Knitting-and green eggs and ham

So I guess being phone less and internet less for a few days did me good! I got a lot of knitting done. It was a very good feeling when I got back online and shared the photos with online "Friends" and was told "you are really talented"

I have never felt that way about myself. In my church we hear a lot that we should develop our talents and share them. I always joke with my husband that the only talent I have is birthing babies and my doula work. I always feel so inadequate around the other ladies in my church because not only do I not really have a talent like they go-but I am the oddball that did not grow up in the church so I still do not know all that everyone else does.

So to hear someone say they think I have talent..well, it did bring me to tears. That really meant a lot to me. It is nice to be recognized by others-especially when you don't see it in yourself.

So on to the knitting:
Before-these were the yarns I dyed up



and after:




my new colorway: Monkey Boy...started as perfection pants then just kind of morphed from there. on BBR Yarn







Another new colorway, on BFL yarn, LTK soaker



Moose shorts---peace fleece yarn


ribby for Windy-a baby shower gift.




UFO ribby finished finally-not pictured individually.

Do you like green eggs and ham???




Harrison does! he's sam I am



This is something I crocheted for him on my own. I started with a pattern for the egg and kind of winged it as I went. The ham is totally my own. This is his favorite story to listen to



Today is World Autism Awareness Day. This means so much more to me now that Noah has been officially diagnosed. If you don't know much about autism, I would urge you to take a few minutes and just familiarize yourself with it. It is more prevalent then most people know.

Noah

Noah had a follow up with his doctor today. (this was the newer doctor, the one that only saw him for one phase of his neuro psych testing)

besides the brain injury, neurogenic irritability and hyperactive response etc....


We officially have the diagnosis of an Autism Spectrum Disorder...aspergers.

He is also showing some signs of having some Tics-but he doesn't think it is a sign of OCD.

we switched his medication because his other was making him gain so much weight.

I walked out to the van after the appointment and just started crying. I didn't want to have this. I didn't want him labeled. I didn't want this diagnosis.

We discussed the possibility of repeating all his neuropsych testing to see where we are at-if any different than 3 years ago or if a different consensus would come up with the team where before the one doctor (not the one we saw today) was so set with one theory of what was wrong with him

He also seriously needs to undergo physical therapy as his one leg is very off when he walks...I can't even describe how bad his leg is, but you don't notice so much because his body compensates for it

I don't know what else to think at this point. I just want to curl up and cry and process it all, but then I am trying to not let him see how upset I am.

we knew there was a chance this would happen...I just didn't believe it would actually come to this.

The only good was the knowledge that whatever happened to him in-utero (stroke or whatever) did not show any brain damage on his MRI...so thank God for that.

hooking and cooking

so here is Harrison's completed blanket. This is my first time doing a crochet blanket!
and of course, it just happens to be another rainbow!

no specific pattern for this...I just did a granny square ( a larger one) and figured out on my own how to hook it all together. there are many errors! I learned not to watch tv while doing these as I tended to either add extra's or leave some out! LOL but I did it. I learned to do some crochet. and I love it!


and as a side shot...these are the pretzels we made today thanks to my friend!

A few knits and more on the kids

ok-whew, we are so busy right now! We have been moving so much around in the house and the tv is now gone from the main part of the home! It has been moved to our bedroom so it will be very limited. We just decided that ALL kids watch way too much tv and we were sick of it. So it is gone. It has been so nice in the house.

Kaitlyn and Noah are busy with choir. Kaitlyn is almost done with her math curriculum at school-she is just so far ahead. Homeschooling sure did pay off for these kids! LOL

Conner is still busy with the academic decatholon and starts track on Monday. He is also preparing as he gets to go on the Trek to Martin's Cove this year with the other youth in our church. He is very excited to do this and is diligently preparing.

here are a few quick knits I did for Harrison. These are called longies-and for those that don't know, they are wool pants that are worn over cloth diapers to keep them "waterproof"

The first pair was too big, so I had to do 2!

second pair, made smaller:

Harrison says SMILE

So Harrison is doing good! He is 3 1/2 months old now and is really changing. He is 13lb 7 oz and 24 1/2 inches long.

He looks so much like my brother that if he looked anymore like him they would be twins! He smiles a lot and has my dimples YAY! He still seems to be keeping my blue eyes too!
His hair is really thin now and he almost looks bald!

His GERD is doing better. THe zantac is helping some. We don't have his allergy results still, but I think it is more than dairy as we have eliminated it (and yes, I know what to look for!) and he is still having the abnormal stools...but the good news is he can finally go poop on his own!

He sleeps really good at night. from 10:30pm till about 6 am without waking. he is a much happier baby now than he was.


All the kids have straight A's in school. Noah and Kaitlyn started back up with choir this week and Conner's academic team is doing really well. They have only lost one meet.
Kaitlyn has almost finished her math course for the year, so she will get an A for the rest of the year and get to do more student assisting in other classes. She is one of the two students that the teachers ask for the most. She loves going in to help the other students learn.

Thats all for now!

Have you noticed

this election, there have been NO political posts from me yet!
*GASP* yes, it is true.
SO here is my first!

I am so proud of our state. Idaho, a seriously republican state, had the LARGEST democratic caucus to date in this country! The energy was amazing-the support outstanding.

I missed going to see Senator Barack Obama when he came to Idaho due to illness, but I have heard his talk was amazing. I hope that when he gets the nomination that he comes back while he campaigns, because I will go to see him.

This year is a pivotal election for democrats in Idaho. We can be heard if everyone votes. With a republican nominee like McCain, we CANNOT afford to NOT vote. McCain is a scary man. His ideas and ways truly scare me and I would fear a country under his lead.

if you couldn't tell, Obama has my support. I plan on working his offices here in Idaho when I can. To see how you can help go to http://idahoforobama.org/

fly by post...yarn stash

Just thought I'd share since I have it looking so pretty!

