Where Are My Kids?

Last Friday I told you that I was addicted to my awesome husband.  Let me tell you what made him such a good husband and daddy last week...

I've done really well with this transition to being a mommy of 3 I think.  I've had less emotional breakdowns after this delivery than with my other 2.  In fact I've only cried a couple of times since Micaiah was born...hey, that's really good for me:)  

Well, my sleep-deprived emotions caught up with me last Wednesday and I just broke down and started crying, "I'm just so tired."  

Well, I had to run out to the grocery store and promised Josh I'd "be back so soon".  I wasn't ready to venture out to the store with all 3 kids yet.

Josh, being the sensitive man that he is, decided that he'd give me a break and took an adventure of his own.  While I was gone he got the kids breakfast and began packing a picnic lunch.  He got a bottle for Cai and loaded all 3 of the kids up in the car and took off for a park and the library for a daddy day!  He, not I, was the first to attempt an outing alone with all 3 kids!  I couldn't tell him thank you enough for the time to get caught up on things around the house and for just giving me a little "me time".

I know what you are thinking..."you've got it SO good"!  Don't you think that I already know that?!

It took a while to get used to our way of living.  Adjusting to my husband being at home, but not really at home, because he's working in the office.  Having more free time in the mornings and during the week but working ALL weekend, not to mention the night rehearsals and gigs and out of town trips we constantly take.  I'm not complaining...on the contrary...I love what we do.  I don't take it for granted for a minute.  I thank God all the time for allowing us to do what we do and we are constantly finding ways to take advantage of this time in our lives.  Ex:  Going to Chuck E Cheese on a Tuesday morning when NO ONE ELSE IS THERE...need I say more;)

It also makes me have a deeper respect for single mothers who do it "on their own" from day one.  It just makes me more thankful for the helpmate God has allowed me to have in Josh!

So, yes, that is just one reason why I love him so...

Fun Facts For Friday - Current Addictions

1- The new MuteMath album: Armistice

2- The TV series, Burn Notice.  Josh and I have been watching it on Hulu.  Besides some language and the fact that the female sidekick dresses terribly it is absolutely hilarious!

3- Naptime!  The time between 2:30(ish)pm-4:30pm I am absolutely kidLESS.  After Micaiah eats at 2 I put ALL 3 KIDS DOWN FOR A NAP!  I either get caught up on my own sleep at that time;) or get some office work done.

4- Pita Chips - All natural chips made from pita bread.  Delicious!

5- My husband!  I'll tell you why next week but I'll leave you with a hint...he is very brave and sensitive...

Deals Of The Day

First Stop:  Target

Total BEFORE coupons:  $42.44

Total AFTER coupons:  $19.91 (had a gift card)

TOTAL SAVINGS:  $22.53

Second Stop:  Harris Teeter

(Day 2 of Super Doubles)

Total BEFORE coupons:  $61.45

Total AFTER coupons:  $24.95

TOTAL SAVINGS:  $36.50

The best part about it is that I still have money left over in our grocery budget and I have 4 more packages of diapers to add to our Cai supply!

Back With A Bang - Super Doubles Day 1

Total BEFORE coupons: $127.20

Total AFTER coupons: $57.61

TOTAL SAVINGS:  $69.59

I took a couple of weeks off due to Micaiah making his entrance into the world, but boy did I pick the right time to jump in!  Harris Teeter is doing another week of Super Double Coupons. This means that they double ALL coupons up to $1.99 (only 20 coupons per day).  Above is a picture of what I got yesterday.  I have another 10-15 coupons to use today since I made the 20 coupon a day limit yesterday.

Just to tell you how good I didn't even have a coupon for any of the produce, the 2 OJ's, or the cheese.  That should tell you that the rest of the deals I got were either FREE or SUPER CHEAP!

You can click HERE and HERE to get a list of freebies or super cheap deals you can do if you have a Harris Teeter near you.  I'll show off my booty stash after I get back today=)

I Guess That One Won't Work Anymore

If you are around young kids for any time at all you know that you have to "sneak" food around if you don't want to share it with them, especially the kind with chocolate and sugar in it.  

