Sleeping in the Nude

So tonight, I went to tuck the boys in. It was a little chilly in their room, so I was tucking them in and noticed Ezra's bare arm sticking out above the blanket. That was odd, since he was supposed to have long-sleeve pjs on. So I pulled down the blanket expecting that he had taken his shirt off.

Instead I found that he was completely naked under his blanket. He had even taken his diaper off. I was laughing so hard while I was dressing him again. I guess he was more comfortable that way!

Day 30

I am thankful for the Christmas season. I love spending time with family and exchanging gifts and how happy people seem to be (for the most part) at this time of year. It makes the cold weather easier to handle.

This month of saying what I am thankful has been difficult, but really good for me to think it all out. Maybe I'll do this again next year!

Day 29

Today I am so thankful for Ezra's birthday today! He is two and I can't believe he's come so far and is so big and smart! I love talking with him and seeing him play. He has the most amazing eye lashes and makes the cutest faces. I love him and am so blessed to be his mommy!

Day 28

I am thankful for old friends that still care about me. We went to my parent's church Sunday morning and it was great to catch up with people I knew from way back when.

Day 27

I'm thankful for a great dad who helps me when I take on projects that are probably a bit over my head.

Day 26

Today I'm thankful for shopping and time with my mom and sister. We spent a great day talking and getting some great deals!

Day 25

I am thankful for Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving is a big holiday in our family. My mom's brothers and sister and their families all get together to have a big dinner and hang out. Lots of good food and it is always a lot of fun hanging out with everyone!

Day 24

I am thankful for a break from school! Oh how glorious it is to sleep in!

Day 23

I am thankful for blankets and heat. I love being warm (so why do I live in wisconsin?) and cuddling under a blanket on a cold night is amazing!

Day 22

I am thankful for KLOVE, the christian radio station I listen too. It really helps me keep focused on God during the day and makes my commute much more bearable.

Day 21

I am thankful for modern medicine. Although I sometimes get annoyed at paying the bills, I am thankful that we have medicines and test and can keep ourselves healthy.

Day 20

I am thankful for chocolate. It is truly my guilty pleasure!

Day 19

I'm thankful for school. Although right now it is kicking my butt, I am so grateful for the opportunity I have been given to go back to school and to become a nurse midwife.

Day 18

I'm thankful for our small group. The fellowship is great and it is nice to have a set night for games, friends, and food.

Day 17

I'm thankful for Calvin's job. Even though it isn't exactly what we want for him, it's been stable in a very unstable economy and it is exactly what we need right now.

Day 16

I'm thankful for my brother. Though we've had our ups and down, it's been great growing up with him.

Day 15 - oops, I got behind!

I'm thankful for my sister, Katie. What more is there to say? She's amazing!

Day 14

I am thankful for a nice warm house. Even though it gets messy and seems overwhelming at times, I am so thankful that we have a great home to live in.

Day 13

I am thankful for everyone who came to celebrate my birthday with me. I had a great time!

Day 12

I am thankful for a wonderful day care provider for my boys. Kat really loves the boys and loves to do fun stuff with them. She has been teaching them so many things and I really appreciate the fact that I can study and do what I need to do and not have to worry about who my boys are with or what they are doing.

Day 11

Today I am thankful for all the veterans and their families. The sacrifices you have made for me and my family are amazing and a simple thank you is not enough.

Day 10

Today I am thankful for a good friend to carpool to school with. Although right now we can only carpool one day, it makes those two hours in the car go much quicker and are much more enjoyable.  And April and I have a good time when we get lost, wait, I mean detoured. ;)

Day 9

Today I am thankful that I am not a single mom. I know I've already mentioned how thankful I am for Calvin, but he was away on a business trip yesterday and today and I was on my own with the boys. That meant yesterday morning I had to get the boys up and going earlier than normal and by myself.

Of course that meant I left later than I was hoping and had to rush to drop the boys off at the baby sitter's house. And of course since the boys were up earlier than normal, they were cranky.  Thankfully I made it to class on time.  On Mondays I'm done with classes at 12:15, so I usually drive back home and study until my fitness class. Yesterday, I went to a Starbucks near the babysitter's house to study and then picked up the boys early. Then I took them to the YMCA and dropped them off at the daycare so I could go to my fitness class.  After class I picked up the boys and grabbed some McDonald's on the way to a dermatology appointment for the rash on Matthias' face.  Finally we got  home at about 7:30pm, half an hour past the boys' bedtime.  Thankfully they went right to sleep.

Then this morning it started all over. Thankfully Calvin was able to get home in time to pick up the boys from the baby sitter's because I had a late clinical. I don't know how single moms juggle it all and I admire them for all they do for their families.  I'm just thankful that I have Calvin to help me get through the craziness that is our life.