Not pictures:
4oz BBR beemer knits bananafish
8oz cascade eco
1lb wool roving

Noah had a seizure and Harrison pooped on his own!

we met with noah's doctor friday and he upped his trazadone from 25mg to 50 mg.
we didn't notice too much during the day saturday, but we were on the run a lot.
Sat night, noah took his medicine and then the kids and I watched movies in the living room where they all crashed. I was on the computer and I saw Noah get up and start stumbling towards the front door.
I called his name and he kind of turned all confused and dazed and just looked at me and then turned back and started opening the door. I called "noah NO!" and he again turned and looked at me and then started to open the door again....I ran to him sensing something wasn't right and as I got there he was starting to shake. I asked him what he was doing and he just mumbled bathroom and started to collapse...still shaking. Now, Noah is a very big boy and I could barely support him while he was shaking. I started screaming for my husband saying "I NEED HELP!" it took 3 times of me calling him to get him out there...by then I had moved noah a bit towards the bathroom.
we got him in and he couldn't move. he was totally out. dh got him on the toilet and we put him in our bedroom to sleep. the next day *sunday* he was very disoriented and could not remember anything and had a headache. We called the on call doctor and they told us to go back down on the meds and I have to call tomorrow (I guess I was supposed to call today but I didn't hear dh tell me that)

It seriously freaked me out. I am so glad he already had a brain MRI coming up.

it was scary

and Harrison POOPED ON HIS OWN TONIGHT!
the dilation was increased up to the 15mm (where it should be) and the first night he passed stool with the dilator. the second night he passed a small amount with it. tonight, he went on his own without the dilator! I was feeding him and felt it and was like "did he just poop???"
then I smelt it! and when I looked there was a big streak!

so I got all happy and kaitlyn asked to hold him while we gave him a few more minutes to see if he was done.
the next thing we knew, he pooped again! and filled his diaper! and it came out so fast that it actually squirted out and got on her pants!
she was laughing though, I think she was just as excited as we were to see him poop on his own!
first time in 6? 7 weeks???

YAY for poopy babies!!!!!!!!!!

Too many appointments in 1 day = crazy brain fried mom

due to MY sheduling issues I had to keep alexis home from school yesterday to make it to harrisons GI appt. which meant that along with Noah being home (he had a psych appt) and bella, I had to head to town with 4 of them.

So good news first...Harrisons dilation is going well. she said his bum looked good...moved him up to the size 15 with hardly any difficulty.
bad news is..he had blood in his stool and some skin changes (ezcema and the all-telling red ring on his bum) and snuffling combined with the family history indicated to her that he does have the dairy protein allergy
we ordered the blood test to check for others on the off chance that it will show something at this age. she said it most likely would be negative-but she said the symptoms spoke for themself.
so I am definitely having to eliminate dairy. the blood test sucked and they had a hard time getting it...she also ordered a CBC and a chem panel along with an order to do a stool culture to check for c-difficile because his stool did not look normal.

then noah had his psych follow up. they ordered a brain MRI to check for damage from the stroke since it had not been done by his previous doctor. again, they talked about the aspergers diagnosis too, but wanted to wait and not label prematurely-which I appreciate.

the doctor and I talked more about his weight gain, and apparently it is a side effect of his medication so we are not sure what to do there.

so, 2 appts. 2 lab appts...then lunch and a rush home to get ready for a wedding=me needing a big caffeinated drink!

Harrison's GI appointment update

we had Harrison's GI appointment on the 9th and all I can say is YUCK!

first, his anus is more anterior which means everything inside is more posterior which makes him have to push just a bit harder to get things out.

then we talked for bit. I really liked her.
Then she had to stick her finger inside of him-she could barely get it in there it was so tight.
He has anal stenosis.

She said at his age he should be at about 15mm...he is barely at 10. She said from the problems we had getting the suppository in, he had probably been at an 8 before and we had stretched him.
She used the dilator on him today and got him to a 13. I have to do this with him for 1 week, 3 times a day. Then the next appt she will stretch to the 15. Hopefully he will be able to start going on his own then, but she said that there could be some problems in the nerves in there that could require more effort..like using a mild laxative until his body starts to function right.

She said also that it was really good that we had brought him in because this was not something that would magically have fixed itself..
she is also hopeful that once this gets fixed that his reflux might get better. she could tell he had it before I even told her just by his breathing.

It was REALLY hard for me to have to do that to him today. She had me do it to show me how and

but I am very glad that I kept pressing it with his pediatrician and insisting that this was not the normal newborn immature sphincter issue.

Mom's Night Out

2 weeks ago, my friend Jamie had her bachelorette party. We started the night be dinner at Brick 29 Bistro. The atmosphere was nice. The server a bit harried and the menu full of dairy! ACK, I had a hard time finding something I could eat! But I did finally settle on the Mahi Mahi dish.

Flame broiled Mahi Mahi with cinnamon saffron jasmine rice. (they left the vanilla butter off for me!) with green beans and gala apple salsa.
The fish was a bit salty, but still so flavorful and cooked perfectly. I do think that the rice was the winner in this dish though. YUMMY! I could eat it again and again.

The night ended with a hilarious gift exchange and a yummy fondue party! Myself-I had the vegan chocolate and the best dipper was the pineapple-again. You just cannot beat pineapple dipped in chocolate!

Keep on the lookout for a new look! we will be changing our look and our name as I merge my crafty and family blogs really soon.

New Years Resolutions...did you make them?

I actually did this year. Here are mine:

1. To exercise 3 times a week. I think that is pretty reasonable, or at least, I hope it is! LOL
2. To not swear at ALL
3. To increase my spirituality by committing to personal and family a) prayer b) scripture reading and wholesome activities
4. To be a better example to my children.

