Possible Complication

We could really use some prayers... Friday I had a sonogram to check the baby's kidneys because they couldn't see them in the 19 week sono. Kidneys are fine. Baby was just too small to see them last time. However I got a phone call from my midwife yesterday to let me know of a new problem. Apparently in Friday's sono the doctor found that the placenta is possibly aged prematurely to grade 3. Basically that means that the placenta possibly is not able to do as well as it should to nourish the baby. So the midwife referred me to maternal fetal medicine to get a more detailed sonogram and possible other testing to see if the placenta is truely as bad as it looked. That appointment is Monday. Good news is baby looks fine and the fluid is good so I've got a lot of good things going. I will hopefully have good news when I go to the doc on Monday :-)

26 weeks and summer's almost here!

I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going by for me this time around! I just wanted to give an update...

I'm now 26 weeks along with a little girl! We are naming her Analeia Christine. I have my next appointment with the midwife in a couple weeks to get my Rhogam shot and do my 1 hr glucose screening (so fun, not! lol) I also have a repeat sono on the 10th because the tech couldn't see Analeia's kidneys last time. Luckily they said it's no big deal because she was moving around so much last time which made it hard to see them.

We are nowhere near ready for a new baby in the house... All we have are a few outfits and onsies that I found on sale lol. I know we'll be set by the time she arrives though. I am super excited about having another baby at the birth center with a midwife. My birth experience with Jaina is filled with so many wonderful memories and look forward to more good memories with Analeia's. Maybe I'll even get a water birth this time (Jaina came too quick hehe).

For the rest of our kiddos...

Jaina is doing good. She is super shy with everyone but me when I'm around but does well when I'm not around. She is very bright and sweet... Potty training is in progress. We are still working on timing :-)

Alex is the life of the party... All the big boys think he's the coolest 3 year old on the planet lol. He is very loud and has some pretty brutal tantrums but is generally sweet. He will talk to EVERYONE lol which is not always a good thing... He is getting so smart it's scary. He remembers everything. I'm planning to begin working with him on some prek stuff since his birthday is after September 1st and won't be able to go to prek until fall 2012. We are (still) working on potty training. I'm a little worried because I will take him potty then 5 minutes later he will be wet already. I don't know why he doesn't hold his bladder. If he's not trained by the time his well visit then I'm going to bring it up to his doctor. I do have to say that he is getting really good at going number 2 in the potty and rarely has accidents.

Myranda is getting a lot better with her school work. She just has to slow down and think about what she's doing sometimes. She (finally) likes to read. It took most of this year but she finally is onto chapter books! She has her down times emotionally. We are a little concerned and think it may be because she is too old to do a lot of things with her younger siblings and too young to do a lot of things with her older siblings...

Andrea is doing well. She competed with the school honor choir and they got 1st place in the Sandy Lake competition. She also had one of her art pieces featured in the Keller Art Show. She did very well with her TAKS (state standardized test) and got commended in Math! She is looking forward to going to camp with the church youth this year for the first time this summer :-)

Samara is doing good too. Her drama performances in school were awesome and she did well on her TAKS tests too. She got commended in Reading :-) She's looking forward to camp this summer as well but wasn't too thrilled to find out she will be bunking with Andrea lol. We are glad they will be together though because it's Andrea's first year... Also we just celebrated her 12th birthday... I can't believe she's almost a teenager! AAACCCKKK!!!! lol

That's about all... Hopefully I remember to update again soon!

This song has so much more meaning recently...

This past month I have seen more people that I've known leave this life than I have in my entire life. My heart aches for their families but I know that they are safe and in peace with the Lord. I have learned a hard lesson in all of this that young or old, you are not safe from death and sadness but you can find comfort in knowing that God's grace through Jesus Christ can save you from and eternity of suffering in the afterlife.

Funny Link

I know it's too early for me to get this question but I remember hearing it a lot during the end of my last two pregnancies so I got a kick out of this link!

http://www.haveyouhadthatbabyyet.com

Prayer

I admit. I struggle with words, especially when it comes to prayer. I feel like nothing I say is worthy enough to be said to the Creator of the universe. Especially praying out loud. I fumble over what to say. I get overwhelmed because I want to make sure I pray the right words.

This has troubled me for some time but today I saw a wonderful Bible verse. Romans 8:26 says, "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered."

This verse reminds me that even when I can't find the right words, the Lord knows what is on my heart, whether it is something of praise or concern. There are times that I am so overwhelmed with the current situation that all I can say is "Thank you!" and/or "Help!" And while I may still turn bright red when asked to pray out loud, at least I have peace knowing that God knows what it is that I'm trying to say.

