Oreo finally had that baby

Well we waited and waited and finally Oreo had her baby. Its a boy, and just one. We thought 2 for sure. Emily and Madison got to watch part of the birth process. I was worried Oreo wouldn't be a good mommy but she is finally coming around. Austin named the baby lamb FJ in honor of our white sheep who died last year (fluffy) FJ stands for Fluffy Junior.

Oreos lamb ended up being really big and Roger had to pull it out. It was really interesting to watch.

Easter Weekend

For Easter weekend we mostly worked in the yard. We took a short little jaunt for a picnic. The kids had a lot of fun. We roasted Hot Dogs and let the kids play on the sand dune hill.

Fence is going in!

Well we bought our Chain link fence. We ended up getting an unexpected refund from our insurance company that with some of Union Pacifics Railroad pay we were able to get a chain link fence for the backyard. It is vinyl coated (white) and it seems to be really nice. It was used so that helped. It only cost $2.58 for the materials so that really really helped as now we only need to buy the cement, metal ties and one more gate. Its going to be so nice for Cannon to be able to go in the back yard. Right now when I let him out he runs like a mad man and doesn't look back. He would be half way across town.

I have been getting over a cold this week, I hope to have pictures of baby lambs soon, but Oreo is still pregnant. We are pretty sure she has twins, she has gotten sooooo fat.

The kids just have weeks left of school. They are already making plans for the summer. Emily got registered for Kindergarten on Friday there is going to be 26 kids in her class!!

More babies but none from Oreo

Oreo is still pregnant....and still a pain in the butt. She broke into the grain bin and almost killed herself doing that. She head butts the chickens and steal their food. She sticks her big fat head inside the chicken door and tries to steal their layer mix.

Well we are working on getting a fence. We are teetering between Chain-Link and Cedar Planks. We hope to get it installed soon as Cannon loves to wander and we still have to deal with the Pitt-Bull next door.

The hens started eating from my hand last night so they are getting more and more tame.

Madison is debating moving back down to the basement bedroom she can't decide if she wants to deal with Emily or to have privacy but no bathroom.

Congrats to Becca on her new job. We hope to make some visits down to her once she gets settled in.

Lots of eggs!

Well we got 5 eggs yesterday and 4 so far today. Austin named his chicken 'Omlett' and he has been eating lots of them with the eggs we gather. I never thought of raising chickens but its nice because they eat bugs. Cannon loves the baby chicks he especially likes when the baby chicks scatter and chirp.

The eggs are coming in all colors, brown, white and light blue. The yolks are dark almost orange. We are not sure what eggs come from what chickens. Chad made nesting boxes for each hen. But for some reason the hens lay all of their eggs in one box.

Can you believe the chickens like leftovers...I am going to have to record it you won't believe how they fight over left-overs.

4 new additions to the Family

So just in case you were keeping tabs on our family we have added MORE members. We got 4 baby chicks. When they get bigger they will be added to our chicken flock. We will then have 12 hens. We should get 36-60 eggs per week, we hope to be able to trade and barter our extra eggs for things around town. Of course anyone who visits will be given fresh eggs to take home. I plan on taking pictures of the family and animals tomorrow and trying to get the pictures posted on here. Side note that Jake (the dog) he is sick we hope he gets well soon and doesn't need to go to the vet.

Cannon is doing better and is over the Roseola. We hope that when we take him to the doctor that they will tell us his heart is fine. I am sure his irregular rhythm is something that he inherited from me :)

First off, I already called the doctor. But....I am such a worry wort. Cannon is sick (AGAIN), he has a virus with a fever and a slight rash. They did his blood work and said its a virus but didn't tell me what. I think its Rosela because he doesn't have any other symptoms. Anyways last night I had him in my bed watching him bewteen doeses of fever reducers and he seemed clammy.

So I felt his pulse and it felt so weird. So I got my stethescope and his pulse was freaky:

luba dub, luba dub, luba dub, dub dub dub(These are three quick beats) , pause, luba dub, luba dub, luba dub, dub, dub pause.




You get the idea??I called the doctor and I got the PA on call. I reminded them that he had just been seen by the doctor and that he had a virus with a fever and I explained the irregular heart rhythm. They said its normal and next time I bring him in for a well/sick visit to remind them of it. Unless he is struggling to breath or what not.I am just so worried, I myself have some heart issues (PVC,PAC & Bradycardia) so I know a little bit about heart stuff. But I am so worried, I swear I can't wait until Cannon finally outgrows all this sickness!

