Amelya says "oh yum they have broccoli!"
Gotta love it!
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Red lobster commercial
So watching a red lobster commercial which are overrun with delicious succulent buttery shrimp and lobster when:
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Our Sweet Hayes Benjamin
2 Weeks ago tonight Jared and I were enjoying a dinner alone together at Nakatos, the last dinner we'd share before welcoming our 5th child into this world. It is crazy how fast time goes by, I can't believe he is already 2 weeks old, and to be completely honest, I hate it. That being said I have spent the last 2 weeks thinking about all 5 of my children's births, and I will be posting about each of them. I want them in recorded, while I am still young, and remember each fine detail, details that I never want to forget. I will start with my most recent...my sweet Hayes.
As most of you know I had a harder pregnancy this time, I was truly miserable. With our other 4 kids, I never felt as bad as I did with Hayes. Blame it on age, 5th pregnancy, whatever, it was hard...and I'd do it all again...and I already miss him being just "with" me. With this pregnancy, along with 2 others, I was a gestational diabetic, which means blood testing, carb counting, and for me insulin dependence. Those things all stink, but it also means much closer monitoring with a specialist, which isn't all bad, because I get to see my sweet babies more often via ultrasound, and I get to sit through frequent NST's, where I get to listen to the sweet sound of their galloping heart beats for 20 minutes or more. This also carries a higher risk of a bigger baby. Towards the end my dr was very concerned with his size. At 38 weeks he was estimated to be 9lbs 10 oz. So we set a date to induce, January 6th, at 5:00 in the morning. I was very happy with this, I have had 2 other inductions, and they were flawless, I loved them a lot more than the 2 labors that started on their own.
So on January 4th & 5th, our area was in the middle of a polar vortex. This brought about 12 inches of snow, and temperatures much colder than normal. On Sunday the 5th, we decided to go on to Springfield, and stay in a hotel, so we wouldn't be driving in these conditions so early in the morning. It took us 2 hours to get there, instead of the normal 1 hour. We had dinner at Nakato's like I said before, and it was delicous, and very relaxing, and we checked in to the Holiday Inn Express on St. Louis Street around 6:30 on the 5th. I settled into my pj's early, Jared went down for night snacks, and I prepared for the season premiere of Downton Abbey :) Jared played games on his computer while I watched all 2 hours of the show, because he doesn't care for it, and we listened as the wind howled past our 3rd floor room, it was crazy weather! We settled in for the night around 11:00 that night....me very anxious, and Jared freezing, because I had the heat very low!!
I slept about 2 hours that night, and got up at 3:30 the morning of the 6th, because I had to call ahead to the hospital to make sure they had room for me. They told me to come on in, so we got up and began to get ready...we stopped for breakfast on the way there, in the -7 degree weather :( At least we had a great reason to be inside all day while it was so cold. I checked in a little after 5 to Mercy Hospital in Springfield, and the took us to Delivery suite #3. Our nurse came in to get me changed into that glorious hospital gown, start my IV, and get the pitocin rolling. Jared and I couldn't help but cringe, and giggle that she had a horrible cough, nothing like a sick labor & delivery nurse.
Before she could even get my IV started the baby (we didn't know boy or girl) had a drop in his heartbeat, it dropped and didn't recover for a bit, catching the nurse's attention. It worried her, but soon he was back to where he should be, and she got the IV in. She finally got us settled and the pitocin started a little after 6:00am. The contractions started :) Very tolerable at first, but I noticed them. Shortly before 7, it was time for shift change, our new nurse was named Samantha, she was phenomenal! She took over....the contractions got harder, much harder, as they bump up pitocin every 15 minutes by 2...I was contracting well, hard and every 2-3 minutes. So, she offered the epidural, and said my dr would be in around 7:30 to break my water, I was 4cm dilated at this point. Then came the dr everyone loves ;) to place my epidural.
Her first attempt was not a good one, I had an immediate sharp pain down my right side, running all the way to my foot...she soon discovered that she had missed the right spot, and was hitting a tendon. That my back was very strong, and she thought that she had my spine. Well she tried again, and got in the right place within seconds. She administered the test dose, and all was well. Then, she gave me the full dose, and hooked up my button and pump for future doses. All was well, the pain was disappearing, and she left. Then things got nasty...my ears started ringing, and I was feeling very sick. Soon, I couldn't hear at all, my blood pressure dropped to 74/35, my nurse was great, and gave me meds that brought it back to normal for a little while. It dropped again, with me losing my hearing again, and was feeling sick again, she once again gave me meds to bring me back up. Then it happened a 3rd time, and she had to go get the dr, I couldn't have anymore meds. It was a simple fix after that, she turned down the epidural a bit, gave me an entire bag of fluids in minutes, and put the head of my bed down slightly. After that it stayed up, but man, I was exhausted, it wore me out!
