39 weeks tomorrow!!!

Well, the homestretch is here. Tomorrow marks 39 weeks. I made it! Unless God has other plans, the baby will be here Wednesday morning. 2 whole days. I think I can make it!!
Things have been pretty laid back around here, that is until this morning. Rob woke up & couldn't open his eyes. They were mattered shut, really watery & really red. He seemed to be in quite a bit of pain. I called Dr Billars office, (my eye Dr) to see if they could get Rob in today. They were booked, but told me to bring him in & they would see him in between patients. Good thing we took him in. He ended up having to have surgery on his eye this morning. Somehow, Rob got a piece of metal embedded in the cornea of his right eye. Dr Billars said that had we not been in & gotten this taken care of, Rob would have ended up in the hospital within 2 days. That could have been a small issue! Anyway, he isn't sure how it happened, only thinks that when he went to the leaf drop yesterday, it was super windy & he got something in it then. He said yesterday a couple of times that his eye was bugging him & asked me if I could see anything in it, but I couldn't. He's home now & says it feels a bit better. I'm pretty sure that it still stings quite a bit and it's still pretty watery, but at least he can open it in a dark room. Dr Billars said that he should be feeling much better tomorrow.
Well, that's the latest in a nut shell. I don't know that I will post again before the baby. Rob & I have to be at the hospital on Wednesday morning at 5:30am. We'll keep everyone posted!

38 weeks 1 day

Well, I met with Dr Scott again today. Still having contractions, but nothing more than I've been having since I was sick. The baby's heart rate was in the 120's today. My BP was 128/72 which is EXCELLENT and I gained another pound. Things seem to be going well & I'm supposed to keep doing them just as I am. We're still planning on next Wednesday, unless the big guy says differently!
I'm doing well over all, not much to complain about, ha ha! The baby's still moving around, kicking like crazy at times & then not at all other times. I found out the other night, that if I'm sitting in a chair and Elleh comes up to me, stands between my legs & asks for a kiss, that I can bend over to give her one. Something about a belly getting in my way! Who'da thought!!! I could use a little more sleep, but that will come to.
My bag is packed. I had a flu shot today, Rob gets his tomorrow & the girls get the flu mist tomorrow. After that, there's a few cleaning things to do, (that darn maid is slacking!!!) and then we're as ready as we're going to get.
I'll keep everyone posted!

36 weeks 6 days

Update on Baby/Laura:
I'm still here, still pregnant which is a good thing! I'm feeling OK. Still having contractions, some are worse than others, but still nothing to worry or be concerned about.
I met Dr Scott today. She is the Dr that will be delivering the baby for me, now that Dr Gaetze has left for the Holy Land. She is a very nice lady & I am very happy to be in her care! We had a great visit this morning. The baby is doing well, measuring right on, & his or her heart rate was 145bpm. I am up 2 pounds, so I'm now 1 lb heavier than when I got pregnant. My BP was good today, but is starting to creep up. I'm still on bed rest, but am still able to work 3 - 4 hrs per day which continues to be my saving grace! No changes there.
Now for the BIG news that everyone has been waiting for, ESPECIALLY me!!!! Unless God has a different plan, the delivery is now scheduled for..........

~ ~ ~ Wednesday, November 9th, 2011 ~ ~ ~

I was hoping for the week before, but the longer the baby can remain inside, the better for the both of us. Oh well, what's waiting 7 more days right?!?!

Mollie, Ava & Elleh are excited for the baby, and now that we have a date, we're going to make a chain for them to help put things into perspective. They will get to pull off a link each night until the date! I have my stuff, and the babies stuff ready to go, now to get the girls' stuff ready for Grandma's house! I think that project will be the weekend before. I think I'm going to try to make some meals to freeze this weekend. Sounds like it's going to be a good weekend to start the oven & heat the house!

We'll keep you all posted! Thanks for the love & prayers!