Wish me luck.

Is it ok to say sometimes that life is not fair?

I know that "everything happens for a reason" and we must "go through trials to get blessings" etc etc...
but it sucks. It really sucks to see your now 2 month old baby so miserable and in so much pain. It sucks to watch him scream as he tries to go the bathroom. It sucks to watch his tiny little body contort in pain....to see and smell him vomit from his reflux and know how much it hurts him.

It really sucks. And I wonder what lesson I am supposed to get out of this?

I was talking to Shawn about it the other day. I told him "you know, as much as I didn't want to be pregnant in the beginning, you would have thought that I would get a nice happy baby to make up for the unexpected surprise"

to which he responds..."this is your payback" Thank you so much for making me feel like crap!

my immediate retort was "I don't think that Heavenly Father would do that!"

so then, what is the reason? I can't see it. And I hate what he is going through.

Christmas is over....

whew, it never fails to amaze me how insane it gets around the holidays.

We had an amazing Christmas this year. The kids are very happy with what they got. I just wish we would have had more sleep before starting the gift opening! LOL

Harrison is still not doing so hot. He started on Zantac for his reflux. He is also on nystatin for the thrush and probiotics for the thrush and his poor messed up digestive system. He still can't pass his stools very well and is quite miserable. I am still beyond exhausted holding him upright all night everynight to sleep on the couch. It will get better one day. In fact, it seems to a bit already since the zantac started...or maybe I am just delusional.

We got a check from the insurance company for our car. it wasn't very much so we had a limited budget to work with to get our new one. I got a picture of the old car before they took it away. It wasn't a very good angle, but you can see some of the damage. we are missing quite a bit off the front..almost a few feet



and here is the new car. it is an older VW Jetta. We found out the first few nights we had it that it does indeed handle well in the snow :)



The kids are all home on Christmas break. It has been a bit insane. Harrison is changing so much everyday and I am glad they have this time to play with him. he had a doctors appointment the other day and at weeks he is 10lb11oz.

If you could buy your own Christmas gifts?

what would you get yourself??? aka...what do you want for Christmas?

I would get
sock yarn which is a big dream cause you need 2 skeins!

and these DPN's to make socks

and these tips for my needles
(or gift certificates to the above stores to buy what I wanted from there later!)

I really like this knitting bag but in this fabric from Michaels

Knitting Pattern a day calendar (also available at all local book stores!)

Some small scissors like this for my knitting bag
they also have some beautiul scissors for cutting fabrics etc. at Joann's

There is also a cool pin cushion that is in the shape of a dress form that is blue and black swirls. I love it!

and some little markers like this or this for specific projects that need to be placed and removed easily.

Of course, for the family, we really need some new pots and pans as ours are getting pretty ratty!
the hard anodized sets like kitchen aid and rachel ray are really good quality pans...but of course, we still need a 12" skillet! like this one that is 12" all the way to the bottom of the pan so it holds enough food for our family size!

Such a hard post to write

Last Tuesday night, Shawn and I met at the shopko for kids eye appts. Conner was at academic bowl and called half way through to say he was done, so Shawn left with one of the little girls and Harrison to go get him. A bit later, I hear my name paged over the store and go walking to the front and seeConner with some lady I don't know. I asked him "where's dad" and he answered "he is at jack in the box"

HUH? the lady with him explains there was an accident, someone has the baby and Shawn is bleeding. I threw the items in my hand and took off running across the parking lot. Shawn and the kids are ok.

Shawn has a big knock on his head and an abrasion . After the swelling went down, he was left with 2 big black eyes that just get worse every day. The airbags literally exploded the glasses off of shawns face. It also knocked him out for a moment.

Conner has a big lump on his head. Harrison is ok.

The airbags deployed. The car is totalled.

The other guy was totally at fault (and was in fact cited) he pulled out really fast right in front of Shawn-Shawn had the right of way and could do nothing to avoid the accident. We are very grateful that Shawn was in the lane he was in. If he had been over one lane to the left, the guy would have hit us instead, and he would have hit us right where Conner and Harrison were sitting.

Shawn doesn't remember too much of it. It is kind of a blur. His face was burning from the chemicals in the airbags...and he was coughing all night. The chemicals are very harsh. After it all happened, he immediately rolled down his window, but the kids could not breathe very well. Conner reacted so fast! As soon as it happened, he saw the powder in the car and thought it was on fire! When Shawn regained consciousness, he (Conner) was out of the car and working quickly to get everyone out!

I am so proud of how level headed he (conner) was - especially for a 12 year old that was just in an accident that serious.



Shawn went and looked at the car today. I don't think he realized how bad it was till today. The steering wheel was pushed back right where his chest was. I am so grateful that we had airbags-or there is no knowing how seriously hurt he might have been.
This is what he looks like today:






This thanksgiving, I am most thankful that my family is ok and my husband is still with us

In honor of Thanksgiving

a few fun things!

You Are Apple Pie

You're the perfect combo of comforting and traditional. You prefer things the way you've always known them. You'll admit that you're old fashioned, and you don't see anything wrong with that. Your tastes and preferences are classic. And classic never goes out of style. Those who like you crave security. People can rely on you to be true to yourself - and true to them. You're loyal, trustworthy, and comfortable in your own skin. And because of these qualities, you've definitely earned a lot of respect.

What Kind of Pie Are You?

You Are Mashed Potatoes

Oridnary, comforting, and more than a little predictable You're the glue that holds everyone together.

