the kendalls

Our Birth Story

2009-04-10T07:56:00.007-05:00

"On the way home from Austin I had 3 really good contractions but they were 8 minutes apart and 20 minutes apart. We got home about 8:30 and Willard wanted to do our acupuncture pressure points again. Willard lit some candles, I got out my iPod and got comfy on the bed awaiting the pampering to begin. He started out like he had the night before and I practiced my deep breathing techniques. After about an hour of that I told him we should get some paper and start timing contractions. I was beginning to feel them pretty regularly. I didn't want to get out of the zone and zen-type feeling we had going on so I didn't go downstairs to tell anyone goodnight. He came back and went back to my toes and feet. I tapped his phone whenever I had a contraction and he'd take note of it...

This is where our birth story begins..... "

Before Willard started pampering me with my acupuncture pressure points I had to use the restroom. At 9:40pm I had some bloody show. This can happen hours before labor begins or during labor. I was so excited about that happening that I came out of the restroom with a huge grin and told Willard all about it! I bet he was thrilled. =) So, Willard got out the pen and paper and started taking note every time I tapped his phone. For about an hour he rubbed my feet and legs and pushed on the pressure points. We both began to notice a little consistency with the timing of the contractions. They didn't feel like braxton hicks contractions but I was still skeptical that I was actually in labor. My back was hurting with the contractions and I was fearful that it was back labor. I had back labor with Madison because she was posterior and at our appointment earlier in the week Illysa said that Marley felt a bit posterior. Willard and I talked and couldn't remember how long we were suppose to time before we called Illysa, our midwife. She had instructed us to call when the contractions were 5-7 minutes apart. She said she'd need a little extra notice since she lives about 45 minutes to an hour away from us. After 2 hours of timing contractions and noticing that a lot of them were about 5 minutes apart we called Illysa at 11:30. She talked with us and wanted to hear me go through a couple contractions. She noticed that I wasn't breathing hard and could talk through them, I even made a joke or two. She told us about a really cool application for the iPhones that times your contractions. She instructed us to download that application and for me to relax. Illysa said she felt like she didn't need to come yet and that I still had a while. She wanted me to get a warm bath, have a half a glass of wine and try to take a nap so I'd be rested for the stronger labor and birth. Willard got me the wine while I filled the bathtub. He set up a little table next to the bath with his cell phone, with the newly added "Contraction" application, my iPod, and the glass of red wine. I laid in the tub for about 45 minutes and noticed that the contractions were beginning to get a little longer (about a minute long) and a little closer together (about 4 minutes). I decided it was time for me to get out of the bathtub and try to take a nap like Illysa instructed.

As I was drying off I felt this small gushing feeling. I looked down and saw some liquid that had some blood and mucus in it. I called out to Willard in the bedroom, "Hey Willard.... I think my water broke but I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure that this stuff doesn't come out of your pee hole." LOL.. He said to me that he wouldn't have any idea if it was my water breaking and I told him I thought we should call Illysa back. By this time it's 12:45 am. Illysa said that it did sound like my water broke and that she had everything in her car and would head our direction in a few minutes. Willard suggested that I get into the cute, comfortable birthing dress that was purchased for this occasion. A lot of women will walk around naked during labor but I don't feel comfortable enough which is why we bought the dress. I had bought one sundress for this occasion but my mom found an even better dress at a little boutique in Gruene. So I get my pretty little dress on and continue to time contractions. By this time the contractions were becoming a lot harder. During the contractions my right leg kept cramping up and it was becoming pretty painful. Willard was going to wake my mom up to let her know we were in labor and I wanted her to go to Walmart to get me some bananas. My thinking was that the potassium in the bananas would help with the leg cramp. Illysa said I could eat during labor but to try and make sure to eat things I wouldn't mind if they came back up. I figured that if I threw up a banana it wouldn't be to big of a deal. After Mom gets up and is getting ready to go to Walmart I decide that maybe Dad should go instead. I wanted mom to be around for the birth and wanted her to be able to experience it with us and I knew that Dad wasn't into the whole "seeing" thing. So, Mom goes and gets dad up and lets him know that we're having a baby and I'd like a few things from Walmart.......

By this time the contractions were closer together, now about 3 minutes apart, and the duration of the contractions was about a minute and a half. The contractions were really hurting and every time I had a contraction I swore that I needed to use the bathroom. I was trying to find a more comfortable way to be during the contractions and thought that it'd be more comfortable if I sat on the toilet backwards so I was straddling it. I asked Willard to bring me a pillow so I could lay my head down and rest when I wasn't having a contraction. When I had a contraction I was basically screaming to release the pain. I even yelled at Willard "WHY DID I DO THIS?!" Later Illysa told me that almost every woman says this in one way or another and that is usually when you're about to birth your baby..... Well when Willard wasn't running around getting things ready for Illysa he'd come check on me and rub my back. He would let me know how great I was doing and how much he loved me. He was being a wonderful birthing partner. At 1:40 am, an hour after my water broke, I informed Willard that I was ready to push and started to freak out because Illysa hadn't arrived yet. I asked Willard, okay I told Willard, to call and find out where she was. When he called Illysa said she was walking in the front door.

She immediately came upstairs to the bathroom to check on me. I told her that I wanted to push and she told me that she wouldn't tell me not to push if that's what I was feeling. She did tell me that I should move so I wouldn't be having our baby on the toilet. She didn't do an internal exam like they do in the hospital which is nice. She did feel to see if she could feel Marley's head and she told me "we're having a baby!" I moved from the bathroom to the bed. I crawled up onto the bed on all fours and stayed there. Immediately Illysa put my mom to work being her assistant. The backup midwife was on her way to our home but hadn't arrived yet. My mom jumped right in trying to take care of everything Illysa threw her way. Willard got up on the bed with me and provided his shoulder for me to lay my head on. Illysa got some olive oil and warm compresses to put on me to help with the stretching. It felt like heaven! Whenever I had a contraction I began to push. I didn't pay attention to anything else going on around me. I don't even remember when the second midwife came in. Whenever I pushed I was completely inside myself. I didn't have a thought going on in my mind. I made very primal noises and could feel Marley moving down into my pelvis every time I pushed. Willard stayed right there with me and gave me such encouragement. Later he told me that during one contraction I started to bite him on the shoulder and realized what I was doing and stopped. Sorry honey! There was a couple times that Illysa told me to breath through a contraction to allow Marley's head to better form for birth. That to me was the hardest part of labor. It was so hard NOT to push during those contractions. At some point during the pushing Illysa told Willard to come get behind me so he could catch his baby girl. Mom got on the bed and took over his post of being my head holder. I started talking about how much it burned "down there" and I said "oh that must be the ring of fire that we've heard all about." Illysa confirmed that it was and said to me "Vanessa reach down and feel your babies head.".... Willard told me later that I made a giggle noise when I did this. Sometime during this the second midwife, June, made her arrival so Mom was able to help in other ways. She was still being my support person while Willard was behind me awaiting the arrival of Marley. I pushed again and Marley's head came out. I heard Illysa say she needed to check the cord to see if it was around her neck. It was and she unwrapped the cord. I pushed again and the shoulders came out and Willard was able to catch his baby. He said that he caught her head in one hand and her butt in the other. Meanwhile, while this was happening mom went into the girls' room to get them for the birth of their new baby sister. I am not sure if the girls saw Willard catch Marley but I know they were there for Marley's very first moments in her new world... Just like we wanted.

After I birthed Marley, June, the second midwife, and Illysa helped me lift my legs up and around the umbilical cord so I could face and see my baby, my Marley. Willard and I chose to keep Marley's cord attached to her for as long as we could for the major health benefits. I turned around and ended up laying on the bed with Marley still attached to the cord and the placenta. When I laid over I heard Illysa say that there was a separation. The placenta separated and I needed to birth it right away. Usually the placenta is birthed roughly 30 minutes after the baby, i believe =). I birthed the placenta and we were told how wonderful and beautiful the coloring of it was. Willard, my mom, and I had never seen a placenta and were very interested in seeing what mine looked like. It's so interesting! We took pictures of it and Illysa showed us what side faced which way, etc. It's smooth on one side and rough on the other. We have some fabulous pictures of it, but I was spare you. I will show anyone who would like to see though! Marley was still attached to her cord which was still attached to the placenta. The placenta was wrapped up and covered.
Keeping Marley attached to the cord until it stops pulsing allows her to receive important nutrients that a lot of babies miss out on because in a hospital they cut the cord right away. It's sad if you read the research... anyway. After Marley was born she was handed to me and we started nursing. She latched on right away and we nursed for a long while. She was bright-eyed and alert the entire time. No drugged baby here this time! I'm not sure of the time frame after the birth but after Marley had been nursing for awhile Illysa needed to do the newborn exam. Willard's parents couldn't come down to New Braunfels for the birth of Marley since his mom can't travel far from home so to show off Marley and to see the newborn exam we hooked up our web cam and gave them a call. Illysa started checking Marley out, doing her measuring and weighing. She was 7 pounds 12 ounces and 19 3/4 inches long and was born at 2:12 am.

After Illysa was done checking her out Willard got to cut the cord. He was so adorable and such a proud proud daddy. Something I forgot to mention is that during all this time, about an hour, the girls were hanging out with us on our bed. Illysa didn't interfere with our family bonding, only checking on Marley and myself when she needed too. I also got to eat after birth. Dad brought back muffins and fresh fruit from walmart and made me up a plate. Madison and Makenna took turns feeding me while I laid nursing Marley. They both were completely fascinated with their baby sister and that mommy had given birth at home. They enjoyed getting to be such a big part
of everything. Madison became a little mini midwife. She was very concerned about me and wanted to make sure that I was okay and stayed by my side. Makenna was her usual self and was back and forth here and there. Sorry, this part of our birth story is being written 6 months after the fact and I'm trying to get things mentioned and put in the right spot. Another thing I should mention is that dad left to go and get a few things from walmart which is only 10 minutes down the road and when he got back there was a baby! Things happened so fast that he didn't even have time to get back before miss Marley was born. After the fact I was so happy that I had changed my mind about mom going. I'm glad she got to be there for this extraordinary event. I'm also very grateful that mom thought to grab the camera! We wouldn't have these amazing and beautiful pictures of Marley's birth if she hadn't been quick thinking.

One of my favorite parts of birthing at home was Marley's first bath. June and Illysa ran a bath for Marley and I in our bathroom. For her very first bath I got to be in it with her. And the best part?! was that we weren't alone. New Big Sister Makenna wanted to join us. So she striped down and hopped in the tub with us. I asked Madison if she wanted to get in also but she didn't, not even with a bathing suit on. While Marley, Makenna and I were soaking in the tub Madison would get her hand wet and rub warm water on my shoulders. She was wonderful. During our bath Marley got hungry again so I nursed her a little in the tub and then it was time for us to get out and try to get some rest. By this time it's probably 4:30 in the morning, and we had been up all day. The previous day, Friday, had been a busy and fun day for all and the birth of Marley just topped it off so we were all beat. We got out of the tub and Illysa and June got Marley all dried off and swaddled up all nice and tight. I put on a tshirt and climbed into bed. Illysa went over the instructions for Willard and all the charting he would be doing for the next few days for Marley and me. Dad went downstairs and fried up some bacon, scrambled eggs, made a fruit salad and toast for me, Willard, the midwives, etc. He was such a wonderful help. Everyone had their little jobs that they started taking over and it was lovely. The scary part of my experience happened after eating breakfast. I felt the need to use the bathroom so I got out of bed. I felt a lot of blood start running down my legs onto the floor. I said to mom "am I suppose to bleed this much? I don't think I am, will you get Illysa for me?" She went and got her and Illysa had me lay back down... Long story short Willard and Illysa had to carry me to the restroom and when we were in there I lost a huge blood clot and was hemorrhaging. Sounds worse than it probably was but it was a little scary. Illysa carries pitocin and oxygen with her for cases like this. She gave me some oxygen, she and Willard carried me back to bed and Illysa kept an eye on the bleeding. She gave me a few herbs that she uses but June suggested giving me the pitocin (in a shot) to make my uterus contract. Let me say... I cussed more when she gave me that shot than I did at any point in the labor or birth. Illysa had to inject it into my thigh and it HUUURT. I am not a baby when it comes to pain or needles so I was surprised at the pain I felt. Illysa stayed and slept a little before she made her drive home and Willard and I finally got some sleep. The girls had gone back to bed and I believe that dad did too. Mom stayed up and chatted with Illysa for awhile and I think she might have eventually gotten some more sleep.

Giving birth to Marley at home in the comfort and privacy of our home was by far the most amazing experience I've ever had. I felt completely empowered and euphoric. I've had people ask me if childbirth hurt and the answer is "yes" BUT and it's a big BUT it was bearable. I never actually thought I was going to die and I know that if we ever had another baby that I'd go the same route and give birth naturally at home. Americans need to be better informed on our options for pregnancy and childbirth. Only 1% of our births are with midwives and this is to small a number. In Europe it's closer to 30 +% and they have lower maternal and infant mortality rates. I won't get on my soapbox right now but I wish more women would do their homework and research when it comes to this important topic. Society and media show childbirth in an unrealistic light. It's the most beautiful thing a woman can go through and we aren't taking advantage of the power we hold. If I could go back in time and change the births of Madison and Makenna to be unmedicated births I would. I believe that our birth is reflected in the demeanor of Marley and her personality. She's so calm and laid back. She's also very very healthy and I also contribute that the fact that we've been exclusively breastfeeding for 6 months. She had her first taste of formula the other night. She hasn't been sleeping very well at night so I thought I'd try a trick that my sister started trying with my niece and giving a formula bottle at night. Formula is harder for babies to digest so it stays in their system longer than breast milk and they can go longer between feedings. She's only had a few bottles of it and now she's refusing to drink from a bottle at all, even breastmilk. What a titty baby! lol.

I have a hard time getting on the computer anymore and I really miss writing and blogging. I am going to try and be better about it. I think about writing nearly everyday but actually getting on the computer is hard with a 6 month old baby who wants attention all day. =)

Until next time.....

The days before

2009-04-02T18:25:00.010-05:00

I've been wanting to write about our birth story this week but have been tired. I've been updating my facebook and myspace via my iphone lately but have not been on the computer. I'm going to start our birth story a little earlier than just the night/morning of......

