Carly Jolene Has Arrived!

At 2:40pm on December 22 our baby girl made her arrival. It was a pretty drama free labor and delivery.

4:30AM Up, Cody made biscuits and gravy while I showered and showed Maggie some mega love before putting her in her pen.

6:00AM Arrived at to check in for induction.

7:00AM Hooked up and Pitocin started. 2cm dialated, no contractions.

9:30AM At 4cm, contractions registering at 70's and 80's 2-3 minutes apart. Dr didn't want to slow Pitocin down and suggested I might be going fast and to get Epidural now.

10:30AM Epidural done and Dr broke water.

Epidural experiance: Anestesiologist (sp?) was checking on another lady next door so the nurses told him about me and he went and got his stuff then came right in! Told us all the things that could happen (may not work, may work on one side only, can cause a spinal headache if..etc) then he began. I bent forward and dropped my shoulders and put my chin to chest, he put a finger between 2 vertebrae low in my back and told me to arch my back against it, then gave a small shot to numb the spot for the cathater to go in. Told me to take a deep breath and then small ones and focus on breathing not the pressure on my back. I was squeezing Cody's hand so hard he was cringing but I couldn't see because my head was down...then the doctor said "Oh Shit" and I almost jerked...the catheter wasn't going in right and he just had to start it again. Not a big deal but I thought it was and got really tense which he sensed and told me what was going on. He then taped the catheter up my back and over my shoulder then hooked up the drip. In about 5 minutes my legs felt tingly and heavy.

11:00AM Put in Foley catheter. Legs were very heavy but could still move ankles and slide legs back and forth. Still at 4cm but baby bump was visibly lower and I was only feeling pressure at the top of uterus an not real contractions which were 1-2 minutes apart.

11:30AM Feeling great, getting sleepy. Told Cody if he wanted to eat lunch he should do it now. Connie brought him lunch.

12:30PM Cat napping. Left leg still tingly and heavy. Right leg completely dead. Feeling same pressure as before.

2:00PM Have been feeling an achiness in left hip, left leg is less numb, right leg still dead and pressure only with really hard contractions. 7cm dilated.

From here on out the time line gets a little sketchy. I was talking to Cody and felt a contraction so I looked at the monitor and the nurse (Debra) was looking at it too...her heart rate dropped to 90's after contraction it should have gone back up to 140's but it didn't. She called for another nurse (Andette), Debra watched monitor while Andette and Cody rolled me to my left side...no change, rolled me to right side...no change. Debra calls Dr and says "Can you come down I have details" I begin to think that something is wrong. While waiting all of 1 minute for the doctor Andette and Cody are still moving me around and putting the bed up and down to try to get her heart rate to change and Debra is wheeling stuff into the room, everyone looks serious.

Dr comes in and checks me and says I'm ready to push (WHAT!! LIKE 10 MINUTES AGO I WAS AT 7CM!!) The nurses take the bottom off of the bad and lift the stirrups. Dr tells me to push down like I need to poop as he is getting the gown on. Pushed through 4 more contractions and her head was out. Cleaned her mouth and nose, one more push and her body was out, Cody cut the cord, they put her on my chest and rubbed her hard and she cried. Then I cried.

Took her over to warmer to clean her off and check Apgar Scale while placenta was delivered and Cody ran out to waiting room to tell his mom and my mom she was already here.

Ta da!






Doesn't he make pretty babies!

Almost Done

Baby T's room is almost done! As I type I am at home waiting on the carpet guys, then off to a doctor appointment and when I return Cody will be home and we will begin putting everything in her room. He and so many of our friends have worked so hard to get it all done. Cody was up until 11:30 last night painting the trim so we would be ready for the carpet guys. Pictures of the room together and all the trim painted will be up soon.

Again - Thank you Drew for your construction skills. This is the ceiling after he textured it.



And the walls after he patched them as well as the closet ready for it's new door.



Good bye icky blue!


Thank you Nicole for painting!


THE DOOR! Thank you to Seth for help with the door.


And since there aren't any parts I can do to help with the room...I decorated for Christmas!

School nesting

Apparently nesting is a part of pregnancy...one that my husband has long awaited. However, with Baby T's room in a state of construction and all of the shower gifts and office paraphernalia in the kitchen and living room there is little incentive to nest there. So I have been nesting at school...which drives the students crazy.

They like the old me. The " It'll be okay until tomorrow...." "A little dirt never hurt anybody...." "Don't worry about it, cooking is messy, we'll clean it up when we're done...." kind of teacher I am.

