SLEDDING

Some of these turned out GREAT! :)

There was a bump in one of the trails we did, and we made it bigger. I don't think Chad expected to land as hard as he did! :) LOLOL

And it kept flipping the kids....and yet they thought it was hilarious and kept doing it over and over again!

Pictures are in no order. And some I put on because of artistic value. At least my version of "artistic". :)

We went sledding on Monday and it was sooo much fun! I did actually go down a couple of time. (the hill isn't that big) But after having to get back UP out of the sled all by myself prooved too much and I ended up taking all the pics instead. Which is fine. :) We took my nephew, Connor, and my sister, Challis, was with us this weekend so it was a fun filled morning. We took donuts and chocolate milk with us too. Just an all around great day! Hope you ENJOYed!

Prego Journal

I decided that instead of just whining about all the bad things that go along with being pregnant I would actually journal just a little about how I'm feeling and how things are going. Because, quite frankly, they are going good...just not as smoothly as I would like. :)

Obviously from my other posts this pregnancy has been particularly trying. It's been a rough one, but I couldn't ask for a better outcome. Which is, so far, a perfectly healthy baby. Been rough on Mommy, but baby seems to be doing very well. And on that note - better than my other babies, which by now I would have had a couple of over-nighters in the hospital trying NOT to have them. So in that sense, this baby is hanging in there even better than the others. (which I will admit has me worried as far as WHEN he will make his debut...)

The last couple of weeks I have had this intense need to clean. I know all about nesting, but this feels different somehow. I mean deep down, intense, nitty-gritty, spring type cleaning. Like scrubbing baseboards, wiping down bathrooms (every day), vacuuming every time Chase spills cereal (every day), reorganizing closets, reorganizing bedrooms (we got the girls new bunk beds to give them more room. We got rid of Chase's dresser and put two 3 drawer plastic storage bin things in the closet to give him and the baby more room. We got rid of the toddler bed and put Chase in a big boy (twin) bed and put up the crib. etc...), I stay on top of the dishes and wiping down the kitchen, I even have kept up on the laundry! (GASP) Seriously, a daily need of trying to keep everything as clean as possible. Which I admit is weird. I keep a generally, very-clean-for-having-3-kids, kind of house anyway; so I'm not quite sure why I have this extreme feeling of needing it to be better than is usually is. Is it because it's not as clean as it should be all the time? Is it because my mother will be here Saturday and I really don't want her to spend her time cleaning, but playing with her grandkids while she's here. (I really do think it's a lot to do with that one...) I'm sure it's nesting, but this is some serious nesting. My husband is NOT complaining. LOL

I am currently at 2 centimeters and 50% effaced. Now- that doesn't mean that I'm going into labor tomorrow, but that it's getting closer. I really wish it was a tell-all sign of "when" but unfortunately is not the case. I keep having this reoccurring "nightmare", if you will, that my water is going to break in a very public place in a very embarrassing manner (literally wore a pad to Walmart last week - no need for that) and before my mom gets here. This would NOT be cool! And then on the flip-side, I'm also nervous that this baby is so content in there that my mom will show up on Saturday evening and he will take another week (half her trip) before deciding he's done. Either way is unacceptable. Remember last post? Go into labor on the way to airport to pick her up and she can drop me off at the hospital on the way home. *visualize with me!* LOL

That's about that for now. I suppose I will post again before this baby comes. If there's anything to post (o wait...pics to come of sledding).

1 Week 1 Day

Ok...I know this countdown is a bit rediculous cause there is NO WAY for me to tell when I will actually have this baby. But quite frankly it's the only thing keeping me sane!

Mom flies in February 26th at 9PM.

Go into labor on the way home from the airport.

Hold my beautiful baby boy on February 27th!

Yes, for real. That is the way I see it going in my head. LOL

Please tell me wishful thinking really works!!!!

2 Weeks and 2 Days

2 Weeks and 2 Days left and I can finally have this baby!

My mom flies in on the 26th and after that there is no stopping this baby!!! I will be at the 37 week mark on the 27th and doc says if I go into labor he wouldn't stop my progress. Good thing cause I "plan" on going into labor on the 27th! LOL

I know I can't really make myself go into labor. But between visualizing, wishful thinking, feeling comfortable because my mom will be here to help with my other kiddos, and the fact that I prayed really hard for Chase to come in April and he came on the last day of April just tells me that anything is possible! :)

Everyone is getting excited to meet baby Collin. Even Chase runs up to my belly and "gently" smacks it and says, "Baby Collin coming soon!" It's quite funny to see him excited now, since he hasn't been too thrilled with the idea of a baby brother until recently.