Day 8

Today I'm thankful for a great pediatrician. The boys' doctor is amazing! She never minimizes my concerns, but isn't an alarmist either when the boys have a problem. She listens to and remembers what is going on with me and the boys and not just the medical stuff. When she has to refer us to a specialist, she always keeps track of their appointments and calls after them to see how they went. If they are sick and she's worried about them, she'll call at night or on the weekend to see how they are doing.  I love her and am so glad we found her! If you live in our area and need a pediatrician recommendation, let me know!

Day 7

I am so thankful for the amazing friends I have. They love and support me and care about me and miss me when I miss church or some other event. It's awesome!

Day 6

Today I am thankful for my parents. They have always been there for me and supported me in whatever I chose to do, even if it wasn't what they wanted for me.  I love them and are so glad they are my parents!

Day 5

Today I am thankful for healthy children. Lately, I have had a number of friends go through losing their children too soon, having them too soon and watching them spend time in the NICU, and having children born with problems.  I have been blessed that my children are pretty much healthy and any problems they have had, we have been able to handle and deal with.

Day 4

I'm thankful for a supportive husband. Life is so busy with me going back to school and I could not have done it without Calvin's support. He's picked up a lot of slack in the last few months and I cannot thank him enough.

Day 3

I'm thankful for unexpected time to myself.  Today the friend I carpool with got sick at school, so we skipped our last class so she could go home and go to bed.  That meant I got home about three hours early, so I got a few hours to myself. And since I was planning on being in class, I didn't have anything that needed to be done, so was able to relax a bit. Bliss!

Thankful, Day 2

I am thankful for the freedom to vote. No matter who wins, we have the opportunity to cast our vote without the fear of violence over the outcome.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 1

I'm stealing this from others, but for November, I'll be participating in 30 days of Thanksgiving. These are not in any particular order, just what I happen to be thankful each day.

Today:

I am thankful for in-laws that love to visit us and put up with our weaknesses.  They understand that we are busy and overlook the messy house and even help get us caught up. And they didn't even make any comments when our house was a disaster only a week and a half after my mother-in-law cleaned it the first time. I am so blessed that I have such amazing in-laws; they are not just my husband's family, but my family too. 

So I've become one of those bloggers that I hate

I've been a bad blogger and it has been way too long. What can I say? Nursing school is busy and my two little boys don't stop either.

Yes, I said little boys. I can no longer claim them as babies or even really toddlers.  They are talking so much and are so smart! It is pretty neat to be able to talk to them and actually understand what they are saying.

So what else is new? We joined the YMCA.  We have a gorgeous facility near us and decided to take the plunge into fitness. I was a little skeptical about how often we'd actually go, but I am really enjoying it. I joined a intro class and I have been enjoying working out when I have time. Although I'd like to lose a few pounds, the biggest reason I am doing this is to get into shape.  I want to be healthy.

Ok, that's all for today, but I promise I'll be back soon.

Busy Bee

And life just won't slow down. School started this past Monday and it is going to be crazy. I was hoping that maybe fall semester would not be quite as crazy as summer semester, but it looks like it will be just as crazy if not worse.  There is one class that I feel like I'm spending more time on than I spend on my other three lecture classes combined! And then of course there are clinicals! Those would be nerve-wracking even if that was the only thing we were doing this summer!

And of course to add to the craziness this week, Ezra got stung by a bee right below his eye.  This caused the entire side of his face to swell up. Of course he was at the sitter's when it happened. So she called me and I called the nurse line, because she was concerned this might be an allergy. The nurse line wanted to speak to her, so she called the nurse line. The nurse line suggested we call Ezra's doctor. So I called his doctor's office and they wanted to see him. So I drove to the sitter's, got Ezra, drove back to the doctor, saw  the doctor, went to the pharmacy for benedryl, stopped for lunch, dropped Ezra off back at the sitter's, and finally got to Starbucks to start studying.  Of course by now it was after one o'clock.  Ezra thankfully is doing a lot better. The swelling is down and he no longer looks like he got punched in the face!

Sore mouth, broken car

So last week, while we were on vacation, someone hit our van (that we've had for like six weeks). Calvin and I had gone out for dinner to celebrate our 5 year anniversary and when we walked out of the restaurant we discovered that someone had hit our van and left. No note or anything.  It looks like it was a big black truck and it smashed the two passenger doors.  Great fun. We had to wait for the cop to come so we could file a report (though the cop was really nice about it).  And of course since we have no idea who it was that hit us and the likelihood of ever finding out who it was is slim to none, we are out our $500 deductible.