Finally my dr came in around 7:45, he broke my water, and I was still at a 4. They turned up the pitocin again, and left me to labor. This time I really took to just try and relax, and recover from the blood pressure episode, I was really scared that this baby would be huge, and I wouldn't be able to push from being so weak now. At 9:30 she came back in and checked me, and I was a 7, woo hoo!! Then, at 10:15, I told Jared that she needed to come back, I was involuntarily pushing, and sure enough, she came in and I was ready to push. She called for my dr, it took 2 calls, he was in a patient's room, and the nurse was afraid that I was going to deliver. He finally came in, and had me do a practice push, at which point he yelled for me to STOP! He told us he had never delivered a baby without gloves on, and he almost delivered my baby without gloves. Two more pushes and my little dude was born at 10:40. Hayes Benjamin came screaming into this world, was placed on my chest, and I was so complete, so in love. He stayed there for 2 hours before they moved us. He weighed 9lbs, 8oz, and was 22 inches long (even though we were told he was much smaller initially).
The days following were just as crazy, he was up all night the 1st night eating, and choking because of all the fluid he didn't get rid of at birth. They discovered when we was about 8 hours old that he actually weighed 9lbs 8oz, because the delivery nurse had pushed some wrong buttons on her scale, she had told us he weighed 8lbs 4oz ;) Finally on the 2nd night he slept better. The morning we were to leave, Wednesday, January 8th, he had his circumcision, and he had to pee before we could leave. Well...that took until 5:00 that night! Our older kids were so excited to have us home, even though Amelya sobbed, without tears. Now they love him, and he is just part of us.
Sorry for how poorly written this is, and how long...I just needed to get it down.
As most of you know I had a harder pregnancy this time, I was truly miserable. With our other 4 kids, I never felt as bad as I did with Hayes. Blame it on age, 5th pregnancy, whatever, it was hard...and I'd do it all again...and I already miss him being just "with" me. With this pregnancy, along with 2 others, I was a gestational diabetic, which means blood testing, carb counting, and for me insulin dependence. Those things all stink, but it also means much closer monitoring with a specialist, which isn't all bad, because I get to see my sweet babies more often via ultrasound, and I get to sit through frequent NST's, where I get to listen to the sweet sound of their galloping heart beats for 20 minutes or more. This also carries a higher risk of a bigger baby. Towards the end my dr was very concerned with his size. At 38 weeks he was estimated to be 9lbs 10 oz. So we set a date to induce, January 6th, at 5:00 in the morning. I was very happy with this, I have had 2 other inductions, and they were flawless, I loved them a lot more than the 2 labors that started on their own.
So on January 4th & 5th, our area was in the middle of a polar vortex. This brought about 12 inches of snow, and temperatures much colder than normal. On Sunday the 5th, we decided to go on to Springfield, and stay in a hotel, so we wouldn't be driving in these conditions so early in the morning. It took us 2 hours to get there, instead of the normal 1 hour. We had dinner at Nakato's like I said before, and it was delicous, and very relaxing, and we checked in to the Holiday Inn Express on St. Louis Street around 6:30 on the 5th. I settled into my pj's early, Jared went down for night snacks, and I prepared for the season premiere of Downton Abbey :) Jared played games on his computer while I watched all 2 hours of the show, because he doesn't care for it, and we listened as the wind howled past our 3rd floor room, it was crazy weather! We settled in for the night around 11:00 that night....me very anxious, and Jared freezing, because I had the heat very low!!
I slept about 2 hours that night, and got up at 3:30 the morning of the 6th, because I had to call ahead to the hospital to make sure they had room for me. They told me to come on in, so we got up and began to get ready...we stopped for breakfast on the way there, in the -7 degree weather :( At least we had a great reason to be inside all day while it was so cold. I checked in a little after 5 to Mercy Hospital in Springfield, and the took us to Delivery suite #3. Our nurse came in to get me changed into that glorious hospital gown, start my IV, and get the pitocin rolling. Jared and I couldn't help but cringe, and giggle that she had a horrible cough, nothing like a sick labor & delivery nurse.
