Christmas Decorating

Meeting Gram Gram

Today Miles got to meet my grandma, who is his gram gram. It means so much to me that my kids have a good relationship with both my mom and my grandma. We all hung out at my mom's house and Beth, Amanda, and mommom were there, too. Krys made it for the very end of our day. We filled up on delicious thanksgiving leftovers in a warm and cozy house. Then my mom and the kids made cookies. It doesn't get much better.

It was a great day with all of my favorite women!

Welcome Miles!

So, just like with everything else in my life, this post is a bit late. But it's worth writing out, so here it goes. The story of the birth of Miles Ellis Chewning.

I mentioned in a previous post that I had been very nervous/paranoid during my whole pregnancy, due in part to my nervous nature, and in part to the miscarriage I had last year, and even Oli's diagnosis halfway through my pregnancy with him. In short, my faith in the idea that pregnancy could be a carefree or simple process had been shot. So, I was constantly convinced that something was wrong, and one of my big fears was that my water would break and I wouldn't realize it.Unfortunately for me, this fear was exacerbated by my poor urinary continence during the second half of my pregnancy. To say I peed my pants a lot would be an understatement. Sad, but true. It led to an ER visit while on vacation in Ocean City, MD. And then, on Oct. 22, I started to randomly pee while I was out food shopping. Or was it my water leaking a gush at a time? That was the million dollar question. I tried to wait it out, but after 7 gushes in just as many hours, including whenever i stood up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, I called my OB and they sent me to labor and deliver to be checked out.

I drove myself, because I wasn't in labor, wasn't convinced it was my water breaking, and Tim wouldn't be allowed in triage with me anyway with the kids. So off I went at 2:#0 a.m. I got there, and was checked by the midwife on call. At first she didn't see any signs of fluid, but they hooked me up to a heartrate monitor and had me stay for a while. She didn't seem to believe me, or had an odd way of choosing her words, b/c she "wanted to believe my story" but didn't see any signs of fluid. Then, she did an u/s and saw that my fluid was low. That "supported my story" in her mind, so she had me stay a bit longer. As she was writing up my discharge papers, I had another gush, and this time, they found some evidence of fluid. Once your water breaks, you have to deliver imminently b/c of threat of infection, so they checked me in and labor had officially begun!

About an hour or two later, I was transferred to my room. I texted Tim and told him to let my dad (who was on call to watch mac and oli during labor) to have him come later in the day. At this point, i wasn't really having any contractions. I entered the hosptial at about 2 cm dilated and 80% effaced. But I wasn't really progressing as the morning went on. Even though this was a VBAC, they started pitocin, which they steadily increased throughout the day. Nothing really happened between the time I got there an 7 pm, when I had dilated enough to show a second bag of waters. Once they broke that, it was game on.

I was really invested in having a natural birth, but had only prepared by reading 2 books (okay, 1 1/2 books) and taking the standard L&D class at the hospital. Tim and nixed my idea for a doula, so I was kind of on my own. Luckily I had a great nurse, and Tim was there at that point, as well. For the next hour, I labored in increasing pain. Finally, a little after 8, they checked me, and I was 6 cm dilated. I couldn't imagine going for 4 more cm (which could take hours) in that pain, so I asked for an epidural. I got up to go to the bathroom before they came in with the epidural, and had the unbelievable urge to push. I yelled for the nurse who yelled for the doctor. She checked me and confirmed that I was ready to push, and had gone from 6 cm to 10 cm in 6 minutes.  Of course, the epridural was out and I was in intense pain. I didn't even feel like I could pull my legs back to push. But they made me (of course) and push I did. I kept saying I couldn't do it, and everyone kept telling me I could. After a 2 or three more pushes, out came his head, and then with one more push, he was out. He came right up to my chest, and I got my first look at one of the three cutest babies I have ever seen. Just like with Oli there was such tremendous relief to see this baby outside and moving around.

I was able to nurse him right away, which was a big deal to me. He stayed with me at all times instead of going to the nursery (excpet for tests and a bath). I felt great right afterwards, and was so glad that I never got the epidural.






