Little Sister... BIG sister?!

A couple of weeks ago, I woke up in the middle of the night feeling very nauseous.

Then it happened again the next night.

Hmmmmm.....

I looked in our cabinet the next day and found an un-used pregnancy test. POSITIVE! We were completely shocked.

We've gone back and forth on the 3rd baby thing. And we had pretty much gotten to a place where we were great with just the two kids.

Of course, that's when I get pregnant. After a couple of days, we started getting used to the idea. I had no clue when my LMP was, so we waited for a dr appt to have them tell us a due date. March 1, 2011!



I absolutely LOVED Dr. C, who I went to during my pregnancy with SG. (even though he was out of town when she decided to come!) He literally has a real live internet fan base. It's nuts.

But we decided to find a closer dr, since Brian's traveling a lot more, Zac's going to be in school, etc. I'm not a huge fan of my new dr, Dr. W, and might switch. I don't know yet. He seems to be a good dr, just not a great fit for me personally. We'll see. Finding the right fit is hard.

And with a new doctor, comes a huge explanation of the Selah Grace birth. "THE RASH" is fascinating to doctors. It's like it becomes a personal mission to figure out the "mystery." So he sent me to Dr. A, a perinatologist who specializes in high risk pregnancies. (not that I'm high risk... at least I don't think so!)

At Dr. A's appt last Friday, he did the first trimester screening (I've never done that before, and it did come back normal), and some other testing. It was funny because the nurse was taking all my info and was typing out Selah's birth story. She was like, "all that for a rash?" But when Dr. A came in, he was just like the other drs - FASCINATED. And determined to find an answer. I say "linear rash" and they get really intense. He's leaning towards lupus, but I'm doubting that.

Can't these guys believe in miracles? LOL!

It does help that Selah's doctors were top notch with awesome reputations. Other doctors are always familiar with her genetist and the dermatologist who initially diagnosed her. Supposedly they are the best, and are obviously highly thought of by their peers.

Still. Miracles, people!

Anyways, I'm not going to lie... dragging up her birth story and all of it's medical drama is a downer. I was glad Brian worked from home that day so I could decompress after the appt.

The one great thing at Dr. A's appt was when he asked me if I wanted to know the gender. Since I was only 11 weeks, I didn't know that was even an option. But he said he knew with 90% accuracy and then he says to me, "but I'm never wrong."

We're having a BOY!!

That made it a fun day for us at home. Brian and I had both been thinking GIRL. We would say things like "well, the "girls" can share a room." So, while we would have been excited either way, it was another shocker for us. :)

Although, I think we all know from last time that my maternal instincts are really off. :)



The past month has been a rough one. Lots and lots of reasons we have laid pretty low.

Trying to do Cares stuff while Brian is traveling so much more (his territory has tripled since we started cares - from 5 states to 15!) and with me being very sick has been really difficult. The doctor upped my zofran to 8mg, which is as much as they would allow me to have. And all it really does is stop the vomiting, it doesn't stop the nausea - which if you've been in this spot can be somewhat debilitating at times.

I did a lot of crying in July because I was very very sad that my last weeks with Zachariah were with me being so sick. I know I'm making way too big a deal out of Kindergarten, but oh well. I'm emotional and hormonal!

We also made the choice not to tell Zachariah we were having a baby until I felt better. Although, we broke that and told him this morning. To say he is EXCITED is an understatement. I loved the look on his face!! He calls himself a Big Big Brother now. Just like his friends Jake and Ethan - who both have 2 younger siblings.

Now that I know it's a boy, I can get back to sewing for SG. I haven't sewn lately for two reasons. 1: I'd much rather moan on the couch. 2: She still hasn't outgrown anything and her closet literally can't hold anymore! Girlfriend still wears 3-6 month clothing. Poor little thing! One lady saw us at the library recently and tells me, "Oh.. she's so cute! We have one about her age at home. Is she about 4 months?" Um... no... she's 10 months!

But I kept thinking if the baby was a girl, I'd need two of everything, because I could tell you right now, I'd be borderline obsessive about having the match and coordinate. And that was going to affect whatever I sewed next for my 2nd born.

But now, I'm off the hook. I'm not a fan of the handmade boy clothes. Personal preference. I never made Zac an outfit, and don't plan on making one for this kiddo, either. Super hero cape? Yes. Embroidered shirt? No.

But I have a million little winter outfits in mind for Selah Grace. As soon as I start to feel better, I'm off and running!!!


We had also put an offer on a house. But we think we are going to pull out of that because as AWESOME as that house was (Hello - POOL!!!!), we wanted it to be our "forever home" with the 2 kids. And it had two perfect little bedrooms upstairs. That's just not going to work anymore! So we will stay in our home and have the two little ones share for a couple more years until we find something that better suits our family. Something with 3 bedrooms far away from the master. :)

I told Brian now he has to become an Elk when we move back home so we will have a pool to go to in the summer.


We feel peace with the house thing. We've been pretty open about how we are trying to pay our house off. During the last couple years, we have actually shaved off FIFTEEN years from the loan. Our plan, as it stands, will allow us to be mortgage free in December 2013. If you know us, then you probably know how special this is to us, as it's been a goal we have worked very hard at attaining. It's not easy these days to do this! And who knows what the next 3 years will bring. Hopefully no medical drama or job loss. BUT, we feel like we will be able to buy our next house (bigger and with a pool I hope) before Zac starts Junior High, and we will be able to just pay cash. We give up a lot for this (hello - have you SEEN my car? LOL!), but in the end, we think we'll hardly remember this frugal time and will just be enjoying the reward. Zac can go to any summer camp, Selah Grace can go to Cheer Athletics (yes, I have already scoped out the nearest and best cheer gym), we will be able to easily afford cars and the boys' car insurance!

And someday, I'm going to roll up in a souped-up decked-out navigation-equipped entertainment-packaged window-tinted minivan. And we won't have a payment!

And I won't have to roll down the window to open the door.


We've also had the renter drama to deal with this past month. It's really just one of the girls who is a very mean person. We were asked at the beginning to give her a chance, that she is working on that, but clearly it continues to be a struggle for her and we have been the target. And the whole situation is just NOT cool. Brian and I have been forgiving and calm and tried to take the high road with most of it. I am personally very frustrated at seeing Brian worried and hurt and personally insulted, and seeing him be respectful and kind in return. But I think any wife would feel that way. Plus I know how much he loves that little house. He's put sooooo much into it over the years, and it's extremely disheartening to watch him sad about how this is all going. He never has enemies - everyone always likes him. He's a good guy. I know it's been hard on him. I think, too, we had such wonderful renters for a year, that we just didn't realize how hard BAD renters can affect you. The one good thing is that we have others involved, who are equally as shocked. Because, frankly, if you heard some of the things we are dealing with, it's almost unbelievable. Anyways, sorry to harp on that again. It's just been a HUGE source of stress this past month. And it's my blog to vent about that!




SOOOO, all that to say, the blog was severely neglected. Oh, and the fact that I didn't have a computer was kind of an issue, too. ;) When you're on a tight budget, a working computer isn't necessarily #1 on the list.


I will say this - my next phone photo ph-riday is going to be a full one! My iPhone is bustin at the seams with photos!!

I will also say this. I hope someone read this whole thing. Because the computer makes me SO nauseous and it took forever to get it all typed out!!