I'm going to go back to Tuesday, March 24th.

Tuesday was a day that Willard and I had an appointment with our midwife, Illysa. We got a call that day that she had another client who was in labor. I was a bit disappointed that we were having to reschedule because I was becoming very uncomfortable. Even though I was disappointed I was very excited for her other client. The couple in labor had been in our birthing class with us and I was thrilled that she was having her baby. This client also had another child, age 6, who was in the sibling class with the girls that our midwife had. They had asked about us and thought we would have already had our baby.... but nope! =) Anyway, so Illysa gave us a call later in the day to reschedule our appointment. When I spoke with her on the phone I asked her about maybe finding natural ways to induce labor. I had heard about Castor oil working well. She suggested we first try acupuncture. Illysa referred us to an acupuncturist, Genevieve, that she's used with other clients before. We made an appointment for Wednesday morning at 8:30 with Genevieve and then would just follow up with Illysa afterwards......

Wednesday, March 25th...

We had to leave our house in New Braunfels pretty early to make it to Austin at 8:30am. Genevieve works out of her home and it's a cool place. Willard and I were both very impressed with her amazing piece of property. It feels like it's in the country but is actually only minutes from downtown. We were also very impressed with Genevieve. I'm very glad that Illysa recommended her to us. I liked that she talked to us and spent a lot of time showing Willard pressure points on my legs and feet to try before and during labor. I have always been very curious about acupuncture and am glad that I finally got to experience it. To answer peoples question, no it doesn't hurt. The needles are so tiny! Once she had them placed in the correct spots I did have a moment where I thought I'd throw up. I got very, very hot and my mouth started watering. Genevieve said that was a good, normal sign that my hormones were flowing. She quickly took out the needles and I raced to the bathroom. Lucky for me I didn't throw up and I felt better almost instantly. A few moments later she added back in the needles and added two others in my wrists to help with the nauseousness. I was completely fine after that! When she started with the needles Marley automatically started moving. In the womb Marley was a night mover. She didn't move much during the day and if she did they were small movements as if she was stretching. However, when those needles were placed on my baby toes and legs she started moving everywhere. Placement on the baby toes is suppose to help babies turn and Marley had been a bit posterior. I also had a few contractions so I was feeling very hopeful when we left. After that we went to Illysa's for our prenatal appointment. Everything was going well with Marley. She did an exam and I was only 2 cm dilated and hadn't effaced at all but I was still good and "mushy." Marley was also still high and hadn't engaged into the pelvic area yet. I was disappointed that I wasn't more dilated than that since I'd been having some pretty good braxton hicks contractions for a few days. But at least everything was great with Marley's heart rate, etc. During our appointment Illysa suggested that we spend the afternoon with just the two of us for a little while. She told us of a place called Mount Bonnell that was only minutes from her apartment. After seeing the beautiful views from there and climbing the MASSIVE staircase up to those views we texted McCoy, Willards FOH buddy, and had lunch at a great tex-mex restaurant in Austin. After lunch we went back home to my mom and the girls and later Willard practiced the pressure points Genevieve showed him. I had some contractions but nothing that said I was in labor.

Thursday, March 26th....

I'm not sure what we did on Thursday. Dad and mom were both in town and we may have played Wii all day.

Friday, March 27th....

When I woke up on Friday morning I was having severe cabin fever. This was the week of Madison's spring break and dad had been making sales calls while he was down here but hadn't spent much time with the girls. Dad had talked about going home but mom and I had convinced him to stay one more day and spend it with all of us. The day started out gloomy outside and I was pretty depressed that we might have to spend another day around the house. I decided that I'd get a shower and hoped that the weather would get better. After we all got ready we went to eat lunch at our favorite cheap mexican place in town. While there we tried to think of somewhere fun and different to go. We got in the car and headed towards Austin with a few ideas in mind. After some debating we decided on going to Peter Pan Miniature Golf. The girls had a lot of fun having mimi and papaw here to play golf with them. Madison even got a few hole in ones! When we were done with our game Willard and I decided that we wanted to show my parents Mount Bonnell. Even though my dad had lived in Austin, once upon a time, he hadn't ever heard of it. PLUS Willard thought me walking up those stairs, again, would be a good idea. Mom and Dad were just as impressed with the views as Willard and I had been. We walked around a bit and looked at all the massive and gorgeous houses in that area and then everyone decided that a nice cold beer sounded good. Since none of us are very familiar with Austin we had a hard time deciding where to go for a drink and some food. We ended up going to the original Chuy's. By this time I was having contractions off and on but nothing painful. In fact they felt like braxton hicks contractions and I didn't even mention them to anyone. We were seated and we all split two orders of nachos and were full. It was about 7:30 and we knew the puppy dogs would be starving to we started home. On the way home from Austin I had 3 really good contractions but they were 8 minutes apart and 20 minutes apart. We got home about 8:30 and Willard wanted to do our acupuncture pressure points again. Willard lit some candles, I got out my iPod and got comfy on the bed awaiting the pampering to begin. He started out like he had the night before and I practiced my deep breathing techniques. After about an hour of that I told him we should get some paper and start timing contractions. I was beginning to feel them pretty regularly. I didn't want to get out of the zone and zen-type feeling we had going on so I didn't go downstairs to tell anyone goodnight. He came back and went back to my toes and feet. I tapped his phone whenever I had a contraction and he'd take note of it...

This is where our birth story begins.....

It's come and gone...

2009-03-23T11:33:00.005-05:00

Our due date that is....

Yesterday was our official due date and also my father-in-laws birthday. I had more contractions than I've ever had in a day yesterday but nothing that said "You're in Labor!!" Since I last updated we've had two midwife appointments. I had an appointment on Saturday the 7th and I was 1 1/2-2 cm dilated and really "mushy" (haha). Everything was going well with Marley and I was measuring wonderfully, etc. Illysa, the midwife, said that I could go into labor at anytime. Willard came home a night early because I was really overwhelmed and getting nervous. My mom also came down to be with me and help out with the girls. We had another midwife appointment on the 17th of March. We didn't do an exam so I don't know if I've progressed or not. I did lose my mucus plug a few days before that appointment which is an impending sign of labor... but it wasn't for us! We've all been going a little crazy playing this waiting game with miss marley. I've been wanting to get out of the house so we've been to the park mulitple days in a row and we went to the botanical gardens in San Antonio on Saturday. When Mom was here we all took Madison (and Makenna) to see the Alamo. Madison has been studying Texas history in class and we knew she'd enjoy seeing the Alamo. She had a wonderful time and enjoyed getting to see the Alamo in "real life."

Mom is headed back down to the house this afternoon to spend a little time with Madison on her spring break before the baby arrives. Dad is also heading down here with the dogs in a day or two, unless he gets a phone call that says "SHE'S IN LABOR!" We have another appointment tomorrow with the midwife and I'm going to ask about starting things off by using castor oil. We've tried every other old wives tale ideas about getting labor started. I'd like to go into spontanious labor but to be truthful we are running out of time for Willard to be here for the bonding expierence. He has taken a new job and will be living up in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and he starts on the 13th of April. The 4 of us girls (wow, 4 of us) will be living down here in New Braunfels until we can get our house sold. Hopefully we'll have better luck this time around... We are all very excited about this change. We will all miss the Ragweed guys and wives but this will give Willard a great opportunity of being home more with his family.

I will leave you with a few pictures taken yesterday on the big Due Date Day...

i haven't felt.....

2009-03-06T12:40:00.004-06:00

I haven't felt much like updating lately... In fact I haven't really been on the computer much. We've been busy around the house trying to prepare for the arrival of Marley. Willard did a lot of work on the nursery. He put up crown-molding and chair-railing and painted it the most gorgeous color called "frivolous". The nursery is almost finished there are just a few things that Willard needs to hang on the wall. We still need to hang her adorable letters that her cousin jennifer had made for her and also my belly cast. We will take pictures sometime when he gets back home - which is on SUNDAY! He's been gone for 2 weeks and I'm anxious for him to get home. I've been feeling overwelmed for some reason. I'm just so uncomfortable and I don't sleep at night much. Our midwife appointments have been going well. Marley is still growing and I'm still measuring a little larger than my due date. Yesterday Madison got sent home from school with a 102 fever and the nurse at school said she saw "white bumps" on her throat. My first instinct was " Oh great, strep throat!" Luckily her pedi's office was able to get her in right away and the did the strep test. It was positive. I knew it would be. They even said that there has been cases of mono going around the younger age groups. Kids everywhere around this area have been getting sick. We've got her on antibiotics and today she seems to be feeling fine. On Saturday I have an appointment with our midwife and after that the girls have a sibling class with Illysa, the midwife, and another young girl whos parents are having a baby in March. Illysa is going to let the kids watch a movie of a home/water birth and talk with them, etc. I have already shown the girls a few homebirths from the movie The Business of being Born. I didn't want them to be scared if they heard me making noises or yelling and I also didn't want them to be scared of seeing Marley being born. Willard and I are getting very very very anxious for the little one to be born.

An update on my Mother-in-law. She's was finally released from the hospital this past saturday and had to continue her rehab and nursing care there. She ended up having three surgeries when she was at the hospital. She's coming along but is still extremely tired. I'm sure that she's happy to be home. Since she can't make it down to New Braunfels for Marley's birth we are going to hook up our webcam's for her to be able to see Marley soon after birth. True it's not the same as being here but it's better than missing the event completely.

Here are some pictures of me and willard that my mom took of us at the same spot where we were married. Those were taken when I was 35 weeks pregnant. I will also post my 36 & 37 week belly pictures. I'll be 38 weeks this sunday!

36 Weeks

37 Weeks

My Mother-in-law

2009-02-12T19:52:00.004-06:00

Right now my mother in law, jerri, is in surgery. Whoever reads this blog, please, please pray for her. She's been battling cancer for many years now and this surgery will either help her a great deal or not. We are all praying and hoping for the best..... Willard is off on the road tonight and as a wife I wish I could do more than just listen on the phone. I feel so helpless right now.

Belly Pictures

2009-02-07T10:55:00.004-06:00

Here are my 32 week and 33 week belly pictures. I'll be 34 weeks tomorrow!! The last part of the pregnancy is flying by. I feel as if we are running out of time to get things done..... I'll post a couple of pics of the girls on their new trampoline that mommy & daddy, mimi & papaw, grandma jj & pops and aunt debbie & uncle larry got them for christmas. Yes, Yes, we know... trampolines can be dangerous but we got one with a great safety rating and there are rules for the trampoline. I think most accidents happen because of parents not paying attention or thinking that the net is a babysitter. They haven't had much time to play on it since Madison's been pretty sick the last two weeks and we've been super busy during the day.

32 weeks

33 Weeks

Make up your mind!

2009-02-06T11:21:00.008-06:00

I think Marley is breech again. I was just getting use to feeling her feet kick me in the ribs and now if feels like her head is back in it's comfy spot. I put my iPod on last night and put headphones on my lower belly for Marley to listen to some music. She listened to some Bob Marley and some Bruce Springsteen. She liked them both but was really active during the Bruce Springsteen songs. I guess she has rhythm already! Marley is also not utilizing all the room she has in my womb. She prefers the right side of my body and the left side never feels much movement. It's as if she's curled into a sideways ball or something. My right side ribs would like it very much if she'd move over a little. =)

We took Madison to her doctors appointment on Wednesday. I'm glad we didn't have to pay a co-pay because all the did was tell us what we already knew. We still needed to get a doctors note for school, so I guess it accomplished something. The nurse did a swab for strep and for the flu since both have been going around but neither of them came back positive. I believe Madison had the flu but that we had waited it out. I now have a bad cough and a very scratchy sounding voice. I haven't gotten a fever and I'm only a little achy. I'm at the end of whatever it is I've got. Makenna has been feeling just fine and Willard has been doing everything he can NOT to get sick. He has finally gotten over all that crap he had when he was gone in January....

For Christmas mom gave all of us kids web cams... I've been a terrible daughter and hadn't gotten it set up. So, this morning Big Mak and I set it up and got our skype account all put together. If you have skype and want to add us we're thewillardstx. I think it'll be a fun way to stay in touch with my sisters and parents whom we don't live by. Especially since Meredith and our niece and nephew live in Montana! I know Makenna and Madison will think it's fun to be able to see Morgan and Weston on the camera and vice versa. In fact!! Makenna and I already tested out the camera and took a picture which I'll post below. She wanted to do a funny face and email it to Mimi and daddy. You'll have to excuse me, I have on no makeup! ((GASP!))

Everything else around here is pretty boring. Willard and I picked out a fabric we like for Marley's room. We are going to have curtains made and some throw pillows to put on the extra bed. Willard will be home on Sunday and he's going to primer the nursery. We still need to pick out a paint color but that will be easier now that we have a fabric picked out. The nursery bedding was on backorder and wasn't suppose to ship until the 20th of February but I got an email yesterday saying it was on it's way here! That was a nice surprise! I'm glad we'll be getting it sooner than later since we are convinced that Marley will be an early arrival. Which reminds me... If you haven't put a guess up on our baby guessing site you should. Here is the link: http://www.expectnet.com/games/KendallFamily Go and make a guess of when you think Marley will arrive.... do it!! right.this.minute!

Well Makenna and I are off to do some chores and perhaps we'll go run some errands.

ugh.

2009-02-03T19:42:00.002-06:00

i think i have the flu.

we had a midwife appointment today. marley moved!! she's no longer breech and her little feet are up in my ribs just where they should be. i'm 33 weeks and measuring 35 1/2 weeks. my pulse was high, almost 100 and it's usually in the 70's. i think that's because we did a lot of running around trying to get madison to the doctor and then get to our midwife appointment. we had to reschedule madison's appointment because we had been sitting there in the waiting room for 45 minutes and they had only called one person back. that never really happens with our doctor. a.n.y.w.a.y.

everything with the pregnancy seems good... illysa really thinks that marley will come early, around 38 weeks. i ordered our birthing kit today and am going to order our birthing tub tomorrow. we also had our first birthing class last night in austin. it was wonderful. there were three other couples there and our midwife is teaching it. it's a very involved class, unlike most hospital birthing classes. it was great and i'm so happy that willard will be there for all but the very last one.

we rescheduled madison's doctor appointment for tomorrow at 2:15. i bet they will say "it's the flu, give her fluids and tylenol/motrine when she has a fever"... well see.