At first glance, Miles looks like Mac, but with a smaller head. He is changing day by day, and I can't wait to see what he looks like as he gets older. He often makes angry, old man faces. He sleeps sometimes, but I wouldn't say I get a lot of sleep. He has fussy periods, but he can also be really calm.  Mac and Oli love him so much, and always want to touch/hold him. Going from 2 to 3 has been hectic, but not hard. I think the age difference among the kids is just right. He is such a blessing, and I am totally in love with my little trio.

The Stone Museum

Happy Birthday Oli

My little Oli is five! It seems unbelievable that he has wandered into big boy territory! To celebrate, we went to the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia. The kids love it here and it is a great place for accessibility. This was Oli's first time here in his wheelchair and he got around very easily.

Good Stuff!

One of the things that I haven't liked about moving to PA is that we are farther away from the shore. As a family, we love the beach, and enjoyed being less than 40 minutes away. But this week, thanks to my parents, we got to spend the whole week down at the shore! It was a great week, complete with family, food, and swimming. Anytime all of us get together, it is fun, and this year was no exception. Here are some of the highlights.

 Oli and Mac were fish in the pool! My parents had a beach house next to our motel, but rented a room for us in the motel so that we could have the pool. It was great. We found great floaties for Oliver, and for the first time, he was able to float and swim on his own. Of course, we were right next to him, but he was able to play on his own. It was great! Meanwhile, Mac was jumping in and swimming underwater by the end of the week.

 On a rainy afternoon, Aunt Krysie did some artwork with the kids. I'm not sure who started it (Mac, I think) but when I came back out to the porch, all three had creepy Texas Chain Saw Massacre style masks. But at least they were having fun...

 One of the best parts of being at Point Pleasant was being able to see my grandma and Aunt Patti. We always love our visits!

 Being with family is always the best part. Here is half of our party up ahead, while the rest of us lagged behind. We were on our way to Martells (so bad, but so good).

 After dinner, we won big! We never, ever win like this. It was almost a catastrophe when we had only one stuffed animal, but two well-aimed ball throws later, we had four more animals. Plus, the two each that we had one the day before. We came home rich in stuffies!

Rides were a big part of our trip. There were two unlimited ride wrist band days, and we took full advantage. This was the first year that Mac was big enough to ride the older rids, but Oli could only ride kid rides. While that created some problems, since Oli is super attached to Mac right now (they fought it on the way home about whether or not they were best friends). But they could both ride the big swings, as long as Oli had an adult with him. If you look closely, you can see my mom and Oli on the swings.

We also celebrated my mom's birthday and spent a lot of fun time in the ocean. Of course, Mac always wants to go deeper in the waves, and Oli and I stayed sitting at the shoreline getting "toe kisses" from the ocean.

The day after we got home was the beginning of my third trimester! Definitely good stuff!

Big News

So, again, it has been a while. But I return with big news -- we are having a baby!

Part of my reluctance to post has been a reluctance to share the news, but there have been so many things that I have wanted to post about over the last few months that I figured I had better come clean so that I can resume posting overall. I am 26 weeks, and due October 28. We are having a boy. I could not ask for any more :)

I have been an absolute nervous wreck, and this pregnancy has revealed to me (among other things), that I have no sense of intuition, just blind panic that overrides reason. I cannot even list here the entire spectrum of maladies that I have been afraid of encountering over the last few months (everything from Listeria to botulism), but suffice it to say, my nerves have been in overdrive. The only thing that sometimes brings me back to reality is the fact that even I have to admit that it is highly unlikely that I could encounter listeria, botulism, and placental abruption all within one week (although you never really know, do you?). Although I have never been known for being cool or laid back, this worry really is a new level. I am hoping that it is pregnancy hormones, and that a) isn't really me, and that b) I will go back to pre-pregnancy levels of anxiety once I deliver. I'm also hoping that if it is hormonally induced, that it isn't a harbinger of post-partum depression (something I have been lucky enough to avoid thus far). But see, there I go worrying again...

