It's Happening!

Today we signed papers to rent the house.  So it is final.  Money has exchanged hands and we are officially able to move into the house on Tuesday!! woot!!  So excited that this is happening!  They have been cleaning and getting their stuff out.  The house is looking good!  I cannot wait to move in!  But, I HAVE to wait because tomorrow is the other big day....Jeremy's vasectomy.  This is very strange to me.  Like it is so freaking FINAL.  And it needs to be.  But, it doesn't mean that it is an easy decision to come to.  I hope everything goes smoothly for him though.  It is weird being on the other side of things.  Usually I am the one going to the hospital.  Jeremy isn't allowed to eat past midnight.  We have to be to the hospital bright and early at 7:15am.  And then the fun begins.  He will be put completely under with anesthesia.  I cannot wait to see how Jeremy behaves when he wakes up and comes out of it!!  I hope, hope, hope he is funny!!

I have been eating the crap outta some oatmeal and taking the More Milk Plus pills.  It seems to be working.  Last night we left the baby with Debbie so we could focus on things to get done around the house.  I pumped regularly and got much more than I have been when pumping previously.  So with any luck, I can just do this the whole time I am breastfeeding and all will be well. 

The summer seems to be flying by again.  Gah! 

Stuff To Talk About

I decided that I don't want to move anything to the new house.  I just don't want to.  I am sick of all the stuff.  There is just too much of it and I don't want any of it.  My head is pounding again today.  What is with these headaches anyway?

On Sunday(two days ago) we had a good day with family(more on that later) in Nauvoo.  We left for home and as we turned onto Connable road I could see that we were heading into a pretty nasty looking storm.  We had just barely passed my mom's house when we hit wall of rain.  Like an actual wall.  And wind.  Jeremy was behind me in the Aveo with Asher.  I turned into a driveway and called him and we decided to turn around and go to my mom's house right away.  We backed out and couldn't see anything.  Like I couldn't see Jeremy right in front of me.  A car appeared out of nowhere with flashing lights.  They were trying to signal us that there was a tree in the dang road. I nearly hit it.  The wind was blowing the Expedition off the road so I really don't know how Jeremy made it to my mom's house.  When we got there, the trees were bending and I hopped out of the car sure that I was going to be blown away. As I ran in some drainage pipe from the ditch blew into the car! I ran to the porch, the mat was gone but, the key was still there, thankfully!  (My mom is in Idaho right now).  I unlocked the door and ran back to the car to get kids in.  They were scared.  Somehow we got everyone inside.  We were drenched.  Like dripping wet.  My mom's weather radio was going off telling everyone to take cover.  The power was out.  We grabbed a stack of towels and went to the basement.  We hunkered down and tried to dry off and get warm.  It was super scary.  The kids did great though considering everything we had to go through.  We couldn't get any signals on our internet on our phones at my mom's house so when there was a break in the weather we loaded up and made it safely home.  There was debris EVERYWHERE.  No tornado but, straight line winds I guess.  It was frightening.  When we got home we found our dishwasher in the yard!! Well, our old dishwasher....we had pulled it out of the garage on Saturday when we were taking stuff to the dump.  It was sitting by our garage but, the wind blew it into the yard.  Crazy.

Jeremy has an appointment for a vasectomy next Monday. He has to take Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday off of work.  That is annoying the heck outta Jeremy because he doesn't want to close for three days.  But, Dr. Davis said that if he decides to get up on the second day because he feels okay, that he will regret it because then he will be down for two weeks.  He wants him to rest and relax for the full three days.  Which means that I will definitely be dealing with eight children instead of seven, lol!  Just kidding, Jeremy! (mostly kidding.)  But, we are supposed to be moving that same week.  Oh well.  Whatever.  We will move after he is healed.  I am so dreading the move.  Not because I don't want to move but, because of all the work entailed.  

