The Waiting Game

The last time I wrote, I had a week left of being pregnant. During that week, Josh and Sara both lost another tooth.


The week went rather smoothly until we hit Saturday. At around 5 am, I awoke to Josh standing next to my bed crying that he was feeling sick. I told him to head to my bathroom. He almost made it, but not quite. He threw up on the rug in front of my toilet. Scott and I got up, got everything cleaned up, and got Josh settled with a bucket and a stack of towels in our chair in our room. He continued to throw up every hour or so until around 2 that afternoon. Scott and I had planned a babysitter so we could go out to lunch together that day. Josh was feeling so-so when it was time for us to leave, so we sent him upstairs with his bucket, pillow, blanket and a movie and told him to stay up there away from the babysitter (we didn't want him to get her sick). By the time we got home an hour later, he was feeling pretty good.

That evening we headed over to Scott's parent's house to help cut down three trees. Josh was feeling great by then and had so much fun helping with the project. We cut all the trees up into firewood and brought them home to use next summer in our fire pit. By then, though, Savannah wasn't feeling really great. She layed on the tool box in the back of Scott's truck the whole time just watching. The other kids watched for a minute, but decided the chain saw was too noisy, so they headed inside to play with the toys and Grandma Jo.

By Sunday, we decided that it wasn't a good idea to send the kids to church with Josh just getting over being sick and Savannah just starting. So, Scott stayed home with the kids while I went to the last hour of church (I was too uncomfortable to sit for three hours, so I just went to Relief Society). We all went to bed that night expecting to get up the next morning and go have a baby.

But then...

At 1:30 am Savannah came downstairs to say that she had thrown up--on the rug in front of the toilet upstairs. So, we got up and got that cleaned up and got her settled in our chair. It's where we always put the kids when they get sick--that way they are close to our bathroom and close to us.

At 3:00 am Aaron came downstairs to say that he was feeling sick (he hadn't thrown up yet). So, we moved Savannah (who had continued to throw up in her bowl every hour) out to the couch in the living room and put Aaron in our chair with a bowl.

At 5:30 am I got up and showered and got ready to go to the hospital. I was scheduled to be induced at 7, which meant we had to leave our house at 6:30. But at 6, the hospital called to say they'd had a busy night and didn't have any open rooms for me, and to wait and call at 9 to see if they had room. I told the nurse that it was probably a good thing that I was delayed, because I currently had 2 kids sick. Josh's sickness had been so short lived, I figured a few more hours would go a long way with getting Aaron and Savannah feeling better.

Shortly after I got off the phone, I heard Josh and Nate coming down the stairs. Josh announced, "Nate's throwing up!". Once again, we sprung to action. I went upstairs and gathered the bedding in Nate's bed (luckily, there wasn't any on the carpet, just in his bed) and Scott got Nate in the tub. Once he was cleaned up, he got to come to bed with us. Around that time Aaron decided to go ahead and throw up also. So, we had 3 kids throwing up when my doctor called at 8. He said he'd heard I had sick kids, and asked what I wanted to do. He said we could delay the induction to another day, or we could go ahead with it and get me out of the sick environment before I caught it. I opted for the latter. He said it was still pretty busy, but he'd do his best to get me in.

At 9 I called in to the hospital and was told to call again in an hour. Meanwhile, we kept Scott's dad informed of the delay. He was going to come stay with the kids for us while we had the baby (my parents couldn't come till that night). So, he waited by his phone for the call to come while we waited by our phone for the call to come.

At 10 I called and was told to again call back in an hour.

At 11 I called and was told to just wait until they called me.

By noon all three kids were feeling better and the throwing up had stopped. So then the waiting and impatience really started to get intense. Every time the phone rang, I'd rush to the phone and wait for the caller ID to show up to see if it was the hospital. Finally at 3 in the afternoon, my doctor called again and said it wasn't looking good. But, he said he was on call all night, so as soon as a room opened up, I'd be able to come in to be induced.

At 4 I called the nurse again because I hadn't heard from her since 11. She said all the rooms were still full. At 5 my doctor called again. He said he'd rescheduled me for 6 am the next morning and upgraded me from "elective induction" to "medical induction" so I'd have less of a chance of getting postponed again. He said he'd still bring me in in the middle of the night if a spot opened up, but to just plan on 6 the next day.

So our day was spent just waiting and waiting. I had kept the kids out of school that day because we thought we'd be having a baby. Scott had taken off work because we thought we'd be having a baby. Scott's dad, who had also put his day on hold for us all day, ended up coming in the evening and brought dinner for us. And then my parents got there later in the evening. And we all went to bed that night hoping that the next day would really be the day that we'd meet our little baby boy.