Well, when I was pregnant I had the perfect excuse to eat or drink whatever I wanted to in front of the kids.  If one of them asked, "Mommy, what are you eating?" or "What do you have?" I would simply respond with "Oh, it's just something for the baby in my tummy."   After explaining one time that "the baby has to eat too" it just became normal to them when I'd snarf down a snickers or chow down on some other kind of yummy snack.

Well today, after snagging my usual CVS deals/freebies, I came back out to the car where Josh sat, waiting, with Areyna and Zeke.  I had gotten 2 Reese's packs for free, one for me and one for Josh.  I was needing my usual chocolate fix and started eating mine right away.  After inhaling my 2 peanut butter cups I placed the wrapper in the cup holder in eyesight of Zeke who was sitting in the backseat.  Without hesitation he asked "Mommy, what did you have?"  I automatically replied with my usual response "Oh, just something for the baby."  He looked at me out of the corner of his eye as if to say, "I know better than that" and said "What baby?"

I guess I'm going to have to come up with another excuse for indulging in my cravings...either that or start sneaking them again=)

Daddy Date

A Daddy Date was WAY overdue for Areyna and her daddy.  Josh had to take his guitar in to get some work done on it and he asked if he could take Areyna with him and then take her on a date.  I thought it was a GREAT idea!

First Stop:  Sonic's Happy Hour

2 Bucks, you can't beat that!

Second Stop:  Reedy Creek Park

Absolutely FREE!

Josh got the 'ol GPS out and did a search for "Parks" and this Nature Park came up really close to where they were so they thought they'd go check it out.  What a find!  It's got just a regular park, nature trails, hands-on exhibits and a nature center with nature and animal exhibits.  Areyna couldn't stop talking about it, she had a blast!

Areyna next to a stuffed dear.  

She didn't quite understand why some of the animals were dead and "frozen" but she loved seeing all the different kinds of animals.

Not ALL the animals were "frozen":)

Checking out one of the exhibits with binoculars.

They even got a cool map that showed them where to go.

Areyna was the guide and pretty proud of it!

Josh said he mapped out how far they walked today and they went about 2.5 miles.  Let's just say that I didn't hear a peep from the kids after we shut the door to put them in bed tonight=)

Nothing Big

There isn't much to blog about today.  Just a catch-up day.  I've had a few things to get done in the office so I've been busy trying to get those things checked off my list.  Josh just took Areyna on a "Daddy Date" so it's just been me and the boys this afternoon.

I am going to go get a peaceful shower AND I have accomplished eating all of my meals so far so I suppose it has been a productive day=)

What have you done this Monday?

Fun Facts For Friday

It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This

1- Kissing my 2-week-old's chubby baby cheeks

2- Cuddling with my growing 3-year old boy

3- Watching my 4-year-old daughter being such a HUGE helper with my other 2 kids

4- Full body hugs with my hubby, my baby bump no longer getting in the way:)

5- Taking more dates in the past 2 weeks than in the whole past 2 months combined!

(Thank you Nonnie & G-Daddy and Meme & Poppie)

Breastfeeding 101

My kids have taken quite the interest in observing...and asking LOTS of questions...while I feed Micaiah.  It is quite the experience for them=)

Here are some interesting things that have come from our Q&A sessions:

Areyna:  "Mommy, I want to feed Micaiah."

Me:  "Well baby, I don't have a bottle ready for you to feed him this time."

Areyna:  "No I mean from my boobies."

I then had to explain that God didn't give her milk in her boobies yet.  She has to have a baby first=)

Zeke:  "Mommy, do you have any cookies in there for Micaiah?"

Clearly cookies and milk are supposed to go together!

Pumping has been an interesting phenomenon for them as well.  They look on, wide-eyed every time I get the contraption out.  

Areyna cheers me on every ounce of the way.  She must know that pumping doesn't come so easy for every mommy=) 

Zeke just watches in wonder and curiosity.  He also says things like "Why are you doing that to your belly button?"  Yeah, he gets those 2 body parts confused sometimes=)

Have you had any "fun" experiences with siblings like this?

Likes And Dislikes

Zeke DOESN'T like when Micaiah has ANY milk on or around his mouth.  I think it grosses him out=)

Areyna LIKES to talk to Cai while I'm feeding him.  It helps keep him awake!

The kids HATE that Cai sleeps so much.  They hate it even more when I put him to sleep in his bed.  They like his presence.