All of our worrying was about...

2009-01-29T11:02:00.003-06:00

A FALSE POSITIVE! Basically what happened is this... the first time Illysa drew my blood was at my 28 week appointment and she drew my blood before she gave me my RhoGam shot. The lab called her and told her that blood sample was bad for whatever reason...something to do with my red blood cells. So at my next appointment at 32 weeks she re-drew my blood which was after she had given me my RhoGam shot. This caused a false positive blood test for the antibody screen. Illysa said she's going to check me again in a month to make sure my levels don't go up but as of right now things are looking good again. Willard and I are both so happy and excited! It was a huge weight lifted yesterday evening when we got the call. We can now go back to this being a regular pregnancy. We still need to get little miss Marley to turn around though... I'm sure she will. I envision it every day. Well I'm off to finish up the little bit of laundry we have left before this weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing some family and seeing a show of Willards. Soon it'll be way to uncomfortbable to drive 4 1/2 hours!

32 Weeks

2009-01-28T10:59:00.004-06:00

Last Friday I had my 32 week check up with Illysa, our midwife. We had to re-draw some blood work since the sample they got in was bad in some way or another. I was measuring at 35 weeks which is consistent with what I've been measuring. Marley is still breech and Illysa gave me some ideas on how to change her around. I can do pelvic tilts, bear crawls through the house with the girls, use ice packs, music, etc. It's still pretty earlier and there is still plenty of time for her to turn but she seems pretty comfy where she's at so it's a good idea to get started early. Her heartbeat was strong, as usual, and she is active. My blood pressure is excellent and I haven't had any swelling. Over all I'm in really good health and the baby seems healthy......

Now... the reason they needed to re-draw my blood was because Illysa was having them check for antibodies in my blood. I'm RH-negative and usually this isn't a big deal unless you're getting a blood transfusion or if you have a trauma in your pregnancy where your blood and your babies blood might mix. Early in my pregnancy this blood test came back negative that I didn't have any antibodies in my blood (which is a good thing), however, this second test came back positive. I've already received my RhoGam shot at 28 weeks which is suppose to help with the sensitization. Illysa called me yesterday and I instantly knew something was not right. I could hear it in her voice. She wanted me to go up to south Austin to the lab that does the blood work and have a couple more vials drawn. I guess they are going to test to see what I'm having antibodies too. It's all a little confusing. I've tried looking things up online but it's discouraging and makes me worry. Illysa said not to stress out or worry yet that we'll figure out the next step to take after we get back the results on the new blood tests. It's easy to say not to worry but what am I going to do? Worry. Cry. Wonder. Envision the worst. Hope for the best. It could end up being no big deal where perhaps the blood test came back as a false positive... I guess we'll find out in a few days. Illysa did say that this could complicate the pregnancy. I told Willard that I feel like I've done something wrong. I haven't fallen down, I haven't hit my belly with anything harder than the occasional bump into the door knobs because I forget how far my stomach sticks out now. I guess if we want to find any kind of good in this is that I am 8 months pregnant and if we had to deliver early Marley would have VERY good chances. According to my books and online sites she is approximately 4 pounds right now. My mom was only 4 pounds when she was born and has always been healthy. I need to remember to focus my energy on good things, like getting her nursery put together, reading library books to the other two girls, and thinking good thoughts about Marley and the pregnancy. Speaking of focusing my energy elsewhere I think I'll go and get some ice, lay on the floor and do the pelvic tilts and put some music on my belly for Marley. Perhaps I'll put on some Bob Marley for our little Marley Love...

If you pray, please pray for us and for Marley. If you don't pray, please keep us in your thoughts.

We love you all.... and for our families, we wish we were there with you. We'd love to be wrapped in your loving arms.

Wind chimes

2009-01-22T09:29:00.003-06:00

I think this is the first quiet morning I've had in a while. Makenna is content to be doing her preschool work book next to me instead of trying to wrestle with the three maniac dogs. There aren't any PBS cartoons on, no radio, no dogs barking in the backyard... all I hear is the occasionally growl from harry, aimed towards the other dogs, and of Makenna asking about her book. When it's completely quiet I can listen to the beautiful sound of our wind chimes out back. For some reason or another they give me a feeling of peace. Unfortunately living in the city I can't go out back and listen to them because the sound is interrupted by the LARGE amount of barking dogs in our neighborhood, our neighbor who does nothing but work on his cars and rev the engines (at all hours of day & night), the recycling & trash trucks, and cars passing on the near by highway. It's times like this that make me really miss The Farm aka Deer Creek Ranch aka my parents place. There you can sit outside and hear the peaceful sounds of nature, feel the cool breeze, the kids can run and play and not worry about cars or strangers, and the dogs have all the room in the world to be lazy. I'm excited that we'll be back there next weekend.... even if it'll be for a short visit. The girls are already talking about the summer and being able to swim again. Makenna told Madison just yesterday that she is taking her pink bathing suit to Mimi's and is going swimming. Madison in her most grown up, big sister way told her that nooo she couldn't swim because the water is freezing cold. Madison is growing up so fast and she has the great insight into the world. She is very good at listening to her teacher at school and when Makenna questions something and Madison has the answer she'll very gladly share it. I love how Makenna is learning so much from her big sister...both good and bad. Not only does Madison tell Makenna what she has learned in school she also teaches her how to yell, scream, slam doors, and over all act like she's a teenager. As I've seen with other siblings I know this will go on for ... well pretty much for forever. It seems that every 6 months Madison has a big "growth" spurt, but a growth spurt in maturity. The run that Willard has been on is consider a long one in our book. With these long runs usually comes Mom wanting to yank her hair out because the girls just aren't behaving like they do when Daddy is around. However, this time has been quite a bit different. Madison has been so much more helpful around the house and has been wonderful at using her manners. Makenna was doing so great up until a few days ago when it's like it finally clicked in her head that "HEY! Dad isn't home yet!" and she turned back into a terror. Thankfully those have been short lived fits. Makenna is becoming a bit of a smart mouth though. I believe it was the day before yesterday and she was outside with the dogs. She came back in and wanted something ... I can't even remember what it was, but something I didn't want her having right then ... it might have been she wanted a piece of candy at 10 in the morning, that seems like it, but anyway, so I told her she couldn't have a piece of candy and she threw herself on the couch and screamed at me at the top of her lungs "Mom you need to me more nicer to me!!!!!!" She kicked her feet at me and screamed again that I needed to be "more nicer". So I took off her tennis shoes, took her upstairs and told her she had to sit in her bed and think about what she said to mommy and she wasn't allowed to come back downstairs until she figured out what she did wrong and apologize. About 10 minutes later she comes down the stairs and tells me "I'm sorry mommy for yelling at you and you are nice". I'm glad Makenna's getting to the age that she knows what it is she did wrong and can think it out in her mind. I believe a big change with Madison is that she's preparing herself to be a big sister again. She notices that I need more help around the house. She notices that Makenna can be a terror and it's like Madison wants to compensate for that. When Willard is home I really want to take Madison out for a mommy & daughter date. Just thinking about Madison makes my eyes well up with tears. When I look at her I feel this huge amount of beaming pride come surging up into my chest. She is so beautiful, incredibly smart, compassionate, and caring. I'm proud to be her mother.

My quiet morning has just ended. The dogs are now wrestling with each other and Makenna has in her CD's and is the dancing queen at the moment. I'll leave you with my 31 week belly pictures and some pictures Makenna and I took the other day... I was having a rough day a few days ago and cried on the phone with Willard like the biggest baby. I was on and on about hating my hair, how it looked ugly and unhealthy and how my face looked old. So what does a girl do? She gets up the next day, showers, does her makeup and hair and decides to take pictures to see if she's really as ugly as she feels. Some of those are posted on here... I did feel better about myself the next day. It's like my body said "man, i haven't made her feel PMS is 8 months I'm going to play tricks on her".

31 Weeks

Marley & Makenna kisses Makenna w/ georgia
Makenna w/ Meadow
Makenna w/ mr. harry dog
i'm not sure if they are guarding us or if they are on the look out for their parents to come pick them up!

More Family

2009-01-19T16:28:00.003-06:00

I was looking back at my last entry and noticed that not all my pictures posted... kind of annoying. I was talking with more family today, and missing them as usual, so I thought I'd come back and post a few more pictures...hope they don't mind! This time I have Madison next to me and she's going to help me pick out a few pictures. Makenna has been a terror today and is upstairs taking a much needed nap. Actually she's been sleeping since about 1:45 and it's now 4:35. She must have been more tired than she thought.... Cranky pants is what she's been. Madison and I rarely get any alone time to hang out with each other so this is nice. She had been outside playing with Georgia and our house guests (harry & meadow) but after she got drug down to the ground by Georgia and scraped up she decided to come back in. Now, I felt bad for Madison because she does have some scraps on her left cheek and arm, but it was her own fault. Madison had a jump rope tied around Georgia like a leash and Georgia wasn't having that. I would have intervened sooner but I didn't know she had it around her until Madison came screaming bloody murder to the backdoor....then i saw the "leash".

And here are a couple of my handsome husband who has been gone for 19 days and will finally be home on saturday after 24 days on the road. All of us girls have missed him a lot! Saturday can't come fast enough!

I really miss family

2009-01-18T10:53:00.004-06:00

I miss my family a lot. Being 4 1/2 hours away doesn't sound far but it is to me. I thought that I'd be fine down here in New Braunfels, but no matter how many or what kind of friends you have, family can never be replaced. Families are always there... Families are the ones who surround you in the most important times in your life. Family is who I want to surround me, the girls, and Willard. We plan on putting our house back on the market the day after (or week after) Marley is born. I'm hoping we'll have better luck selling it this time around. I feel like I not only want to get back to the DFW area, but I need to get back.

My Family

Belly Pictures

2009-01-17T20:29:00.004-06:00

Here are my 29 week and 30 week belly pictures. I'll be 31 weeks tomorrow. I can't believe we only have 9 more weeks until our due date. Willard, the girls, and I have all made our guesses as to when Marley will be born and how much she'll weigh. I set up a website where friends and family can log in their guesses. Here is the website... http://www.expectnet.com/game.php if it asks for the game name it is kendallfamily (all one word). I'm going to post ours there soon.

29 weeks

30 Weeks

Our Friend Robin

2009-01-16T12:13:00.005-06:00

As some of you may heard there was a jet that crashed into the Hudson River yesterday. Our friend, Robin, was on that flight. I didn't even know about it until Willard called me upset about something. I could hear it in his voice when he said "hi." I immediately asked him what was wrong and he said "robin was in a plane crash...she's okay." I was shocked. I didn't even really know what to say. Willard said that her husband had just spoke with her and she was okay dispite what was going on. Willard told me he had to call me and tell me one more time that he loved me. It's one of those moments that you never expect. I mean... to have a friend or loved one in an airplane crash or to be in a crash? I will admit that when I fly I do get a little nervous at take off and landings but other than that I'm fine with flying. I don't need to take anything to calm my nerves or have a drink... it doesn't frighten me that bad. From what I've heard Robin should be home sometime today. To be honest, after something like that, I'm not sure that I could get back on an airplane for awhile. Although it is strange to think about how flying is actually safer than driving. People get so nervous and worked up over flying but in reality driving is much more dangerous.

Willard and I are both very thankful that Robin and everyone else on the flight are okay. I'm sure people must be thanking whatever higher power they believe in that they had the pilot they did for that flight. Amazing....

We love you Robin and are glad you're safe!

Poor Willard

2009-01-12T16:52:00.000-06:00

Willard and the band have been in Steamboat Springs, CO since the 4th or 5th of January. After going back on the road on the 1st he almost instantly started getting sick. While in Steamboat he ended up feeling horrible and possibly facing the flu. They left for another gig and had started down into a lower elevation... while that happened he said he couldn't get his ears to pop and that his head felt as if it would explode. He tried laying down last night and said "i tried to lay down and where my jaw and ears meet felt like Hulk Hogan trying to pop my head..." He decided to go to the ER in whatever town in Colorado they are in... He texted me at 1:15 this morning to let me know what they said... "it's a severe inner ear infection in both my ears...they are going to give me some ear drops, vicadin, told me I should take some benadryl, drink a ton of water, and hope like hell my eardrums don't burst...they're severely swollen" ... He called me again around 1:40 to let me know that they gave him a prescription for percoset, and amoxicilian, plus some pain medicine ear drops. I now know how he felt when I was really ill at the beginning of November and he couldn't be with me. He and I don't get sick very often and I feel terrible that he's out on the road and I can't help him. I can be there to emotionally support him but I want to be able to physically help him. It's one of those things that we have to go through with this type of lifestyle.

For the next couple of weeks the girls and I will have house guests. It's market time again for my parents and that means that we are taking care of the dogs, harry & meadow. They are like our step-children and I enjoy them coming to visit, however, at times it can get a bit overwhelming. It's only overwhelming because our house is a little small (1600 sq ft) for three golden retrievers and two kids. Harry is actually more like having a lion around.... Meadow is just psychotic about playing ball and is constantly walking around like a chicken with her head cut off. Georgia is very excited to have her best friends back around. I know she misses the farm when we have to leave. Madison and Makenna love having all the dogs around though. They are huge helpers when it comes to breakfast and dinner times.... And let me say not only is Meadow insane about playing fetch but she acts like she's never been fed before. Just yesterday Makenna sat on the couch next to Mimi with a bowl of trail mix snack and Meadow just walked up and stuck her head right in the bowl. Most dogs will at least walk up to you and sniff the bowl first or something, but not miss meadow.... She stuck her nose right on the food and tried to get a bite. It was pretty hysterical! You could set your watch by Meadow and dinner time. She likes to eat at 5:30 on the dot and will let you know if you are one minute past. Then she will continue to beg if you have food out and she even licks the silverware in the dishwasher! Who knew my dad would ever have such a beggar dog!!

Wish List & Baby Registries

2009-01-11T10:03:00.003-06:00

Here is my amazon.com wishlist - http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/2US1GGKJPW0KC

My amazon wishlist consists of a lot of pregnancy/birthing books that I'd really enjoy reading... I'm also contemplating making wishlists for the girls...