36 Weeks 3 days

Still here. Still pregnant. That's a good thing. At least that's what I'm trying to convince myself of. Not to complain, there are people out there that have it much worse than I do, but I really wish that I had just a little bit more room! I'm to the point where I'm uncomfortable 100% of the time, I'm not sleeping worth a hoot, and every time I eat, I feel sick to my stomach. Hope no one thinks I'm a bad person when I say that I'm glad to know that this is the last time I will be doing this! I love the kids that God gave me. They are my world, but I really don't care to be pregnant EVER again. I have never understood those women who LOVE being pregnant. I used to enjoy feeling movement, but I don't enjoy that anymore either. It's seems to be constant, and it is literally painful. Oh well, as my dad keeps saying, the minute this baby is born & I hold him or her, it will all be worth it!
I'm going to try to get some things done over the weekend with the help of my mom, so that I feel a bit more prepared & ready. The rest of the weekend will be spent laying down. They say that it's going to be nice this weekend. Might have to pull out the reclining lawn chair & enjoy.
Monday is my next appointment. I'll keep everyone posted.
Have a great weekend!

Baby/Laura Update 36 weeks, 2 days

Hi Everyone,
I am really horrible about making sure that I make phone calls or send e-mails to let everyone know how I'm doing & what's going on. I know that you are all wondering & are concerned and praying for us & I really appreciate it. The prayers have worked so far, Thank you. That being said, I am going to make it a point to update this Blog as often as I know anything. I'm shooting for daily, but we'll see what happens. I will try to remember to send out an e-mail to let you know I've posted. If you see that there is someone that should be included, that I don't have on the e-mail, please share the link to the blog for me. Here goes what I will try to make a brief Blog, but yet update you on everything.
As most of you know, Mollie got sick on September 6th & was hospitalized a week later for a week. We took her home on a Friday & got a call from Char, our daycare provider, that we needed to come & get Elleh because she was sick. She was sick for a week, then Rob & I got it. I ended up getting really dehydrated, and after 2 different trips to the hospital for fluids, they put me in so that they could get me re hydrated & try to keep me from going into pre-term labor. I was admitted on Wednesday the 28th of September and was able to go home on Saturday, October 1st. After that, we all seemed to get over the bug. Due to the dehydration and the loss of 11 pounds, I started having contractions and was put on bed rest when I was released from the hospital. I have not had much fun with that & have to admit that I'm not the most honest patient when it comes to that. I try really hard, but laying around doing NOTHING all day everyday was starting to drive me NUTS!! There's only so much daytime junk to watch on TV, I have read all my magazine's, and made all kinds of lists. The hardest part is when the girls' come home & want me to play barbies or babies & I'm not able to. So instead, we read lots of stories & color. My parents let me borrow their laptop, and Rob got the wireless router hooked up, so I am able to "surf" the Internet & dad has saved some stuff for me to do & I'm able to work from home to kill some time. I have been seeing my Dr every week since I was released from the hospital. I was finally able to convince her to let me go to work for 3 hours a day, which is so nice! I get off the couch & out of the house for a little bit each day, and get to go the the office so that dad gets a break each day also. I'm probably better off at the office anyway, but for medical reasons, she will only let me be up for 3 - 4 hours a day. Hey.... I'm not complaining. I'll take everything I can get. At my appointment on Tuesday, Dr Gaetze put me on the monitor as usual. The baby's heart rate was in the high 130's to low 140's with accelerations into the 160's which is great. He or she moves around quite a bit & according to the Dr, is very happy. I was having contractions about every 2 minutes that were about 30 seconds in length. My blood pressure is starting to creep up, it was 129/82, which is still GREAT for me, but creeping up from where it was. I still weigh 2 lbs less than before I got pregnant, but according to Dr Gaetze, the baby is growing & taking everything it needs to be healthy before I get it, so the baby is doing fine which was my main concern. She did tell me that if I go into labor on my own, anytime from here on out, she won't do anything to stop it. If that happens, I'm to get to the hospital ASAP & she will meet me there to deliver. So, anytime from here on out, there could be a baby whenever God decides it's time for him or her to make their debut.
Dr Gaetze is leaving for the Holy Land next week, and won't be back until the 14th of November, so I won't see her again until after the baby is here. I have a very good recommendation, and will be seeing Dr Scott on Monday next week. At that time, we plan to schedule the c-section, sometime around 38 - 39 weeks, if the baby doesn't decide it's time before that. I'm really hoping to make it to 38 or 39 weeks. The more time inside, the healthier the baby will be. As soon as we have something set, I will let everyone know & hopefully, things go as planned.
Thank you so much for all the thoughts & prayers. We really appreciate them!
I have to say a HUGE thank you to Rob. He has been absolutely AMAZING through all of this. What a trooper. He has put up with my emotions, getting me through everything, has taken care of the girls with flying colors, cleaned, scoured, disinfected our house from top to bottom, cooked meals, done laundry, given up opening weekend of pheasant hunting season, you name it, he's done it and still tells me how much he loves me & how beautiful I am. What a guy! I am so truly blessed. I also have the best family & friends in the whole wide world. You guys are the best & I love you all so much!! Thank you to those who have brought us meals also. It's been a HUGE help!
I'll do my best to keep you all posted from here on out. I promise!
Love to you all~