That also meant that this week I had to bring it in to get fixed. No big deal, especially since I am on break, right? Well, Tuesday I got my wisdom teeth out and the earliest we could bring it in was Wednesday. So I brought it in, no problem. The rental car guy met me at the collision place with my rental car for while the van is being fixed. A nice, brand new black Lincoln Town Car.  Apparently we have a $40 a day rental allowance and the rental company wanted to give us a car that used pretty much all of that amount. Anyways, I think I freaked out the rental guy when I had to sit down while he was showing me the car because I got woozy. I was fine to drive, since I was fine sitting down, just standing for any length of time kind of did me in.

So the estimate on the van is $2128 and we won't get it back until at least Thursday.  My teeth are starting to feel better, though I'm still eating only soft foods and loving my pain meds.  And Matthias looks for Grandpa Doornbos every he sees the rental car, since three of the last four cars Grandpa has rented while down here have been Lincoln's.

Vacation

I know it's been a while. School was crazy and now I'm on vacation.  I finished the summer semester strong with all As and am finishing up week one of a two week break.

No long post tonight, just a quick Matthias story. We're driving down main street in Branson, MO (where we're currently on vacation).  One of the buildings has a fake King Kong on the side of it.  We told Matthias to look out his window at the monkey. He sees it and goes 'Oh monkey'. And then he goes  'Oh No, Oh No, Oh No. Boom." Apparently in his head the monkey fell off the building.

Good boy, not so good parenting

So tonight after he went to bed, Matthias got up, left his room, found the potty, brought the potty to his room, stripped down and peed on the potty. YAY! Here's the unfortunate part. Calvin walked in and saw Matthias naked and  proceeded to punish him (if you remember, we had some pooping paintings that have made us gun shy of naked little boys).  He then realized that Matthias had peed on the potty, so he felt bad and told Matthias he was sorry for punishing him and praised him a lot. So hopefully that punishment won't deter the potty training, because that was a GIANT step forward for Matthias.

Have I mentioned that summer classes are crazy?

So I know there has been a lack of posts coming from me lately. Why? Because summer classes are crazy! Although I am only taking two classes at a time, they are extremely accelerated.  Normal semesters have about 13 or 14 weeks. Summer sessions have 5 or 6 weeks. This means that classes are longer and require more work. Instead of three hours of lecture a week, we have 6 to 9 hours a week. Labs are eight hours long, instead of the normal 2-3 hours in a normal semester. In a normal class, you spend the first week or two trying to get a feel for the class and the professor and reviewing old material and don't do a lot of "real" learning until week three or four.  In summer classes, you start into the meat of the material on the first day. You often have tests after only a day or two of class. We read 300-400 pages a week, as well as listen to lectures, watch videos, and do homework.

So balance all of that with taking care of a house and being a mom to two small children, I'm exhausted. My boys are at the sitter's house five days a week so I can study. This means I pretty much spend all day either in class or studying. I do that so that I can have most of my evenings and weekends free to spend with Calvin and the boys.  But it is definitely tiring. There is only so much information that you can absorb in one day without blowing your head up and each day during summer classes I get close to that head blowing feeling.  This also means that I don't have a lot of time or energy for things like blogging or cleaning my house for that matter. But this is just a season and God will help me through it. Thankfully, Calvin has been extremely supportive and has really picked up the slack around the house.

Rock a bye baby...

We had a rather eventful weekend.  On Friday afternoon a severe storm rolled through our area with winds over 70 mph.  Calvin arrived home with the boys about 4:15 and discovered that we had no power. After investigating, he found that a rather large tree from our neighbors' yard had come down into our backyard and had taken a power pole down with it, breaking the pole in at least three places and pulling down all the lines.  There were trees down all over our town, so we knew it would take a while to get power again.  The boys and I went to a friend's house while Calvin had to go to a wedding rehearsal that he was doing sound for. 

After the rain ended, we checked out the damage and realized that besides the power lines being down, we were smelling gas.  After reporting all the damage to the energy company, we decided that the boys and I would head up to my parents' house for the weekend and Calvin would stay down here to take care of coordinating the repairs and because he had to do the sound for that wedding on Saturday. 

Thankfully the energy company really worked hard and were able to replace the pole and restore our power by Saturday night after having no power for almost 30 hours.  The gas had been turned off Friday evening, so Sunday afternoon the gas company came back to fix the gas leak and the cable came back to rewire the internet lines.  So everything is working again.

So now the clean-up begins.  We still have a number of wires in our backyard and most of the three is one our property. And a good chunk of our fence is down.  Thankfully we had no damage to our house.