So, overall, things are great. The kids are enjoying the summer, and b/c Tim sold the karate school in May, he has been around to help out. This is especially important, b/c Oli needs to be lifted a lot and I just can't do it. We are trying to decide if he will stay home or get a part-time job while he looks into opening a local school for early next year. More on that another time. For now, I am really enjoying his company.

Here is a picture of me -- the first official "bump" picture of my pregnancy, although I have been captured in a few other photographs over the last few months. I think it is from @ a week ago, at 25 weeks.

All in all, I am big, this news is big, and I wouldn't have it any other way :)

Happy Birthday, My Mackensie!

It seems hard to believe, but our little Mackensie is seven years old! She has evolved into a smart, sweet, and amazing girl. I am so proud of her. She has a great imagination, and can lose herself in play or books. She reads chapter books on her own now, which is amazing. Her favorite show is iCarly, she still loves barbies, and plays with squinkies, LaLa Loopsie dolls, and littlest pet shop. Like me, she loves little or intricately detailed toys. I get so much of what she likes to play, because I was the same way. And this girl always has a plan.

It is hard for me to even remember her as a baby, even though it wasn't that long ago. Here she is the day she came home from the hospital

She was always spirited, although we had no idea what was to come. Here is a picture of her on a trip to Disney when she was 2:

and one of her first times holding her brother:

at the beginning of kindergarten:

and as a mature first grader:

and now as a big 7 year old:

In keeping with our tradition of the last few years, we let Mac choose where she wanted to go for her birthday. She chose Cheeseburger in Paradise, the Jimmy Buffet inspired restaurant. I wasn't sure what this said about our parenting skills, until we showed up and there were kids everywhere. We had a great dinner. Mac also got to pick her present. She got a LaLa Loopsie little sister doll, and a huge set of  LaLa Loopsie pencil toppers. It was weird, but at Toys R Us, I could tell that all of the toys didn't hold the same appeal. Even though she is only seven, she might be heading away from "kid" and closer to the dreaded "tween." I will do everything in my power to keep her a "kid" as long as possible!

In direct juxtaposition to that last sentence, she is having a party next week at Sweet & Sassy. Because we weren't really sure of the friend situation in PA, and she has wanted a Sweet & Sassy party for about 6 or 7 months, we decided to let her take her best friend from dance, Adriana, to Sweet & Sassy. Like cheer funk, the dance class that I was overruled on, this party falls outside of my comfort zone, but directly into Mac's interests. I think she is going to have a great time. And I have to admit that even I would love a scent spritz in my hair once in a while.

I guess it is all part of growing up. And she is doing a great job!

I am just that old

The other day, as I lay awake tossing and turning in bed, it hit me: I couldn't sleep because I had drunk a cup of coffee that afternoon. How could it affect me? I have always been an afternoon coffee drinker, although I've gotten away from the habit now that my afternoon commute is shorter. And then I realized: I can't drink caffeine late in the day because I am just that old now.

It has been coming for a while. Subtle lifestyle shifts here and there have led me down this path, and how, here I am.

A few ways I know that I just that old:

1. No full caff. in the afternoon.
2. I had Lasik ten years ago, and now I need glasses again. 
3. I have to wear makeup now. I made this realization on a day that I, unfortunately, did not wear makeup to work. I look so old and tired that I don't think people can even take me seriously.
4. I think I am getting jowls. If nothing else, I am fuller in the cheek/chin area. I also wake up puffy.
5. I constantly age-up my family. I practically assaulted Beth when she registered as 30 for a race we ran this spring, and accused her of lying. The whole ugly incident only took a minute, but for that minute, I couldn't believe that I was that much older than her.  And I always say Tim's age as one year older than he really is. For the record, he is only 33 now, and he just turned 33. I was 32 when Oli was born and that seems FOREVER ago.
6. I pee when I run and exercise. Forget laughing.

I'm sure that there is more, but of course I can't remember them, because I'm old!