Before she could even get my IV started the baby (we didn't know boy or girl) had a drop in his heartbeat, it dropped and didn't recover for a bit, catching the nurse's attention. It worried her, but soon he was back to where he should be, and she got the IV in. She finally got us settled and the pitocin started a little after 6:00am. The contractions started :) Very tolerable at first, but I noticed them. Shortly before 7, it was time for shift change, our new nurse was named Samantha, she was phenomenal! She took over....the contractions got harder, much harder, as they bump up pitocin every 15 minutes by 2...I was contracting well, hard and every 2-3 minutes. So, she offered the epidural, and said my dr would be in around 7:30 to break my water, I was 4cm dilated at this point. Then came the dr everyone loves ;) to place my epidural.
Her first attempt was not a good one, I had an immediate sharp pain down my right side, running all the way to my foot...she soon discovered that she had missed the right spot, and was hitting a tendon. That my back was very strong, and she thought that she had my spine. Well she tried again, and got in the right place within seconds. She administered the test dose, and all was well. Then, she gave me the full dose, and hooked up my button and pump for future doses. All was well, the pain was disappearing, and she left. Then things got nasty...my ears started ringing, and I was feeling very sick. Soon, I couldn't hear at all, my blood pressure dropped to 74/35, my nurse was great, and gave me meds that brought it back to normal for a little while. It dropped again, with me losing my hearing again, and was feeling sick again, she once again gave me meds to bring me back up. Then it happened a 3rd time, and she had to go get the dr, I couldn't have anymore meds. It was a simple fix after that, she turned down the epidural a bit, gave me an entire bag of fluids in minutes, and put the head of my bed down slightly. After that it stayed up, but man, I was exhausted, it wore me out!
Finally my dr came in around 7:45, he broke my water, and I was still at a 4. They turned up the pitocin again, and left me to labor. This time I really took to just try and relax, and recover from the blood pressure episode, I was really scared that this baby would be huge, and I wouldn't be able to push from being so weak now. At 9:30 she came back in and checked me, and I was a 7, woo hoo!! Then, at 10:15, I told Jared that she needed to come back, I was involuntarily pushing, and sure enough, she came in and I was ready to push. She called for my dr, it took 2 calls, he was in a patient's room, and the nurse was afraid that I was going to deliver. He finally came in, and had me do a practice push, at which point he yelled for me to STOP! He told us he had never delivered a baby without gloves on, and he almost delivered my baby without gloves. Two more pushes and my little dude was born at 10:40. Hayes Benjamin came screaming into this world, was placed on my chest, and I was so complete, so in love. He stayed there for 2 hours before they moved us. He weighed 9lbs, 8oz, and was 22 inches long (even though we were told he was much smaller initially).
The days following were just as crazy, he was up all night the 1st night eating, and choking because of all the fluid he didn't get rid of at birth. They discovered when we was about 8 hours old that he actually weighed 9lbs 8oz, because the delivery nurse had pushed some wrong buttons on her scale, she had told us he weighed 8lbs 4oz ;) Finally on the 2nd night he slept better. The morning we were to leave, Wednesday, January 8th, he had his circumcision, and he had to pee before we could leave. Well...that took until 5:00 that night! Our older kids were so excited to have us home, even though Amelya sobbed, without tears. Now they love him, and he is just part of us.
Sorry for how poorly written this is, and how long...I just needed to get it down.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Carr Party of Seven?!
Yes it's official number 5 is on the way! God has blessed us so much! In 2014 we'll be adding another little soul to love and face to kiss. Another, Halloween costume and name on Santa's list :) The kids are excited, well, Tayt is a little apprehensive, but he seems to be getting past that, and now they are arguing over what the baby's name will be.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Freezer Burn
So yet another normal Thursday night is occurring when I go downstairs to the freezer to grab a pound of hamburger. I reach inside to get the hamburger when to my surprise the ice bag is partially thawed. "Odd" I thought to myself so I tried to shut the door.
The door which usually shuts with ease was stuck. I began to frantically touch the frozen or what should have been frozen meat to find some thawed. The door apparently was stuck open due to the accumulation of frost and would shut completely. A few whacks of the hammer should knock the ice out of the way. Which it did without too much effort however the ensuing mess it made on floor trumped the ease if which the ice was removed.
So what began as a slow night with spaghetti for dinner turned into a feast of meat cooked on the stove.