The tree down before the power company came.

The pile of tree trunks.

Our back fence. You can also see the top of the power pole. 

A big chunk of our fence down.

The large part of the tree trunk.

The root system. It was 8-10 feet off the ground and left a decent sized hole.

I'm still here

I'm here! I promise! I am just very busy. School started June 1 and it has been a whirlwind of classes and homework and trying to find time to spend with my boys.  Classes are going well, but very busy. This first session is especially hard, because we have to fit six weeks worth of class (which is already a lot) into five weeks. I am taking Nursing Assessment and Health & Nutrition. Health & Nutrition is a breeze (the exam class average is a high A), but Nursing Assessment makes worries me a bit. It is very interesting and I love the prof, but doing an assessment is really involved! Taking blood pressure makes me nervous. I had to do my check-off today and my partner took my blood pressure first. My blood pressure is normally about 105/65 or so. During check-offs it was 122/82! But I passed my check-off. So now I just have to get ready for the mastery assessment. That is a head to toe assessment that involves all the body systems. It is a lot to remember!

Well, it's been a long day (It's now quarter to 11 and I've been up since six this morning and was in class from 8:30 to 5:30, took a test, and had a meeting at church.) so I'm going to bed.

"We are ok. Really, we're ok..."

Is never the first thing you want to hear out of someone's mouth when they call you unexpectedly. Especially if that someone is driving with your children. But that was the beginning of the phone call I got this evening. Matthias and Ezra were riding in a car with Grandma and Grandpa D, when a woman ran a red light. Both cars are totalled, but everyone will be alright. After getting the phone call (I was shopping with my brother in law), I met them at the scene of the accident. The car looked awful and was in no way driveable (they front end was destroyed and although the paramedics thought they were both alright, I decided to have them brought to the ER to get checked out again.  Since they are so young, I didn't want to take chances. They can't really tell us if something hurts very well.  So the boys and I took a nice ambulance ride to the children's hospital. They are fine though. Matthias has some bruising on his shoulders and chest from his carseat straps, but no broken bones. Ezra seems completely fine. My father in law has a small burn on his arm from the air bag and my mother in law is a little sore, but they are both going to be just fine. Mom and dad already got a new rental car and tomorrow we will be going to get the boys new carseats. 

I am so thankful to God that they are alright. 

My little Strongman

Today we went to the park. The double stroller was in my car trunk which Calvin drove to work today, so I brought the boys in the wagon. We had a nice time playing with our friends there. When it came time to go home, I strapped Ezra in the wagon and went to get Matthias. He didn't really want to go, but he wanted to pull the wagon. I thought he was just going to help me, but insisted on pulling it by himself. Mind you, Ezra is in the wagon, so the wagon weighs almost as much as Matthias himself. He was so stubborn he would not let me touch the wagon and insisted on pulling the wagon the entire three blocks home from the park over the rough terrain that is our city sidewalks. He did very well. He just needed a little help going up the ramps at the corners and I had to take Ezra out so he could pull it through the backyard to put it away in the garage. It just blew me away at how strong he is.

I'm done... for now

So I finished my Advanced Human Anatomy and Physiology class tonight. We had the final tonight and I got an A, which means I'll get an A in the class!

If anyone of you out there have aspirations of being a professor (or any other type of teacher), one word of advice. Your words should match your actions! (I guess that advice could go for anyone). The reason I say this, is that as a student, it is very frustrating when you are told one thing and then something completely different happents.

What do I mean? Well about a month ago, we had a test. We were told that it would be on four chapters and that there would be 60-70 multiple choice questions and that we would be able to use our book for about 20 minutes during the testing time. When it came to the day of the test, he gave us a two part test. Part one was on the first two chapters and was 80 some multiple choice questions. We were allowed to use our book for about 20 minutes. Part two was 40 some matching questions on the second two chapters and we were not allowed to use our book. Some may ask what the big deal is. Well the last chapter was very difficult to understand and so many people had chosen to instead study hard for the first three chapters (that they did understand) and then plan on using their book for the questions from the last chapter. So a number of people did not do so well.

Then comes today's final. One day he told us that it would be multiple choice and maybe an essay. The next time it was going to be true/false, multiple choice, and maybe some matching. But every time, what he consistently said was that all the questions would be taken exactly off the tests. Well the test consisted of 100 questions and at least a dozen of them were not from our previous tests. But we were allowed to use our book for the test, which for those people like myself enjoy hurting our backs by lugging that 7 and a half pound book with us, was not a big deal. But since he had made no mention of it a head of time, there were a number of people that did not have books with them.