Micaiah LOVES to hear his daddy practice.  I heard him start crying the other day but as soon as Josh started singing Cai stopped to listen.  This is very good, since the office shares a wall with his room.

There is NOTHING about a dirty diaper that Micaiah likes;)

I don't think there is any part of being a dad that Josh dislikes:)  He is such a GREAT daddy!

I LOVE the smell of all 3 of my babies right after they get a bath...

Flying Solo

I had my first experience with the kids by myself on Saturday.  Josh had a gig at Limestone College all day so I was on my own with all 3 of the kiddos.  It went fairly well for my first attempt=)  The whole day went pretty smoothly until the bedtime routine began.  We already have quite the routine but it was also bath night (that means church the next day;) and Micaiah was due to eat at 7:30pm, right smack dab in the middle of it all.  

Josh said he would have paid to watch me juggle all that;)  He pictured me feeding Cai while washing Zeke's hair in the bathtub all at once.  Although I'm sure it can be done I was not brave enough to try that one yet.  Luckily, Cai is a GREAT baby and can hold off pretty well.  I got the kids bathed and dressed and all ready for bed then I stuck them in an "extended" book time so I could feed Cai=)  I told them it was going to be a little crazy for mommy to get used to having 3 kids to take care of at one time so "please be patient with mommy".

Of course Cai decided to take his time eating his dinner.  The kids had such a long book time that they got to read ALL their library books and then some.  After a while Areyna came in and asked "What's next?"  They obeyed well as I instructed them from my "feeding throne" on the last minute stuff that needed to be done in order to get them in bed.

So, I still have a lot to learn but I'm working on it.  I still think it's the easiest transition out of all 3 of the kids.  We'll see how a whole weekend goes when Josh leaves for a youth retreat later on this month.

Toy Review

Picking toys is not easy when it comes to thinking about safety.  There is a toy website called ebeanstalk who has great baby toys and toys for 1 year olds etc. They are dedicated to selecting good, safe learning toys. They allowed me to test a toy with Areyna and Zeke and write a review about it.  

The toy they sent is called "Activity Bus" from Plan Toys, who makes eco-friendly wooden toys.  As soon as the toy arrived I KNEW Areyna would like it. It is a wooden bus that opens up and becomes a classroom.  There are 3 removable desks and a chalkboard along with a teacher and 1 student.  It really is pretty cute.  Areyna played school with it for 2 days straight=)  Zeke liked it too, although he just wanted to carry the little people around or race the bus on the floor, HA!  

Overall, it is a Great, eco-friendly toy and very age appropriate for my kids.  I thought it was cool that it is made out of recycled wood and that the paint is all natural.  I was a little afraid that it would leave marks on our wood floors but it didn't.  

The only thing that I didn't like about it was that the people's legs didn't stay bent under the desk.  Areyna would get a little frustrated when the student would topple out of his seat because his legs just wouldn't stay bent.

Other than than, I definitely recommend this toy.

Fun Facts For Friday

Things That Have Changed

1- A lot less sleep, but at least the sleep that I am getting is hard, quality sleep=)

2- A lot more sitting so I can feed Micaiah

3- A lot less "racing" Zeke's Spiderman car around the living room while Micaiah is in the swing.  Makes for an awful jumpy baby.

4- A lot more family bonding to assure Areyna and Zeke that we love them SO MUCH too!

5- A lot less stress, surprisingly, as my priorities have transitioned with this new life.  I can't get over how good God is=)

The First Week

Well, Micaiah turns 1 week old today.  I can't believe it's already been a week.  We are still adjusting here, working on "happy hearts" and good attitudes but overall we are 1 big"ger" happy family=)  My parents have been here helping out which has been Great!  It has been so nice to have the extra hands to keep us fed and to help with Rainy and Zeke.

Micaiah has adjusted well to having 2 older siblings.  He can sleep through ANYTHING!  

I took him to the doctor yesterday for his first check-up and they were SO impressed with how he is doing.  He was already up to 7lb. 2 oz.!  They said it usually takes breast-fed babies AT LEAST 2 weeks to gain back just their birth weight so for him to go beyond in less than a week was Great!  They don't have to see him again until he's 2 months old=)

Here are a couple more pictures for you...