The "nesting" me sounds more like this "If I see one more spec of anything on the floor we will not cook the rest of the semester...." " Today we are not taking notes (insert cheers and applause) we are reorganizing the cabinets (insert groans)..." "Clean the flour up please...I know you will probably get more on the floor in a minute but clean it up now..." "Who wants extra credit? Pull out the refrigerator and stoves and clean them...."

It's getting a little ridiculous when the custodian sweeps and there isn't anything there! Hope there is some of this energy left when Baby T's room is done!

Baby Shower

Here are a few of the baby shower pictures for those of you who could not attend, or if you are male and were at the Hoag's shop during this time. Enjoy!

Only the most awesome baby showers have balloons in a vice (This was at the Hoag's shop, where we had a BBQ after the "official" party)






We are blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives.




The item hanging on the wall is part of the bedding. We are doing Baby T's room in a Ladybug theme.



Jessie and Andrea did a great job getting everything together...especially with little ones of their own at home.

FALL DECORATIONS!!

I love me some fall! Also I love fall decorations.

Our entertainment stand isn't very pretty so I like to spruce it up a bit.



The only spider I am okay with is the one eyed spider I made in elementary school with pipe cleaners and gogglie eyes...somehow he now only has 1 eye. Whoops.



Since the former office items are in the kitchen and living room you will have to wait until the nursery is completed to see the rest but trust me...before the big remodel started it looked nice.

Baby Room Part 1

So we have begun our first big house project together - Remodel Baby T's room. It has mostly been one of Cody's projects because I am not much help these days and there are some things I'm not good at or at least not up to his standards and that is okay because we both want it done right.

It began like this, with my piles of "stuff" everywhere.








Then there was the demolition, he is ripping the framing from the closet.



Yes, he is putting the trash through the window....better than tracking it through my nice clean house.



So manly when he's ripping out sheetrock



Thanks for mudding the sheetrock Drew!!



There are some things my husband is better at supervising than doing.




Part 2 is soon to come.

Spoke too soon

"Oh well, if the most horrible thing I go through until "Labor Day" is leg cramps I can totally deal! " - quote from last post.

I spoke too soon...yesterday I went to the hospital. (SPOILER ALERT: EVERYONE IS FINE)

Here is the abridged version. Woke up at 3:30am to Baby T kicking like crazy and since I was all warm and snuggled against my husband she woke him up too and then neither of us could go back to bed, so I dozed/stared at the ceiling for the next 2 hours.

5:30am got up and showered, got around for the day, ate breakfast. Felt great - totally pumped for the day, even got to talk to Jana and Krista AND got to see their mom on the news.

9:00ish (end of 1st hour) not feeling so good, sort of light headed, ate a strawberry nutri-grain type bar.

9:30 (middle of second hour) Feeling worse, getting clammy and shaky. Eat some Club crackers (also muli-grain..gotta get that fiber)

10:00ish (Beginning of third hour) Feeling really crappy now and sweating. Feet are sliding around in my shoes and I am SO HOT! Eat some hummus with the crackers and get a carton of milk from the cafeteria. Cooks ask me if I feel okay - tell them I'm just tired.

11:00 Go to office to get a requisition to get groceries for class. Superintendent asks if I am okay because I am shaky and sweaty. Tells me to call my doctor. I call dr office, they ask a bunch of questions and tell me to go to hospital.

11:45 Get to hospital, can't find Baby T's heart beat at first (longest 2 minutes of my life), put on an extra monitor so heart beat will be recorded on the machine if she moves to the other side. Take blood and do a non-stress test. Baby T's heart beat goes up to 170 (should be around 130-150) for a few minutes and nurse looks really worried because Baby T begins to move very rapidly like she is trying to beat her way out. She is kicking the monitors strapped to my belly so hard the monitor is making a whapping and smacking noise. As her heart beat goes down she slows but is still kicking very hard.

NOTE: the monitors look like very large stethoscope ends and if you thump them it sounds just like tapping on the flat end of a stethoscope real hard.

12:30ish My blood pressure is gradually going down also, was way high when I got there but I think it was partially high and partially just me freaking out. Dr says blood work is in and my sugars are low. Still strapped to the monitors, still kicking like she's a UFC fighter.

2:30 I can go home...under Dr orders I am not to return to work or go to PT conferences tonight but if I feel up to it I can go to work tomorrow.

So...what do I do about this. Eat every few hours and make sure my hands and feet are not swelling, especially if I feel like this again.

