IF YOU ARE STILL IN THE PROCESS OF RAISING CHILDREN, BE AWARE. THE TINY FINGERPRINTS THAT SHOW UP ON ALMOST EVERY NEWLY CLEANED SURFACE, THE TOYS SCATTERED AROUND THE HOUSE, THE PILES AND PILES OF LAUNDRY LYING AROUND TO BE TACKLED, WILL DISAPPEAR ALL TOO SOON. AND, YOU WILL, TO YOUR SURPRISE, MISS THEM PROFOUNDLY. THOMAS S. MONSON

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Christmas Eve...

Yes, the day we were sent home from the hospital was Christmas Eve. It was such an exciting time for us all. Not only was Santa coming over, but so was the baby brother. When we left the hospital, Smith checked out perfect. His tests all came back great, and his levels were all normal. His billirubin level was at 11, which is normal. (More later) Nora was ecstatic to see Smith and I both. Because of the swine flu, there is a ban on anyone under 18 entering the hospital, including siblings of newborns. So it was really sad for me not to see her for a few days. She was excited to see us both, but I think she was more happy to see Smith, or as she says, "Scooby Doo and Smith". She thinks we should all have two names. I am "Mommy, and Kirstynn", she is, "Nora and Moo Child" (some name Joel came up with, don't ask...)


Nora loved the baby Jesus story. We talked about it every night, and she had her own little figurines that she played with. Sometimes the princess would make an appearance at the stable, but we tried to keep it as reverent as possible.


On Christmas Eve our great friends Candice and Joe brought over Christmas dinner. And not just any dinner... this was a special dinner, and I was honored, that they chose us to share it with. Candices "Nana" is a very old Mexican woman living in SanDiego, and although I have never met Nana, Candice speaks of her very highly, and I can't help to think if we ever met, that I would love her as well. She makes tamales. It is a very labor intensive project, but every year for Christmas she spends hours making hundreds of these yummy mexican food. Because she loves her _______ so much, she shipped several dozen to Candice here in Virginia. And yup... you guessed it, they shared some with us. They were incredibly delicious, and I could have not asked for a better dinner my first night home. WAIT... the only thing that wold have made it better would have been some of my Nana's labor intensive apple cookies, or maybe a few cannolis, or oohh... maybe- stop... I can't eat like I used to be able to. I have to focus on getting this belly in shape... but if I could have just one more tamale, and one cannoli, then I would be the luckiest gal there is!



Before Nora went to sleep on Christmas eve, she opened a pair of jammies from her lulu and papa. And we set out a treat for the Jolly man himself, and his reindeer. I was so tickled at how smart my kid can be sometimes. We asked her what we should leave for the reindeer. She said, "Breakfast". I thought... well, that's silly, and asked her, "What kind of breakfast?" She said, "Oatmeal". Oh, well I guess reindeer do eat oats... so we left the reindeer a dish of rolled oats. They are messier than carrots, but I think they enjoyed the grainy break.



Thursday, December 24, 2009

Calling all angels...

As I sit here on Christmas Eve,I have a hard time not reflecting on the Angel Gabriel that warned Mary and Joseph that they would bring a Savior into the world. And that his name would be Jesus. From that warning, world changing events continued to take place.

When I married the love of my life, my world changed. It changed once again, when we brought a darling daughter into it. And again, our world changed when we delivered our boy on Tuesday evening. To say that angels were present, would be a total and complete understatement.

As we went to bed on Monday night, we knew the events that were to transpire the next day. We had a plan. With very little sleep that night, morning came. We received a phone call at 6ish am, that slightly dampened our plans for Nora. We had 15 minutes to come up with a new plan for her day. That new plan came in the form an angel named Kathy. Kathy (a teenager from church) received a phone call VERY early, asking if she could spend the day with Nora, so we could deliver the baby. We rushed to pick her up, and left her with our sleeping daughter. Already, my heart started to break. Knowing that Nora would be fine, I felt sad that her day had changed already, and I didn't even have the chance to explain it to her. Oh well, I couldn't worry about that right now. I had other things to think about... PUSH!