Tummy time - turned into nap time=)

Daddy got to take over a feeding with my over-abundant milk supply=)

Nonnie and Micaiah (my mom)

G-daddy and Micaiah (my dad)

Josh and his kiddos

Words Of Wisdom

Poppie (Josh's dad) dropped by to see Micaiah on his way back home from preaching in SC.

He was just kidding around with Zeke and asking silly questions to see what Micaiah could really do...

Poppie:  "Can Micaiah play with your cars?"

Zeke:  "Yeah!"

Poppie:  "Can Micaiah wrestle?"

Zeke:  "Yeah!"

Poppie:  "Can Micaiah eat lunch with you?"

Zeke: (without hesitation)  "No poppie, because my mommy has his milk in her boobies!"

Poppie quickly avoided that answer and went on to a different conversation=)

I turn bright red while Josh and I both busted out laughing!

Our Story

Thursday

4:30am - Woke up with contractions.  10 min. apart.

9:30am - Everything pretty much stopped

11am - Contractions start up again.  Anywhere between 10 and 18 minutes a part

*Spend the day trying to stay busy...and active=)  Taking walks, running errands, keeping up with the kids...  This is typical of all of my labors.  Very slow and inconsistent.  This goes on until about 5pm.

5pm - The contractions begin getting closer together and stronger.  I decided to get a shower and by the time I was done they were 5-6 minutes apart.

6:30pm - Josh is in the middle of dinner when contractions begin to be 2-3 min. apart.  I tell him I think it's time...right now!

7:30pm - Get to the hospital and am admitted right away.  They check me and I am ONLY 4 cm.  They feel my water sack though, which was causing tremendous pressure.  As soon as they lay me down and put the monitors on my contractions slow WAY down and the pain level decreases tremendously.  This is also typical of my other deliveries.  I have tons of painful contractions and get stuck in the dilation process and can't progress.

*After laying and being monitored for an hour with not much progression the nurse keeps telling me that this is just "early labor" and starts talking about sending me home.  I try to tell her that my other pregnancies were just like this and that this, in fact, IS THE DAY HE WILL BE BORN.  She wasn't convinced.

9pm - Begin walking the halls in hopes of picking things up a bit.  As soon as I get off the bed the contractions DEF. begin again and even stronger than before.

10pm - After an hour of walking the halls they check me again and I'm only 5-6cm along.  My contractions were beginning to get unbearable and they were STILL talking about sending me home, saying this was just "early labor".  After the nurse left me laying on the bed with the monitors again it began.  

10:30pm - The contractions were beginning to hurt so bad that I couldn't help but call out!  One contraction made me feel like I had to push.  I turned over and looked Josh in the eyes and said (okay, firmly commanded) him to "Call the nurses RIGHT NOW and tell them I HAVE TO PUSH!!!!!!!!!!"   Josh, thinking, "baby you can't push when you're only 6cm." reluctantly called the nurses in.  As if the screams weren't giving it away.  The nurses came in and couldn't figure out what was going on.  One of the nurses decided to check me during a contraction and I was 8cm DURING a contraction.  

11:00-11:55pm are a blur. 

I had a split second to decide if I wanted an epidural.  Here are my 2 reasons for choosing against the epidural this time:

1-The epidural slowed delivery down by HOURS with my other 2 and I WAS NOT GOING HOME!  This baby was coming out TONIGHT!

2-My contractions were so hard and so close together that I was afraid of the needle hitting my spine during contractions.  I was just plain scared!

*The Dr. came in to see what was going on and realized that my water sack wasn't breaking and that was the reason I wasn't dilating...because it was blocking the head from dropping to cause dilation.  So, he said "alright I'm gonna break your water".  Seconds later he says, okay, "you want to try to push?" 3 sets of contractions and pushing later and he was here!

So, that's the short of it.  He made it and he is healthy.  I had no tearing or ripping or stitches or anything!  God is so good.

Micaiah Pictures

Everything happened so fast once things got rolling and the Dr. had to remind us to take a picture. This is right after delivery                       with NO epidural!

Rainy and Zeke LOVE their little brother=) Zeke was intrigued by his belly button. Zeke especially is really going to take ownership of Micaiah. It is so sweet.

I'll recap our story tomorrow and try to put some more pictures up.