Eh, I could go on, but the bottom line is I'm done with it, I got an A, and I don't have to worry about studying for three weeks! (Shortest summer break of my life!)

Time Flies

Three years ago at this time, I was holding a precious little newborn. Now Matthias is a little boy who is sweet and mischievous all at the same time. Oh how time flies. I look at his baby pictures and can't imagine how that tiny (ok, maybe not so tiny) baby has become such a tall little man that walks and talks. I just thank God for every day I have been blessed to be his mother.

Many of you don't know, but when I was thirteen weeks pregnant, we had a scare where the midwife couldn't find his heartbeat and thought that I had had a missed miscarriage. We had to wait almost twenty four hours before we could get an ultrasound (small town, small hospital), which was the most agonizing twenty four hours of my life. The most beautiful sound in the world was his perfect little heartbeat on the ultrasound machine the next morning. That was the day I knew I wanted to be a mother more than anything in the world. Up until that point I was scared not so sure (the pregnancy was unexpected and we were young), but those twenty four hours of not knowing confirmed that this was what I wanted. And now I count every day I have with Matthias (and now Ezra) blessed, because I know I have been blessed with amazing kids.

This just reaffirms the plan.

So as you all know, I am the mother of two small and adorable (yet adventuresome) boys. And I am going back to school full time in order to become a Nurse Midwife. I have felt that this was God's plan for me and our family and I am excited to get started.

Some people wonder why I am choosing to give up being a stay at home mom and enter school full time. Well, the truth is that I am not cut out to be a stay at home mom. I love my children, but I need more. I am not happy being home all day. I thought that part of the reason was that I did not have a vehicle available and that being stuck was the root of my unhappiness. But in the last two weeks I have had a vehicle that I could use as much as I liked. And although I enjoy getting out and having the freedom to run errands when I want, I realize that being stuck at home was not the root of my unhappiness.

What makes me happy? Lots of things, including spending time with boys and my husband. But I also love going to school. I love learning things and doing well at school. I like interacting with other people. I am such a social person that I need to be with other people and unfortunately toddler communication doesn't always cut it.

God has given me so many talents and I am excited to use them in so many diverse ways. Being a mother, a wife, a friend, for now a student, and hopefully one day a midwife! I just can't wait to see how God's plan unfolds in my life.

Thank God for high windows

Matthias is starting to outgrow his naps. Some days he takes them, some days he just rests and some days I can't even get him in his bedroom. The days naps are most successful are when we had something going on in the morning.

So yesterday we had coffee break in the morning and then went to play in the park. He almost fell asleep on the way home, so I figured we would try a nap. He laid down and was quiet, so I thought that he was sleeping.

Umm, not so much.

I walked in to check on him and his room is practically empty. Like all that was left is the bed and the crib. No blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, etc. For a moment I was confused. I had no idea where it could have gone. Then I realized he was standing by the window. Now our windows are high, about four feet off the floor or so, but his bed was pushed against the wall. Apparently he figured out how to unlock the window, open it, and open the screen. He then started throwing anything he could lift out the window and into the back yard. At first I thought he couldn't reach the window locks and had just slide the window open. We often don't lock our second floor windows, because there is no way you could get in one without a ladder.

But after bringing all his stuff back in, locking the window, laying him down for his nap again, I came back to check on him. And he was standing on an empty bed with just his diaper on. Not only could he unlock the window, he decided that this time he needed to throw his clothes out the window too.

So now we've moved his bed away from the wall and will be investing in some window locks for the tops of the windows. Because if he ever finds away to get himself out the window, I'm sure he won't hesitate.

I should be studying

but this is more fun. And I haven't written in forever! And I have lots of news. (Do you think I have enough reasons to avoid studying for my test?)

So let's see. We spent Easter with my family. It was nice to be able to relax and celebrate our Savior's resurrection.

Then we bought a new car! Calvin and I have been sharing a car since we got married. Up until then, neither of us had owned a car and we bought the PT Crusier from his parents when we got married, so we have not had to do the whole searching and buying a car thing. This was a new and stressful situation. We needed a second car so I could get to school, and after almost five years of having only one car, I was ready to have a car (Calvin had the car most days and so the boys and I were stuck at home or if we needed a car, we had to bring Calvin to work).

So we went out shopping. We decided we wanted a low milage vehicle because my commute is over 4o miles each way, which means I will be putting on approximately 100,000 miles before I graduate. So buying a vehicle with 50k miles would mean that we would probably end up with either large repair bills or even having to replace my car before I graduated, which if we were going to have to be making car payments, would not fit in the budget. So we were looking for a newer car with low miles. We were talking with my dad and he said that we should consider a new car, since we were going to be putting so many miles on it.