Angry legs

My legs are angry with me...too much standing *cramp*, too much sitting *cramp*, too much sleep all curled up warm and cozy next to my husband with out Baby T kicking hard enough to wake me up *Charlie Horse cramp*

Bananas, water, Tylenol, plenty of iron, extra vitamin, alternating walking and sitting in 15-30 minute rotations during the day. Nothing helps, suggestions??

Oh well, if the most horrible thing I go through until "Labor Day" is leg cramps I can totally deal!

At least the toes at the ends of my angry legs look really great. (Thanks to my awesome hubby...he did a fabulous job!)

Pump it up!

This is my "milking machine" as Grandpa Cope so lovingly puts it. The best part...it's from him! He's also pleased that I'm already "leaking"...not that we have had a sit down conversation about this or anything, but I talked to Mom about it and she told the Aunts and well, now the whole family knows, so why not THE INTERNETS too?!?!

"Why is he pleased," you may ask? Because Grandpa Cope always likes to compare things to farming and what is better on a farm than a good ole momma cow with plenty of milk? I personally think there are lots of things better, but it is nice to know that I should be able to feed Baby T right from the beginning.

2 of 7

We have completed 7 weeks of school. I have been present all five days of the week for only 2 of them and will miss one day from the next two weeks also. I think my doctor was right - too busy.

This week was Homecoming and Spirit Week. Wednesday was "Teacher/Student Swap Day" and several of the girls dressed up as me, which would be flattering except that they only wanted to because I am pregnant and they thought it would be fun. (insert look of crazed emotion and a disheartened gasp!) Of course I missed Wednesday due to a state committee meeting.

My goal from this moment on is to tell little good and MUCHO negative about my pregnancy in an effort to deter those students who may find pregnancy cute and seemingly fun....I suppose it's time to tell them about peeing my pants, the walking farts and the fourish hours of sleep I get because Baby T likes to party from 2-5am.

So I will share with you all of the fun, enjoyable parts of babyness. Pictures to come!

I couldn't handle bed rest

Went to the doctor yesterday because I work up with a sore throat and pesky cough...usually I would have waited a couple of days but due to the ridiculous amounts of Strep at school and the babyness, I thought it might be best to just make an appointment. Oh yeah...AND the fact that the day before I was in Topeka visiting a friend with a newborn!!

Thankfully it is not Strep and I am not contagious. Doctor told me to stay home today from school so that I am fully recovered. I am so glad that bed rest is not in my foreseeable future because two days on the couch (sick or not!) is driving me crazy.

All I can think about are the things at school I could be doing as well as the mountain of stuff in the spare room I need to sort and organize.

Speaking of spare room it is beginning to become Baby T's room...we got a crib

A banana?

We subscribe on-line to "What to Expect" like the What to Expect When You're Expecting book. It gives really good tips and information...like how big my uterus is or an approximate size of the baby at this stage. The approximations are easy to follow because they are in fruit terms.

I giggled today when I read that my uterus is the size of a large cantaloupe and Baby T is the size of a banana. I just imagine Baby T in an itty bitty foam banana suit kicking around in me, holding a sign that says "Get your taxes done around the corner" or "Want to work from home? Call 555-1234"

It moved

So Baby T has been moving every day for about 5 days now which is good, I think. I am 20 weeks so it's about time for this. Felt Baby T at about 18 weeks for the first time and only spiratically since then.

Yesterday Baby T was moving LOTS, probably doing flips and somersaults and who knows what else but it was making me nauseous. First thought "Sit down and hold still for a little while!" Second Thought "Oh no!! I've turned into MY MOTHER!"

Cody is excited for Baby T to kick hard enough for him to feel...me not so much except that it will make him feel good. I think he feels left out.

Cody is also excited for when "nesting" kicks in because the house is a total wreck! Most of the summer has been spent napping, eating, mowing and gardening...not house cleaning.

More forgetful....

What is worse than being super forgetful? Being more forgetful. I am going to have to start up with the white board marker on the mirror again. Here is a list of the things I have forgotten in the past week alone.

1. Why I went in ________ room.
2. To pee when I was in the bathroom.
3. To feed the dog.
4. To feed myself (didn't forget this for long).
5. To go to my Grandma's house (had a melt down when I called her and apologized like a drunken sorority girl at the bar that just threw up on her self...she laughed at me.)
6. To schedule next doctor's appointment.
7. That my cousin was home from Iraq. (he walked in the door at my mom's to get his daughter and I had a "just saw a ghost" moment)
8. To take the clothes off the line. (they were there for 3 days)
9. Where I parked my car at the fair grounds. (The WOODSON COUNTY FAIR GROUNDS!)
10. Why the timer was going off. (Thank goodness Cody remembered supper was in there)

This is the most irritating part of pregnancy so far. I feel like a really emotionally unstable Alzheimer's patient....Cody thinks I'm crazy.