Joel and I arrived at the hospital, checked in, and met my nurse. She wasn't the angel that my grandma was when I was in labor the first time, but she was the next best angel in line. I know my grandma sent her to me. This angels name was Janice. Janices daughter had a baby the day before, so she was in grandma mode. Around 9am, Janice and the attending, broke my water. They were seemingly surprised by the amount of water that was released. "Much much more water then usual." All that meant to me, was maybe a smaller baby? Less weight to lose later? PUSH!!! It was another hour until they checked me. I had dilated another cm, but hadn't felt any contractions. They started the petocin at a very low dosage. Another hour went by, and NOTHING. So they upped the petocin. OH WOW! OW! I have a very low tolerance for pain, so as soon as there was a contraction that made me cry, I ordered my epidural. Am I glad that I did! Meet angel number 3... Kevin. Kevin was the anestesis. When he showed up, I wanted to kiss him. Then I explained to him my epidural story from my first delivery. I felt that it didn't take the first time, and the deliver was way more painful then it could have been. So, he was aware of my desires. LITTLE TO NO PAIN! Kevin was happy to oblige, and was so excited to make all my painless dreams come true. While he was administering the epidural, he received 3 more orders from other patients. So, I was glad that I called when I did. PHEW! The drugs did its job... for a little while. When the labor increased, so did the pain. Janice was not comfortable with how heavy I had to breath through the contractions. So, she called Kevin, and asked him to come back. He came back, and administered some more of something WONDERFUL! With no pain at all, we were preparing to start pushing. The babies heart rate was very low when I laid on my left side, so they were very cautious of the numbers on the monitor. Around 4pm, my angel friend Candice arrived. I had invited her to be a part of our day, and she arrived at the perfect time. Her and her husband are celebrities in our house but today, they were both angles. Nora loves her husband Joe. It made me so happy that I would have a friend there during this event. She was in charge of the camera, which was another reason I needed her there. I had a midwife that had been checking up on me, and when it was time to push, at 4:30pm, she was right there. She told me that the baby was in position, and that position was... FACE UP. She had a fancy term for it... O.P. or P.O. one of those. I guess I wasn't too concerned, because I had no feeling whatsoever. I started pushing, or what I thought was pushing... it is an odd feeling, when you are told to push, and you can't really feel it. Again, this was new for me. This sort of painless, "feeless" pushing went on for a good hour. I was told, "You're doing so good! You're great! Good job!" All the things that an amazing angel-like husband is supposed to say. Janice also helped to motivate me during this process. After pushing for what seemed like FOREVER! I asked them to... are you ready for this... I asked them to take the epidural off. I was worried that I would continue pushing for hours and hours, and I just wanted to get this over with! So, they took me off the epidural. Then I started screaming, and maybe cursing a couple of times. The doctor came in to check on us. He was the jolliest, roundest, cutest, ob I have ever seen in my life! Such a doll! Or should I say, such an angel! My only fear was how big his hands and arms were. Especially when they said, he was going to flip the baby. I guess that newer/younger doctors don't like to "flip" the baby, they just take the mom in for a c-section. So, I am so blessed that it worked out the way it did. So, now it was just a matter of pushing my brains out, without eyeballs popping out of my head! At some point, Dr. Big hands Jolly, decided we needed to use the vacuum. At that time, I didn't even care, what they did, this kid had to get out! Dr. Jolly used the vacuum with all his strength, twice, and on the third try, he was out. When I delivered Nora the experience was beautiful, spiritual, emotional, less physical, and I was so happy the first minute of her life. With this delivery... I was exhausted, angry, in pain, it was a totally different experience. It took a few minutes, but once I had processed with just happened, I was a new person, and I had just brought a new person into this world. Smith David Evans was born at 6:30pm on Tuesday December 22nd, 2009. He weighed 7lbs and 3oz. He was really 7lbs and 2.8oz... bit I am taking credit for 3oz. Here are some pictures from the day. I am quite behind in posting this, and since I see the light at the end of the blogging tunnel, I am going to quickly put the pictures up.

The angles that were present on that day, made it possible to bring Smith in this world with more ease and comfort. Had it not been for the numerous prayers and support throughout the country, a few angels may have not shown up. The most amazing angel of the day, was my brand new baby boy. He only sleeps, eats, and poops, but he does it cuter than any other baby I know! He has brought so much joy in our home. His older sister is so protective of him. She wears hand sanitizer around her neck, and uses it often, and offers it to all who come visit. She has her grandparents in town for the week, so I am a little more forgiving of her sudden hearing disorder. Maybe next week she will be able to listen better. For this week, I will admit... I feel a little guilty sticking her in a deserved time out. So, thank you for all the many thoughts and prayers that our friends and family pour out to us. We are sooo blessed.


This is the last picture of my tummy before it disappears! (And by disappears, I mean babyless... by no means did it disappear... YET!)