Also, we've had people ask about our baby registries, you can find them below... if for some reason the links don't work you can look them up by going to the target and babies r us websites and searching under our names (vanessa kendall and/or willard kendall)

Target - http://www.target.com/registry/baby/3OBQX5JGERGX3
Babies R Us - http://www.toysrus.com/ControllerServlet?target=viewDetails&operation=authenticate_user&registryNumber=83077000&from=registrySearch

It might be silly...

2009-01-11T08:54:00.004-06:00

Every sunday I read the postsecret blog (it's on the right side of my blog under "blogs i read"). When Willard is home on sundays we'll read them together.... and there are many times that i want to reach out and hug some of the people who have sent in their secrets. There are also times where I can't believe people do or think the things they do. There are four, i believe there are four, postsecret coffee table books and I really want to collect them. I'm thinking of making a wishlist on amazon.com. I've seen a lot of people who have these and have never really thought about doing it until now. There are books I'd like to have but can't always buy. I do go to our local library but they don't always have the books I want to read and if they do they usually only have 1 copy and it's almost always checked out. You know... I think I will make a wishlist. It'll have books on there and perhaps some kid and baby stuff..... I'll post it to my blog when I'm done. I guess it can't hurt to have it out there, right?

A Busy Season - Belly Pictures Also

2009-01-10T10:44:00.005-06:00

Who is a bad "blogger"?? I am... I know... The holiday's were very busy for us. Willard only had to work 3 days in December and it was magical having him home that entire time. We spent two weeks up at my parents house for the Christmas season. The girls spent about a week with their dad for Christmas. Everytime we are at Deer Creek Ranch (my parents place) we never want to leave. It's such a wonderful place to be.... and oh what a wonderful place it'd be to raise children. It's so nice knowing they can go outside to play and you don't have to worry about them getting hit by a car or a stranger trying to snatch them away. Being in the country is so peaceful. My mom has a nice digital SLR camera that Willard loves to take out in the creek and woods and take pictures of animals. He would spend hours just walking around outside and waiting on good shots of birds and other animals. We always hate leaving.....

Christmas was good to use and the girls. All I wanted was an iPhone for Christmas and I didn't really think I'd actually get one but on Christmas Eve Willard took me to the At&t store and surprised me with getting me one! It was such a wonderful christmas surprise. I got Willard a handmade leather bracelet that has his name handcarved on it and a handmade native american peace pipe, along with other smaller gifts like a photography book. The girls got what they asked Santa for.... Madison wanted CD's (rock, hip-hop & country) and science kits and Makenna wanted a Wonderpets CD and doctor stuff. Madison wants to be a scienctist when she grows up and Makenna wants to be a "people doctor." Not only did they get that stuff with other smaller presents but they also got a trampoline! My parents, Willards parents, us, and my aunt/unlce went in together and got the girls a trampoline. They are very excited and now we just can't wait to get it put together. Papaw is planning on bringing it down when Willard is back home so they can get it together.

Of course having Willard home all of December means that he will be gone pretty much until the baby is born. He left new years day (after a big show in dallas on new years eve) and won't be home until sometime on the 24th of January. They'll only be home for a few days and then they head back out again. We heard that Feruary is going to be the same way but aren't sure of his schedule yet. With him being gone so much as of right now he'll be missing every birth class we have. Our midwife, Illysa, is trying her hardest to work around Willards schedule and be flexible with us... She is such a wonderful person. If Willard isn't able to make any of the birthing classes then I'll be attending alone. It really makes me wish that we were back near our families so I could have someone I loved and trusted go with me. Whoever I'd take to the birthing classes I'd have to have at the birth and feel comfortable with that. Birthing at home is such an intimiate thing and I'd only want someone I was very close with...like my mom, sister, cousins or an aunt.

I had a check up with Illysa on the 8th. I had to get a rhogam shot since i have rh negative blood, had to have blood drawn and do a glucose screening. It was a day full of needles! I guess it's a good thing that I don't mind needles!! I'm only 5 pounds over my prepregnancy weight... I had lost 7 pounds so I guess I've gained 12 pounds so far. That is good and I'm feeling good... i'm all baby. At my previous appointment in December I had a "spike" in my bloodpressure to something like 120/80. Even though that is a very normal rate that was "high" for me. I usually have lower bloodpressure readings and at this appointment it was back to my baseline of 108/76. I've been taking calcium/magnesium pills to help bring it back down and it seemed to help. I also take omega 3 vitamins and they are HUGE. It's like taking a horse pill!! Between my prenatals and those other supplements I have to take 9 pills a day. There is no way I could have done that in early pregnancy. The baby is very active and moves A LOT at night time. It can actually keep me up some of the night. She also moves a lot after I eat. At the appointment Illysa discovered that Marley had gone into a breech position. She told me not to stress about it and to try visualizing her moving into the correct position. She also told me I could try talking to Marley and that could help. She said that it's still pretty early and that there is plenty of time for Marley to move into the correct position...... If at my next apppointment, in 2 weeks, she is still in a breech position then she'll have me start doing pelvic tilts. I think Marley has already moved though because the movements and kicks are in a different spot now. It feels like she's moved back into a transverse position which is what she was in earlier in the pregnancy. I laid in the bath tub last night on my left side and with my tummy suspended in the water and talked with Marley. I want a natural, home birth so bad.... Illysa also said that we might think about having another sonogram around 38 weeks to check on my low lying placenta. Illysa thinks that it has moved back up (which is something that happened with madison) and that we have no real worries, however, if it doesn't rise then I could have more bleeding at birth. We are going to talk about it since we have 8 weeks to decide. I think we might do it just for the "just in case" factor. We want to make sure that this birth can be as smooth as possible. I did purchase my birthing bikini the other day with Makenna's help. She chose a very pretty red color!

I am reading a few books right now to brush up on my breastfeeding skills before Marley gets here. I plan on trying to breastfeed her for at least 9 months, but I'd like to make it to a year. Makenna and I went to the library and I got a few books... a book called the womanly art of breastfeeing, the magic of encouragement: nurturing your child's self-esteem (i got this one for me to read about helping madison), and a book called a child is born. A child is born is amazing.. it has some of the most amazing pictures of babies in the womb from conception to birth. I got that one to show the girls... they think it's amazing to see what the baby looks like inside of mom's belly.

So, speaking of babies and pregnancy.... On Christmas Day I was told that I'll be an aunt again!!! My sister, Jessica, and her husband, Miles, are expecting their first baby due July 10. They waited until they were sure everything was good (12 weeks) to tell everyone. I started crying like a baby! I couldn't happier for them.

Here are some belly pictures from the last few weeks. I'm 30 weeks today....

25 Weeks

26 Weeks

27 Weeks

28 Weeks

Oh.My.Gosh. - she's updating w/ tons of pictures!!

2008-12-08T09:19:00.017-06:00

Here is a run down of the past month or so--

Before I got really sick at the beginning of November Willard and I had a midwife appointment on Halloween. I was measuring 24 weeks (I was only 20 weeks), and the babies heartbeat was 136 bpm. Everything checked out great. A few days before halloween I got my hair done and went really dark. Here are a couple of pictures..

Speaking of Halloween, here are some pictures of our scary, scary girls... We had a vampire and a witch!!

The day after Halloween I started feeling pretty blah... I ended up getting a bad stomach flu that lasted forever. On tuesday the 4th of november I was so dehydrated and started worrying about how I hadn't eaten anything in days so I went to the ER. They filled me up with lots of fluid and gave me a few things to try and keep some food in me. Even though I felt like crap and had been at the hospital all day (damn ER's take forever) I did stop and vote (mccain!). By thursday I was finally able to eat some grits and by the weekend I felt better and was nearly back to normal. Willard was out of town but luckily my mom was able to come down and help me out with the kids. I wouldn't have worried about being so sick if I wasn't pregnant. I was really starting to worry about the baby, especially since I couldn't keep anything in my body.

Madison turned 7 years old on the 14th of November. Her daddy james and his girlfriend, Christina, came down to New Braunfels to spend the night with her and Makenna. He took her shopping on Saturday and then we met back up with them. Madison was very excited that her daddy james came to visit her down here in new braunfels... it was the frist time since we've lived here. I know it made her feel very special. On sunday the 16th we had her birthday party. She wanted to have it at the Jumping Jym. It's a place that has those big blow up houses indoors. There were.... I think 4 or 5 different houses to jump in. She had a blast. She had just the right amount of kids show up. There weren't so many there that she couldn't play with all of them. Willard and I loved it because we didn't have to do anything. They take care of everything, like setting out the plates, cutting and serving the cake (in her case she wanted a strawberry cheesecake), and they write down the presents as she opens them, and does all the clean up! I have to say it's well worth the price to have that kind of help.

On tuesday the 18th of November Willard and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary. He took me out to a nice steak house here in town called Myrons. It was very delicious and we were grateful that our friend, Resa, watched the girls for us so we could have a night out alone. We both are in agreement about this first year flying by.... it doesn't seem like our beautiful, perfect wedding was a year ago. Here are some pictures from the wedding...

A couple days after our one year anniversary it was time for me to head to San Diego for the 3 day breast cancer walk. I flew out on the 20th of November with about 6 other girls (and some of their husbands) from our team. We had a team of 24 and 20 girls ended up going. When we got there thursday we all went to the hotel to get our bags and rooms squared away. Afterwards we met up down near ocean beach to eat at a very small but very delicious mexican food restuarant. Most of us went back to the hotel pretty early since we had to meet the shuttle to take us to the beginning of the walk at 5 am. At this point the hardest part of the walk was fitting all our crap into ONE duffle bag that couldn't weigh over 35 lbs. If it wasn't for Judy Hubbard helping me out I'm not sure I could have rezipped my duffle bag friday morning! =) On friday, the first day of the walk, they did a big opening ceremony which we all cried at. The weather in the mornings was very chilly but it quickly warmed up. The first day was a 21 mile walk. We had the "hill from hell" towards the beginning of day one... I'm not sure I have a picture of it but I'm sure one of the girls does. The first day I walked 16 out of the 21 miles. For being 23 weeks (6 months) pregnant I was pretty proud of myself. That night the only problems I was feeling were extremely sore muscles and my left knee was aching and sore. I went to the med tent with my tentmate, resa, and they adjusted me and helped stretch me out. It helped a little bit. You should have seen us poor women trying to walk to the dinner tents! We weren't able to walk it was more like an 80 year old woman shuffle. That first night my tentmate ended up having to go to the ER for some leg problems. That was the first and only night that myself and a few of the other girls camped out. I had a blowup mattress but it wasn't really working and sleeping on the ground and being as pregnant as I am just wasn't cutting it.

Day 1 Pictures:

My tentmate, Resa, and I

I walked for all three of my daughters

end of day 1... i walked 16 out of the 21 miles.

The 2nd day was harder for myself and for another teammate/friend of mine. I was having cramping at the top of my stomach. I was staying wellllll hydrated since the only thing my midwife said she would worry about was me becoming dehydrated and going into early labor. I walked the first 5 miles, sore as hell, and my stomach started cramping. They weren't contractions but I'm not entirely sure what they were. I had a sweep van (they are the vans that pick you up if you can't walk anymore) with a teammate, corbin, take me to a pit stop. When we drove past the hill we would have walked I was glad we didn't continue on. Once there we waitied for Shannon W. to get there and get her feet checked out by the med tent. She had blisters under her toenails and they told her she had to quit walking for the day. At first they told her she couldn't walk anymore for the entire time but then said that she could walk the 3rd day if she cut holes in her shoes or wore flipflops. She, Robin C. and I took a charter bus to the lunch site for the day. We ate lunch in a beautiful, cold and breezy park. There was a marching band that showed up to give the walkers support. It was a fun time. After that we took a charter bus back to camp and took down our tents so we could stay in the hotel that night. Robin C. and Shannon W. took very good care of me and were awesome to be around.

Day 2 pictures:

this is the hippy sweep van i took with 2 other pregnant women

Robin C.

Shannon W.

end of day 2 i walked 5 miles out of 19.6

total so far: 21 miles

On Day 3 of the walk I was feeling better since we took it easy on day 2, and it also helped that we slept in a hotel room. Shannon W. and I had discussed that we wanted to be able to walk more of day 3 and walk across the finish line then push ourselves on day 2. On day 3 I started out a little less sore but still not in a "race pace". Our team the first two days stayed together in little packs, but on the 3rd day we all wanted to stay together.... all 20 of us. Shannon W. and I walked all but 3 miles on the 3rd day. The only reason we didn't walk those 3 miles because they were in an area where there were no sweep vans and no bathrooms (which was big for me, LOL). More important than the bathrooms was that if we needed a sweep van we wouldn't be able to take one. I was still getting little cramps in the top of my tummy and I knew I wouldn't want to risk that. There are pit stops every few miles and they have plenty of water and tons of snacks. We all joked that we'd go home wanting to eat every 30 minutes! Near the finish line some of the husbands had brought flowers for all of us girls which was very sweet of them. When we got to the finish line I couldn't control my emotions any longer... okay throughout the 3 days I had a hard time controling my emotions... haha. When you get to the finish line you forget about the pain you are in and just want to cry. I broke down. There were hundreds of people at the finish line there to give you a high five and/or a hug. All those tears and smiles.... it was.... i can't even think of a word for it. It's just something you have to expierence. Once you get into the holding area you can go and get your victory shirt and sit and rest until they are ready to take everyone to the closing ceremony. I felt very proud of myself at the end... I didn't do the training like I should and maybe if I had I could have walked more... but to be 6 months pregnant I think I did a wonderful job. I will never, ever forget the expierence and emotion of it all.

Day 3 Pictures:

The Shirt says:

Nov 2007
Lynda and Joanie walk in first 3 day

Oct 2008

Lynda diagnosed with breast cancer

Nov 2008

Lynda and Joanie walk in second 3 day

Nov 25, 2008

Lynda will have surgery

Nov 2009

Lynda and Joanie walk in third 3 day

Liz's feet

Shannon W.'s feet

My "moms" on the walk, Shannon W. Robin C. and Me

the 36D Red Dirt Rockettes

The pink shirts are surviors who walked...

some still had bald heads from their chemo, how inspiring!

End of day 3 I walked 11.3 out of 14.3 miles
I walked a total of 32.3 miles out of 55 miles.