We talked about it and decided to check out our options. We looked into financing for an used car and financing for a new car. We checked out our top two car choices (Toyota Corolla and Ford Focus) and both were offering 0% financing for new cars. When we priced out new Corollas and Focus, we found that it was difficult to find a good low mileage car that would give us a smaller monthly payment. When we compared the Corolla and the Focus, we found that Toyota was giving much better deals, which allowed us to get more car for less money with the Corolla. So we bought a Capri Sea Metallic 2010 Toyota Corolla LE! I love the car. It drives so much nicer than the PT and the freedom of having a second car is awesome!

That was April 10, and this past weekend I threw a baby shower for my friend Anne and her husband Josh. I thought it went very well and I really enjoyed having Josh and Anne stay with us for the weekend. Unfortunately, my house is still a mess, but it is slowing getting more and more cleaned up. I had a test on Monday and have another test tonight for my Human Anatomy and Physiology class, so there has not been a lot of time left for cleaning (and I avoid cleaning as much as possible anyways).

Let's see. What else is new. I got my financial aid package for the summer term. It was just two federal loans. I was a little disappointed, but I know that the summer term counts for the 09-10 school year and that means that most grants and stuff have already been given away a long time ago. I am hoping that I receive more scholarships and grants for the 10-11 school year. Thankfully the loans will cover what we need them to cover, tuition, books, daycare, car loan, gas, etc.

So this update blog is getting to be very long. And I really should be studying. I have lots more to talk about (like curtains!), but I'll wait and blog again soon!

Mama Mocha

As I mentioned earlier, my in-laws like going for coffee, which meant I drank a lot of coffee this weekend. I especially like Mochas, so that's my usually drink. Matthias picked up the word coffee, as we had to keep telling him that he could not drink out of our cups, because coffee is hot (and of course little boys don't need to be drinking it either). My father-in-law was trying to teach him to say Carmel Machiatto (that's his drink at Starbucks). Then we moved on to teaching him to say Mocha. So he started saying 'Mama Mocha?'

Well, today I overheard him talking on his play phone. He was saying 'Get coffee, for Mama'.

Maybe it's time to cut back.

So blessed

This past weekend was my Sister in law's bridal showers, so myself and the boys went with my in-laws to Michigan for the weekend. The weekend went great. The showers (the one I threw and one from her fiance's family) were lovely and the boys and I had a ton of fun with my in-laws. We drank tons of coffee and laughed a lot.

This weekend just reminded me how blessed I am to have married into such a great family. Many of my friends were not so lucky and do not get along with either their parents or their in-laws. My mother- and father-in law treat me as if I am their own child. My brothers- and sister-in-laws treat me as a sibling. God has blessed me with two great families who love and support me. I am so blessed!

Sick Kiddos

So we've had a rough weekend. Friday afternoon, I noticed that Ezra's eyes were all gunky. Saturday, they weren't any better and he woke up from his nap with a fever. I called the nurse line and the nurse recommended we take him in to get seen. Unfortunately the walk-in clinic had just closed, so we ended up having to take him into the ER. I'm not looking forward to that bill.

We arrived at the clinic and Ezra's fever had jumped to 102.8 deg. The triage nurse started by giving him tylenol and motrin to bring the fever down quickly. Then the doctor examined him and found that he had a double eye infection and a double ear infection. Poor baby has had a hard time sleeping last night.

When I came from with Ezra from the ER, Calvin informed me that Matthias had asked to go to bed at 6:30. Calvin was suspicious (the kid usually fights bed time) and took his temp. He was also running a fever. Sunday afternoon, his eyes started to gunk up. This morning he was feeling horrible. I had to bring Ezra in to his peditrician for a follow-up, so I made an appointment for both of them. Matthias also has a double eye infection and double ear infection as well. Poor baby. So now we have two sick little boys on antibiotics. At least they are sleeping better.

Nap time Nudists

So Matthias insisted today that he needed to take his nap on his bed in the sleeping room. I was planning to keep Matthias in our bed during nap time, so Ezra could get a good nap, but against my better judgment, I let him go to bed in his own bed. Ezra had been asleep and Matthias promised he would go to sleep without talking.

Well, I should know better than to trust a two year old. As soon as I closed the door, I heard him climbing into the crib and saying "Hi Efra, Hi!". I guess naptime was over. Well, I had to study and I heard Matthias say, "Ok, go to sleep, Efra!", so I was hoping the boys would fall asleep. Naive mommy.

I go back after a little while and both of the boys are standing completely naked in the crib. Now we know that Ezra cannot get his pjs off, but Matthias can, so it looks like Matthias helped Ezra out of his pjs and diaper. I had to laugh, because Ezra was so proud of himself for being naked! It really was kind of cute. And thankfully, neither had pooped and only one blanket was peed on.