Tiny Tillia Joins Avon!

I'm so excited about the launch of Avon's newest baby and children's brand, Tiny Tillia!


"As a mother of two, I wanted to give my babies the best. I looked all over but couldn't find anything that was as high quality or as fun as I wanted. So I decided to create it myself! The playful bunch of Tiny Tillia characters wer inspired by members of my family, including my mom, author Jackie Collins."

-Tiffany Lerman, Tiny Tillia Founder


This brand features several products for bathtime, playtime, babywear, nursery decor, baby gift sets, and mommy must-haves. You will even have the opportunity to create a baby registry!


As a mother of five with one on the way I am beyond thrilled (The nursery decor is too cute!)



Shopping begins April 12, 2011... Until then you can visit the site http://www.tinytillia.com

You can also shop my Avon site 24/7 http://www.youravon.com/mfraker

Free shipping on your first order with the promo code: FIRSTREP

People can be so hurtful...

God please help me watch my words. Someone recently said something very ugly regarding our children and it is taking all of my willpower not to respond to that person in an extremely ugly way.

"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." Ephesians 4:29

I forgot to mention...

I already made this announcement on Facebook but just realized that I haven't updated my blog in a couple weeks.... We are expecting again!!!!




















This is our newest little addition at 6 weeks and 2 days. We are expecting their arrival to be September 7th. I have a sneaking suspicion it may be a little sooner since my last two babies were early as well. We are super excited because we saw the heartbeat on Friday which means that risk of miscarriage is significantly lower :-)

How to Tell if You are a MoM (Mother of Many)

(#14 doesn't really apply to me since we will be done for sure after this one.)

You know you are a MoM (Mother of Many) when:

1. You know where the bathroom is in any major store you visit.

2. Your car has more seatbelts than windows.

3. Your grocery budget is higher than your house payment.

4. You do most of your thinking and praying in the bathroom.

5. Creative decorating means lots of bookshelves and bunkbeds.

6. You no longer carry a purse, but use the diaper bag instead.

7. Your idea of good commercial building design means a comfy mother's lounge.

8. You constantly find yourself marveling how short the time is between birth and toddling, birth and schoolage, birth and graduation, etc.

9. Even your two year old knows that they must hold someone's hand in the grocery store.

10. You have a routine for stopping pacifiers, toilet training, cup training, and every childhood “phase”.

11. You have at least three witty replies to "Are they all yours?"

12. You just really wish people would not think they were clever for saying, "Don't you know what causes that?"

13. You have forgotten how many times you have been asked, "Are you Mormon or Catholic?"

14. You are still afraid to tell your husband how many more kids you want!


15. Your food storage takes up more room than your entire kitchen... And that is just for this week!

16. You have so much laundry that when you finally get to the bottom of the pile, it's actually stuck to the floor!

17. You spend a lot of time at church in the foyer or mother’s lounge, wondering why you can’t just stay home and listen to the baby fuss there!

18. You spend more money on diapers each month than you do on entertainment!

19. You instantly sympathize with any woman who is obviously pregnant in the middle of summer.

20. You are up to double digits in years that you have spent with a baby attached to you in one way or another!

21. Taking the kids grocery shopping with you makes you feel like a mother duck.

22. You hate carpools because you know who is going to get stuck doing the driving.

23. When you see photos of castles and grand mansions, all you can think is how many bedrooms it has (YES!), and how much space all those other rooms provide for the kids to mess up (NO WAY!).

24. You know that every time you move the couch or couch cushions, you will find Cheerios under them.... Even if you have not had Cheerios in the house!

25. You know the “law of crumbs”. “Any food item that will crumble will produce twice its own weight in crumbs.”

26. You know by experience that paint NEVER dries until it has been spread around in all the places you did NOT want it to be.

27. You know what to use to remove lipstick, shortening, and indelible marker from any surface.

28. You know how to get smashed raisins out of a carpet, and how to get bubblegum out of hair, and so do all your older kids.

29. You are certain one of your kids is sneaking rolls of toilet paper out of the house and selling them because you know there is no way they could be using that much of it, even if there ARE a lot of bottoms in your house.

30. When you go to order fast food, you order 6 hamburgers, one with ketchup only, one plain, one with no pickles or onions, two with no pickles, onions or mustard, and one with nothing but cheese, plus one fish sandwich, one chicken sandwich, one large hamburger, and one large hamburger with bacon. You then have to repeat yourself three times so the person at the window can get it right.