The San Diego 3 day walk raiesd over 11 million dollars and our team raised over $102,000. I personally raised $3,246.44! The girls want to do another walk in 2009 and they have decided on Scottsdale, AZ. I want to do the walk with them but I don't think I'm going to. It happens to be on the weekend of Madison's 8th birthday and I'm hoping to still be breastfeeding Marley. My goal of breastfeeding Marley is 9 months to a year. I've been thinking about doing the Dallas walk but I don't want to do it alone. I have plenty of time to think about it though.... If I don't do the walk in 2009 then I'll definately do a walk in 2010.

I got home from the San Diego walk on Monday the 24th of November and then the next day we packed up and left for Fort Worth for Thanksgiving. I'll update more about that with more pictures tomorrow (hopefully). For now I need to give stinky monkey aka makenna a bath and do some chores around the house before our Ragweed Christmas party this evening.

Until then.............................................

I Know! I Know!

2008-12-07T10:48:00.003-06:00

This past month I was HORRIBLE about updating and I have a mind full of stuff to say. I need to update belly pictures, update about the breast cancer walk, update about thanksgiving, post some wonderful pictures and update everyone on our midwife appointments to let you know how well little miss marley is growing.

I have things to take care of around the house today but I'm going to try to update tonight or tomorrow. We have a Ragweed christmas party tomorrow night but I'll try to update tomorrow afternoon if I don't do it tonight.

When Willard is home he's very distracting and it makes it hard to get on the computer and update. =)

BREAST CANCER WALK

2008-11-20T08:17:00.002-06:00

I'm off to san diego today for our 3 day 60 mile breast cancer walk..... my midwife just said not to stress out my body and to stay well hydrated so i don't go into early labor. I'm not concerned about making the 60 miles I just want to be there with my team and see san diego... i'm super excited!! I'll be back monday afternoon!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

2008-11-14T08:52:00.002-06:00

We are all alive and well... and update will be coming soon along with some more belly & family pictures.

BUT i would like to say............................

HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY MADISON!!! MOMMY, DADDY, MAKENNA & MARLEY LOVE YOU VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY MUCH!

You have turned into such a beautiful, sweet, caring, loving young girl and watching you grow up is a wonder. Mommy's precious first born beauty... I love you so much big girl!

Lack of updating

2008-11-04T07:22:00.005-06:00

We had another midwife appointment on Halloween and I'm sorry I haven't updated about it yet. Starting Saturday night I came down with some sort of stomach flu. It's unnatural for a 20 week (5 1/2 months) pregnant woman to not eat and that's exactly what I've done. I've tried broth and saltine's and even a little bread (which i threw up right away). I'm weak, and tired.... luckily I have an awesome mom who is driving 4 1/2 hours to come and help me out with the girls. I haven't slept in what feels like days. It's hard to feel like you've slept at all when you wake up every hour with the worst feeling stomach cramps. I talked to our midwife, Illysa, yesterday and she said if I wasn't feeling better today than I needed to go and see a doctor. I think I'm going to go to one of those emergency clinics seeing how we don't have a family doctor down here. We have a pediatrician for the girls but no general practitioner.

I will update about our appointment soon. I also have some pictures that I want to post of all of us before the sonogram, my 19 week belly pictures and perhaps a few of Willie Nelson from when we went to his show. I also need to write about that. I also have a couple of Halloween pictures to put up, and a few of my new darker hair do! If you can't tell a lot has been going on around here.

Belly Pictures & Baby Name

2008-10-26T13:35:00.011-05:00

We have decided on a baby name.....

Marley Love Kendall

Willard and I are both very excited about having a name for her. Before the sonogram we didn't have any girls names really picked out but within hours of the sonogram we had decided on Marley. It had been thrown out there by me early on in the pregnancy but then we were SO convinced that it was a boy that we only thought of our boy name. Our boy name was going to be Willard Houston Kendall. We were going to call him Houston. Houston is after my great-uncle who was killed at an early age by his logging truck. He was my grandpas brother and I thought my grandfather would feel very honored for our son to be named after his brother. The girls all have the "Lee" name (Madison Taylor Leigh) or sound (Makenna Kylie, Marley Love) in their names, after my grandpa, Willie Lee "Bud" Flowers.

I'm 19 weeks pregnant as of yesterday and I finally got around to taking week 18 belly pictures a couple days ago. Makenna, of course, insisted that she needed to have her picture taken also. Oh, and she has named her baby, Marley Kendall - no middle name. Willard and I are going to find her the most life-like baby doll we can for Makenna to have right after I give birth. We are even going to find the correct color clothes Makenna wants her baby to wear. She's very adamant about telling people about HER baby in HER belly. It's truly adorable and I'm anxious to see if she'll pretend to breastfeed her baby while I'm breastfeeding Marley. I also plan on wearing Marley alot when we run errands. Babywearing has become very popular throughout the last couple of years. I did it a little with Madison, but only had a baby bjorn carrier. With Makenna had a sling carrier that I used a lot more than I did with Madison. This time around I really want a Moby wrap and a Gypsy Mama wrap. Mei Tei carriers are also nice and when Marley gets bigger I might look into one of those, but starting out I want a wrap. Willard said that if we get a wrap that is a neutral color (i.e. black or white) that he'd also love to babywear. I think that is wonderful and when he does wear her I'm going to take lots of pictures because it's just so loving. He's already a wonderful dad and I'm so excited that he's getting to have a baby of his own DNA.

The other day we were discussing what we thought Marley would come out looking like. With Madison she had very, very little blonde hair that looked kinda... matted... HAHA... with smaller, rounder blue eyes. With Makenna she came out with a little more olive skin tone than Madison, with a lot more hair, that was brown and big blue eyes. From the beginning I was blonde haired and blue eyed. Willard, from what I've been told, came out with RED hair! You can sometimes still see some red in his beard (if you can see past all the gray!) and he has hazel eyes. For some reason I keep thinking that Marley will come out looking more like Makenna... darker hair and blue eyes. I'm not sure if Willard has decided what he thinks she'll look like. What we both know for certain is that she will be one beautiful little girl. And if she's anything like in the womb then she'll be a very very very very active baby. She kicks all the time, especially at night or after I've eaten. I love finally being able to feel her inside there!

Now, after the rambling, here are some pictures.... oh in another post I'll tell you all (with pictures that Willard has) on how he SURPRISED me and took me to see WILLIE NELSON (with all access passes). Yeah, my husband is amazing.

18 Weeks

Makenna's "18 weeks belly pictures"

Marley's First Outfits. The Brown onsie was picked out by Madison - all by herself. The cute pink one with the heart and love was picked out by dad. The one with green polka dot arms was picked out by Mommy & Makenna. After the sonogram we had lunch with my parents and then immediately after that we went to the outlet mall and looked around at baby clothes. We picked these all out before we even had a middle name... they are very fitting though, aren't they?

SONOGRAM RESULTS

2008-10-22T14:16:00.004-05:00

The baby was turned completely side ways and was a little hard to capture, except for the goods. The tech did have to push around to try and get the baby to move a bit so she could get measurements, etc. The tech couldn't tell us if things were good or not... a radiologist has to look at the pictures and measurements to make sure things are good, but the tech didn't seem worried about anything when she was measuring, etc. I also had to have a vaginal ultrasound done because she said it looked like my placenta is low. It is, but it's not so bad as to call it placenta previa... it's only a "low lying placenta". I had that with Madison and it went away.... i'm hoping it does that with this baby. My midwife had a birth this morning so we have to reschedule our appt we had set with her before the ultrasound. When she called this morning I was about to freak out because I was so afraid she'd tell me we'd have to reschedule the ultrasound. My parents were there, the girls, and Willard.... The girls were excited but then got bored as time went on. We only got two pictures of the baby because of the way it was turned. I'd like to have another ultrasound done so we can have more, but i doubt we'll need another one, unless they need to keep an eye on my placenta. Oh and no twins! LOL. We were very relieved to only see one baby in there. Here are the results.................

IT'S A GIRL

Tomorrow is the BIG day

2008-10-21T10:15:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow is the big sonogram day! Both of my parents ended up being down here, for other reasons, but are going to the sonogram tomorrow. We'll have Willard, Myself (obviously), both of the girls, and my parents. Crowded room but exciting. My mom was there for the sonogram of the other two and wanted to see this one also. My dad happens to be down for business and has been talked into going to the sonogram. I think he'll think it's pretty cool... especially if we do find out we're having a boy! We are still trying to optimistic about having a boy this time. We have a midwife appointment before the sonogram to make sure everything else is going as it should. Our midwife appointment is at 9 am and the sonogram is at 10 am. I'm glad we're having it early because I'd be going crazy all day if it was any later in the day. After the sonogram, if the baby cooperates and we find out the sex, we are going to go out and buy the babies first thing. Althougn, Madison already "bought" something for the baby. She was at the halloween store with daddy yesterday and saw these really funny teeth. She and daddy looked at the back and found out it's actually a pacifier! It's similar to this one but it's neutral in color, not pink. Madison and daddy thought it was the funniest thing! She's very excited about becoming a big sister again.

You can take our poll at www.totsites.com/tot/kendallfamily and scroll down to the bottom. We have a poll of whether the baby will be a boy or a girl. You can also leave a comment (here) with what your guess is.

We have quite the list of people that want to know after the sonogram... it'll be fun calling everyone to let them know what we're having. We do have a boys name picked out, but we aren't telling anyone. As for a girls name......... that will be a work in progress (if it is a girl). We're having a real hard time thinking of girls names. If it is a girl her first name will start with a "M" like the Madison and Makenna's. I also want "Lee" (the name or sound) somewhere in the first or middle name after my grandpa. If you have suggestions, feel free to email them to us or comment here.

Belly Pictures

2008-10-16T20:34:00.005-05:00

Our Sonogram is only 6 days away! We are getting very, very, very excited!! This was our try for a boy so keep boy thoughts and vibes headed our direction! =)

16 weeks

17 weeks

Gender Predictions

2008-10-13T12:08:00.006-05:00

I've been reading online about Old Wives Tales and determining the sex of your unborn child. Since I'm not showing enough to determine how I'm carrying, low or high, I haven't done that one. I did the wedding ring over the belly test.... it said a girl. Some of the old wives tales say if you are more nauseous then you'll have a girl. If you crave orange juice it's a girl. I haven't been "craving" orange juice but I've been drinking it a lot more than I ever have and it tastes much better than I usually think it does. However, I've been wanting salty foods instead of sweet foods which say it'll be a boy.

Here is another one I read:

"Here's another one for you... I found this when I was preparing my sister-in-law's shower. The Mayans determined the sex of the baby by taking the mother's age at conception, and the year of conception. If both are even or both are odd...it's a girl. If one is even and one odd it's a boy. This worked for most everyone in the group. I have tried it several places. "

Taking into account what is read above this is what I've got with the girls...

With Madison I was 19 and conceived in the year 2001. With Makenna I was 23 and conceived in the year 2003. With this baby I was 27 and conceived in the year 2008. So maybe it'll be a boy! Hahaha...

I did read one about Drano but I don't have any... this is what the person said:

". A friend of my mother's told me to urinate in a glass or jar with a tablespoon of Drain-o in it. If the mixture was green, it meant a girl; if the mixture turned blue, it was a boy. I tried this, and it turned green. I did have a girl, and so did my mom's pregnant friend (her mixture was green, too) but I'm still skeptical of this OWT!"

Here are more... I'll bold the ones that pertain to me....

Do you sleep on your left or right side at night? If you prefer your right, then you just might be having a boy. If you sleep on your left, a girl could be on the way. Even the dryness or softness of your skin can help you predict your baby's sex – if you have soft hands, expect a girl; dry hands, a boy. Moreover, many pregnant woman crave interesting foods, but supposedly the specific kinds of food you crave can indicate what sex your baby is. If you constantly want salty foods, like french fries, you're due for a boy, whereas if you have a taste for sweets, like chocolate pie, prepare for a girl. And the old wives tales hardly stop there. Do you feel clumsy or elegant as a pregnant woman? If you're dropping your keys and stumbling over pairs of shoes, you might have a baby boy on the way, but if you feel graceful on foot, it's probably a baby girl. Even the size of your breasts can be a factor. It's common to have asymmetrical breasts, so by examining which breast is larger, you can also put the clues together to your baby's sex. If a pregnant woman's left breast is bigger, it's a girl; if the right breast is, it's a boy. (they are very close in size but i think the left is larger. lol)

Furthermore, according to these recycled wives tales, morning sickness is not a symptom of every pregnancy, but only of those pregnancies of women who are carrying a girl. In other words, nausea means you better decorate the nursery pink. In fact, there are a bunch of signs you can look out for if you're having a girl. While soft hands mean you're having a girl, so do pesky breakouts on your skin. And if you're craving citrus fruits, or become rather plump in your face, or experience several emotions throughout the day, then you are having a girl.

I took this quiz: http://pregnancy.about.com/od/boyorgirl/a/quizboygirl.htm
the result was: Your score is 60%. Congratulations! According to the Old Wives it's a boy!

Makenna thinks that she is having a baby also... or rather she likes to pretend she is and talks about her baby regularly. She tells everyone that she is having a girl baby. We did the wedding ring test on her belly with my wedding ring and it said she's having a girl. LOL. I did that test with a chain AND with a strand of my hair (good thing I have long hair to tie the ring with)....

Took this quiz too: http://www.amazingpregnancy.com/oldwivestales/
the result was: 67% that the baby is a girl.

Another quiz: http://www.childbirth.org/articles/boyorgirl.html
the result: you have a 65% chance of having a girl.

Now.... with the girls.... I didn't have morning sickness with them. I had food aversions but never really threw up. With this pregnancy I've been sicker than I ever have been. I don't want to eat things I normally really enjoy and even last week (at 16 weeks pregnant & in the second tri) I threw up! I never break out and I have three pimples right now on my face. I didn't get those with the girls either. With the girls I felt beautiful almost the entire time. With this pregnancy I've felt really ugly and crappy until about a week ago. I feel better about myself now. So maybe this all means that we'll be having a boy since the pregnancy is so different than the ones with the girls............... We only have 9 more days until we find out!! Hopefully baby kendall will cooperate!!

Madison and Makenna have their own guesses as to what they think I'm having.

Madison's guess: She thinks I'm having twins, a boy and a girl.... she won't sway from this either.
Makenna's guess: She thinks I'm having a girl.