Oreo is back with Chickens!

The picture is Oreo Now!

Oreo getting a bottle back in 2008


Oreo our lamb is back...but now she is Double Stuffed. Oreo if you remember her right?





Well she is back and she is "Knocked Up!". She was so tame, my FIL didn't think she would let a buck mate her. But she is home now, still tame and pregnant. The kids ask everyday if she is going to have her babies today. We expect the baby(ies) in 2-3 weeks.



Chad also has been hard at work on a shed. He made a house for our newly acquired egg producers. Nice to have organic eggs at your finger tips. He built a cool rabbit hutch, now just need to get a rabbit. Then finally Oreo has a nice little place to bed down at night.



The kids are excited and check for eggs like 10 times a day. The chickens are a little stressed but hopefully soon they feel like they are at home.

Pinewood Derby

I feel like a bad mommy :( I can't find Austin's Pinewood derby pictures. He had a blast and did very well too. Chad and Austin created a cool Car and spent a lot of time online trying to find tricks to build the quickest car. Hopefully soon we can add the pictures.

Ok so we don't have the actual pinewood derby pictures. But we took some of Austin with his car. That should count for something right?

Chad and Austin did all of the building and shaping. I painting the car and helped put the graphite on the wheels.

Emily turns 5!

Emily turned 5 this weekend. She finally got that Nintendo Ds that she has wanted for so long. Even Papa Bruce was able to come down for a visit. We made homemade Pizza for Emily's birthday dinner. I ordered a icecream cake from Dairy queen and they put a digital picture of Littlest Pet Shops on the cake. I think she had a great time. We will be having a friend party for her later this week. I think we are going to go to McDonalds.

Cannon Turns 1

On the first of Febuary our 'little man' had his first birthday. It was traumatic at the time because he was so sick at the time. He is finally better and over his illness and we are glad to not be visiting any more ER's. Here are some pictures of the little guy. He decided he only wanted to climb on the toys and showed no interest in playing with them.

Madison Scores Big

Madison had a great month. She scored first place in the School History Fair. She also won third place in the American Legion Essay Contest. She got a big trophy and a certificiate for scoring in the top 10% in the nation for outstanding performance in Mathematics. We are so proud of her, and all of the hard work that she puts into her school work. She is currently working on a Arbor Day picture and hope to place in that contest.

Back to Posting

Well just a couple updates here and there. Everyone has been sick here, we had a good year last year and not much sickness. But lately everyone but myself has had some major illness going on. Yesterday was the History Fair at the elementary school. Madison and her friend placed 1st in her division and qualified for regionals. Madison also got an award from the Utah State Board of Education for scoring in the top 10% Nationally for Mathematics. She is so smart :)

Diet Day #1 Weight 219

Breakfast:
2 pieces wheat toast
1 TBS Peanut Butter
1 Apple

Snack:
1/2 Banana

The numbers

Well its a start but its a sad start. I took my measurements tonight. I am so sad, I can't believe how much my body has changed this pregnancy. I am bigger than I have ever been in my life. The bedrest and weight gain of course were worth it for my baby, but still its a hard reality to accept.

Ankle: 9.5o inches
Calf: 16 inches
Thigh: 26 3/4 inches
Hips: 51 inches (wow)
Waist: 40 inches
Breasts: 45 1/2 inches (go milk boobies)
neck: 14 1/4 inches
Upper Arm: 13 1/2 inches

Arms and legs are the lefts. I will remeasure again in a month. I hope to see some changes.

The Baby is here!

Our little one made his arrival on Febuary 1st. At 9lbs and 8oz he suprised me being the easiset of my children to deliver. My milk is finally in, and the breastfeeding is in full force. Its time to start my breastfeeding diet. I am 2 weeks post partum. I am almost 5'7" (come on isn't 5' 6" 3/4) close enough? The morning of my induction I weighed 230, and today I was 215. So to get to my 150 goal I have a lot of work to do. I have decided to try to follow the Weight Watchers Breastfeeding program. I get 37 points, wooo hooo thats a lot of points. I will be starting off with just dietary changes and will add exercise at 4-6 weeks post-partum. I hope to have some before pictures soon.

Last day of being PREGNANT!!

