Good News / Bad News

THE GOOD NEWS...

is that Kaitlyn's one year pictures are done!

I've been so excited to share these. I think Blair did a great job!

I hope you enjoy them!

NOW FOR THE BAD NEWS...

I'm on bed rest. Out of the blue at a routine OB check-up yesterday I had high blood pressure and some swelling. I was sent up to the hospital for a non stress test and some blood work. I was sent home with a 24 hour urine test to look for protein, fun times! And I have an ultrasound on Monday. They are wanting to confirm preeclampsia.

The non stress test (NST) went great! The baby boy was very active and passed in the first 20 minutes. I will have a NST twice a week until I deliver. I'm not sure what next week will bring, I am crossing my fingers for delivery. Bed rest and a family with small munchkins doesn't work so well. We are taking it seriously. Blair is staying home so I can rest. It all feels very surreal. I feel 100% fine other than being exhausted. I think that is normal considering I am 38 weeks pregnant though. It is stressful to say the least. It is hard to sit still and watch life go on around me. I'm a SAHM and to watch my husband do my job is difficult. He is doing a great job, but much differently then how I do things. I know he has the hard job right now, so I stay quiet and let them do things his way.

Please pray things go smoothly the next days and weeks!

I'm ready to meet this little guy!

Well I'm off to the hospital to drop off my 24 hour urine test. Boy was that fun, so glad that is done with.....(smile)

Enjoy your weekend, I will from my couch!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

I was so excited to share!

Hodge-podge

Four of my favorite little guys are featured in this post, two of my nephews and my oldest rugrats. These pictures were taken up in Manistee a couple weeks ago. The kids met up there for a day of fun! The weather was perfect and they found a lot to do!

Hope you enjoy the pictures !

Tonight I was catching up on some of my favorite families and came across a part to a very fitting poem.

At least at my house anyway!
I thought some of you would enjoy it, I did!

So I share...

It is the last refrain from "Song for a 5th Child" by Ruth Hamilton.

"Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth, Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep."

For any of you who really know me know that my children are my first priority, I constantly put many things off to have the opportunity to soak up every special and routine moment with my munchkins. Sometimes I long for a break or wish my house was more "tidy" but at the end of each day, though usually exhausted, I know I spent the day just how I wanted. Dishes always wait, along with most other chores, and I get "me" time usually late at night when the house is sleeping, like right now. I love it that way, and I love that poem!

Anyway, new topic, hence the title.....

So Kaitlyn is only weeks away from her first birthday. I can't believe how fast time has gone, and the craziest shocker is that my little girl will be a big sister before her first birthday! Because I am anticipating a busy, sleep deprived month of August I have started early putting thought into my little beauties big day. Even though she turns 1 early in the month her party will wait until I can throw her the kind she deserves, the plan is for the end of August.

Tonight we ventured out and had her 1 year photo shoot. She was adorable as EVER before. Her Daddy took some amazing photos and I can not wait to share!

I've also been working on her 1 year video montage. My goodness has that been fun, emotional, and time consuming! She has accomplished and overcome so much in her first 12 months. Hopefully I will have it all ready before our newest brother arrives. I'll admit, the video is LONG. I keep trying to shorten it, but I am having a hard time. I hope despite the length many will enjoy it!

So along with birthdays come presents! I want to ask all the Moms out there...

What would you recommend?

What is your favorite toy/ book/ etc.?
She's not quite ready for the "typical" one year stuff, put she will be soon.

What toys do you love?

And what toys were a flop?

I'd love your suggestions!

I will end here tonight. Morning comes early and again it is quite late, not to mention the crazy storm outside. I have to get to bed while I can still hear it!

Oh how I LOVE a good thunderstorm!

Finally I post...

I apologize to everyone for my lack of blogging. Summer is so busy and relatively uneventful in terms of what I think you all would find interesting. Other than pictures I haven't had a lot to say.

In reality we do have a lot about to happen. We will be welcoming our little boy in just 19 days, my c-section is scheduled for July 30. Yikes!