Which turned into me finding about the last time I was sick I was using a rectal thermometer to check my temperature. At least it was clean - I hope, but that's another story for another time.
Looks like steak sandwiches for tomorrow and perhaps through the weekend.
Looks like the party of six is dining in true fashion tonight. :)
The door which usually shuts with ease was stuck. I began to frantically touch the frozen or what should have been frozen meat to find some thawed. The door apparently was stuck open due to the accumulation of frost and would shut completely. A few whacks of the hammer should knock the ice out of the way. Which it did without too much effort however the ensuing mess it made on floor trumped the ease if which the ice was removed.
So what began as a slow night with spaghetti for dinner turned into a feast of meat cooked on the stove.
Which turned into me finding about the last time I was sick I was using a rectal thermometer to check my temperature. At least it was clean - I hope, but that's another story for another time.
Looks like steak sandwiches for tomorrow and perhaps through the weekend.
Looks like the party of six is dining in true fashion tonight. :)
Monday, May 14, 2012
Much on my mind
I haven't posted in a while, and so much has happened in our lives since the "Quarter!" It is always busy this time of year with Jared being on the road more with Osagian, which gives me time to reflect on what an amazing husband and father the kids and I have. It is hard when he is gone, but makes me appreciate all he does for me here even more! End of the school year activities keep us all on our toes too, and now Tayt is getting into the thick of his t-ball season. On to all I have to add ;)
On April 24th, on our way to school, Tayt asked a question that changed my boys' lives. He said "momma, how do we get to heaven?" I continued to explain to him how we get to heaven, not realizing that his older brother was absorbing it more than Tayt was. Before we made it to Esther to drop Holdyn off, he informed me that he had asked Jesus into his heart, because he wanted to be able to be with everyone he loves in heaven. Of course this brought a flood of tears of joy to this momma, and made me more proud than I ever realized I could be. A couple of nights later at the dinner table our oldest, Ayden, also prayed for Jesus to be in his heart forever, again bringing the tears and another proud moment as their momma! My prayer now is that I can guide them and be a good model for them as they continue to grow in their walk with Christ.
Holdyn had his school field trip the same day that Ayden had his Spring concert, so Jared and I split the duties. I went with Holdyn on his trip, and had a wonderful day with him. They went to the Springfield Nature Center, and then on to Sequiota Park for lunch and play time, it was a great day. Jared went on to Ayden's concert, where he of course performed wonderfully :) I was able to watch it online later, he was such a great performer.
Holdyn also had his Blooming Night for Kindergarten, where again I was very proud! He has grown so much this year, and it is scary how mature he is getting. I wish I could freeze time, my babies are getting to big...to fast!!
Last weekend we also visited some very dear friends in Kentucky. Their sweet baby girl had open heart surgery on the 9th, and already got to come home on Mother's day! What an amazing gift for her momma! God is so good! All the time! I am so amazed at how he pulled them through this difficult time. They definitely have a great testimony to share!
This week of course is busy too. Tomorrow Tayt has his last day of school pizza party, Wednesday I have a dreaded dentist appointment, Thursday is Ayden's field trip, and Friday Holdyn has an end of the year picnic for the last day of school. I will have more kids here during the summer for the daycare, which is always fun too.
I have a busy and fun summer planned for the kid, and I am also excited for all of our usual activities! I am also starting all the paperwork, and planning for a mission trip to Kazakhstan in September. While this is still in the early stages, I need all the prayers I can get for this :) I am sure it will be life changing, but it will also be very hard leaving my own babies.
I want to end on a funny little conversation I had with Tayt on our way to t-ball practice last week. He said to me "Momma, when I grow up, I am going to get married and have one baby." I asked him "Why only one?" To which he replied "Well, that is all that will fit in my wife." I said "Well....ok, but what will you name this one baby?" With the most serious face, because I know he was very serious, he says "Rockstar, Ashley Carr!" I love my life...
On April 24th, on our way to school, Tayt asked a question that changed my boys' lives. He said "momma, how do we get to heaven?" I continued to explain to him how we get to heaven, not realizing that his older brother was absorbing it more than Tayt was. Before we made it to Esther to drop Holdyn off, he informed me that he had asked Jesus into his heart, because he wanted to be able to be with everyone he loves in heaven. Of course this brought a flood of tears of joy to this momma, and made me more proud than I ever realized I could be. A couple of nights later at the dinner table our oldest, Ayden, also prayed for Jesus to be in his heart forever, again bringing the tears and another proud moment as their momma! My prayer now is that I can guide them and be a good model for them as they continue to grow in their walk with Christ.