Yesterday was a craptastic day for me.  I ate nearly everything in sight.  It was sad.  Today is going to be a good day though.  And I will eat nothing.  Well, you know.......something but, not in excess.  Hopefully.  Usually about half way through the day when I hit my afternoon wall, my brain gets all cloudy and I make bad decisions! lol! For reals.  Maybe I will leave the house today to keep myself away from food......but.....drive thru.  Curse it.  

On a good note, the Fourth of July is coming up!! One of my fave holidays.  Yep. I have tossed the idea around of camping in the state park that weekend.  Don't know though.  

Eden and The Grass Clippings

 This happened a week or two before I had Vivianne.  They guys who mow our lawn came for the first time this season.  The grass was really tall and it left a lot of cut grass on the lawn before they picked it up.  Eden was fascinated by it.  I took video of her playing in it too which is way better than the pics I got.  She walked real slow through it first, then picked it up and let it fall through her fingers to the ground.  She sat in it, they laid back and made little grass angels.  It was so awesome to see her discover and enjoy something so small.  Things we take for granted or pay no attention to at all, made her so happy.  

A Little Update

Well, it looks like this is happening...we are moving this summer!  We were wondering what was going on because we hadn't heard from Hasek's but, they have just been busy.  We have to sign the contract and then it is go time.  I have so much to do!  Gah!  And then we have the worry of this house selling.  I really don't want to have two house payments for a long time.  So any prayers for a quick sale would be greatly appreciated.  We still have work to do on this house.....painting, cabinets, carpet, etc.  And then we will have to add on to the house in Nauvoo after the Carthage house sells.  It's gonna be bonkers.  Completely bonkers.  Whatever.  I am excited to move back to Nauvoo for some reasons and completely dreading it for other reasons. 

Next week is my 6 week check-up.  I can definitely tell that I am older now.....it took me a little longer to recover after having Vivianne.  I was just completely drained of energy.  I tried working out about two weeks after she was born (I've done this in the past with no problems) and boy did I regret it.  I hurt for days after.  Anywho, I am hoping to get the all clear to work out.  I do feel a TON better now. 

I still have a ton to catch up on the blog about but, I have a feeling it is going to take me all summer to catch up, if I do at all.  July and August are gonna be busy, busy, busy.  I also have volunteered to be a den leader in Asher's scout troop.  That should be interesting.  I want to be involved in Tristan and Cedric's school stuff too. 

My milk supply has taken a dip just like it did when I fed Eden.  I bought the Mother's Milk tea completely forgetting how GOD AWFUL it is to drink.  My stomach is churning as it glides down my throat every single time!! YUCK!  It has Anise (black licorice) in it and that is up there with pumpkin pie, ham and bean soup, and poop on my list of gross things to eat.  So, I bought some herbal supplements from a company called Motherlove.  I got the ones called More Milk Plus.  They are pricey.  It's about $35 for a 20 day supply.  I hope they work.  I just got them yesterday so  I have my fingers crossed.  I will do whatever it takes to keep giving Vivianne breast milk.  Including buying milk from another mother.  It think it is funny that society has trained us to think that another human feeding our babies is "gross" or "Wrong" or "unsafe" but, that it is perfectly fine or normal to feed your baby from another ANIMAL that you have no idea what has been injected into it or where it came from or whatever.  Humans were not made to drink cow's milk which is what formula is.  How many times has formula been recalled??? hmmm???? 

Memories

Our 15th Anniversary Getaway

 We decided to go to Indianapolis for the weekend (June 6-8) to celebrate our 15th Wedding Anniversary.  We had a secret agenda....that will come later in the post though, haha!  For the first night of our stay we decided to FINALLY try the Sybaris Pool Suites.  We have been wanting to do this FOREVER but, it was always too much money to spend.
These are private bungalows with pools (and other ammenities) right in the room with you!
We very much like to create memories than to spend money on actual items.  Stuff ends up broken or lost or you don't care about it after awhile.  But, memories are forever and are worth more than anything we could ever  buy.  We figured the money would be well spend to create something special that last forever. 

