birthday weekend!

thus far

2010-04-12T19:31:00.001-07:00

I can't seem to find my pictures folder so I can't add any more current ones but this is what I know about my pregnancy.

I'm 29 weeks along.
We (still) don't know if we are having a girl or a boy.
The most common comment I hear from everybody is "you are so small" (meaning my baby bump)
The second comment that always follows the above comment is "well, you are tall" (so I guess that makes it okay to have a small baby bump)
This baby moves all the time and I love the feeling when it rolls around in there.
We've had 2 of the 4 birthing classes.
I think we've pretty much decided on our boys name. Girls name.... is still strong, but we haven't actually decided if it's the for sure name.
Today if felt as if there was NO more room for the baby in there. It seems pretty tight in there. I'm hoping things will shift around and it wont feel so 'packed'.
:)

That's what I know right now.. oh and that I love being pregnant!

I'm behind on my pics.

2010-04-12T19:18:00.000-07:00

sorry this didn't rotate

6 months pregnant in this picture

beautiful weather

2010-04-10T12:35:00.000-07:00

but I'm stuck inside getting stuff together for a church meeting tomorrow. Maybe I'll learn a lesson in this and get my stuff taken care of right away, so I'm not 'stuck' later.

At least I can go out tonight with some girls! that'll be nice!

hubbin and my appts

2010-04-05T20:18:00.000-07:00

So far I've been super lucky with my hubbin being able to attend every midwife appt with me. It's been really nice! I like for him to get any information first hand rather than me trying to repeat what was said, and trying to remember it all.

Tomorrow I have my glucose test and my routine appt. All should go well, but it'll be the first appt where Mike won't be coming. At least we don't think he'll be there, unless it's raining and work can be put on hold, then he'll come, but it'll probably be me solo. hrmph.

sleeping... better

2010-04-05T20:15:00.001-07:00

I was in target when the huge body pillows caught my attention. I added it to my cart, and hoped for the best.
I will say that it's helped my sleeping. I feel better support with less hassle in trying to 'get situated' and comfortable.
my user review is
body pillow (+)

:)

spring break

2010-04-01T08:21:00.000-07:00

I'm on spring break-fantastic!
However cleaning, organizing, and more cleaning are not really what I love to do on Spring Break. Oh well, at least it's been great outside, so I can take little breaks out on the patio! I love spring! (break)!.

if you have spring break, what are you doing with your time?
If you don't have spring break, what would you like to do if you could?

6 months and counting

2010-03-22T11:24:00.000-07:00

26 weeks to be exact...

starting to feel more uncomfortable, especially sleeping at night. I guess it was bound to happen right?
Anyone have any suggestions on how to use pillows? I wake up with stiffness in my knees, and hips. I'm trying to support everything and it's not really working out.

is a huge body pillow worth it?
What are some tricks that you use(d)? I'd love to hear them.

dar-ti-dar with pregnancy on top

2010-03-22T11:13:00.000-07:00

in my last post I was looking and looking for my camera battery charger. One day I came home from work and it was laying on my bed!.
I knew it was around somewhere!!! Mike had found it when he was cleaning out the nursery. There is was; on the floor!

It's back- I'm so relieved!
.................................................................................................................................................................
Now I would be able to use it for the baby shower that I had this past weekend. perfect right? :) of course things don't always work out for me..... :(

this is what happened.

mike says to me, as I'm packing--- "do you need the camera charger for the weekend?" (I was heading out of town overnight) Since I had fully charged the battery, I didn't think I would need the charger, so I left it at home. I just grabbed my camera instead and stuffed it in the bag.

I got to my friends house and really wanted to start snapping pics of everything, but for some reason, my camera doesn't work. NOOOOOO! my conversation with Mike pops back into my head and low and behold I should've brought the charger. crap!
Well-- I didn't' even bring the camera battery WITH. I left it at home, IN THE CHARGER.

Pregnancy brain in full use! definately a dar-ti-dar with pregnancy on top moment!~

no pics for me! I'll have to beg my friends for their pics!

Oh that's where it is...

2010-03-08T11:13:00.001-08:00

but really, I haven't found it yet!
I need your help, maybe you have the faintest idea where it could be.

More than 6 weeks ago, Mike and I went fishing to Lake of the Woods. If you aren't sure where that is, think Canadian border! That is the last known place where my battery charger for my camera was. I know I brought it up there in case my battery needed charging, but I ended up not needing it.