What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

so the kids *update*

ok, so now that things have calmed down a bit, I can update on the family

Conner is doing well. He just got glasses this last week and his vision is getting pretty bad! He could only see about 15inches in front of him, and I don't know how he competed in gymnastics last year like that!
He was elected Student Council Representative this last week and is very excited. He also has his second Academic Bowl competition tomorrow. His team took first place last time and they are pretty excited about it. He is also a Student Ambassador and is enjoying that as well. With straight A's he is on the honor roll and his teachers are very impressed with the job I did homeschooling him. They said they wished they could clone him and have more students like him! Score 1 for the homeschooling mom! YAY!

Kaitlyn is also doing really well. She also has straight A's and is really doing well in school. She won a "responsible character" award this last week. Her teacher is impressed with her character and her willingness to help others learn and to help those that are having a hard time with making friends at school.
She is a big help to me. Everytime the baby fusses, she is right there before I can even get him! LOL

Noah is having a good time in school. He is getting almost straight A's. The one subject he is struggling in - well, that has been addressed with the teacher and should get better. She did not take the time to read his file and psych reports, so she was not giving him the assistance he needs to excel. Now that we have talked to her, it is getting better already.
He is really enjoying scouts this year and is making some friends! YES-making friends! unbelievable!

Hannah is doing good in school too. Her teacher says she enjoys having her so much in her class. She also won an award for "responsible character" Her teacher told a story of how there was a kid with a disability in her class was being teased and having a hard time getting along, and she went and tried to help him and talked to him. I am so proud of her for being such a caring person.

Alexis loves kindergarten. Every day she stands by the stove and announces to me each minute that passes until she is to leave to get on the bus! Her teacher told Shawn at conference "she doesn't have a problem expressing her opinions!" *OOPS* She is so funny.

Isabella is great. She has had a small amount of trouble adjusting to the changes with Harrison being born, but she is doing good over all. I think the hardest part is to get her to stop kissing him when he sleeps-so basically just leaving him alone!

harrison is doing well. at 2 weeks old, he is 8lb6oz! he just finished a growth spurt and it shows. he finally looks a bit healthier although none of his pants are fitting still! LOL they are all too big.
He is still struggling with some sensory stuff and has an issue with his tummy. The doctor thinks he may be having some reflux.

Will update soon with a picture of them all!

Squishy baby in his longies

These longies were knit by my best friend Stacy for Harrison. He is 12 days old in the picture (today!)

From this:



to this:

Harrison is here!!!

so I got a call Monday asking me to come in . seems they were overbooked and understaffed on wednesday so dr lowder had me come in due to how sick I was.

I had already gotten the kids on the bus but thankfully Shawn had not left yet for work.

so I called stacy to let her know and started gathering my stuff as quick as I could. I had some moments of panic as I wasn't prepared to go in that soon-I joked with Shawn that it was almost like going into labor on my own! LOL

Shawn went and picked up the kids from school and I kept getting ready and off we went to the hospital. I actually was contracting 10 min apart at that moment-maybe excitement or maybe it was supposed to be my day anyway!

We got here and due to how sick I had been (not able to really eat or drink anything without getting sick) I was totally dehydrated and they could not start my IV or draw labs. it took about 45 minutes to successfully get my IV started :( I look like a pin cushion on my arms.

they finally got results back and started the pit at about 11:15am. man-even at the low dose they were some intense pains and I just remember I would look at Stacy as it started, then close my eyes and breath silently. The nurse thought I wasn't feeling anything because I was so calm--I quickly corrected her on that misconception! LOL

They continued to increase my pit. I started to stress because dr lowder had surgery at 12:00 and I really wanted him there. I think that kept me from progressing at the time. Finally at about 12:45 or so I was at a 5. A little bit later I told stacy "that one felt different" she asked if she should call the nurse and I said "no, let me make sure with another one" it wasn’t a pushing pressure but there was a different sensation.
So 2 more contractions and I said "yeah, we better call her to check me" cause I could tell we were close
she came and checked me and said I was a stretchy 8. "you better call him NOW"
By then the feeling was getting quite intense.
Dr Lowder got there and sat down and they had my feet up in position and I remember asking them/him "are you going to even check to see if I am 10 yet???"
he just looked at me and laughed and said "jessica-the head is RIGHT HERE!!"
I laughed too and he told me to laugh again because it was pushing the baby out!

Harrison Parker was born less than 30 seconds later at 1:11pm
7lb 6oz
20 ¾ inch long
14 ¼ inch head

Nursing is going well.

37 weeks and a bit more progress

Today was a good appointment. My OB was not in and I got to see my favorite nurse that was with me through my 3 previous pregnancies..Nancy.

She asked if I minded if she examined me - and then if Calista (the other nurse) could check me too. Calista is learning to do exams and I had no problem with that at all. Nancy was very excited when she checked me and told calista she'd be able to feel it right away.

So Calista checked, and yup, she was very excited that she could tell what I was! LOL YAY ME for having a good cervix.

So 2cm, 50% effaced, head is 0 station. they could poke through the opening in my cervix and touch his head.

My BP was still higher than normal, but back down a bit so we are good till Tuesday. I am really starting to swell and my headaches have increased, so that is not the best news but-what can you do?

So that is all for now. I've been having lots of contractions today but nothing to excite me much.

36 1/2 weeks and time is flying

I really wish it would slow down so I could enjoy these last few weeks before Harrison is born. It is going by too fast. People keep saying "oh, those last weeks go by sooo slow" and I am like "NO! They are going by WAY TOO FAST!"

got checked today due to how sick I have been. 1 1/2 cm dilated now...36 weeks and 3 days. I gained 1 cm in the last week! woo hoo. LOL cause that means SO much-not!

other than that, we are good. I am grumpy. My family keeps irritating me hormones *cough* *cough* hormones and it seems all I want to do is sleep.

The only thing I look forward to soon with him coming is that I will start to normalize in my hormones again....well, as normal as can be expected!
and Shawn-stop laughing and agreeing with me!