Click here for Sybaris website

Anyway, we got there and checked in....I took a crap ton of pictures because the little bungalow we stayed in was AMAZING! 

 The carpet had flowers vacuumed into it!  I have never seen that in ALL the hotels I have stayed at.  I tried to get a good picture of it but, you really just have to see it in person.  Every inch of the carpet was vacuumed into a design.  

 A toilet and a bidet.  I still don't understand how to use it!! LOL!

 Th massage chair on the end there was super duper.  I must have one.  It is called an i-Joy.  Best massage chair I have ever sat in. 

 View from the bed into the pool room.

 Hot tub next to the bed. 

 The pool!  It has a waterfall falling from the leaves in the middle but, rain/shower water is so hard to pick up on film. 

 The pool was awesome.  It was the perfect size and Jeremy is convinced that we will have a pool in our bedroom now when we get our dream home!  

 The shower/steam room.  We turned the steam room on while we were unpacking and went to check on it when we were done and DEAR GOD, it was like walking into the pits of hell!! BAhahaha!  We couldn't see anything and nearly choked to death!  I think we turned it on too high.  Anyway, yeah, we turned it off and couldn't use it right then.  

 I found this surprise in the mini fridge!! Jeremy had arranged for them to be in the room when we got there!  I LOVE chocolate covered strawberries! 

 We also made a quick run to Skyline for supper to bring back to the place.  Skyline Chili is what my parents grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Therefore, I grew up on it.  It has the most unique, yummy flavor ever!  I introduced Jeremy to it when we went on a trip out East with my parents before we were married.  It has been something we both have loved ever since.  

 This is what each little bungalow looked like on the outside.  Completely private and secluded rooms.  Loved it.  

After we checked out, we went shopping for a bit to get me a new outfit.  I got one and then we went to Red Robin for lunch.  We love Red Robin too.......Red Robin, YUM!

After that we headed across town to our appointment at the tattoo place.  Yep, we were getting tattoos to commemorate our anniversary!!!  I will post pics of that next post.  Gotta get them on the computer. 

We were at the tattoo place from about 3pm until about 9:30 or 10ish.  We didn't want to spend the money on TWO nights at Sybaris so we pricelined a hotel in downtown Indy and got a SUPER nice one!!  Score!  Only downside was we didn't get a king bed, we got two queens.  I seriously don't know how in the world we ever slept in a queen bed with each other much less with kids.  Good grief.  They are so stinking small.

On the way home, we stopped at Dixie Truck Stop.  Now, this may not seem like a big deal to anyone else but, to me, I was lost in nostalgia.  As a child we made the trip to Cincinnati A LOT.  Both my mother and father grew up there and we still have lots of family there.  So, Dixie was where we stopped every single time to pee, eat, play, whatever.  It's huge and full of fun stuff for kids to do and see when they are on a road trip.  It isn't quite as entertaining as an adult but, I still loved the trip down memory lane!  

I will post more about our tattoos and our feelings in the next post.

Baby Sister Snuggles and Fun Times

 On Sunday, Pat and Debbie brought the younger kids home!  We were so excited!  They also brought us a delicious chicken pot pie and some peach cobbler!  It was awesome!  And thoughtful!  Usually we have had people offer to bring us meals or offer to help in other ways when we have babies and we didn't get any of that this time.....except from Debbie and Pat.  I was super thankful for it because the last thing I wanted to do was cook dinner for all the kids when they got home.  

Asher got to hold Vivianne finally and he was really happy about it!  

 I love the little smile on his face in this one. 

 We have discovered that Asher is pretty good at anything sporty that he tries to do.  He and Jeremy stayed outside for quite some time playing baseball on this day.  We asked him if he wanted to be on a t-ball team and he keeps saying that he doesn't know how to play.  And I say, yes you do, we can teach you.  Or you can learn on the team, that is what the team is for.  But, he is scared to put himself out there.  He says the other kids would make fun of them.  And they probably would.  That is the sad thing.  He has been having issues with other kids his age being bullies and saying rude things to him.  So, I get why he doesn't want to put himself out there but, it makes me sad for him and mad.  I want to start a team where they play for fun and learning instead. 