Thankfully, then went to sleep better tonight.

Rough night

so yesterday, we moved Matthias into Ezra's room. This was because we want the boys to share a room when/if we have future kids. But since we are not planning on having these potential children for another five or six years, we don't want them to get used to having their own rooms and then suddenly have to share. So we thought now would be a good time since they both sleep through the night and are young enough that they adjust well.

So yesterday was the big move. And they went to sleep right away. No problems. But this morning Ezra woke up at six and then woke up Matthias. And no one was going back to sleep.

So tonight was night two of going to bed together. I knew that it would not be as easy as it was last night. And it wasn't. We tried to get Ezra to go to sleep first (he was super tired), but he wouldn't go to sleep. Finally we had to lay Matthias down too. And then they started playing and talking. And Matthias started climbing into the crib. Which of course made Ezra upset. It's been going on for four hours and they are just finally starting to be quiet. Maybe this means they'll sleep in? I can only hope.

I know the first few days will be rough, but I wanted to get this all done before I start school and they start daycare in June. so hopefully we all survive the next three months!

Just a box?

Since I am going back to school, we will need to buy a second car (finally) and so we need a second set of carseats (Calvin and I will be sharing daycare drop-offs and pick-ups). Babies R US had their great trade-in event going on and if you traded in a piece of baby gear, you would get a 25% coupon for one item. This was great for us, because we have this old toddler bed that we bought for $15 used with mattress, but is now falling apart. Grandma and Grandpa H are giving Matthias a twin bed soon and we were just going to throw away the toddler bed, since Ezra's crib can be changed into a toddler bed. We also had an umbrella stroller that has a broken wheel, so we traded in that too.


So two trade-ins = 2 coupons = 2 great deals on carseats. Yeah, if only it was that easy. Trade-ins were accepted and so we were given two coupons. Great! We went to get the carseats. First stop, a new Graco My Ride 65 Convertible carseat for Ezra! They have two or three in stock, so we grab one. Next stop. Graco Nautilus 3 in 1 for Matthias. Out of stock for the boy/neutral one. They ask if we want the pink one. Um, not so much. So what are our options (we have to use the coupon on the day of the trade-in)? Can they order one for us? No, warehouse is empty. They have 12 in Brookfield, almost an hour away. Well, we decide that saving $45 is worth the drive, so Calvin drives up to get the carseat. Ok, so a bit of a hassle, but we are successful, right?


Not quite. we get home and go to take out the carseats and get them ready to put in the car. Pull out the My Ride 65 and notice that it has a defective latch connection clip. Now, if you don't know anything about carseats, this is what keeps the carseat in the car if you choose not to use the seatbelts. Now we could have just kept the seat and just used seatbelts with it, but when you are paying $125 for something, you want it to work 100%. So we packed it up and I went back to BRU. (which is like 20 mintues from our house) Haul it in the store and they say no problem, we can exchange it. Clerk goes back to get another one. They are now out of stock in this seat too! Crap! Can they order one? No, the warehouse does not have this seat in stock either (I guess we picked two of the most popular carseats). They start calling around. The BRU in Gurnee, IL (about forty minutes from this BRU and twenty from our house) has six. So I drive down there. And finally am able to get a good carseat.


So anyways, the boys didn't really care one way or another about getting new carseats. What they loved was getting new boxes! These carseats came in these great big boxes and they are having a ton of fun climbing in and out of them, jumping on them, and putting them on top of each other. Who knew how much fun a box could be? With the amount of joy they are getting from these boxes, the boxes themselves are almost worth the $300 we paid for the carseats.

I got in!

I got an e-mail from Marquette University today letting me know that I was accepted into the direct entry msn program! I'm so excited! I have been praying for this for a long time and I felt that it was my calling to become a midwife, so this is just more confirmation. I can't wait to get back into school on a more full-time basis.

Also, I am so glad that I found out this early. Originally I had been told that they usually notify two weeks after the deadline, and then I found out that they weren't planning on sending out notifications until the end of February. Thankfully, they sent them out early, so I can stop stressing and start planning! I need to find a daycare for the boys. We need to buy a second car. And oh yeah, figure out how to pay for all of this.

But I'm not going to start that stuff until tomorrow. Today, I am basking in the excitment!