255 plus 1

In my almost 12 years of marriage, I have spent 255 weeks being pregnant (the equivalent of almost 5 years). Today I begin my 256th and final week of pregnancy. This morning my doctor's office called to confirm that I am scheduled to be induced next Monday (November 8th) at 7:00 am. It's kind of bittersweet. I'm so miserable, that I can't wait for it to all be over. But at the same time, I'm really quite sad that this is the last time I'll feel a baby moving inside me. The kids are bursting with excitement as we count down this last week. They can't wait to meet their little brother. I can't wait, either. I'm so anxious to meet this little guy. I'm hoping he's healthy. And I'm going to cherish every little kick and poke this week as he and I get our last week alone together.

Halloween

Saturday we braved the crowds and headed downtown to Boo at the Zoo. Since we are members, admission was free. It was literally a zoo with people everywhere. Other than the fact that it was crazy busy, it was really quite fun. The zoo workers dressed up in costume and handed out candy to the kids. Nate and Aaron LOVED getting to give the characters hugs.







After the zoo, we stopped in at Grandpa Mike's office to say hi. His office is just a block or two from the zoo, so we parked there and walked over to the zoo (since all the parking was full at the zoo). The kids enjoyed showing off their costumes to Grandpa. After our visit there, we headed over to the capital building. The governor and first lady were handing out goodies on the front steps of the capital.



After patiently waiting in line, the kids got their picture with the governor.

Then we took the kids inside the capital building to show them around.

When we got home, all the kids were already pretty hyper from eating candy non-stop on the car ride home. Nate really needed a nap, but couldn't find a quiet place where the other kids would leave him alone. He finally fell asleep 10 minutes before it was time to go to the ward's trunk or treat. So, Scott took the older 4 kids there and I stayed home with Nate while he napped. Savannah was kind enough to take Nate's basket with her and get him candy. After they all got home, they spread out on the living room floor and went to town eating their candy.

Sunday evening the kids donned their costumes again and set out for trick or treating in our neighborhood. Scott stayed home and handed out candy and let me take the kids trick or treating since I'd had to miss it the night before. The kids came home with tons of candy. Nate thinks this is the best holiday ever--everyone tells you how cute you are, then gives you candy!

Two Teeth

Sara lost two teeth this week. On Friday, she had just come home from Kindergarten, and sat down for lunch. All of a sudden she exclaimed, "My tooth just came out!". Then, on Sunday when we picked her up from her primary class, she was proudly displaying another tooth that had come out during her class. That little girl is growing up way too fast!

Pumpkin Patch

I'm a little late with this, but I wanted to post some pictures from our annual family trip to the pumpkin patch. We went a week and a half ago, on the Saturday before Scott left from his 5 day trip. The weather was perfect, and the kids had a great time. Each came away with what they thought was the perfect pumpkin for them. Last night we let the kids draw out their designs for their pumpkins, and tonight we are going to let them carve them. They are pretty excited.

Nate loved the hay ride and couldn't stop talking about it.



Sara had her eye on the extra big ones, and couldn't resist trying to prove that she could carry pumpkins almost as big as she is.



The kids took their time wandering the field, looking for the perfect pumpkin.









This is what happens when you ask Aaron to smile for a picture.


The whole experience completely wore out the two little boys.

We Made It!

Well, we've almost made it through another week without Scott. He left Monday morning for Spokane, and will get home this evening. The week has gone relatively smoothly. After going 15 days straight without him, 5 days seems like a walk in the park.

Wednesday evening, the kids had an art show at their school. All the classes had their artwork displayed for the parents to come see, and the Honor Choir performed twice during it. Since Savannah is in the choir, I decided it was important that I go. Luckily, one of the sweet young women in our ward called the day before (knowing that Scott was out of town), and offered to watch my kids for me if I wanted her to. The idea of not having to chase Aaron and Nate around a gym filled with breakable artwork was very appealing, and I took her up on the offer. So, she came and stayed with the two little boys while I took Sara and Josh to the art show (Savannah stayed after school for choir rehearsal and then the performances). All three kids were very excited to show off the things they had made, and Savannah did great singing. She was one of 5 kids who got to accompany the choir with African drums for "Kumbaya".

Thursday was our gymnastics marathon day. Aaron has gymnastics on Tuesday mornings, and the other 3 kids have it after school on Thursday. We have 2 hours back to back of gymnastics. Savannah's class is 4:15-5:15 and Sara and Josh's class is 5:15-6:15. We came home and threw some pizzas in the oven for a late dinner, and then tried to get to bed at a decent time.

Today is picture day at school for the kids. Savannah really wanted curls for her pictures, so we got up early to curl her hair. She has so much hair, and it takes forever to curl it all, but it sure looks beautiful when it is done. Hopefully the curls survive till picture time. I drove the kids to school instead of sending them on the bus, in hopes of their hair not getting messed up too much before pictures. Let's hope the pictures turn out great for all three of them.