Yummy Pasta

If you haven't tried the new Philly Cooking Creams, I highly recommend that you do! I had seen them on TV, in magazine ads & had a coupon for $1.00 off. I decided that I would try them. I went to the grocery store, and they were out. I went back a few days later and they were still out. After a few weeks of trying, I finally got my hot little hands on some. I picked up the Garlic and the Classic one.
I decided to try the Garlic one first. I cooked some shrimp in a bit of olive oil, then added some bacon (fully cooked & cut into small pieces), peas, diced tomatoes, penne pasta (cooked & drained) & the cooking sauce. I heated all of it until it was heated all the way through. We had the pasta & some garlic toast for supper. The kids asked for seconds (which DOES NOT happen at our house) and Rob had the leftovers for lunch. They all raved about how great it was. It made me feel wonderful, and was super easy to prepare.
I now know why it was so hard to get my hands on some. It's a meal that we will be repeating!

New Year, New Start! (Hopefully)

Hi Everyone,

So, I'm going to give it another go. Updating this is a lot tougher than I thought it would be. Darn kids & husbands..... they keep me busy & on my toes.

Here's a quick break down of where we're at.

Rob: Still at Avera HME, keeping really busy. They have a new manager at the store, finally, after being without one for more than 4 months. Rob applied for the job, but it was offered to another employee from another Avera location. I think he wanted the job a little bit, but was relieved when it was offered to someone else. If he had been offered the job, it would have meant that he wouldn't be working with the patients anymore. He truly loves that part of his job & wouldn't be happy if he wasn't able to do that anymore. It was a great experience for him.

He is still President for the East Dakota Chapter of the NWTF & is busy getting things ready for this year's banquet on April 1st. He seems to be enjoying this! If anyone wants tickets, let him know. He'll be sure to hook you up!

Laura: Still at Farmers, going on year 11! I'm manning the place by myself right now. Dad's out in Pierre playing Legislator! I'm so glad that there are people out there that want to do that job. You couldn't pay me enough to put up with all the grief that he's putting up with. I'm a bit embarrassed for the people of SD. No one wants the State in debt, but NO ONE wants the cuts to fix the problems! What a mess! Anyway, nuff about politics & back to ME! Things at work could be busier, hopefully that is in the works for me! Marketing, marketing, marketing! Elleh has started going to daycare 3 days a week & loves it. It's bittersweet for me because I get so much done when she's there, but having her with me only 2 days per week is really pulling on my heart strings!

I'm still leading Mollie's Girl Scout troop, and we're busy selling cookies right now. If anyone would like some, give us a shout!

Mollie: is a FIRST grader! We are so proud of her! She loves school & it shows. She is doing so well. She is having fun in Girl Scouts & will be playing soccer again this Spring with daddy & uncle Patrick as her coaches. I'll be sure to post her schedule for anyone that would like to check out our little rock star on the soccer field!

Ava: Tink will be 4 this month. Hard to believe! Time flies when you're having fun. She has decided that she wants to have an Ariel (Little Mermaid) birthday party. I'm super excited about the cake I plan to make for her. If all goes as planned, I'll post some pics at the end of the month! She hasn't given us any ideas as to what she wants, but I'm sure that will come the closer we get. She did get her ears pierced for her birthday. She did great, and cried just a smidge! The ice cream from Grandma & Grandpa made it all better!

Ava is loving Sunday School & can't wait until next Fall when she gets to play soccer!

Elleh: Miss "E" is your typical 1 year old going on 16! She is so much fun. Her little personality is really developing. She loves to tease. Her favorite thing right now: (mommy) "Elleh, are you ONE?" (elleh) "TWO!" then she comes at you with wiggly fingers saying "tickle, tickle, tickle" She thinks she's pretty funny!

Well, I sure hope that Punxsutawney Phil is right! I'm ready for Spring. School was called off today because of dangerously cold wind chills. - 43 predicted for today!

I'll do my best to keep this as updated as possible. Hope everyone is doing well & staying warm & safe.