Final count of the old wives tales.......
Boy: 6
Girl: 10

I had a friend send me one more online quiz http://pregnancyandbaby.com/pregnancy/baby/Madame-Zaritska-predicts-your-birth-experience-736.htm.... It's about your birth, and here is what mine said:

Madame Zaritska, our resident clairvoyant, wants to help you prepare for the arrival of your child. Here she does her best to predict certain aspects of your labor and birth experience.

What she senses for you
The day you deliver, outside will be overcast. Your baby will arrive in the afternoon.
After a labor lasting approximately 9 hours, your child, a boy, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 7 pounds, 13 ounces, and will be 22 inches long. This child will have dark brown eyes and dark hair.

I did it again, just to see how different the results would be and this is what it said the second time around:

The day you deliver, outside will be hot. Your baby will arrive in the afternoon.
After a labor lasting approximately 6 hours, your child, a boy, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 6 pounds, 15 ounces, and will be 18 inches long. This child will have green eyes and a little patch of brown hair.

The second one I could see happening. Madison was 6 lbs 15 oz and makenna was 6 lbs 10 oz. And Willard has greenish eyes (depending on what he's wearing) haha

sick and miserable

2008-10-10T07:14:00.004-05:00

I have a cold or something like it. I've been feeling it now for three mornings. This morning I woke up and I have nothing much of a voice. It's a mere whisper. Makenna thinks she has to whisper since I'm whispering. I've been trying to explain to her in my whispery voice that she does not have to whisper that she can talk normally. She says "otay mommy"... in a whisper. She's pretty adorable. We are headed up to my mom and dads this weekend. We have been planning this weekend for awhile and had fun things in mind, either the state fair or six flags fright fest, but now that I'm feeling so bad I'm not sure what our plans will be. Mom said I didn't have to come up but I want too. I need a place where the kids can run around without me having to worry much so I can get some rest. My body is so achy, I can't stop sneezing, when I cough it's painful, my throat is swollen and now I'm without much of a voice. Oh the joys!! Of course, being pregnant, I don't want to take anything. I'm drinking tons of water, orange juice, and also emergen-c. I hope this blows over soon. It is not fun being the one in the household who has to take care of everything (Willard is gone again) and being this sick. This morning when I was getting Madison ready for school she told me "when we get to mimi and papaws house you can sleep as late as you want and I'll be quiet and get up and play with mimi" She's such a caring soul. I cannot believe next month she'll be turning 7 years old. I'm not sure where the time passes..... Also next month Willard and I will have our 1 year wedding anniversary. This first year of marriage has flown by and has been a great one. I love my husband more than any word in the dictionary could ever express. He is the greatest husband and father. I miss him right now. How I wish he was home to dote on me while I'm sick. =)

I'm off to gather up things to take to mom and dads. I didn't do any packing last night. I decided instead to finish reading Abundance. This is the 9th book that I've read in 2008. I shouldn't have stayed up as late as I did but I was only 50 pages away from finishing and just had too. It was a very good book. The writing was very vivid and you felt like you could actually see the time and places. After reading it I'm going to re-watch Marie Antoniette. I didn't really care for it the first time I saw it... perhaps I'll enjoy it more this time around. I also read Atonement and want to re-watch that movie as well. I'll be taking another book to mom and dads and maybe get a little reading in. I do most of my reading in a nice bubble bath or after the kids go to bed. I love to read and try to make time for it. I had set a goal of reading 3 books this year and I feel good knowing I've surpassed that. With all the big hype about the Twilight books I'm thinking of reading that series. I believe Katlynn has all books but one... I'll see if I can borrow those from her this weekend. I really miss all of my family in the Fort Worth area. Maybe something will come of the house soon. I try to optimistic but in these times it's really tough. I hate to see the entire United States and a lot of the world suffering. We are the greatest country on earth and we shouldn't be feeling pains like these. I hope it all gets worked out and the American people can go back to worrying about little things and not big things like "can i afford a tank of gas to get to work today"....

Trying to sell our house AGAIN

2008-10-08T09:10:00.005-05:00

I went and bought for sale by owner signs yesterday and spent a little time getting the "free" websites up and running for our house. Today I am going to print out brochers to put in the tube outside. We have dropped the price by nearly $9000 and are hoping that might help out with selling our house. We're now asking $141,000....

Here are some pictures of the inside of the house... pass along to your friends/family who are thinking of buying a home in the new braunfels (austin/san antonio) area. It really is a great home with a wonderful backyard. We'd stay in it if we didn't want to leave the area. There are also great neighbors and it's a great neighborhood for families.

http://www.owners.com/DAM1851

Belly Pictures

2008-10-05T10:35:00.009-05:00

I've lacked in getting these belly pictures put on here... I'm now 16 weeks and 1 day. Our sonogram is in 17 days! I'm dying to know if I'm carrying a boy or girl. I really hope the baby cooperates and lets us see his/her goods. Haha. I've been feeling much better with the exception of a few days here and there of feeling like crap. Willard got to come home for 36 hours this past week and he was home yesterday and today. It's nice to have him back home again for a couple of days. Today we are thinking about going and doing some halloween shopping and decorating. Willard leaves again tomorrow and won't be back home until the 19th of October and then a few days later we have our sonogram. Not much else has been going around here. We had a houseguest last weekend. Mimi came to visit and we all went to the county fair. We went last year also. This year we went at night time so the lights were on the rides and plus it just seems more festive at nighttime. It was nice having a weekend houseguest... it can get a little lonely around here when Willard is gone. I've been feeling really down that our house didn't sell this summer. I was really hoping to be back new the DFW area for the holidays. I wish we could just uproot our house here and move it to a piece of land in weatherford. I like our house just fine and think it's a great size for us, but I just don't like living down here in South Texas. I also really miss being around family. Like I've said in previous posts we'll try to sell our house again this coming spring after the baby is born..... Although, I wish I was giving birth up in the weatherford area because I want everyone to be able to see him/her when he/she is first born, just like everyone did with the girls. =/ Oh well! Nothing I can do about that now. This shitastic economy can be thanked for that. Hopefully once we get a new president in the office things will pick back up. Now I will leave you with belly pictures.... from 13 - 15 weeks.

13 weeks

14 Weeks

15 Weeks

Around Our Home

2008-09-23T17:29:00.009-05:00

See that sweet, beautiful little dog? That is Georgia. She's about 8 or 9 months old and is very well mannered. Willard and I had discussed getting the girls a golden retriever puppy for christmas this year and then one day while mom was looking through the newspaper she saw an ad for a "6 month old, registered golden retriever puppy, housebroken, and looking for a new home." She called us up and asked if we'd want a dog like that and we said "YES!" Mimi and Papaw ended up going ahead and meeting the people to check her out and purchase her. They sort of got scammed on her but she's turning out to be such a sweet, smart, loving young pup. Georgia did come housebroken and we are pretty sure she was 6 months old at the time (she just started her first heat which is usually around 8-9 months). However, now we aren't sure if she's full blood golden. Papaw thinks she might be part lab, but she's so kind that we don't care. She's been staying at mimi & papaw's house at what we've been calling "doggy boot camp" and getting all ready to come and stay with us. They have taken her to the vet and had her all checked out. She did have some sort of parasite that she's been treated for but everything else looks good and healthy. Georgia has such a gentle nature about her. She lets the girls lay all over her, wrestle in the floor with her, and chase her around. I wanted a dog like my parents, Meadow, and I think we've found one. Our previous dog, LadyBird, was nuts! It was clear after a month or so that she was not the right dog for our family. We ended up finding her a good home and we've seen her since. She seems to be really happy with her new family. Willard and I both feel like Georgia will end up being a great member of our family. The girls are very excited to finally have her at our house.

The girls are really missing their dad today. As you can see in the "Where in the World is Willard" section he's gone until Oct. 19. He's only been home for a day and a half since Sept 3. For me this lifestyle isn't so bad... If Willard and I didn't have children it would be a breeze, but we do have children. People think because children are young they don't understand the length of time. Our girls, especially madison, understand very well that her daddy has been gone for a long time. When Willard is gone we both do our best to keep him involved with things at home. He talks to the girls and asks Madison about school, and I tell him about our days... however, that isn't the same as being here. We are really looking forward to November and December where he will have some nice valuable time home with us. Hopefully he'll be home for Madison's birthday party this year. I'm not sure what day we are having it on but he does have off right after her birthday. Although, the only weekend he has off (right now) in November is when myself and the other girls from our breast cancer walking team will be in San Diego. We had Makenna's birthday party really early (on july 19 & her birthday was july 30) because Willard was going to be gone. I don't know what we'll do for Madison's.... Willard feels so bad when he misses the girls' birthdays.

Everything else is going pretty well around here. We had been trying to sell our house since March and never had a contract on it. Our contract with our real estate agent was up on Sept 7th. We decided to take it off the market. We tossed around the idea of selling it For Sale By Owner. Dad was here monday night and this morning and he and I talked about it. If we did put it up that way I would only want to give it until december and then take it back off the market until the baby arrives. I'm already pretty attached to my midwife and I wouldn't want to move while I was 8 months pregnant. My midwife does know of some really good midwives in the area where we want to move and she said she could transfer my care very easily. She's wonderful for offering to do that if we sold our house but Willard and I have a bond with her already. I really wanted to move back up near our family. Things aren't the way we thought they would be here in New Braunfels. Willard is always telling me to be optimistic but it can be really hard sometimes. With the housing market the way it is I tried being optimistic... hopefully once someone new gets in the white house things will get better. Hopefully. We'll try again after the baby is born and hopefully we'll have better luck the next time around.

Two More Recipes

2008-09-17T12:38:00.003-05:00

This first recipe is something we made last night. I'm sure everyone (and their mother) has made stuffed shells before. This recipe is very basic and is out of the American Cancer Society Kids First Cookbook that I bought for the girls. They had fun getting to mix all the stuff together and stuff the shells. It ended up tasting pretty good... next time I might try spinach instead of broccoli. The girls liked the broccoli but I use to make this really good spinach lasagna when I was younger and I bet these would be good with spinach in there. Also, we made 16 shells instead of 12. They fit in our baking dish and I knew that Madison would eat more than 4. I was right and she ate 5 1/2. =) She's a hungry, growing kid.

Super Giant Sea Snails
*makes 4 servings*

1 1/2 c. broccoli florets

1 (8 oz) package part-skim ricotta cheese

1 egg

1 (16 oz) package jumbo pasta shells, cooked

(you'll want 12 unbroken ones for your recipe)

1 c. pasta sauce

Preheat over to 350 degrees F.
Cover bottom of casserole dish with 1/3 cup of pasta sauce. Bring water to a boil and drop broccoli into the boiling water. Cook until tender; drain. When cool, cut the broccoli into little pieces.
Combine chopped broccoli, ricotta cheese, egg and rest of pasta sauce in a bown and mix well.
Stuff the mixture into each shell and arrange in a baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

The girls and I put more pasta sauce on top of the shells before we baked them. When they were done baking we removed the foil and sprinkled an italian cheese blend on top. Like I said, it's very basic and you could fix these up however you wanted. The girls had a good time getting to help.

The next recipe is one we are trying today. It's a slow cooker recipe... I'll post what it is and then I'll let you know how it turns out at the end of the day. Hopefully it'll be good. This one was a little hard for me to make, but ONLY because I DO NOT like to touch raw meat. I will do everything in my power to avoid touching raw meat. So, having to shape this into a loaf was..... hard for me. Especially with the fabulous gag reflex I still have going on with this pregnancy.

Easy, All-Day Meatloaf and Vegetables
*makes 6 servings*

4 lg, or 6 med potatoes, sliced
6 carrots, sliced
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 c. cracker crumbs
1/3 c. ketchup
1/3 c. finely chopped onions
3/4 tsp. dried marjoram
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Place potatoes and carrots in slow cooker. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp. salt
Combine remaining ingredients. Mix well and shape into loaf. Place loaf on top of vegetables, making sure it doesn't touch sides of slow cooker.
Cover. Cook on low 8-10 hours.

*remember - don't peek. It takes 15-20 minutes for the cooker to regain lost steam and return to the right temperature.*

Speaking of the pregnancy .. I have been feeling so much better. I can eat meals now, even if they are small due to heartburn, and smells aren't getting to me as badly. I haven't thrown up in about a week but man have I been dry heaving. Oh the joys!! As I've mentioned before i wasn't like this with the girls. Madison has school pictures today. She was very excited and was practicing her smile this morning. I think she's excited to show off her two top missing teeth.

Recipes

2008-09-17T12:38:00.002-05:00

This is the recipe I made yesterday, and mentioned in my previous post. It's out of a Weight Watchers cookbook... if you are interested in the points value, it's 6. The kids loved this recipe. I'm going to put another recipe that's really easy and from the same cookbook that the kids also like. With the chicken with apricots recipe the only thing I had to buy were the scallions (which i used for another recipe earlier this week), the chicken (which cost me $12 freaking dollars since i got the all natural), and the dried apricots. I had everything else (except the peanut oil)... which i thought i had but it was sesame oil.

Chicken With Apricots
*makes 4 servings, 6 points*

We made this with orange rice. You replace one third of the water with orange juice when you cook the rice. We also had steamed green beans as a side.

2 tsp peanut oil (i didn't have this so i used corn oil)
2 scallions, thinly sliced (keep white & green parts separate)
1 lb bone/skinless chicken breasts, diced
1/4 c. chicken stock (or broth)
3 tbsp. rice-wine vinegar
3 tbsp. ketchup
2 tbsp. sugar
1 c. chopped dried apricots
1 tsp. cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tbsp. water

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil. Saute the white scallion bulbs until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken and saute until browned, 2-3 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the stock, vinegar, ketchup, and sugar. Add to the chicken mixture; stir in the apricots. Cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 3-5 minutes. Stir in the dissolved cornstarch; cook until the sauce thickens. Sprinkle with the green scallion tops and serve.

Cheddar Chicken with Warm Black Bean Salsa
*makes 4 servings, 5 points*

We usually eat this with this all organic basmati rice mix from costco, or brown rice. We put the rice down and then top it with the chicken dish.