Go to sleep

*UGH*

All I want to do is go back to sleep for even 30 minutes.
I go lay down, get all comfy wrapped up in my blanket and close my eyes and.....
*bump*
*bump*
*bump*
Harrison *bump* has *bump* hiccups.

*sigh*

I am so tired.

35 week appointment

I am off of bedrest!

he said to use common sense and if my contractions are bad, take it easy...duh! LOL

so almost 1 cm, very softat 25% effaced and head is down at -2 station

because of my distance from the office, he said I don't even have to go back for 2 weeks! (unless I have issues! LOL) woo hoo!!!! now I can get some stuff done!

Update on that lawsuit

Officer to drop lawsuit

and key points of the article:

1. 
   The city also reported today that it has placed Eichhorn on leave
2. In a prepared statement, the department said it did so after a controversy over the suit caused it to review the incident.

Official City Statement and a very funny article on the situation Hello, 911? send a cop that won't sue

Stuff for Harrison (moved from crafty)

I am on a roll! LOL Is this what nesting does to ya?


Goldfish-Knit from my own dyed yarn from our store Nurturing Threads
then we have some new longies knit from yarn from Laurie at Mommy's" Little Sweetie

and shorts, again dyed by me in the mint chocolate colorway.

POSTED 9-29-07


OK, so I have been very busy with making stuff for this little boy. I finally got rid of my fear and took on knit binding on the neckline for shirts. So much easier than FOE!








The shirt pattern is from New Conceptions baby essentials
The sewn pants are from Ottobre Design/ (a wonderful pattern magazine out of Finland)
The knitted longies are from Little Turtle Knits/ picky pants pattern.

There just are no words for this situation

long story short...1 year old boy gets into pool. Parents find him, bring him inside to revive him...cops show up to help and one slips in a puddle of water inside, gets hurt and is now SUING THE FAMILY of the boy...who by the way, is several brain damaged and will never be normal again.

here is the story:
Cops falls on the job, sues family

some lovely little tidbits:

1. One of the rescuers, Casselberry police Sgt. Andrea Eichhorn, is suing, alleging the family left a puddle of water on the floor that afternoon, causing her to slip and fall.
2. accusing them of negligence. They were careless, according to the suit, and allowed the home they shared to become unsafe
3. If the Cosmillos had made their pool baby-proof, police would not have been called to the scene, there would have been no water on the floor, and Eichhorn would not have hurt herself, he said

I really cannot say anything on this subject without being foul, so I will let you draw your own conclusions.

All I can say is, if I were in that city, I'd gladly sit on the jury for this trial!

So 34 weeks today and I started to drop yesterday

I noticed that I had to go to the bathroom a lot more yesterday. Of course, this irritated me and I wasn't even thinking! LOL Last night as I went to feel my belly - I noticed "hmm, this is different" and went and looked and sure enough, he has dropped some.

Not that this is really exciting by any means as I ALWAYS drop early...along with dilating early and effacing early. I just don't go INTO labor early! LOL
When I had Isabella, I was 5+ cm and 100% effaced and not in labor. but hey! progress is progress right?

Still on bedrest. Getting pretty frustrated with it as it is so hard to run a household with 8 people while stuck in bed. Luckily I am still able to get up and sew. Been knitting more too, those are posted on my crafty blog.

The business is doing good. We get so many requests for custom orders. I was also approached by a store that sells online and in a B&M physical store and she wanted me to contact her regarding my knitting needle rolls and stitch markers to possibly carry in her stores. I am too busy right now, but I will keep it in mind. We also ran a co-op on our yarn for an online group, and I have 70 skeins to dye before he is born. . . so I am following the rules and sitting at the counter to do it! LOL

I am hoping that my pressure is going down. I really do not want another appointment with a super high pressure! 142/94 was pretty bad (especially since my normal is 112/78) and I think a second reading like that with the protein may make Dr Lowder do something more that we aren't ready for.

Thats all for now. Will have more on current events later.

quick post

to let you know, if you haven't checked my crafty blog lately, I put some new stuff up that I did for Harrison.
Jessica's Stitch N Knit

come check it out!

Appointment today

So, apparently, my blood pressure has decided it doesn't want to stay down. Today was 142/94 with small amounts of protein in my urine.

No sugar in my urine though-so that was a good thing. I have lost a lb...bringing my total pregnancy weight gain to just over 1 lb. Luckily, it doesn't seem to bother Dr. Lowder much! LOL

Baby sounds good. He is head down already, confirming my guess that he had moved and that was why I had lost half my belly! LOL

I was told to take it easy over the next few weeks and we will see how my pressure and urine are at my next appointment.

I am so glad that he is not quick to rush to any quick interventions or suggestions of what needs to be done.

That is it. Picture to come soon!

ok, for those that have asked

We've received requests from friends and family asking what we want or need still for baby Harrison.
This is what is left on our list.

* A diaper pail. Diaper Champ or Safety First

* Rain Forest soother

* Size NEWBORN prefolds from Green Mountain Diapers

* Longies, size small

* size small proraps cloth diaper covers.

* Nice thick hooded towels

* Lansinoh disposable breast pads

* Paul Mitchell baby shampoo

I hope that helps!

32 weeks already

So, tomorrow is the big day. We hit 32 weeks in this pregnancy and I cannot believe how time has flown by!

I am on light bedrest right now due to contractions that I was having pretty regularly last week. I am hoping that we are seen on Wednesday that I will be released from that! I also am really sick and had to get on some antibiotics to kick it, and I am starting to feel a bit better

My blood pressure was up Friday. 140/92. That worries me. The last few births I didn't start raising my pressure until closer to delivery (about 37 weeks) so I do not like that it is high already! Hopefully with all this rest, it is going down and I will get good news Wednesday.