Now here is where it gets fuzzy. I'm almost positive that I did NOT leave it up there. I did a 'sweep through' of the room before we left, to MAKE sure that I wasn't leaving anything.
I haven't seen my charger since. I've looked in all of the bags that we brought and searched the truck that we used and still can not find it.

I just have a feeling that it's.... somewhere.... but I can't put my finger on it. (AGAIN, I don't think I left it up North, but i guess there could be a very slight chance that it could be.)

Not that you would know where my charger is, but maybe some of your insight could lead me to it. Where do you suggest I look? Where have you found something and thought, "oh that's where it is!"

I want to find it, I need to find it, BUT I CAN'T FIND IT.
Before I'm resolved to admit that it may have been left behind on the shores of the Canadian Border---tell me! Where is my charger?

Alice in Wonderland

2010-03-05T16:35:00.000-08:00

Are you planning on seeing the new Alice in Wonderland movie? I can't decide if it's creepy, or weird, or kind of intriguing. What are your thoughts?

Mississippi Target

2010-03-03T08:09:00.000-08:00

While in Mississippi my friends and I needed to stop at Target. The bathrooms were right at the front of the store so I told my friends I'd be right out. While washing my hands, a man came out of one of the stalls. Thinking I was in the wrong bathroom, I said to the man "oh, am I in the wrong bathroom?" ... feeling kind of embarrassed.
But the man said, "no, I just needed to change the toilet paper".

This man worked at Target!
and came into the women's bathroom!
without announcing himself!
and didn't check to see if there were any women using the bathroom at the time!
I was using the bathroom at the time!

Weird. Weird. Weird.
I wondered if that happened a lot in Mississippi......

hiyah!

2010-02-25T14:43:00.000-08:00

I looked down and visually saw the baby kicking today.
It brought a giddy smile to my face!

Yes!

2010-02-25T14:34:00.000-08:00

Sunshine
Puddles
thRrowing out all kinds of juck...spring cleaning!
Ice Melting
Not needing a big heavy jacket
Going for walks outside

sigh.
welcome and stay a while!
I've been waiting for you!

tackling the closet

2010-02-06T19:41:00.000-08:00

organization in progress, which means watch were you step!

baby on the way for us.. which means clean out the hall closet??? well, maybe most people think about the nursery (which we are too) but I know we'll eventually get to that.
The closet has been on my mind for months because I know there are things of importance in there that I haven't seen in years! so maybe if I haven't needed it by now-it's really not that important- well that's one theory.
My real motivation comes from all the blankets and pillows that don't have a home due to all the other stuff that's hanging out in the closet. there are nice big, deep shelves for things like blankets, bedding, and the like.
I've found some important paper work to file and a few things to donate too!
Now the huge -HUGE mess is in the hallway. It will take a while to go through and sort out. I'm making slooooowwww progress, but it's still progress. It feels good to be getting through it but watch your step. :)

1/2 way 20 weeks

2010-02-06T19:10:00.000-08:00

I'm 5 months today!
Our babe is quite active! Mike was able to feel the baby kick yesterday, it was so fun!
We can't wait for our ultrsound in a few days!

tomorrow means?

2010-01-31T19:40:00.000-08:00

tomorrow means:
-a start of the new term for this school year. 1/2 of the year is already over. Holy Moly!

-I have all new classes to interpret: Government, ? due to a recent schedule change, Honors Spanish, A reading class-- it'll be a lot of work--

-one of my dear co-workers is starting a diff job so I won't see her everyday. :(

-I have a serious meeting to attend at 7:15am.

-I have lunch earlier in the day! (I'm SO excited about this one)

tomorrow is a big day... I feel sort of "heavy" about it-I can't really describe it. It mostly has to do with the meeting I have. I hope it all goes well.

What does tomorrow mean for you?

needing more advice

2010-01-19T16:43:00.000-08:00

Just today, a co-worker asked me if I had any kids. This was the first time that I could tell a complete semi-stranger that I was expecting. It was so fun!
I think Mike and I are kind of wandering around in "wow-land" where we are just so happy to be pregnant. (we didn't get pregnant easily). as we blissfully wander around, we know that there are lots to do and lots to think about, but in our minds we think it's so far off. I'm not due until late June so in the winter doldrums of January.. it seems so far away that we won't need to really think about stuff until much much later.