 She poses herself all the time.  

I love her. 

 When I was in the hospital, Liam had "dress as your favorite literary character day" at school.  He wanted to dress as Harry Potter.  I had ordered a costume the week before and it came just in time.  Jeremy was able to get it to Liam the day after I delivered Vivianne. So, when I got out of the hospital, I made him dress up again and let me get a picture.  He really liked it!  

 Liam loves Vivianne so much.  It is sweet to see him interact with his younger siblings in such a sweet way.  Liam has a big heart even if sometimes he likes to pretend he doesn't. 

I just love him so much.  I love my whole big family.  I love that there are so many of us to hang out with.  Through good and bad, our family pretty much rules!!! :)

Coming Home

 On Saturday, I was SO ready to go home!! I was sick and tired of the hospital.  Jeremy got there about 10:30am and I got showered and ready to leave.  We ate our celebration lunch of steak, baked potato, salad, veggies, roll, apple pie, and iced tea.  WE had to fill out the birth certificate......what's funny is when Jeremy showed up that day, we both had been thinking the exact same name.....Vivianne Lucille Kelley.  We also had Haven May Kelley in our heads.  We liked the nickname Vivi Lu though.  (Since being home, I find it VERY hard to call her Vivianne.  I think it is too many syllables or something, lol! I have been thinking that I should call her Haven May anyway or officially change it but, who knows.  I don't feel like I know her well enough yet.  I don't think babies should be named until about 6 months old!! That way, you know what really suits them!! LMAO!)

Then we waited and waited and waited!!! Ugh.  Dr. Jones was not showing up for his rounds and apparently we had to wait for him to okay me to go home even though he had okayed me to go home the day before.  Sarah and Matt were gonna come visit us but, we thought we were leaving the hospital.  Finally he showed up about 3:00.  He told me I could go home.  Great! 

 This was the outfit Jeremy picked out for her to come home in.  Doesn't she look so pretty!  Another annoyance to us was that usually Jeremy goes shopping to bring a "going home" outfit for each of the kids.  Which he can do because he is in an actual city when we deliver in Quincy.  This time we were just too busy and too far away from anywhere to do it.  So, he picked from some of the outfits I had already bought.  Really it was fine.  But, we just had traditions and things we did that we didn't get to do this time or do it differently this time.  But, there were also perks so whatever.  But, if we were to have another baby.....BAhahahah, nope!

We got home and wanted to relax and get settled in a bit before all the kids came home.  We had just gotten Vivianne to sleep and ourselves about 15 minutes into a nap on the couch (since I didn't sleep at the hospital) when my mom walked in the door with the three older boys!  Sheesh! I was annoyed.  Really annoyed because I had specifically asked her to keep them for another night so we could adjust and rest.  I figured that if they stopped by the house they would start begging to stay.  Luckily, they stayed just a few minutes and left pretty quick so we could rest some more.  The next day was a completely different story!! lol!! I couldn't wait for the kids to get home to hang out with our new, bigger, family!!  

We are super thrilled to have Vivianne in our family and our lives!  She is beautiful and perfect in every way.  She has a little birth mark on the back of her head at the base of her neck.  She has the sweetest smile.  She loves to eat and poops like a champ!  haha!  She is pretty whiny a lot of the time but, we love her anyway!   She just really likes being swaddled and close to mama which is fine with me....most of the time!!  :)

Visitors, Day Two

 The next day was the complete opposite of the day before.  Jeremy had stayed at the hospital with me for the first time ever.  Between the baby eating pretty much non-stop through the night and Jeremy snoring his brains out, I did not sleep at all!! LOL!  

But, Jeremy got up bright and early and left to get kids to school.  