So it's been awhile...

but January was a busy month. I am one of the organizers for a high school youth retreat here in Wisconsin, which took place Jan 21-24. So I had to spend a lot of evenings preparing for that on top of my normal schedule. I also started class again on Jan 20. This semester, I'm taking my class at night, which has made for some interesting scheduling. Taking it at night has allowed us to be able to not put the boys in daycare, as Calvin gets home before I leave. This is great because it saves us more than $200 a month, but makes our lives more hectic. For example, this week: Mon-class, Tues-Calvin has a Deacon's meeting, Wed-class, Thurs-I have a Worship Committee meeting, Fri-Calvin has GTsquared (men's gaming ministry). So basically we won't have any evening to spend together has a family. And it is hard for me to find time to study. Last semester, I would study at night, but this semester that doesn't always work. I've been trying to study during nap time, but the boys aren't consistently taking naps at the same time. Today Matthias played quietly long enough for me to prepare for tonight's quiz, but that doesn't happen every day. And of course that means that I don't have time to do house work. So life is busy.

Anyways, what else is new with us? I found out that Marquette will not be sending out acceptance letters until March, which means I will probably go crazy waiting. But that also makes me glad that we decided not to move to Milwaukee, because that would have been very stressful with such a short time frame.

Boys are doing well. Matthias has been putting poop on the walls again, so we've been dealing with a few messes and discipline issues. Ezra is walking finally, but also seems to be getting another cold. He had a sinus infection in January and was on antibiotics and got better, but is now coughing again.

Calvin's job is going well. He got an excellent year-end review and a nice bonus, so that will help us financially, especially since if I do get into school, we'll need any extra money we can get.

I found a dress for my sister in law's wedding. I'm the matron of honor and Matthias is the ring bearer. I was excited, because not only did I find something I like, it was on clearance and was only $23.50!

Wow, this is post is random and ramblely. I need to go get ready for class and make supper. I will hopefully post more often!

The tale of two pregnancies

So in true New Years fashion, I was thinking back about 2009. Now the biggest thing for us in 2009 was Ezra's health issues. I was thinking about that as well as my pregnancies with both Ezra and Matthias and I was reflecting on how different my pregnancies, labors, and their babyhoods were.

My pregnancy with Matthias was more difficult. I had horrible morning (all day) sickness. Until I was put on medication, I threw up 4 or 5 times a day and was barely able to function. Even after the medication I threw up at least every other day, if not every day until I delivered. I was hospitalized at about 22 weeks with kidney stones and a severe kidney infection. I had severe sciatic pain, which at times made it difficult to walk or even get out of bed. Towards the end of my pregnancy, I was put on modified bedrest due to high blood pressure.

I ended up being induced because my blood pressure was up, I was spilling protein in my urine, and I was at 41 wks 4 days. My labor was not difficult. I was on pitocin, but the contractions were not painful at all until my water broke. Even after my water broke, I was in pain, but the pain was managable. I did end up getting one shot of narcotics. I pushed for an hour and half and then my 9 lb baby boy was born.

Matthias was a little gassy, but otherwise a pretty healthy baby. He was active and walked at nine months. He is still a curious and very clever little boy.

My pregnancy with Ezra was much easier. I threw up about once a day during my first trimester, but that was it and I didn't even have to go on medication. No kidney issues, no high blood pressure, no sciatic pain. My pregnancy was easy and wonderful.

My water broke bringing on the beginning of my labor at 40 wks 2 days. The pain was a lot worse and unbearable. I received an epidural (but it didn't kick in in time). I was only in labor three and a half hours and only pushed for three minutes (two pushes) before I delivered my second beautiful son at 9 lbs 6 oz.

Ezra was/is such a happy baby. He smiled at three weeks and hasn't stopped since. But he had a much rougher babyhood. At five days old, he was admitted to the hospital to spend some time under billi lights to treat his jaundice. Even though we were told his jaundice would go away after a couple a weeks, three weeks after his birth, he was still yellow and showing symptoms that are affliated with severed bad jaundice. we ended up taking him into the ER in Canada the day after Christmas to get his levels monitored. His levels were high, but not dangerous. He ended up having blood tests one to two times a week until his levels returned to the normal range at two months. The doctor thought his other symptoms might be due to colic. Well, he did not have colic.

After a few weeks, we discovered that he was no longer gaining weight. And after a brief bout of RSV, he lost weight. After trying some different medications, we were referred to a specialist and he was diagnosed Failure to Thrive. Ezra had multiple tests and was eventually diagnosed as having Unexplained Severe Reflux. We found a feeding system (formula mixed with rice cereal) that helped him gain weight. Since then he has thrived! Like I said earlier, he is such a happy little boy! He is working on walking (he's a chicken, so won't take more than a couple of steps) and loves eating (especially cheese).

This revelation reminded me how different each pregnancy and each baby can be and I wouldn't have it any other way.