BUT

We know that "it goes so fast" as many people have told us, and even though I've only been pregnant for 4 months--it feels like a blink of an eye. I know that the rest of our pregnant time will go by quickly too. Spring will be here before we know it and then Mike will be getting busier with work and I will be much larger in size.
That being said, there is a lot to do and a lot to think about. Here's where I'd like some advice. Where do I start?
Some of the things on my mind lately are
-health insurance and all that involves (i'll be switching from single coverage to family)
-daycare*. this seems like a big one to us, but really kind of overwhelming in itself.
-nursery

Who's got advice for me? I'd like to hear it! Are there other 'big ones' that need addressing sooner than later?

are you dealing with this?

2010-01-18T19:10:00.000-08:00

Mike has been sick with a cold for a long time. (17 days and counting) It started as a sinus thing, and now it's moved into a bad cough. He's been taking OTC meds and it doesn't seem to be helping..
Anyone else dealing with this????

The Great American Grow-out

2010-01-10T15:53:00.000-08:00

It's time.
I've decided after much thought.
I'm growing my hair out. It's been about 2 years since I drastically cut off my hair and kept it short.
It's been hard during this transition because I feel like a big round pumpkin head. This is going to be a tough process, bear with me...

do you have any tips to help me?

ice fishing follies

2010-01-10T14:14:00.000-08:00

Currently my hubbin' is out on a frozen lake putting out our permanent fish house. We call it 'the big house'. He was really excited about this, and I will be too because it means we can now drive on the lake-- rather than loading up the 4 wheeler and dragging all of our gear behind us in the bitter cold to go fishing.
It means that I can wait in the warm truck while Mike warms up the fish house and drills out all the holes and sets everything up before I'm needed to go inside.
It means that I don't have to wear a zillion layers in the fish house. It gets good and warm in there.
It means that more people can come because there is plenty of room for everyone!

Over Christmas break my hubbin', myself, and our good friend A* were looking to catch a few fish on a nearby lake. Since the ice conditions were not thick enough to drive our truck onto the lake, the 3 of us loaded up all of our needed gear into/onto the big sled (quite larger than a downhill sled) and dragged everything out onto the lake. It was cold and I was wearing a zillion layers. Mike drove us out to the middle of the lake where there were several fish houses and people nearby. The boys unloaded all of the gear, drilled the holes, set up the portable fish house, got the heater running etc... I watched. :) It really is a long(er) process to get everything ready.
Usually our portable fish house seats 2 people, but not wanting A* to have to fish all by himself in his own fish house, we made room for him in ours. We were a little cramped with all of the gear and 3 adults, but it was going to work out just fine.

The holes were drilled, and we were ready to fish when Mike realized with much dismay, that we were only in 6 ft of water! 6 ft. In the MIDDLE of the lake. We expected to be in 30 FT of water. I guess you don't catch a lot of fish in only 6 feet? We must've found a sand bar in the middle of the lake..go figure!

We knew that if we stayed there were weren't going to catch any fish, so you can imagine the dilemma the boys had.. if they wanted to catch fish (the whole point of ice fishing) they would have to pack everything up again and move to a different location and unload and set everything up again.
What a pain in the neck that would be!!! (There was NO dilemma for me)
I-- not wanting to go through that painful process, tried to convince the boys that it wasn't really about catching fish and more about friends hanging out together, and maybe we would catch something in the off chance, I mean there wasn't a guarantee that if we moved, we would've caught any fish anyways.. right?

This is what I know for sure:
-We didn't move.

-If I wasn't there, the boys would've moved and found a different location--for sure, even though it meant a lot more work.

-We didn't catch a single fish.

-If we would've fallen through the ice, A* being several inches taller than 6 ft should (in theory) be able to hoist Mike and I out of the frigid water, then we of course, would have tried to pull the tall man out. (we did NOT fall through the ice, therefore, the theory hasn't been tested)

-The boys were very good sports, even though they knew they weren't going to catch a darn thing.

-A* has proven yet again why he is our very good friend! He didn't grumble one time!

-My hubbin' has proven yet again, why he is a very good husband! He didn't grumble either!

Now that the 'big house' is being pulled onto the lake as we speak, let's go fishing!
look out little fishies, here we come!

4 whole months!

2010-01-10T14:04:00.000-08:00

Why, in one breath, does that feel like such a long time, when in the next breath it feels like it's a blink of an eye?
I guess I could think of it this way.. in ANOTHER 4 months I will be 8 months pregnant and almost ready to meet my little babe and that makes me say.. holy cow!

I'm feeling so much better than I was, I can honestly say, phew and thank you Lord! I like feeling like my "normal self" and now I'm ready to see my little babe make it's existence more known with a little expanding bump.

4 months- fantastic!