In this post you will find pictures of the boys at the Fire Station in Manistee, Michigan. Blair has been doing an amazing job helping me to get Brady and Bryce out of the house. Lately my energy level has slowed way down and I haven't been able to keep up with them. He's constantly taking them places in the evenings after he gets home from work or on day trips on his days off. It has been wonderful, allowing me to get things done and recharge my battery.

Thank you Honey!

This particular day he ventured up to Manistee. We both were raised there. One of the many things they did that day was tour the Manistee Firehouse. The boys were in heaven and extremely impressed with their personal tour. So as I catch you up on everything I hope you enjoy the pictures of their day trip!

Like I mentioned, the biggest thing going on in our life right now is making room for baby. Nesting and therefore preparation started a little late this pregnancy so we've been trying to get a lot done in a short amount of time. Since Kaitlyn has just turned 11 months essentially it is going to feel like we have twins for quite awhile. (Very nervous about this!) We needed a second crib, highchair, another dresser, and even boy clothes. You see once we found out Kaitlyn was a girl we said sayonara to all of our baby boy stuff. God has quite a sense of humor and once again has showed us his plan is VERY different then ours! Placing my complete trust in Him has proposed to be quite a challenge the last 9 months but I'm getting there!

We have some amazing friends who have generously helped us out in numerous ways during our preparation for this little guy and we would like to say "thank you," it has meant so much to us and is humbling to say the least! Thank you to all of you, you know who you are!

I haven't spoke to much of my pregnancy the last month, in terms of my health and the babies health, things are going well. I am pretty confident (knock on wood) that this baby has zero plans of arriving before my scheduled c-section. Never in all my pregnancies have I gone into labor on my own. My babies like to stay inside. I am getting nervous about all that is to come though. The surgery, this will be my 4th c-section in 5 years, risks increase with each one. The baby and his health, even though we went through extensive screening for Ds I am still nervous.

Before Kaitlyn was born I had a different view on reality. Bad things happened to other families, not mine! Naive I know, but true. I think this pregnancy I am just more aware of what things could happen. Having a baby with a congenital heart defect, and a chromosomal disorder, and a Mother who developed aggressive cancer out of the blue tends to give you a jaded view, a realistic view, on what could be? It makes you appreciate the good and not take one moment of life for granted. I do miss the innocence I felt before all of this but wouldn't change any of it. I'm a different person then I was back then, a better person! And I LOVE my daughter just how she is...yes, I just typed that! I will do EVERYTHING I can to make her be the best she can be for her, I wouldn't change her, I wouldn't change Down syndrome!

So in the next weeks please say a prayer for me and my unborn baby, and our health. Please also pray for my two little boys who feel anxious about this babies arrival. They remember very clearly Kaitlyn's birth, her and I being in the hospital for a week out of town, and how unsettling that was for them. They're nervous, and a little bit excited! Please also say a prayer for my husband. Things are going to be crazy around here and a lot will fall on his shoulders. And little Kaitlyn, my poor baby, she is amazing and so laid back, I pray this is a smooth transition for her and doesn't cause her to have competitive emotions. God, calm my children and help me juggle all of their individual needs. (like I said, I am sooooo nervous)

On a lighter note,

Summer has been great!

(Other than this past week of 90+ degree heat we just had.....that made for a grumpy pregnant Mama)

We've been staying busy. Going to the beach, park, or simply playing in the back yard with the kiddie pool and sprinkler are amongst some of our favorite activities. We've gone boating with friends, I wish I had pictures of my fearless boys going tubing behind that boat. It was so much fun! We've spent time with our new friends over the 4th. Since Kaitlyn's arrival we've had many new friends enter our lives. They were definitely God sent! We also make an effort to have frequent play dates and the boys start two weeks of swimming lessons tomorrow.

So, yep, we are busy!!! But it's been...

So Much Fun!

Hopefully I will be able to do some blogging the month of August. So keep checking back. At the very least I hope to put updates and pics on facebook. You can friend me under Jenee Skocelas Ross.

Happy Summer!

Happy 4th of July (Wordless Wednesday)