31. When your kids are learning a foreign language, you wonder how it is that they can find the words to insult each other faster than they can find the words to say “I'm sorry.”

32. If two kids bring home identical toys from their kid's meal, you know you have to put names on them first thing, or they will fight over whose is whose, even if both of them have one in their hand.

33. You spend a lot of time looking at the little kids, urging them on to the next step, while still wishing they could stay little just a bit longer.

34. You have a full baby book for your first two children, half of one for the next one, and nearly empty baby books or none at all for the later ones.

35. When the many-times-handed down clothing is finally too worn out to hand down again, you still have a hard time letting it go because it has so many good memories attached.

36. You don't have a wardrobe of “fat clothes” and “skinny clothes”. You have "regular clothes”, “pregnant clothes”, and “nursing clothes”.

37. When a child outgrows something, you put it away in a box in the closet or garage, even if you don't have a younger child of that gender, because you just know you are going to need it eventually!

38. Your idea of a great dining set is one that has lots of expansion leaves. When you see a corporate boardroom on TV, all you can think is what a great dining table the conference table would make.

39. You can list at least three different technological advances in diaper design which you, personally, have used on your kids.

40. You have at least one specialized medical skill because at least one of your kids has some kind of potentially risky condition which you deal with.

41. You sometimes wonder how it is that other moms get really nice gifts for holidays, and you end up with 6 pieces of cardboard with “I love you Mom your the best.” written on it in crooked writing. And you have a box in your closet that you put them in.

42. You cook dinner in pots large enough to bathe a baby in, and frequently lament over the insufficient size of convenience appliances like mixers, waffle irons, and crock pots – and you compromise by owning two of each.

43. Your car is large enough to hold the entire family, but if you go camping, you have to rent a trailer just to hold all the camping equipment.

44. You can't believe with the size of the larger RVs out there that they couldn't fit more beds into at least ONE of them, and you really wish they'd design one with two bathrooms!

45. If you see a home design with a Master Retreat room, you think what a great nursery it would make.

46. You can quote entire pages from Dr. Seuss without having to pause to think about it, and can sing any number of Raffi or Disney songs from memory.

47. You can think of more than three great Christmas gifts for a child of any age... Because you always have a child close to the age in question!

48. You have at least one story stored up for each of your kids which is guaranteed to embarrass them if you recount it in public.

49. You know, and are thankful, that when they get too old to send to their rooms, that possession of the car keys gives you the ultimate power!

50. When the first two kids move out, you can't believe how much smaller your family feels.

51. You think that a mini-van is just too small to be a practical family car - but you wish they'd make a shopping cart about that size!

52. Getting the whole family to fit into the Wal-Mart photo booth, and then getting a picture when nobody is crying, making bunny ears, blinking, or sticking their finger in their nose is a major triumph!

53. Your stretchmarks might better be described as "pleats".

54. Your kids don't need as many toys, because they always have someone to play with.

55. Other people dream of buying a Porche or other sports car, but all you can think is that it wouldn't be good for anything because it is not cheap enough for your husband to commute in, and it doesn't have enough seats for the family, and there's no WAY you are going to let your teenager drive that!

56. You have to take off your shoes to count all the kids.

Written by Laura Wheeler

Co-Owner of Firelight Business Enterprises, Inc, and Firelight Web Studio – Laura writes instructional materials, produces infosites, and builds affordable websites for her business startup clients. Her varied experience allows her to give exceptional service, and to produce instructions on a surprising range of topics. Laura is a busy mom of eight, homeschooler, and home business owner.

This article may be reprinted if it is unaltered, and if the signature line is included with the article..

I love this time of year :-)

What a wonderfully blessed holiday season we have had! Thanksgiving was a lovely time of gathering with our family and thinking about everything that we are thankful for. And Christmas... Christmas was just... Uh-ma-zing! This was our first Christmas in our home here in Fort Worth and I couldn't have asked for a better time of celebration! Oh, and the food. Don't get me started on the abundance of food at our house! In fact I am just now getting to the pumpkin pie. We had so much food that I didn't have room for the pumpkin pie. But hey, at least it's now cooling on the stove :-)





On another note, I have some big news that I just can't wait to share. (I learned last time how important it is that friends and family are in the loop from the beginning...)

This morning we found out that we are expecting again! After last month's problems I am a little paranoid but since I have given birth to 2 healthy children, I'm thinking that things should go well this time. This baby should be due around the end of July or beginning of August :-)