I'm in total nesting mode. Trying to clean and organize everything! I've got quite a few things prepared (crib, bassinet, car seat, etc...) but I have quite a few things still to do! Besides making me feel better I think having a clean house will help my mom be better off taking care of everyone too. I'm sure she won't complain if I make sure the kids clothes are all clean and hung so she doesn't have to scour through a mountain of laundry looking for them! lol

Wish me luck. Come in February or not...I'm still in the final home stretch of this pregnancy and I'll take it!

Mini-update sorta...

Figured I'd update the blog world (and anybody bored enough to follow mine) about our lives here at the Barrett residence.
Chad first. He has started taking his anti-seizure medicine. We were able to find one that's only $7.77 vs. the $600 one. It seems to be working. Although unless he has another seizure we don't really know... ironic hu? It's been about 3 weeks since he had the one so almost 2 months to go and he can drive again. I will admit, don't alert the authorities, I do let him drive short distances. Like-NO freeways sorta thing. Thankfully we have a neighbor that he has been able to carpool with almost every day and that has helped a TON!
Me next. I have been feeling better since the steroid shots. My rib pain has dropped dramatically. Enough that I don't have to dope up every night to sleep. My breathing issues have returned slightly, but they aren't as extreme so I'm just learning to deal with it. I have officially decided this baby is big. I have no doubts he will be coming in less than 4 weeks. Some people have told me not to get my hopes up, but all three of my other children were 2 1/2 to 3 weeks early and 4 weeks from now is 3 weeks early. So I'm really not pushing it too much. My mom is coming on February 26th! I am VERY excited for her to be here with me (us). It is going to help SO MUCH. So if you do the math that is 3 weeks from tomorrow. That means if I can just hold out until then, then I won't care if he comes on the 27th!!! hehehe (Which is exactly 3 weeks early.) Bad news=I have a cold. Between sudafed and Loritab I'm feeling pretty good though. Hopefully it's short and sweet and I don't have to worry about anybody else getting it. (except I think Chad might be...go figure...)
Daija is doing well in school. Minus the boy drama. She was kissed on the school bus this week. We have had a LONG discussion. In her defense, she didn't kiss back, or even know he was going to do it. What's a girl to do really...except tell him "Whoa, no way!" Which she did. :) I am proud of her for that one! Luckily, I believe she's innocent enough still that she doesn't really understand and has been told 100 times this week that no more kissing until she's 20! So far, she is on board with the idea....we'll see how long I can get away with it. LOL
Kyla is showing some real smarts. She knows her full name and how to write it down. And she has learned how to write Daija's name. Leads to trouble though, because she'll write it...let's say on the wall...and my first reaction is to yell at Daija for it. I've had to start looking to see if the J is backwards. LOL She's starting to love learning and wants to learn to write her ABC's. She's a super big helper to mom. Which is a new development since Daija started full day school.
Chase is talking SO well. He's learning new words all the time and has started to LOVE praying. It is the cutest thing. Although between all three kids fighting to pray I will admit we have several prayers almost every meal. LOL He's been doing awesome with potty training. We've had a little bit of an issue, which isn't his fault, because of his constipation. Normally he was going through the whole day in underwear without a problem. I've had to start him on a strict schedule of Miralax though which has made his poop very soft. So soft he has a hard time holding it in until some has come out already. So he's in diapers right now to prevent messes until we can retrain he bowels to shrink and work properly. But he's keeping the diaper dry and so far hasn't really relapsed which is a huge blessing and I'm very proud of him.
Collin is measuring around 5 lbs. They can be off a pound in either direction but I wouldn't be surprised if they are pretty dang close. This last week I've noticed he feels big. He seems to be losing more and more room. I'm praying I don't have preterm labor too bad and have to try to keep him in there longer. So far so good. We did an ultrasound last appt and that's when they measured him. The doc went to measure his leg and made a comment at how long they were. Then he took a closer look and said, "Look at the meat on those things!" I have a pic (sorry you can't see it) that shows some major calf muscles. Kinda funny. Don't really remember that with the others. I'm very excited to meet him face to face.
All in all this wasn't really a mini post I suppose... Our family seems to be managing to get back to some kind of normal. I love my family so much. They make me laugh and feel loved every day. I don't know what else a person could ask for really. I am so blessed.