4 (3 oz) thin sliced skinless chicken breasts (1/4 inch thick)
1/2 tsp. dried oregano, crumbled
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper
3/4 c. shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
1 (14 1/2 oz) can mexican-style stewed tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp. chopped cilantro (optional)

Spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray; heat. Saute the chicken until lightly browned, about 3 minutes; then sprinkle with the oregano, salt, and pepper. Turn over and saute until cooked through, about 3 minutes longer. Sprinkle the chicken with all but 1 tablespoon of the cheese.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring the tomatoes and beans to a boil. Top the chicken with the black bean salsa, the remaining cheese, and the cilantro and serve.

This is another recipe from the same weight watchers cookbook. This is also kid tested and approved =) I think I'll make this next week.... I need to go back to the grocery store.

Pork Chops with Sweet Potatoes and Pears
*makes 4 servings, 8 points*

"Pork's richness marries well with sweet and fruity accompaniments. You could use pineapple chunks or apricots in place of the pears, or substitute leftover winter squash for the yams"

1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. curry powder
3/4 tsp. salt
4 (4 oz) boneless center-cut pork loin chops
1 (15 oz) can yams in light syrup, drained
1 (15 oz) can pear slices in pear juice, drained (reserve 1/2 c. juice)
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves, crumbled
1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil. In a large sealable plastic bag, mix the flour, curry powder, and 1/4 tsp. of the salt. Add the pork and shake to coat.
Transfer the pork to the skillet; saute until cooked through, about 3 minutes on each side.
Meanwhile, cut the yams into bite-size chunks; add to pork with the pears, reserved pear juice, thyme, pepper, and the remaining 1/2 tsp. of salt. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, about 5 minutes; uncover and simmer until pork is cooked through, about 2 minutes longer.

Aliens & Appointments

2008-09-16T21:19:00.003-05:00

I'm watching ABC about the alien sightings, etc..... it gives me the chills.

I completely & totally believe in ghosts and aliens.

Anyway.

I had another midwife appointment today. I'm measuring right on track at 13 weeks and we heard the babies heartbeat again. This time the rate was 145 and we could hear him (her) kicking! My blood pressure was 110/70 and my pulse was 80. She said I'm looking great and eating well... although she says I need to eat more protein. It's hard eating 70-80 grams of protein a day. Willard is gone for the next 33 days and he had to miss this appointment so it was just myself and miss makenna. Makenna keeps telling people that she has a baby girl in her tummy. So Illysa (our midwife) let her lay down and Illysa measured makenna's belly and then used the doppler on her so makenna could hear her babies heartbeat. You could hear makenna's heartbeat pretty good through there so she thought it was her babies. It was SOOOO adorable! Illysa is also going to have some insurance lady try and get our insurance to pay for parts of our birth. We have blue cross blue shield and Illysa said they are horrible at paying for midwife births. It makes NO sense to me since it's cheaper and safer than a hospital birth. Annnnnnoooyying! Our appointment next month is our SONOGRAM! Yay! I'm so excited to finally see our baby. I think I felt it move the other day. It was like a butterfly flutter in my lower left hand pelvic area. Illysa said it probably was since that's where they baby is when we listen for the heartbeat. I can't wait to start feeling it regularly. I've been feeling so much and i'm gratefuly to finally be in the second trimester.

Madison lost her other front tooth the other night so for christmas i'm going to teach her the "All I want For Christmas is my two front teeth song" =) It's so adorable! I also signed her up for girl scouts. She'll be meeting every 1st and 3rd thursday from 6-7:30 pm. She's very very excited about girl scouts. I never did girl scouts so I'm not real sure about everything but she's thrilled.

Okay I'm off to have a snack after my amazing dinner i made... to bad i still can only eat tiny portions or the heartburn goes through the roof. I'll put the recipe in here tomorrow... the girls LOVED it.

12 week belly picture

2008-09-10T13:02:00.008-05:00

Here are a couple pics of my 12 week belly... makenna even took a pic of her 12 week belly. =) She's a cutie pie. Today is the first day that I've actually felt pretty since finding out we're pregnant on july 17. i've been depressed and feeling like the ugliest, fattest woman in the world. It's nice to feel good again. I think the morning sickness has finally started to go away. we have another appointment with Illysa on September 16th. I cannot wait to hear the babies heartbeat again. it still feels kinda surreal. i know we've heard the heartbeat but once i start feeling the baby move and i start to grow more of a belly then it'll feel more real. and of course once we have our sonogram that'll make it all real!! we have decided that we'll find out the sex of the baby during the sonogram... if maybe cooperates! makenna cooperated just fine but madison... she was a bit shy the first time. with madison had three sonograms just to make sure she was a girl =) with makenna i only had the one sonogram but they told me she was "100% a girl!". I'm hoping that on october 22nd they'll tell us it's "100% a boy!" we are still talking about names and nothing has been set in stone. we have a couple of ideas on boy names but really don't have anything for a girl. if they baby is a girl we want the name to start with an "M" so the girls don't feel weird about having "M" names and a different last name... but there aren't a lot of "M" names that we like. oh well... we still have several months until we need a name =) okay, i'm off to make makenna and i some lunch.

Hurricane Ike

2008-09-09T21:03:00.002-05:00

see where it shows the yellow (tropical storm) we live about right there... basically that storm looks like it'll travel straight up interstate 35... looks like we'll be getting some wind with this storm. willard and the guys are playing near ft. hood on saturday and usually they play outdoors... i wonder if they are that night? their forecast is similar to ours. the day after that he has off here at home and then he has part of the day off monday and he's back on the road again and won't be back until sometime around the first of oct. hopefully the first week sometime..... things here are going pretty good. i've actually felt pretty good this week and feel like i'm finally getting over the morning sickness and gag reflex. throwing up and dry heaving are not fun to do. i never had that with the girls so i wasn't really prepared to feel so shitty. nothing much else is going on right now. i need to take a 12 week belly picture but haven't done it yet. I'll be 13 weeks on saturday and entering my fourth month and second tri! =) Pretty exciting.

Saturday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 86. Windy, with a northeast wind 30 to 40 mph becoming southeast. Winds could gust as high as 50 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Saturday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. Windy, with a south wind 25 to 30 mph becoming northwest 15 to 20 mph. Winds could gust as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

12 Weeks

2008-09-06T11:11:00.003-05:00

I'm 12 weeks today.

Willard has only been gone a few days but I already miss him.

This is going to be one long month. Although we did find out yesterday that he'll have the 14th off at home and part of the day the 15th. Hopefully that'll help break up the month long run a little. After having him home so long in August & July this is going to make it hard to get back into the swing of things. He will have two weeks off in November and December so that'll be nice.

I think I'll take another belly picture later today.

My Husband The Streaker

2008-09-03T14:16:00.002-05:00

Yes I'm proud and yes he called for "permission" =) he's the first naked guy and the second is another crew member. Life on the road.....

Belly Picture - 10 weeks

2008-08-29T09:54:00.006-05:00

Here are two pictures of my 10 week belly. I'm going to be taking pictures of my belly every few weeks so I can keep track of how it looks.... i wish i would have done this with the girls, but sadly I didn't. I'll be needing some new jeans soon.. they are starting to get tight where the zipper is. I started showing about 4 - 4 1/2 months with Makenna and they say the more children you have the earlier you'll show. Right now I'm 3 1/2 months, so I'm sure in the next few weeks I'll start showing a little more. I'm excited about showing but even MORE excited for the morning sickness to GO AWAY. I never had morning sickness quite like this with the girls... it's not fun at all. And willard... he's been the best throughout all of it so far. When he's home he's been taking such good care of me. He's been cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, and taking care of the kids when I needed a nap. He's a perfect husband and I'm going to miss him like hell when he's gone all of september.

10 weeks 10 weeks 4 days

Breaks My Heart

2008-08-28T12:07:00.007-05:00

I received the following emails within hours of each other the other day....

One is from a friend, "J", that i've known since i went to tech. We haven't seen each other in years but we do stay in touch via email & myspace. i got this email in response to an email i sent out to our family and friends regarding the baby/pregnancy. i cried and was so sad when i read this. =/

"Congratulations again... I am so happy for you. P***** and I went in for our 12 week sonogram only to find that I had miscarried again.
They said the heartbeat had stopped, but left me with no answers as to
why. They said everything looked fine, they don't know what
happened. We are crushed...I pray that everything goes well for you; I'm
sure it will!!! Keep me updated... J***"

This email is from a friend that I've mentioned in other posts. She was due a week after I am in March and I knew she was miscarrying but didn't know all the details. I also cried when I read this. She and I had discussed how we'd feel/do if we found out we were miscarrying but I don't think either of us ever expected it to actually happen. i know she's a strong woman and she'll be okay but my heart still aches for her.

Well, I had to go back to the Dr. today because the bleeding hasn't let up(11 days and counting). Turns out that my cervix is still
closed, the "gestational sack" is still in tact and the embryo is still in
there. I haven't miscarried yet. The baby just quit growing at 6
weeks and basically just quit forming (died, really... according to my
books but it just sounds better the "medical" way). The Doctor was a
little concerned because it hadn't "expelled" yet and I have to have a D and C
done tomorrow morning. It kind of scared me at first because he felt in
there and it still "felt" like I was pregnant, so he "rushed" me to an
ultrasound. First, I was just supposed to see the nurse
practitioner and then they said "we are having you see the doctor instead"...
that kinda freaked me out... then to hear him say "rush" about an
ultrasound... geez...

But, I know D and C's (or
DNC or whatever) are a pretty common procedure. I didn't know they
would put me under... just thought they would give me something to "relax"
me and then do their thing. But, he said I should be able to go
back to work on Wednesday and start training for the walk again next
week. SO... J******* and I have to be at the surgery center at 5:30 in
the morning. I am dreading that because, as most of you know, I am not a
morning person. :) Either is J****. Anyway, I just wanted to
let you guys know.

Everything happens for a reason. I am a big believer in that. So, I am just ready to get this over with! I will let you guys know how it all goes. Not expecting
anything but good drugs and good sleep tomorrow. ;)

Love you all!
C****

This is a total of 4 people just this year that i've known who have had miscarriages. It didn't seem to be so common, what is going on? People joke that "something must be in the water" when a lot of women end up being pregnant at the same time, but it makes you wonder if there is "something in the water" that can make this happen. All 4 of the women that this has happened to are healthy young women. One of them even had a surprise pregnancy 7 years ago and never had any problems and now has a 7 year old 1st grader. The other three are all childless. =( It really bums me out....

We have another midwife appointment on sept. 16 and Willard won't be home for that one. in fact he'll be gone all of september. BOO =) We also set up our next few appointments... so we have one set in October. That one is Oct 22nd and we are scheduled to have our sonogram. Willard (and the girls, and everyone else we know) wants to know what the sex of the baby is but I would like to be surprised! I think he'd be fun to give birth and hear willard or Illysa say "it's a boy!" or "it's a girl!" Willard and I do think that it might be easier to help the girls adjust if we know the sex. We'd be able to decorate a little easier and buying clothes would be easier. It's sad that the only gender nautral clothing is all green and orange! I did find out with both of the girls but I really needed to plan things out and know what I was having. This time around it'd be fun to be surprised, but we'll see. The only thing I do know is that we are having a black crib and the girls will be having bunk beds. The bunk bed thing is funny because Madison, since we moved into this house, has been wanting bunk beds. BOY is she excited that it's finally coming true. She has the coolest daybed right now and we plan on keeping it. I think what we are going to do is put it in the babies room and have it as a guest bed/extra bed. It's black in color which is why we're going to get a black crib. I'm only 10weeks 5days and I can't wait to start decorating the babies room.

This weekend we are heading up to the DFW area for one of Willards big shows. It's the Red Dirt Roundup and I'm really excited. There are some awesome bands this year and it'll be fun to see willard have a bunch of fun lights. Last year he didn't get to do everything he wanted since Ragweed didn't close their show the black crowes did. So this year should be fun! It'll be strange not being able to have a nice cold beer while listening to a lot of good music. =)

What else has happened this week................. Madison started first grade!! Willard has all the pictures on his computer but there are a few on his blog that you can see. I need to get the pictures off his computer the next time he's home. She has a sweet, young teacher, Ms. Van Deldon, and Madison adores her so far. Madison is very, very, very, very excited about being in first grade. This year she wanted to try riding the bus. In fact, last year she wanted to ride the bus, but I felt she was to young. So this year we decided to let her try it out and see if she likes it. She was adament about trying it and told me it's what big kids do when they go to school. I was worried because it picks up so early, 6:44 AM!! The time doesn't seem to phase Madison though. She gets up at 6:10 am and is spunky and ready to go! She jumps up out of bed ready to get dressed and have breakfast. She said that she has three friends that ride the bus. Two girls were in her class last year (and one is again this year), Topaz & Jenna, and then Madison said she made friends with another girl... whose name escapes me at the moment. Our house sits on a corner of a cul de sac and the bus picks up right in front of our house. Great location! =) We have to be home for the bus to let her off so she gets dropped off around 3:15 and is ready for a snack! I'm very proud of Madison. She has such confidence in herself and her ability to make friends. She's growing up so fast. She's turning into such a young lady.... I'm very proud of her.

A Heart Beat

2008-08-21T17:23:00.000-05:00

WE GOT TO HEAR THE HEARTBEAT TODAY!! Illysa didn't have much trouble finding it... she said that baby was cooperating wonderfully. The heart rate was 170-180 bpm and she said that was a great & strong heartbeat. We scheduled our appointment for september, october, and november already... We have a sonogram scheduled for October 22 and if we want we can find out the sex of the baby. Since twins run in our families and I've been seeing twins everywhere I did ask her if she could have heard two heartbeats but she said (since they don't do a lot of sono's) that she'll be able to tell when I start to get around 18 weeks and up. We are having our sonogram when I'm 18 1/2 weeks and they'll be able to see two babies, if there two. tears ran down my face when we were listening to the heartbeat. Willard had teary eyes and the girls were so excited. I think madison understood what was going on more than makenna did. makenna was pretty cute though... she really took a liking to our midwife. she wanted to be near her and when illysa was measuring my uterus makenna was right there next to her wanting to see what was going on. it was adorable. she did say that my uterus is measuring right on target also at 9 to 9 1/2 weeks... which is what i am! I'll actually be 10 weeks on saturday. last night and today i've felt the best i've felt since finding out we are pregnant. i actually felt okay after eating dinner last night and felt pretty good today except for my need for a nap around 2:30 this afternoon. willard was so sweet and let me go lay down while he stayed up with the girls. after a nap (although not long enough) i had to get up because we had Madison's back to school night. Madison was very excited about taking her school supplies and meeting her teacher. Her teacher is new this year and is young... she seems very anxious and excited. I think she'll be better than Madison's teacher last year. Her teacher last year had been teaching for like 25 years and she just seemed like she didn't care anymore. There are a couple of kids from her class last year in her new class. She's also very excited that they have their own desks this year instead of the little tables. She's very excited for school to start back up...