Gaining weight

So I was a little sick in the begining but more than that I just plain wasn't hungry...which is strange if you remember all the times I forgot we were having dinner at someone elses house and ate at Clovia, then ate again wherever we ended up.

Then I got sick (ill) which ended up working well for Tina's bachelorette party since no one expects a sick person to drink, but it was bad because I lost more weight.

Began my pregnancy at 135 and at my last appointment 2 weeks ago I was 126 which means I have finally started gaining some weight since I was hovering around 120-125ish, this is good because the baby is also begining to grow more rapidly. The doctor told me not to worry unless the weight loss continued after the morning sickness was gone.

Since the weight gain has began I hope the energy level starts to increase also...canning should begin this week!

Cloth Diapering

I love the earth. I love conserving the earth and all its wonderful resources so the grand idea was this: If I am home for almost 2 months with a newborn and then Baby T goes to daycare for 4ish months then I am home for a few more I could use cloth diapers for at least the first year then I am making an environmental impact, saving $, and setting a good example!

However there is a lot more to cloth diapering and I am not sure my ADD is up to the challenge, especially with my aversion to laundry.

Cloth diapers have changed A SHIT TON since even we were babies...my mom used them on me during the weekends and nights and then disposables were sent to daycare for daytime...this seems like a good compromise until I looked at the price of today's cloth diapers.

Diaper covers : $15 each, recommended to have 12-20. ($180 - $300)
Diaper inserts: $3 each, recommended to have 30. ($90)

These prices are for the "one size fits all" kind where they are adjustable so you can use them from newborn until potty training. However the single size ones are still around $10 each.

Plus there are a lot of no-no's: No regular diaper rash creams, no regular wash cycles with other types of clothing, must use special soap, some you have to "scotch guard", some you have to remove and change velcro every few months....uhhhhhh.

I am going with disposable...we will see about some cloth diapers next summer... nobody hold your breath.

How did it get there?

So there is a life inside of me....totally random to think about. "How did it get there?" one of my student's little brothers asked me. I simply said "It came in through my belly button" and smiled sweetly.

How did it really get there? Mexico.

As many of you know I went to Mexico on Spring Break with Mom, Sister, The Aunts and a cousin. We stayed with a couple who are snow birds and had a great time ( even after the locals stole our luggage and Mom broke her ankle)

Included in my luggage was that little item I take each and every day. After returning home neither I nor Cody thought much of it until after the deed was done...then a week and a half of wondering, 2 pee sticks later and VIOLA - the hour glass stopped blinking and settled on the word PREGNANT!

I am a Christian and I believe all things are done by the Lord with purpose...but did this have to be so dramatic and involve so many people? I have this image in my mind of Jesus and God looking down at us girls as we step off the plane and Jesus hollers over his shoulder in a comical way "Hey Peter, you better come watch this...she has no idea!"

Summer Checklist

Goals. I need more of them. I like to fly by the seat of my underpants (because I despise real pants) and it tends to work out okay. But there are changes coming in my life. Grown up ones. Ones that mean I have to be more organized and "with it". So...here's my Summer Checklist. Anything to add??

1. Garden - weed it, harvest it, preserve it...in that order. No harvesting then just running over it with the tiller like last year.

2. Flowers - fertilize, water, weed, retain mulch. The retaining mulch part will be the hardest...and keeping the hanging baskets alive.

3. Cleaning out the Office/Spare bedroom. Gave the bed away to a friend who needed an extra...we don't really have guests so the couch is okay for a while. What will this room become: office, craft room (my vote), Cody's gun/hunting/man room?

Update: This room will have a baby in it now....so no guns or crafts, or probably office stuff.

4. Organizing Bathroom Chaos - I have 4 drawers they all look like I took my suitcase and makeup bag in and dumped it out, clutter beware, I have a trashcan I think I know how to use it.

5. Weddings - survival is my only goal.
Who wants to be my date since my husband hates weddings?

The only other person who understands

One of my favorite blogs is Hyperbole and a Half. Whoever this person is they are pretty much the only other person who understands my fear of spiders. So if you are confused by my irrational fear and would like a glimpse into my life please click here.

12.5 days

I like and dislike this time of year for several reasons. I also like lists so we will work it from that angle.