The days of indulgments is over, and in a little over 12 hours we will be heading for the hospital for our induction. I plan on taking one last belly shot tomorrow. It will be the last time my body ever grows another human being. Slightly bittersweet but more of a relief than anything. This pregnancy has been hard and getting my body back is going to be harder.

Pictures Coming soon....

I think one of the most important things that you can do is take before pictures. They are not something that we are going to want to look at during the initial stages of this journey but one we get loosing they can become a motivator, inspiration and something to show us how far we have come. I am going to be posting my pictures on my blog next week. I will have just had a baby and I am sure the pictures will be anything but "hot". I hope that those who are attempting a similar journey that they can take the time to document this stage of their journey too.

3rd Trimester...the end is in sight

You would think being in the third trimester you could relax and know the end is close. NOPE your poor pregnant body is so tired and sore it doesn't matter how far away delivery is its just not close enough. Right now today I have a full week until the induce me. The are inducing 2 weeks early. Even at two weeks the baby is expected to be over 8 pounds possibly 9 pounds. Fun huh?? Oh I am sure there are some that say, that those u/s are not accurate. Well they are and so is my history. My last two children born at 38 weeks were both in the 8 pound category. Pushing out these big headed chubby babes is not fun. I wish I had a taser for every person who suggested I just wait and let nature take its course. Um no thank you, I did that with my first and bled out when her 9lb 4oz self got stuck in my vagina.

Again this is going to be a long week.

2nd Trimester

The second trimester is known to be the best part of pregnancy. You get to experience life moving in your womb. Many of the uncomfortable pregnancy symptoms have finally gone and you are able to move on with life. For me I found this to be very true. But I also found that I sure was having a lot of braxton hicks contractions. It was summer time and I was very busy in our garden trying to grow and preserve as much as I could. At one point I felt like the contractions at 15 weeks were very intense and similar to real labor. I went to the ER, and they did an u/s of the baby. The baby looked great and the u/s tech even guessed that it was a little boy. The doctor came in and said that if they were real contractions they would do nothing to stop them. Needless to say that I was heartbroken. I couldn't imagine after seeing this healthy baby on the u/s that they wouldn't stop my contractions. After going home I contacted my old OB to find out if he could help us. He was happy to stop the contractions and do what we needed to make sure we made it to term.

I made an appointment to see the doctor. We were able to get into the doctor at about 17 weeks. He did an u/s and confirmed that something was changing my cervix as it had started to funnel and that put us in a higher risk situation. While he was looking I asked for him to take a little peak at the baby. And he confirmed that it was 100% a little boy.

When the doctor did my physical exam he found that the veins in my legs were in bad shape, and that my low blood pressure and heart palpitations needed to be looked into. He gave me referrals for a vascular surgeon and a doctor to run some heart tests.

The vascular surgeon was able to get us in at 20 weeks. He did an u/s on my legs and found that the superficial veins were refluxing blood and were diseased. He prescribed compression stockings and surgery after the birth of the baby.

The heart tests that were prescribed were a little troubling. The heart event monitor showed that I was having PVC's, PAC, and PVC couplets. They were potentially normal but annoying. They said that I would be able to take beta blockers to lessen them after having the baby. They also did a Echo Cardiogram on my heart. The results of that showed the upper chambers of my heart to be enlarged. I had a couple of minor leaks on my valves but it was considered normal. The doctor said we would have to repeat the echo cardiogram after the birth of the baby to see if my heart has returned to normal size.

At 25 weeks I had an appointment with my OB. I complained of all the braxton hicks contractions. He did a Vaginal probe ultrasound to see how my cervix was doing. He found that I still had funneling and that my cervix length had decreased to 24mm. That length put me at a 40% risk of delivery before 35 weeks. The doctor ordered that I take the Procardia and that I start modified bedrest. At this point in the pregnancy I had only gained 12 pounds. That was about to change in a big hurry.

The doctor wanted to see me weekly now to be sure to keep me out of preterm labor. At 26 weeks my cervix had become very soft and was a fingertip dilated. I was put on full bedrest and now that became our struggle. Needing to care for my family as my Railroad husband was constantly away from home and trying to keep the baby inside. Each week was a milestone. With us finally taking a breath of relief at 32 weeks knowing the baby would be ok if he came.

I think I gained 30 pounds in those weeks...Bedrest and holidays just don't mix.