Breathing through contractions... I still had a sense of humor!
I had the greatest coach. He was awesome, and continues to be dad, cook, mom, cleaner, and Prince Naveen. I love him!
Breathing through contractions... steady as a rock! OH BOY! No sense of humor... I didn't know I had veins in my forehead that made me look so tough!
Well, this was my first reaction when they put Smith on me. It is a very honest photo!
Like I said... 7lbs 3oz sounds so much tougher.
Collecting foot prints.
Dr. Jolly... do you see the size of those HANDS!
Me yelling... "KELLY CLARKSON!!!" Ripping off my epidural felt like a back wax would feel. But it felt so much better than what I had just done, so it wasn't so bad.
Janice. Super awesome wonderful nurse. She will for sure be in heaven.
I think Daddy cried. He didn't cry the first time, so I think he was emotional and happy for both of us.
Candice... she is amazing, and what she just witnessed made us even better friends. I hope I didn't scare her out of having children.
And Joe... if my kids ever show up missing, we will send the police there first. Of course they will kick and scream that they have to come back home. Joe is way more fun than mom and dad.
Our little bundle. Our Christmas miracle. Our newest addition in our family.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Boy was I wrong!

I haven't left the house for three days now! I have just been home prepping my "nest"!!! There have been reports of snow, but I though, nah... not here. Tonight I felt like I should take a walk on the beach to maybe get some fresh air, and hopefully feel some stronger contractions. When I opened the door, I almost cried!!!!

WHHHYYY??? From what I hear, people down here do not know how to drive in the snow, and although I would like to think I am a seasoned pro, I don't want to risk getting in a wreck with some local driver! That would be bad!

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Random GOING ons...

Lets hope this is my last post "with child"! I am not due for two more weeks, but I will be demanding induction this week! Last week I was diagnosed with pruritus. Basically a kidney problem that allows salts to pass through, and cause my skin to itch. I have been itching so bad, that I am getting sores. The prescribed me a steroid, and some prescription strength antihistamine. The steriods are only a week long prescription, and have not helped at all. And The antihistamines knock me out cold, so I can only take them at night when I am not needed in any other capacity. The only real solution is to deliver the baby. While watching A Baby Story, there was a girl that had the same condition, and they induced her two weeks early. So... here's to hoping. Wish me luck!

Other happenings...

I have done a couple more craft projects. I have to say as of lately, it is really nice, to sit.... and just work on a project. It is my way of relaxing!




Last weekend the three and a half of us went to the aquarium. They had some fun things going on, and Joel rarely gets to go with us, so it was fun to show him all the new things there!





The other day, Joel and Nora were playing, while I was crafting, and Joel was singing sooo loud. I had Joel grab the camera, and take a shot of Nora's reaction. Then Nora started singing, using my pump apparatus as a megaphone. The two of them... crack me up! I am sure the neighbors think we are nuts, but I would much rather my house be filled with LOUD SONG, then loud unfriendliness.


I let Joel take some pictures of me. He is practicing, because while I am delivering, he is going to have to coach me, update my FB, and take pictures. So, he will be pretty busy.


Other than that, the only real thing going on is CHRISTMAS. We haven't really planned anything. We are so excited to have our family from Michigan come. We went to meet Santa. Since Jesus received 3 presents on Christmas, Santa will be bringing 3 presents for our kids each year. This year, Nora asked him for, "1)Princess and Frog toy, with the prince 2) Walking Sleeping Beauty, (no idea what that is???) 3) A babeeee brutter."

Thats about it. I made myself a treat today, that will hopefully bring me the luck that I need this week. So, I better start in on it!

YES mom... I will probably eat most of it, and of course I will share with Joel.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

A week to be Thankful for!

Having mom and dad here, was like having an extra pair of hands! I was able to "NEST" almost the whole week. I got lots of house work done, decorating, preparations, shopping, date night, plus some other fun things. For Thanksgiving Dinner, we decided that we would rather go out to eat, and save the trouble of all the preparations, and clean up. Of course that also meant, no left overs, but I think it was worth it. My parents found this amazing Thanksgiving Buffet at a Marriott on the water. It was beautiful! The selection was amazing! The dessert didn't have pumpkin pie, (its a southern thing, only sweet potato), but it did have a chocolate fountain, with all the fixings, plus lots of other yummieness. Lulu and Papa got Nora a new video, and she watched it after she ate her dinner, and the rest of us just kept eating. Plate after plate... we dirtied our share of dishes, so I was glad that we weren't at home. After dinner, I found the amazing lobby, with these amazing loungers! AHHHH... full tummy, and even a place to rest. The rest of the family went exploring, ships, and other cool attractions.



In other news, only 4 more weeks before the due date of this baby. Ironically, I have been feeling better as of last week, then I have my entire pregnancy. I am finally taking some medication that has a handle on my heartburn, and food has never tasted sooo good. My mom was appalled when on black Friday I downed 2 whole Panera Bread bagels. I will not feel guilty for eating more than my share of food for the rest of my pregnancy. I have only gained 9lbs, so how bad can it get? I had Joel take a few pictures, which he hates doing, and I hate posting, but I should really do it anyway! My doctor appointments are now every week, so I will know more and more each passing week. We have everything set up, and ready, so I THINK I am ready for his arrival. Emotionally, I am not sure that I will ever be ready, but physically, we are just waiting.