Holdyn had his school field trip the same day that Ayden had his Spring concert, so Jared and I split the duties. I went with Holdyn on his trip, and had a wonderful day with him. They went to the Springfield Nature Center, and then on to Sequiota Park for lunch and play time, it was a great day. Jared went on to Ayden's concert, where he of course performed wonderfully :) I was able to watch it online later, he was such a great performer.
Holdyn also had his Blooming Night for Kindergarten, where again I was very proud! He has grown so much this year, and it is scary how mature he is getting. I wish I could freeze time, my babies are getting to big...to fast!!
Last weekend we also visited some very dear friends in Kentucky. Their sweet baby girl had open heart surgery on the 9th, and already got to come home on Mother's day! What an amazing gift for her momma! God is so good! All the time! I am so amazed at how he pulled them through this difficult time. They definitely have a great testimony to share!
This week of course is busy too. Tomorrow Tayt has his last day of school pizza party, Wednesday I have a dreaded dentist appointment, Thursday is Ayden's field trip, and Friday Holdyn has an end of the year picnic for the last day of school. I will have more kids here during the summer for the daycare, which is always fun too.
I have a busy and fun summer planned for the kid, and I am also excited for all of our usual activities! I am also starting all the paperwork, and planning for a mission trip to Kazakhstan in September. While this is still in the early stages, I need all the prayers I can get for this :) I am sure it will be life changing, but it will also be very hard leaving my own babies.
I want to end on a funny little conversation I had with Tayt on our way to t-ball practice last week. He said to me "Momma, when I grow up, I am going to get married and have one baby." I asked him "Why only one?" To which he replied "Well, that is all that will fit in my wife." I said "Well....ok, but what will you name this one baby?" With the most serious face, because I know he was very serious, he says "Rockstar, Ashley Carr!" I love my life...
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
My Holdyn...the living piggy bank :)
Last night as I was watching 19 Kids and Counting, Holdyn came into the living room looking all colors of green and grey. I paused the tv, and asked him what was the matter? To which he quickly replied, "nothing! nothing! Never mind!" I of course wouldn't let that go, and made him come sit on my lap and talk. Finally, he broke completely down, crying and sobbing that he had accidentally swallowed a quarter. He had one out of his savings bag, and had it in his mouth playing with it, when Ayden bumped into him, making him swallow it. He was so upset because, Holdyn is my child who has very high anxiety about many things, especially the doctor, only because of an accident we had when was 4, where they had to sedate him for a CT. So that is why he didn't want to tell me, he thought I would immediately take him to the hospital, where they would cut it out of his tummy...his exact words. Anyhow, I of course started questioning him about things like, can you breathe, can you swallow ok, do you feel it in your throat. After we concluded it was down, I put him in my bed to sleep, so I could observe, and called the after hours nurse our pediatrician uses.
I, like many other people I am sure, really thought this would be no big deal. Then I googled it. I was so shocked to find that a quarter is an entirely different issue than smaller coin. For that matter, my 6 year old's esophagus is not much larger in than a quarter, we are lucky he didn't get choked on this stupid coin! So, the issue is that a quarter has a far greater chance of getting stuck in his bowels.
The nurse on call, then proceeded to direct me on the protocol they have for swallowing a quarter, she told me to keep him home until passes, examining his poo :( To call our pediatrician today (I am still waiting on a call back), and that if it doesn't pass in 3 days, he will probably need to have xrays to make sure it isn't lodged. Who would have thought...so much concern.
So, this morning he is still just as anxious about it, worried about the appointment he MIGHT have with the dr. So, on the way to take Ayden to school, Ayden, only trying to make him feel better says, "Holdyn, did you know you are probably the only person to swallow a quarter and live!" I about fell out of the car trying to conceal my laughter, because I knew, this coming from his older, much wiser brother, would warm my sweet piggy bank's heart :) Make him feel a little better, as untrue as the statement is of course, about having to deal with this. I love my sweet boys, and how they take care of one another! I hope they love each other this much for always!!
We should all love each other like this...
Friday, March 23, 2012
African acrobats
So we went to see African Acobats tonight was really great and they performed some amazing stunts. One of them consisted of stacking chairs up on each other and then doing hand stands and such on them. So as we are walking out, Holdyn states, "when we get home I'm stacking some chairs". Here comes the party of six to the ER...
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