He had to get stuff ready for Cedric's birthday slumber party that night too.  What in the heck we were thinking, when we scheduled that is beyond me.  So, off he went.  I was not really enjoying my hospital stay much.  I had to be moved to another room like I said.  It was pretty nice too but, just not the same.  The lack of pain medication was super annoying!! They said Dr. Jones had said I could have tylenol and motrin.  What the What did they say!?!?  Ugh.  And they didn't do much in terms of keeping tabs on me or checking on me but, whatever.  I was glad when Trisha texted me and said that she and Eden would be over to hang out for a bit!  They showed up around lunch time and had their lunch there too.  

We talked about how the other kids were doing and about baby names. 

 She is gorgeous, isn't she! 

 Eden was all about the baby!

 While they were there I kept saying that she looked like a boy to me because I didn't have any classic girl colors on her.  So we dug a purple bow out of my diaper bag and had her super girly looking lickety split!

They had to leave and I was left all alone until Liam and my mom stopped by after school.  Liam got to hold his new baby sister for the first time and looked so happy doing it.  I wish I had remembered to get a picture.

 I couldn't see Jeremy again that day because he took Cedric and his friends to see Godzilla at the movie theatre, then had a sleepover at the house with them.  We texted a lot!!!

And that was it for visitors the whole time at the hospital actually.

Visitors, Day One

 The downside of having the baby at the Carthage hospital is that everyone wanted to be there IMMEDIATELY after she was born.  haha!  For reals, it was annoying to us but, I understand it too!  The baby hadn't been cleaned up.  I was still hooked up to the IV, the epidural IV, the blood pressure cuff etc.  We had food waiting for us to eat and I was STARVING!  Jeremy hadn't even gotten to hold her yet.  Usually when I deliver in Quincy, we have at the very least a couple of hours before people come so we can relax, recover, and enjoy for a bit.  Also, the labor and delivery rooms are supposed to be the room you stay in the whole time you are in the hospital and there was someone waiting to get in mine so the nursing staff was kinda rushing us too.  

We also had hoped that by splitting the kids up three and three with the Grandmas that we wouldn't end up with all of them there at the same time, which is super loud and annoying.  We get it.  They are excited to meet a new sibling.  They are in a new place and it is all new to them but, good grief, I felt sorry for the other people in the hospital. ;)

 So, despite our best efforts, everyone came all at once.  The reason it was annoying is because everyone was talking at once, running around, the nurses still trying to do their things with me and the baby, trying to eat during it all, and get pics, and be happy.   It ended up being okay but, it just wasn't what we had pictured in our heads at all.  

 Cedric was pretty weirded out by everything I think.  Or just didn't know how to express himself.  Not sure really.  He just seemed real aloof.  

 Liam on the other hand was VERY interested in her!!  It was so sweet!! And he still is! 

 Grandma Trapp brought the older three out.  

 She found her thumb pretty quick and did this a few times right away.  

 

At Carthage hospital they use the tummy tub.  But, the nurse doing it had no idea what she was doing, lol!  Oh do we have some funny stories about that nurse, haha!  Anyway, they used to give away a tummy tub to the new parents when you gave birth there.  They don't anymore.  I would've liked to try it but whatever.  I got a new tub anyway.  Not that we use it that much.  You aren't supposed to bathe newborns much or even use soap.  

 Trying to get a bite (or many bites, lol) in while people visit.  

 The little ones!!

 People kept asking to hold the baby and Jeremy kept saying....but, I haven't even held her yet.  So, we made sure he was the first one to hold her after I had finished feeding her.  

 I think he likes her. ;)

 Eden has been smitten from the first moment she laid eyes on the baby.  She seriously loves her so much!

 Grandma and Grandpa Kelley getting some snuggles in too! 

 Grandma Trapp got some cuddle time in too!

 Check out Asher's face!!!

 I told you....she LOVES her!!

 Tristan is a great oldest child.  He thought the baby was pretty neat!

 Aunt Trisha finally got to put the camera down for a second to hold that baby!!

 Vanessa and Josh were next in line! 

 Only siblings can come back into the delivery room so the cousins had to look at the baby girl through the nursery window.