Fun Facts For Friday - Saturday Night Edition - Micaiah Joel Via

 We brought Micaiah Joel Via home tonight at 9pm

1- Date: August 6, 2009

2- Time: 11:55pm

3- Weight: 6lb 14 oz

4- Height: 21"

5- We're all GREAT and glad to be home!

Praise the Lord for His goodness.  I'll post more pictures soon=)

In Honor Of Happy Day

Glorious Thursday: Happy Day

This is for all of you who I KNOW are stalking my blog this week, waiting to see when this baby will make it into the world, but who could care less about anything else I've got to say this week;)

I'd like you to participate today...

Today is happy day and we could all use a laugh so I'd love for you to tell me something that has made you laugh or that is simply too funny or cute or silly not to share.

Example:  Last night I just read this post about something my best friend's little girl said to her.  Too cute!

Who knows, maybe this could bring on a few contractions that could result in an even happier day!

*BTW - My green pool is STILL sitting in my backyard...UNCLEANED!  I had 1 task; 1 task on my to-do list yesterday!  What in the world have I been doing?  Sheesh=)  

Have A Plan

Okay, so today is the day.  Well, according to all calendars in this household (as well as those belonging to all the family members associated with ours!) it is supposed to be the day.  40 WEEKS pregnant=)

By the time I reached this mark with Areyna I was a sobbing basket-case feeling like I'd be pregnant FOREVER and wondering if the day would EVER come.

With Zeke I was still pretty emotional when the due date came, but at least he came ON his due date.

Baby #3 and I am still learning but I have been a lot LESS emotional, deciding to just live my life like any other day, even though mobility and flexibility are more and more limited=)  I WILL have a plan for every day to stay busy and optimistic finding reasons to smile and laugh along the way.

Yesterday my mom and I went grocery shopping to fill our bare pantry and refrigerator since we'd been gone for almost 2 weeks.  That pretty much exhausted me for the rest of the day.

Today, cleaning out the pool that, once again, we forgot to empty before leaving town.  Why in the world do we do this to ourselves?!  This should be fun=)

This picture does NOT give justice to the green fungus growing on the bottom and the top of the water...ewww!

SOP - Laundry

I washed a whole load of laundry tonight.

Then, I dried that whole load of laundry.

It wasn't until I pulled them out of the dryer (still smelling the dirtiness) that I realized that I had forgotten to put laundry detergent in when I washed them.  

Now, I'm washing them again and this time I made SURE I put the detergent in the washer=)

Goodness gracious, it's time for this baby to come!

Vacation

COUSINS

All the cousins taking a break from the sun to watch a movie

(minus brand new baby Karis)

Hot tub time

TUBING

Zeke and Josh

Areyna and Aunt Joy

FISHING

Me and Micaiah getting some sun

The Lake Monsters

Just To Keep Life Interesting

Well, I tried not to let the whole blogosphere know that we were away from home on family vacation all last week.  Yes a week before my due date and NO, there is NO baby yet=)

We drove up to Smith Mountain Lake in VA last Saturday for the annual Via vacation.  It was a good diversion from the growing anticipation of Micaiah's arrival.  My doctor was a little hesitant to let me travel 3 1/2 hours away but knowing that I could hop in the car at any sign of labor, and knowing my track record with late and slow deliveries, he gave me the green light.  We ALL had a GREAT time.  I'll be posting pictures (I did get a couple) this week so stay tuned.

We made it home close to midnight on Thursday night so I could make it to my Friday morning appointment.  I can't help but always get excited to see the "progress" from week to week, but disappointment overtook me as we left the appointment with NO FURTHER PROGRESS in over a week...and not another appointment scheduled until 5 days after my due date!  Oh the agony of waiting=)

Josh was scheduled to play at a church in Raleigh, NC yesterday and we had just planned on me staying home in case labor came on but he talked me into one last road trip=)  I joined him for yet another 3 1/2 trip in the car 3 days before the due date.  We might as well keep it interesting...and keep me occupied as I grow more and more antsy.

Today is another day in the studio to hopefully finish up some vocals and violin tracking on "All That Glitters" and then my mom flies in tonight to help with the kids while we wait together, so that will be a nice diversion.

I can't help but be reminded of God's grace and love as we wait on His perfect timing for this child He has already blessed us with.  I'll keep ya'll posted=)