Nursery

My step mom has offered to paint a mural on the new babies wall. She has now come down two weekends to work on it. We think it will take about two more times to finish but a good start has been made.

Bedding, this is the quilt. It has a cute bumper, wall hangings, and a mobile to go with it.

End of week one

End of Week two

The Crib should be here at the end of this week and so by the end of September, middle of October the nursery will be complete!

24 Weeks

24 weeks with Alyssa 24 weeks with Colin

How far along? 24 weeks

Total weight gain: About 13 pounds. But I'm still 2-4 pounds under what I was at the day I got pregnant with Alyssa.

Maternity clothes? Yep but I do still wear some no maternity tops. There is no way to fit into any bottoms that aren't maternity anymore.

Sleep: I am actually sleeping okay but I do wake up a few times a night most night and have a hard time going back to sleep.

Best moment this week: Letting my dad feel the baby move. Also watching him move from the outside

Movement: I feel the baby every night now he is getting stronger by the day.

Gender: Boy! We are thinking Colin for a name

Labor Signs: none but if I over do it during the day I get a lot of cramps and don't feel good.

Belly Button in or out? Still in, but getting more shallow.

What I miss: Being able to bend over and not think about how I'm going to breathe.

What I am looking forward to: Getting the crib this week so I can start setting up the nursery.

Weekly Wisdom: Patience is a virtue.

Milestones: Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

Week One of Day Care

Well my first week of daycare did not go the way I had thought it would. The day before I was supposed to open one of the families called and told me they were not bringing their 2 daughters to me.

On Friday I got another call that another lady had decided not to bring her daughter to me. So I went from 5 kids, down to two. One of those kids is a before school kid that I only have 3 times a week for about 45 minutes.

Monday was a hard day because Alyssa was teething and the baby that I watch was gassy. It was a long day and when Chris got home I told him I could be a secretary.

Tuesday I only had the before school kid and then Alyssa and I spent the day together. We went out to lunch and to the mall.

On Wednesday I had the baby and things went well. So did today.

I am so grateful to Chris for letting me try this. I know money is tighter than we wanted it to be since I lost 3 kids but I love being home with Alyssa and can't wait to see what the future holds.

My husband is an amazing father and husband. He has been with me through so many things in the last 13 (WOW!) years we have been together. I am one lucky woman!!

Blood

Last night Alyssa was outside playing in the grass. She picked up two small pieces of wood that Chris had under the deck and started to come up the stairs with them. On the second step she slipped and fell. I saw it and heard the scream. I ran and got her and all I could see was blood. I ran her inside and started rinsing her mouth out. I counted her teeth and thought one was missing. My heart stopped beating. Then I counted again and realized she had all her teeth, but she had two really big gashes in her lower lip.

I didn't know what to do and of course Chris wasn't home. So I took her next door to my neighbors and asked them what I should do. They said that there was nothing the hospital could do since it was the inside of her lip. They reassured me that she would be fine.

By the time I put her to bed her lip was swollen but she was acting fine. This morning she was acting fine and just had lips that looked like we gave her botox. If you didn't know her or didn't look closely you wouldn't notice but I notice.

I'm sure its not the last time I will run her in the house with blood coming from somewhere but it was scary. The mommy part of me wanted to take her straight to the hospital. The money rational part of mommy hoped that all would be okay.

I'm glad she is okay and won't even remember in a few weeks.

New Day Care

Alyssa is 18 months old and starting Monday will be at her 4th daycare. Well really her 3rd. The first place we picked we backed out of before she even started. The second place she went to for 9 weeks. The third place she went to for a year.

Starting Monday she will go to her fourth and hopefully final daycare until she starts school. That daycare is the closest to home she has ever been and has the best ideas so far. I say that because starting Monday I am her daycare. I get to stay home and spend time with my daughter.

I am so excited that I get to stay home with her and get to see her all day everyday. I'm excited to get to see her play and interact with other kids. I won't have to feel the guilt I would get when I would go pick her up from daycare and they would tell me what a horrible day she had.

I started out with 5 kids, 3 families but as of last night one of the families backed out. So now I have 3 kids and one is just a before school kid.

I know I will get more and I just have to have patience and faith. It is giving me time to get my business up at started. I now have a Business bank account and tax id number. I also have an accountant and some clients. I'm officially a small business.

So hopefully the kids come soon and I can start feeling like this was the best decision ever.

Lake Baby

My daughter is a lake baby. She LOVES the Lake of the Ozarks. I swear it is in her blood. We did not get down there until late Friday night (think like 10:30). She did not want to go to bed. I think if we had let her go swimming she would have.

On Saturday morning she was up early to go swimming and play with all her toys that stay at the lake. We then went for a boat ride where she was so tired from staying up the night before, and getting up early that she fell asleep within minutes of being on the boat. This is a huge task for my daughter since she does not fall asleep in people's arms( like ever) or in cars (most of the time).

It was then home for lunch and a nap. Alyssa was the only one in the whole house that did not take a nap. It was then time for more swimming and then FINALLY Alyssa took a nap. But it was only an hour before she was back up for more swimming and another boat ride. On that boat ride she waved at every other boat, wave runner or bird that she saw.

On Sunday it was more swimming and another boat ride where she fell asleep again. This time we were able to get a few pictures. Then it was time to come home. She was so sad to leave the lake and I think she is dreaming of it nightly.

I'm so glad my baby is a water baby, hopefully her brother will like it just as much!

In Home Daycare

From the time I was in high school I knew I wanted to stay home when I had kids. I always assumed that I would watch a few kids in my home so that I could stay home and raise my own.

When Chris and I got married I told him I would work until we had kids and then I wanted to stay home. Well when Alyssa came we knew there was no way I could stay home we just bought a house and things were crazy. I told the babysitter that Alyssa had at the time by the time we had the second child I would be able to stay home.

Well here I am 5 months pregnant with my second child, unemployed and have had both the old babysitter and new babysitter offer me kids to watch so that I could stay home. At first I wasn't sure. (There is still part of me that is really scared about this).

But this is what I have said I wanted to do since I was in high school. I haven't been happy in the last few jobs I have had and I have loved spending the summer at home with Alyssa.

I know it will be hard and I know it isn't the same quality time at home with the kids I would get if I wasn't looking after other people's kids but at least I can see my kids grow up and their big milestones. There is less vacation, yet you are in your own house and have your kids.

I might need a few more nights out child free because of this adventure but how different can it be than raising someone else's kids for 9 hours a day then come home and raise my own?

Now I'm raising my 24/7 and someone else's 10.

I'm scared and nervous but I think it is just because it is something new and something I never thought I would be able to do.

Now I have to figure out how to re-arrange the house so that it is truly child safe and start finding kids. As of right now I have the potential for 4 with a 5th coming in Feb not counting my own two. If I could get it up to 7 or 9 I could hire someone to help me and then I could have small breaks with my own.

Maybe 5 with a few before/after school kids since the bus stop is my neighbors house.

If you are the praying type say a prayer for me. I hope this is what makes my heart and family happy because we all deserve to be happy after the last 3 years I have had!