So Harrison has turned position. He is no longer laying trasnverse (sideways) which is good. I am not sure if he is breech now or vertex (head down) but I will ask Dr. Lowder. The bad news about him turning is that due to my anterior placenta he is all in my back, right on my spine and hips which is causing me more pain in my SI Joint problem . I also have lost half my belly! LOL and am not looking nearly as pregnant as I was.

So my friend Darcy asked for a picture of my new funky glasses. I promise to have one tomorrow along with new belly pictures!

Pregnant vents, just a few

1) failing your glucose test and having to go in for a 3 hour test-WITH toddler in tow.

2) overalls. what sadistic MAN ever thought up making MATERNITY OVERALLS!!!!??? uhm, hello????? Do you not realize how many times a day pregnant women pee???? And to have to un-do and re-do those straps EVERY SINGLE TIME!!!! What a dumb idea!

3) hormones-we just won't even go there. you have a problem with that?

4) hunger, bloating, cravings, gas--the list goes on and on.

*sigh* it will be over soon. and it will be worth it. but the journey there is SOO not fun right now!

Should I laugh? cry? be angry?? or all of the above?

More for harrison (moved from crafty)

so-it seems that this new baby inside of me has sucked out my ability to blog, but now that we are getting closer to delivery, I am getting crafty again.

Here are some projects I have done again for baby Harrison


This is a cloth diaper sleeper sack by dandelion dreamers pattern and a cloth diaper soaker by curly purly pattern.

The Dandelion dreamers sack was kettle dyed BFL in my acorn colorway. The Curly Purly was a plymouth outback yarn.



another sleeper sack out of Malabrigo Tortuga wool yarn. The booties are the Little Turtle Knits stripe bootie pattern and the red/brown soaker is Little Turtle Knits hybrid rib soaker.

Then with fall in the air, I have done some new colorways for my yarn!

Acorn


Caramel Apple


Juicy Pear

So its my birthday today

one more year has gone by...oh so fast. I feel like the time goes by and I lose so much of my life and the kids. We need more hours in the day.

So, this month. Its been a while since I posted last. I cut off all my hair. Granted - the lady took off about 3-4 inches more than I asked for, so I didn't really get what I wanted, but I will adjust.

I got new glasses, some really fun and funky ones!

Baby Harrison is growing. My belly has gotten just a tad bit bigger. Yesterday a lady still couldn't tell I was pregnant!

Will post pictures soon. Been insanely busy as school starts this week.

IBC-a Silent Cancer killer?

Inflammatory Breast Cancer.
Do you know what it is? If not, you could be at risk.

Most women know; check your breasts, if you have a lump go to the doctor-and start having mammograms at age 40.

But what if the cancer doesn't make a lump? And is undetectable by mammogram?

Inflammatory Breast Cancer aka IBC is the most AGRESSIVE form of breast cancer. Estimates say it could be around 6 to even 10% of breast cancers are this type. Most women don't know they have it until it is TOO LATE.

symptoms may include:
One breast larger than the other
Red or pink skin
Swelling Rash (entire breast or small patches)
Orange-like texture (peau d’orange)
Skin hot to the touch
Pain and/or itchiness
Ridges or thickened areas of breast
Nipple discharge
Nipples that appear inverted or flattened
Swollen lymph nodes under the armpit or on the neck

And if you think you are exempt because you are young??? Wrong
Women as young as 16 and 24 are documented on THIS NEWS PAGE .

This is a serious issue ladies. Please, pass this information onto the women in your lives. If your doctor is not familiar with it (as most are NOT) then print off the reports from THIS NEWS PAGE and take it in with you.

If you have a symptom above GET A BIOPSY! this is the ONLY way to know for sure if you have it.

Know your breasts ladies. Pay attention to the changes. NOTIFY your doctor and GET THE CARE you need before it may be too late.

So we had our ultrasound today

Do you see what I see????



It was pretty in your face the moment he put the doppler on my tummy! LOL, he took it off immediately and moved somewhere else since he lets us stay in suspense till the end and I don't think he realized we already saw it! LOL but of course, I wasn't "SURE" with the view

Everything looked good. We had a hard time with getting pictures because of the placenta really being in the way. At the end when Dr Lowder went to show us the gender, the baby closed its legs! LOL he says "AH! tell it to open the legs back up!! but I already know cause I peeked!"

Currently he is weighing in at 12 oz.


so he checks again, legs are open and freezes the picture on the screen and just puts the arrow there and turns and looks at me. I could see it and started laughing and was thinking "guess that isn't an umbilical cord!!!"

The kids saw it then and said "its a boy!" and Bella started crying and burried her face in Shawn's neck because she was insistent that it be a girl!

so Harrison Parker will be joining our family sometime late this fall

Dh kept saying " I told you so" and I didn't want to take away his thunder that I was already feeling it, just not accepting it! LOL I don't think he reads my long blog entries so it is ok for me to admit that I already knew--duh! why else was I buying boy clothes and fabric??? I just didn't want to admit it cause his "I know it is a boy" was getting really annoying! LMBO Secretly, I really wanted a boy and I am so very excited that he is coming!

So here is our 20 week belly shot. I had to really scrunch it up in this picture to get it to show


standing:


My weight is now under my starting weight, but we aren't too concerned. Baby is obviously growing and looks good.

Thats's all for now!

time to catch up (crafty)

I haven't posted here in a while!