Likes of this time of year
Sunshine
soft rain
bunnies
12.5 days left in the school year
laughter of the elementary kids a outside recess
students excited to graduate and be grown ups
lots of weddings!
gardening
flowers in the field


Dislikes of this time of year
Crappy student attitudes, because they are going to graduate and be in charge of them selves and there is nothing you can do about it. so there.
knowing there are 12.5 days left in the school year because I have a lot left to do and little time to do it.
Feeling like I am wishing away 12.5 days of my (and the students') life.
laugher of the elementary kids disrupting the attention of my high schoolers.
bunnies that eat my flowers and veggies
gardening in a rush because there is so much work to do after school
having to pick which friends' wedding to go to
deer and coyotes jumping out of the field in front of your car

Awww...the pros and cons of SPRING


Next up: Pictures from Spring Break Trip to MEXICO with the family.

Need vs. Want

One of the most challenging parts of my day is trying to get students past the "Need vs Want". I NEED and A, I NEED a drink, I NEED a pencil. What I want to say is "no...you think you NEEd and A because your parents will be mad if you get another D but you should have studied so you don't get extra credit." "no..you know your girlfriend will be in the class room next door and you want to peek in at her when you walk by to the water fountain" "no....you just went to your locker and put your stuff away then came to class empty handed, you get a zero for not being prepared." But what I want to say and what I usualy say are different. Usualy I say "okay" (except to the A one).

So I got to thinking about what I Need VS Want.
I Need to post here more often because it is a good way to get the bagillion thoughts out of my mind and on 'paper' so they don't overwhelm me.

I Need to sleep more so I am not so cranky.

I Need to put grades in so my students know how they are doing.

I Want ice cream because it makes me happy and puts my in a good mood faster than a nap.

I Want my students to study not just so they know the material but also so I feel like they think my class is important

I Want to be a better teacher.

Nothing Exciting

I decided that nothing TRULY exciting happens in my life. It is just a bunch of random stuff that makes for a pretty crazy story.

Like Christmas morning for example... Cody and I stayed at my mom's the night before since we were at the farm for Christmas eve. We all woke up late and in order for us to get to Cody's mom's we were not able to go do stockings at the farm we just rushed home and changed real quick. We headed our usual way, no it had not be graded yet and we didn't expect it to be, we also didn't expect there to be such a gigantic snow drift just around the corner, he tried to stop but we were already in it and it was downhill so when we tried to go in reverse we would go only 2 feet and then we couldn't go any more. So Cody decided it wasn't so deep just two feet ahead, he pulled forward a little tried to reverse and it worked! So he backed up as far as he could (about 4 feet was all) gunned it and POOF stuck in a snow drift! We called Cody's friend J. and he came (with girlfriend in tow) to help. Then he got stuck because he slowed down too much. So we called Cody's friend S. who got stuck in the drift also. Then Cody's friend J. called his little brother B. B came barreling down the road at 50 from the opposite direction in his big ole diesel crew cab something or other, hit the snow bank shooting snow from all directions in to the air (it was really pretty looked like a glittery snow globe) and his truck lurched to a stop with all 4 wheels still spinning. Angry with B, J violently and rapidly removed himself from his truck. Cody jumped out and ran after him, I was on the phone with J's girlfriend. Due to the positions of both J and Cody's trucks I could not see the skirmish that was about to follow but J's girlfriend gave me the play by play. J and B did not end up throwing punches but the words that were said are not those that should be repeated (YIKES!). B and his two friends were making some phone calls to find people with tractors who could come get us. Now my step-grandfather lives just 3 miles from this location but due to his age and terrible balance we all opted to not call him. If he ever found out he would be very sad but we didn't want to get an old man out in that much blustery snow and ice. Back to the story at hand, Cody and I were sitting in the truck listening to Christmas carols, I was singing along and Cody was singing all the country songs he know trying to drown me and the cheerful ballad about being romantically snowed in when all of a sudden we see B and his two friends running full speed to the hay shelter 100 yards off the road. I turn to Cody to ask what they were doing when the color drained out of his face...he muttered that he thought there may be a tractor in there. My eyes brightened (we had been stuck for 2 hrs already) and his darkened. I am sure he was upset that he hadn't made the realization first but he perked up when we saw a puff of black smoke escape out the side of the hay shelter just before the front end of an old Oliver appeared. It took just 15 minutes to get Cody and I, J and B out. We rushed to Cody's mom's and then to the next two Christmas' after that. We had a lovely day...and a pretty good story.