I'll post some more of my crafty pictures this week. I am having so much fun with modge podge, and hot glue! I can't wait to show you!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Holy CRAFT!

My poor pathetic blog. SOOOOO sad!

With 30 shopping days left, and only 33 pregnant days left... I am so blessed to have my parents in town! They are here for the Thanksgiving holiday, but more importantly, they are here to get me ready for all the upcoming happiness! I finally realized, that I can craft! With help from all the crafty bloggers, and being too tired to do anything but sit or lay, I have been able to get a few things done. I am really proud of my accomplishments, and therefore, I must blog about it! There is not much I am getting done in my world right now, so these things make me feel completely useful!

First, my Christmas wreath! I am having a very untraditional, color theme going on here. But, I love it. It was so easy, and fun to make, and I love pulling up to my house to this. I used leftover scrap book paper, glue, hot glue, and a styrafoam wreath. I think is goes great against the dark colored from door. I haven't noticed the neighbors stopping in the tracks yet... but I have a feeling, this baby could stop traffic. (HAH!!!)

This next craft is more traditionally colored, but untraditionally assembled. Papa, and Nora, made this craft possible. Some hot glue, craft wire, an old frame from the thrift store, and cute little Christmas balls were all I needed to make this work of art. I am thinking I can leave the frame up, and Change out the center based on the seasons? We'll see how motivated I am in January??? But, just be looking for updates on the frame.



There are a few more that are in the works, and maybe will be posted at a later time. I will make sure to take a belly picture when I inhale a half of turkey. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Getting closer!

We are almost there!!!

How`s my pregnancy doing?

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Pumpkin Spice YUMMEENESS!!!


It seems like every moms group I go to, I hear all about, "Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes". One of my "besties" almost put her family in financial ruins because of the "Fall Favorite". Since, I am not a coffee drinker, I decided to make my own, "Pumpkin Spice" concoction. I shared this with my bestie, and she is now on her way to financial freedom! Hahaha... Really, she told me it tastes "Exactly Like Starbucks". So for all the moms that love this drink, try it today. I love it even without the coffee. But, if you must, and I understand that people must have a, "MUST", (mine is my cold Diet Coke from a can at 4pm.) then go for it. But, if you aren't a coffee drinker, like probably 75% of my readers, then, "Cheers" for a non-coffee yummy treat. I will be making this for all my "Holiday Visitors".

2 Tablespoons of Pumpkin puree
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla
2 Tablespoon of white sugar, OR I hear Splenda is good too
1 cup of milk, I used 2%, but skim, or whole, whatever your hips can afford
1/4 Teaspoon of Pumpkin Pie Spice

Mix this all together in a small saucepan. Whisk constantly for 5 minutes, then it will be nice a frothy, and ready to drink. Or, poor over your liking of coffee.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

30 going on 50


I really didn't think I would need to make this purchase until I was at least 50! Well, a recent doctor visit indicated otherwise. It is ironic, that someone in my condition (33 weeks pregnant) would need to be on so many pills! It is hard to keep track of. Is that because there are so many, or because I am getting so old, I can't remember which ones to take when?

Prenatal Vitamin 1/day
Iron Supplement 1/day
Stool Softener 2/day
Acid reducer 2/day
Pepcid 2/day
TUMS use in moderation, no more than 10/day!



This better be one healthy baby.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Did I mention that...

I have heartburn radiating out of my ears?

I feel like I ate a 20lb. turkey, and now I can't pass it!

it feels like I am wearing a fat suit that I can't take off?

I am never ever hungry, but would love to eat everything I see?

I want nothing more than to crawl in a hole, and come out in 9 weeks?

I love Halloween?

I have the best daughter in the whole wide world!!!?

I have a miracle taking over my body?

I can't find my rib cage?

I am less then 9 weeks from having our baby?

I have neglected my blog a lot? I don't feel bad about that, but I feel bad for the poor grandparents, that only want to see their grand daughter.

those poor grandparents nag me to update my blog every time we talk on the phone?

I have turned into a BIG, FAT, pregnant couch potato, ever since the new seasons started?

I get up to pee 4-7 times per night?

Nora makes me laugh at least a dozen times per day?

my husband is learning the hard way how to put up with me being pregnant?

he is the greatest thing that ever happened to me?

everyday, I thank my Heavenly Father for the blessings that he continues to pour upon me? I am not sure why he does, and I am constantly feeling inadequate, but I am truly blessed.

And, because I do love the grandparents of my daughter... here are a few get them through the week...