First off, some more longies I did for the baby


The first pair is Malabrigo and the second pair is Pure Wool

Then I did this yarn for the store:










and started these squares for the baby blanket

Random thoughts and a tag

So, first, I've been tagged by Jo - one of my most favorite women in the world. I have to share 8 random items about ME!!
1) I am pregnant with my 7th child, and I am 31 years old.
2) I was a cheerleader in highschool, back when it was about talent! LOL
3) I love to knit.
4) I often feel like I don't measure up to the other women in my church.
5) My hair should be red to match my Irish temper.
6) I was engaged to my husband just a short 2 weeks after I met him.
7) I once went to a taping of the Jerry Springer show.
8) I don't care if I have grammatical or spelling errors when I type online. I am not writing an english paper darn it! LOL


Ok, so on to things.
In reading Jo's blog this last week, I came across some really despicable people. People that once again believe all the propoganda they are read about every thing they ever learned. This particular topic was the new Gardasil Vaccine for HPV aka Human Papilloma Virus and how dumb we were for not getting it for our daughters.
First off, Gardasil has already caused 3 deaths and over 1,637 adverse vaccination reactions reported--including 371 very serious reactions which included paralysis, Bells Palsy, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and seizures.
All since it was first adminstered.
Doctors are recommending girls as young as 9 get this vaccine.

here is an idea. HPV is a sexually transmitted disease! TEACH YOUR CHILDREN ABSTINENCE! Teach them to be abstaining from sex before marriage. Teach them to be responsible. But that is just too hard for some that don't want to have to actually raise their children after they bring them into this world and teach them values and morals.

Why why why do we keep coming out with all these vaccines that are not 100% effective - that do cause deaths and serious reactions.
Why? Its all about the money.

I Can Only Imagine

If you have never seen this video before, you must see it. In honor of Father's Day, I share it with you. What an amazing father this man is:



About the men in the video:

Dick and Rick Hoyt are a father-and-son team from Massachusetts who together compete just about continuously in marathon races. And if they’re not in a marathon they are in a triathlon — that daunting, almost superhuman, combination of 26.2 miles of running, 112 miles of bicycling, and 2.4 miles of swimming. Together they have climbed mountains, and once trekked 3,735 miles across America.

It’s a remarkable record of exertion — all the more so when you consider that Rick can't walk or talk.

For the past twenty five years or more Dick, who is 65, has pushed and pulled his son across the country and over hundreds of finish lines. When dick runs, Rick is in a wheelchair that dick is pushing. When dick cycles, Rick is in the seat-pod from his wheelchair, attached to the front of the bike. When dick swims, Rick is in a small but heavy, firmly stabilized boat being pulled by dick.

At Rick’s birth in 1962 the umbilical cord coiled around his neck and cut off oxygen to his brain. dick and his wife, Judy, were told that there would be no hope for their child’s development.

To read more about this amazing father and son team, visit: Team Hoyt

my view today

Update to the abdominal u/s (ie gallbladder stuff)

Looks like I never posted the update Dr. Lowder gave me.

I have numerous smaller stones in my gallbladder. I also have one that is a bit over 2cm. I didn't think it was that big until I actually saw it on my measuring tape!
The size makes most alternative treatments go out of the picture.
One of my other measurements pertaining to the gallbladder were also listed on the high side of normal (can't remember what it was) but they will have to watch that too.
Good news is, no dilation of bile ducts.

So for now, I deal with it. I have to eat low fat. That only turns out to be hard when take out is offered or when we eat food not prepared by us.

A Very Powerful PSA: Watch Your Swimming Pools

The actress in this commercial is a sister of a friend. It may be hard to watch, but the message is so very important.
It is set to be released soon.

Click on it to view.<


if that link does not work, try this one:

Link to commercial

I am so proud of Noah

I know I have posted about Noah's neurological issues before. He was diagnosed with a brain injury related to a stroke he had in-utero. He is also tentative aspergers. he has a disconnect in the processes of his brain and has anger issues, issues with self soothing etc.

We have been working on medications this last year to try and slow things down in his brain so that he can function. He went back to public school this year and really struggled at first. He was failing. He was being bullied all the time . The teacher would not listen when I told him his process of learning. We finally got through to her, and she changed her ways with him.

We found that the zoloft he was on was actually exaggerating his problems and making them worse and we switched to a new medication (trazadone) in January, and it has been a world of difference. he is finally affectionate. He will allow me to hug him and will also initiate a hug. For almost 8 years we have had the opposite...he would pull away if you tried to touch hi. I cry almost every time because I just can't believe it is him! (he actually climbed up on the couch and sat next to me the other day and then leaned over and SNUGGLED ME! I looked at Shawn with this dumbfounded look on my face and he was looking at me the same way!

He has made the honor roll 3 quarters in a row now...today his award was for "high honor roll" which is straight-A's!

He also WON A BIKE from the local car dealership for perfect attendance.

I am so proud of him. I am so glad to finally see him happy. To see a smile on his face.
And he has actually made a FRIEND!I just had to share-it was such a hard decision to start him on medications, but now I am so glad that we did.

Got the results

Apparently, I do indeed have gallstones. How many or how big, I have no idea because I forgot to ask. The pain that ended me up in the ER was an attack, and I had pain constantly for a week after that-just not as severe.
I have kind of expected this. I have been having intestinal issues for 1 1/2 years and with my family history-I kind of suspected. It is nice to have an answer now-but it really sucks for finding things to eat.
Most things I eat sends me into pain or into the bathroom. It is pretty miserable. For now, Dr. Lowder wants to try and keep me good with diet so that we do not have to do surgery while I am pregnant. I can understand that - but man this sucks big time.
Yes, I know pregnancy increases chances of gallstones. Yes, I know about flushes. Yes I know everyone and their dog "knows someone else that has gone through this and they were just fine." I get that. I don't have to be reminded everytime I talk about it! LOL

So this means for me, not risking going to far from home until the pregnancy is over. I have a hyperirritable uterus and with the pain comes contractions. I cannot risk being too far from home, the ER and my OB if a bad attack were to send me into preterm labor.
It also means that I am going to have to go almost totally vegan/raw. Just about everything I eat right now is a trigger....but hey, gives me something new to concentrate on right?