So, now we just have to make it through today. I've been so worried all week that I would have this baby without Scott. I'm breathing a sigh of relief now that we've almost made it. His flight comes in at 6 this evening. Then, I'm free to do all the walking, lifting, working, etc that needs done around here. Part of me loves the idea of making it to my induction--I love the calm and planning that goes along with being induced. But another part of me would love to experience the real thing--recognizing labor pains, rushing to the hospital, and all the excitement that would go along with that. This is my last pregnancy, and a part of me would really like to experience going into labor on my own for once. One way or the other, in at least two weeks we are going to have a new little baby around here and life is going to change for all of us!

Not Much Longer

I went to the doctor this morning. I will be 36 weeks on Monday. Today I was dilated to a 1. My doctor told me it was a little early for that, and told me to take it easy. That's easier said than done when you have 5 kids and a husband that travels. It's been wonderful having Scott home this week, but he still has one more trip to take. He leaves this Monday morning and is gone till Friday evening. So, we just have to get through next week.

I have one more appointment in two weeks, and that's when my doctor will schedule my induction for the next week (if I don't go into labor before that). It won't be long at all till we get to meet this little baby boy. The kids are so excited and are having a really hard time waiting. Yesterday I got the baby boy blankets out to wash. Aaron and Nate helped me. I told them we were getting the blankets ready for their baby brother. Aaron excitedly asked, "Is it today that he gets to be born?!". Every day Savannah sits with her hand on my stomach and says, "It's just so hard to wait!". It's such a fun and exciting time getting ready for this baby, and I love that the kids are so involved in the excitement. Now if only we could decide on a name....

I Love This Kid!

Scott pointed out that all of our "low points" while he was gone were caused by Aaron. I told him I was very aware of that. And in spite of that, I can't help but love this kid. He is so full of imagination, creativity, generosity, curiosity, and STUBBORNNESS. He brings such joy to this house. And yes, those are his sister's pajamas.

He's Home

Almost Home

In just a half an hour, I get to load up the kids and go pick up Scott at the airport. It's the end of his second (and longest) trip. And he's getting to come home 4 days early. The 19 day trip got cut down to 15 days (which is still a heck of a long time to be gone, but we are very grateful for the extra 4 days). Four days early means that he will be home for a whole week (instead of just 3 days) before he has to leave again for his third and final trip. We can't wait to see him!

The last two and a half weeks have been difficult (and that's putting it mildly). They have been filled with lots of work...

-I mowed the lawn twice
-Picked produce out of the garden
-Cleaned the house more times than I can count
-Put kids to bed by myself too many times
-Washed, folded and put away tons of laundry
-Ran kids to activities (which requires loading up all 5 kids each time)
-And everything else that is required to run a household by yourself.

The last two weeks have been filled with low points:

-A doctor's visit with the two little boys. Aaron refused to come back to the exam room, so I carried him kicking. My doctor told me I was no longer allowed to carry him (he's 50 pounds). Try being a single parent with a stubborn 4 year old and not be able to pick him up--not easy!
-Church by myself with the 5 kids. I was asked to sub in Sara's class. Nate fell asleep the last 10 minutes of Sacrament, so I had to carry him with me to primary. Aaron refused to go to primary, and I couldn't do anything about it because Nate was asleep on me. Thankfully, his Sunbeam teacher and a counselor in the primary presidency stepped in and "handled" him.
-Gymnastics with Aaron. He refused to do his class, and just sat against the wall and cried the whole time.
-A trip to the park with the kids, where Aaron threw a cell phone into the pond. That's right--who's kid throws a cell phone into a pond? Apparently mine does. I apologized profusely to the teenage kid who was the owner of the phone and gave him my name and number so he could send me the replacement bill. Still waiting to see how much that will cost us.
-Grouchy kids at bedtime.
-Grouchy kids in the morning trying to get them off to school.
-Grouchy kids all day long because they miss their dad.

And we've had some high points:

-After Scott's first three day trip, he was home for a day. We spent that day going to Justin and Megan's birthday party, playing at Bounce, then going to the zoo as a family. We ended with gourmet frozen yogurt with every topping imaginable.
-Grandma and Grandpa Sorensen came to help out and celebrate Savannah's birthday.
-Savannah's birthday celebration with just her and me out for the afternoon.
-Getting to help with the kids' Walk a Thon.
-The ward brought in two meals this last week.
-The kids had Thursday and Friday off of school this last week, so Grandma Jo invited them for a sleepover at her house Thursday night. The four older kids got to go, and Nate stayed home for a very quiet time with me.
-Yesterday I took the 4 older kids to a sibling prep class at the hospital to learn how to care for their new brother. Nate was too young, so he got to hang out with a babysitter at home.

And the best thing of all is that right now I'm telling the kids to go get their shoes on because it's time to go!!!!!!! We are off to the airport to get DAD!!!!!