I see OB again tomorrow. We will find out when the u/s will be. Plus we will talk more about this crap that is going on.

Not much to report today

I am still waiting on the results from my abdominal u/s from yesterday....resulting from a trip to the ER this weekend. My gallbladder, pancreas, aorta etc...all were checked yesterday. The pain I had this weekend was excrutiating...I'd almost say worse than a contraction! So now we sit and wait. It was a big mess in the ER and I won't even start with writing it all down here, suffice it to say-I wouldn't trust going in there again.

Good news is, I have been feeling the baby move. The ER could not find FHT's on the baby Sunday night so my OB had me come in for a quick check Monday morning. Not only is my fundal height higher than it should be for how far along I am (and we are SURE on dates) but I have an anterior placenta again. Heart looked good on baby and was beating fast. When he was looking for it, he got to one spot and as we heard the baby move on the doppler I felt it too....so all those little movements really were the baby! At only 14 weeks! :) I think the u/s that day was the first time I have actually cried during a scan...I was just so relieved to see the baby was ok.

So..now it is a waiting game to see how long it takes the radiologist to get her report to my OB. I hope it soon.

It is with great sadness tonight

that I share the passing of a great friend, Patsy.

Patsy was diagnosed with lung cancer in August of last year. She was ill with a cough for many months and the doctors never did a chest x-ray. By the time they checked, she had a tumor in her lung and the cancer had spread to her liver and brain.

Patsy fought very hard. We ran auctions to do fundraisers for the family and I collected quilt sqaures from our online communities to make her a quilt.

She was doing "fair" up until 3 days ago. Thursday. She was admitted to the hospital and went downhill from there. Today she was in a coma on life support.

She took her last breath at 9:30 EST. She leaves behind a husband and 7 children.

Patsy, I will always think of you when I see Captain Jack Sparrow. May you and your family have peace.

I will miss you.

Homeschooling and Socialization

http://www.inflatablestudios.com/
I came across this today and found it quite funny
I hear this all the time. "what about socialization?"

My answer? I want them to be civilized. Not socialized. And truly-what socialization do they learn at school? They learn to sit in a desk. They are told not to talk. And then they run around for 15 minutes at recess beating on each other. Teachers don't teach social skills. Parents do.

Humble

Until this week, I don't think I truly ever got what it meant to "be humbled"
I think I understand now.

Since I found out I was pregnant, I have struggled so much with upset feelings. Feelings of dismay, of anger, of indifference.
I had truly believed that we were done having kids and I was very excited contemplating what was going to be in store for me and our family in the next few years.
I had my plan set. School, maybe a trip.

Then this baby came and knocked me off my feet. I was in shock. Denial. Angry. Disbelieving. I kept wondering "WHY" Why did Heavenly Father do this to us? I was so very unhappy and have struggled to accept it.

Then the last 24 hours, I had the wind knocked out of me. And by a fictional book and television show to say the least. I was reminded of what was important.
It started last night watching TV. There were 2 scenarios. One was of a single woman who was getting older and wanted desperately to have a child. She had terminated a previous pregnancy and now found that she was out of time. She had no chance of having a baby. She had no eggs left. She was devastated.
The second was of a huge messy triangle of people that involved several men, a surrogate and a mother to be. Watching the desperation for a baby. Seeing the emotions when it failed. The surrogate kept the baby and the family that was expecting the child didn't get to have it. They were just deflated.
Then I read a fictional book by a LDS author today that dealt with a couple with infertility. Reading the raw emotions was so painful. The struggle they went through to try and have a baby repeatedly. I was crying almost the whole book.
Realizing that there are women out there that will NEVER have what we do. Never get to feel a baby move and kick from within their womb. Never get that exhilarating feeling of pushing and hearing babies first cry. Never get to hold that child to their breast and inhale the sweet scent of my babies head while I nourish him/her.
I am so selfish. I have that chance. And I failed to enjoy it. I failed to be thankful for it.
It doesn't matter if I am ready for this. It doesn't matter what our family thinks. It doesn't matter if we understand the big picture or what plans we were already making.

For some reason, Heavenly Father saw fit to send us another precious child. I do not understand the reasons behind it. But how arrogant was I to question it? This baby is here for a reason. . because Heavenly Father wishes it to be so.

I am in awe. and I am so very humbled and thankful.

Visited Dr. L today

and so glad to say that there is only 1 BABY!!!

I cannot even begin to tell you how much of a relief that was. So we couldn't get the heartbeat, so he did a quick u/s to check since I am almost 12 weeks. Baby was there heart beating away. It actually looked like a baby this time. Very cool.

My BP was up at 140/100. But we did get it back down to 120/80 after a bit. I am also already spilling protein in my urine. I am hoping I am just dehydrated as I really don't want the pre-eclampsia to start so early this time.

Now I can tell Shawn to STOP teasing me about 2 babies and just enjoy the pregnancy....once I feel better that is.

And just because I haven't posted anything political lately, here you go again.



and my all time favorite:

First pair of longies knitted

These were knit from hand dyed malabrigo. size small. combo of the curly purly waist and LTK pattern along with a bit of stacy thrown in. I like the malabrigo for a small baby because it is so soft, and I don't have to worry about pilling as much because they dont' move as much! LOL
ok, so I learned what NOT to do while pregnant and exhausted.KNIT
I must wait until I am more awake before I continue on with what is on my needles. why?? well, because somehow, you can make mistakes. and I could not tell you how I did this....it wasn't that I just didn't move it from one side to the other. I actually KNIT IT into the pattern! Seriously, just could not figure it out! yes, that is my ROW COUNTER!!!!

we now call it longie baby bling! LOL