More About Baby Kendall

2008-08-20T09:38:00.004-05:00

With Baby Kendall we are going to be using a midwife. We did some interviewing earlier on in July and picked our midwife. Her name is Illysa and she's delivered over 100 babies. She's very calming and nuturing and seems like a perfect fit for Willard and I and our new baby. We are planning on having a home/water birth. This is something I wanted to try with Makenna but for reasons I won't go into here that didn't end up happening. I've done a lot of research on the subject of midwives and homebirthing and I think it's going to be an amazing and spiritual expierence for everyone involved. We already had one appointment with Illysa. We did the usual health background information and then she drew my blood to run all the tests that need to be run. Illysa said that Madison and Makenna are welcome at all prenatal visits and she says that involving them in the beginning will help with the adjustment to having another sibling in the house. I think it can be a great learning expierence for the girls and I believe it will make their excitement grow! We told the girls on sunday august 10 and they were THRILLED! When we sat them down to tell the girls we shared a drumstick ice cream cone and told them that we had a surprise for them but they would have to guess what it was. Willard gave them clues, like it has legs and arms and it's something they've been asking for... Madison guessed it was "ugh another dog" (haha) and about 7 guesses into Makenna says "A KID" HAHA... a kid. she's so funny. We told them that YES mommy and daddy were having a baby and Madison kept saying "CONGRATULATIONS MOM & DAD!" and would give us each the biggest hug! Makenna wanted to see pictures of the baby so I got out my week-by-week pregnancy book and showed her some pictures. We also got on the computer and looked up some great pictures of what the baby looks like right now. ( here is a link to week 9, i'm 9 weeks and 4 days today). We have an appointment with Illysa tomorrow and we're hoping to hear the heartbeat. If we were seeing a doctor we probably would have already had a sonogram, they really seem to start doing those earlier and earlier now, and would have seen the heartbeating... i'm very anxious about hearing the heartbeat. I never worried with the girls about a miscarriage but this time I'm more nervous. It stems from a few people I know having missed miscarriages and having to have DNC. Just yesterday a friend of mine who was a week behind me and due on the 29th of March discovered that she was having a miscarriage. She said the baby had attached but just stopped growing at 6 weeks. I was so heartbroken for her. I was so looking forward to being preggo with her! She's also a walking teammate of mine for the 60 mile walk i'm doing in november.... we were going to be pregnant walkers together. =/ i'm so emotional & hormonal that even now i'm crying. Willard is being awesome with me through my "morning" sickness, which actually takes place in the early afternoon until bed time, and he's been amazing with my hormones! I swear I cry at the drop of a hat!! I never really felt this way with the girls so we're hoping that means this baby is a boy... please send us any boy vibes you can. We won't be disappointed if it's a girl but it'd be really nice to have a little boy thrown into the mix. A little Willard.... awwwwww.

I'll update after our appointment tomorrow and hopefully I'll have news of hearing the heartbeat!

The Past Few Months Through Pictures

2008-08-16T17:02:00.009-05:00

July 4, 2008-

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

July 17, 2008 -

Willard and I found out that we were expecting baby #3. A Baby Kendall is on the way!!

http://www.totsites.com/tot/kendallfamily

July 19, 2008 -

We had a Luau birthday party for Willard (bday july 14), Papaw (bday july 21) and Makenna (bday july 30). It was lots of fun and Mimi & Papaw got to show off their new, beautiful pool to family and friends.

August 2, 2008 -

Makenna was bit in the face while she was visiting her dad. It's healing much better now and is looking pretty good. We're keeping vitamin E oil on it to prevent scarring.

August 11, 2008-

Our new nephew, William Weston, was born to Meredith, Caleb and big sister Morgan at 10:31 pm. He weighed 6 lbs 1 oz and was 19 3/4 inches long. Happy Birthday Weston!

August 16, 2008-

Daddy started his own blog to keep up with on the road for family, friends, random strangers and other lighting people.
http://willardslighterside.blogspot.com/

Happy Fathers Day

2008-06-15T12:41:00.004-05:00

HAPPY FATHERS DAY DADDY!

It's fathers day today and Willard has to spend it on the road in Grand Rapids, MI. He does have the day off on the road, but he has to spend it "alone" and not with his most favorite girls in the world. =) The three of us girls are spending fathers day at mom and dads house. We are going to pick blackberries, play in the brand spanking new pool, and cook dinner for dad. I have to say I'm going to miss my sisters being able to join us and I know dad will miss it also. As much as we'll be having fun today our hearts will only be half in it. Willard misses a lot being gone on the road and most people have this thought that it gets easier. It doesn't get easier... In fact I believe it's getting harder. It's not getting harder just for me, but also for Madison & Makenna. Over the past three years Willard has taken on the role as "Dad" with his entire heart, and the girls realize that. Madison is really at an age (she'll be 7 in november!!!) when time has meaning and she understands that when daddy is going to be gone for 23 days that that is a long time. Makenna is still at that younger age (she'll be 4 next month!!!) where time is a little less understandable. She knows that daddy has to go to work for a long time but the time doesn't feel the same as it does for Madison. Madison has become quite the daddy's girl the last 9 months or so. She gets excited about telling daddy about her day and misses him being able to see her artwork in school or come to school field trips. I have a feelings this will only continue to get harder. Luckily, we are all very strong and our family relationship is built on love, and I know it can with stand time.

Here is a poem I read about Dads. It's perfect for Willard since he's the girls father in every sense, except biologically.

What Makes a Dad

God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,

He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so,

He called it ... Dad
-author unknown-

Getting Back

2008-05-01T08:51:00.003-05:00

i feel like i need to get back to basics. somewhere along the way i feel like i've lost a part of myself. i'm hoping our house sells soon and i can get back to being near family. i feel like i am missing out being 4 hours away. as i've gotten older i've gotten closer to my family. i thought that might be impossible, since we are such a close family, but everyone is growing up and having families and our family is growing. i want to be near that. friends come and go but your family is there forever. i miss going out with joey and dustin and willard and tom ... drinking some beers with friends. going to the free shows at 8.0's. i miss having a babysitter (thanks mom) and being able to have some free time as an adult.

i love staying home with makenna and being able to pick madison up from school but i feel stuck. i hate feeling like i'm stuck in one place. it's depressing. in truth, i need a night out without kids, i need to hear some good red dirt music. i need a couple of beers with some friends without chasing around two little girls.

willard and i had a night out in austin, after the guys played this past weekend, and it was so nice. we ate a real nice dinner, had a few drinks, came home and then sat out on the back porch for a little bit. not to repeat myself but it was so.nice. i miss having dates with my husband. at times willards job gets hard. it gets hard for him, for me, and for the kids. there are times he's gone that seem so long and other times it seems to fly right on by. but even though he is usually gone for all the family functions we have, and most holidays, i wouldn't trade it. it's definantely a lifestyle a lot of people couldn't handle, and it's not always easy but it is the road we've chosen and i like it. i do wish he was home for the girls' birthdays more, but i'm hoping that when they are older they will understand better. i think that's the hardest part about willard being gone - the girls. they really miss their daddy when he's gone. especially madison. man is she a daddy's girl when he gets home. it's so sweet.

alright - enough of this for now.

other big news: the band that willard works for will be on the DAVID LETTERMAN show on JUNE 30th!! Pretty fucking awesome.... AND THEY ARE OPENING UP FOR JOHN FOGARTY on may 4th. Don't know who John Fogarty is? He's the singer from Creedence Clearwater Revival. This is HUGE for the band and for the music genre they are in. Really exciting.

and now i will leave you with a few pictures since it's been forever.

Thursday Ramblings

2008-03-13T09:41:00.003-05:00

Some of the girls on our Breast Cancer walk wanted to make a myspace page to promote on. So I made one up. You can view it here: http://www.myspace.com/rdr3day
I'm pretty proud of how the layout came out with our links, etc. =) There are a couple of other girls that signed up and one more is thinking about it! We could very easily have 12-13 girls going on this trip. How freakin' exciting!!

PaPaw has been down this week and last making calls in the San Antonio and surrounding areas. I'm wondering if he's tired of Makenna's I'm-Three-And-Going-To-Throw-Fits attitude. She's about worn me out the last couple of days. Next week is Madison's spring break and we are driving up to mimi and papaw's to enjoy some time away from the house. Willard gets back on Easter and we'll be doing a pot luck lunch with some of the band/crew people down here in New Braunfels. I think that'll be fun. Madison is really looking forward to her spring break. She said she's getting tired of school and all the mean boys. You wouldn't believe some of the stores and things those kids do! It's pretty aggravating that these boys are so disruptive at such a young age. I'd hate to see how they're going to be in Junior High, and on.

Willard is in New York City today. WHO IS JEALOUS? Me!! They've been to Boston and they were in the city my dad was born in yesterday, Ridgewood, NJ. Tomorrow they'll be in Washington DC. I think Washington DC is the ONLY City in the USA that Willard has never been too. I wish Madison's spring break would have been this week and I could have gone on this run with the guys, but oh well, one day I WILL SEE THE EAST COAST. hahaha.

Lady Bird is doing good... she better watch out though, if she doesn't stop her digging she might have to go footless. It's driving me nuts. That's exactly what we need while trying to sell the house, freaking holes in the yard. I try to keep her in as much as I can so she doesn't have time to dig. Annoying. She sure is a pretty cute sweet pup though. She surely fits into our household and Madison is still being the best Dog Mommy.

Today we are suppose to go Landa Park with Madison's best friend Kendyl and her mom Michelle but if it doesn't clear up we might have to skip. It's just a bit chilly and really overcast. Yesterday was a gorgeous day so we spent all afternoon, until about 6:30, outdoors riding bikes and scooters. Madison even gave her roller skates another shot. She's doing pretty well... still needs some work. Those are hard to just jump on and know how to do. BUT she's sticking to it, so that's good. Lady Bird always goes with us on our walks around the neighborhood and she's doing wonderful on her leash. Madison & Makenna both want to walk her but she's getting pretty big (31 pounds now!) and she about drags them down. I think Mom and Dad will stick to walking the dog for now. =)

Okay well it's about time for me to wrap this up and finish up a little laundry. Being gone for a week takes a lot of packing for the three of us. Not so much me but packing for two kids who just love to get dirty at the farm... yeah, Mom has to prepare big time.

My First!

2008-03-08T08:31:00.003-06:00

I received my first donation last night! It was a small donation of $5 from a friend. But this friend is single and moving and living in a new state, and doing a lot of other wonderful things, but she took the time out of her evening to donate $5 to me. As I said in my original post every little bit of money adds up.

If you haven't taken the time to check out my personal page, please do so. I'm very serious and excited about doing this. I was reading about the training last night and WOW. I'm glad we signed up early because the training is going to be hard. You have to start out walking 6 days a week at 3 miles a day. I can do the 3 miles but I don't know if I can do the rate they suggest. Then you have to add on some sort of cross training with your walking. They also suggest that you walk on different terrains and in different weather. Time to start getting new shoes, clothes, etc. I CAN'T WAIT!! This will be such a wonderful experience. I think it's even more awesome since we have a team of 9 girls. Yes 9! There are some other friends who are thinking about joining and I hope they do.

I've updated my personal page here:

http://08.the3day.org/site/TR/Walk/SanDiegoEvent/1945813888?pg=personal&fr_id=1187&fr_id=1187&px=1819575

It is now time to go back to reality and make the pretty little girls some breakfast.

I DID IT!

2008-03-07T17:03:00.003-06:00

I SIGNED UP!! I'm very excited about this... It's something I've actually wanted to do in the past and never did. This year a few of us crew/band/friend wives/girlfriends/friends have made a team and are going to san diego to participate in a 3-day breast cancer walk! Here is a little more about what I'm/We're doing!

This year, I'll be participating in a very special event called the Breast Cancer 3-Day.

On November 21, I'll be walking 60 miles over the course of three days, camping out at night with thousands of other women and men taking this journey with me. The net proceeds will support breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment through Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund. I've agreed to raise at least $2,200 in donations. I've set my personal goal at $3000. So I need your help. Would you please consider making a donation in any amount? Keep in mind how far I'm walking - and how hard I'll have to train.

You can give online at www.The3Day.org. Just follow the link below to visit my personal fundraising webpage and make a donation. If you don't want to donate online, please download and print a donation form and mail it to the address on the form. Or you can call 800.996.3DAY to donate over the phone.

– My personal site is located here: http://08.the3day.org/site/TR/Walk/SanDiegoEvent/1945813888?pg=personal&fr_id=1187&fr_id=1187&px=1819575

– And our team site is located here: http://08.the3day.org/site/TR/Walk/SanDiegoEvent/1945813888?pg=team&fr_id=1187&team_id=40791

According to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, approximately 200,000 American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, and nearly 40,000 will die from the disease. That's why I'm walking so far. To do something bold about breast cancer. I hope that you'll share this incredible adventure with me - by supporting me in my fundraising efforts.

Thank you in advance for your generosity!

Picture Post

2008-03-02T22:16:00.012-06:00

I finally got some pictures off my camera... Enjoy!

Cousin Morgan is growing up!

2008-03-02T11:46:00.004-06:00

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY MORGAN!

Cousin Morgan turned four years old yesterday! The girls picked out three little books to send to her. Madison picked out a big sister Dora book since Morgan will be a big sister in August. I can't believe that Morgan is already four years old... that means that in about 5 months Makenna Kylie will be turning four! Man how the time flies. Somedays it feels like it was just yesterday that I was pregnant with her. I have some cute pictures of her/morgan/me/mer/madison somewhere... I need to find them and post the pictures. The girls really wished they could have been with Morgan on her birthday. When we called they were going bowling and let me tell you the girls LOVE to bowl and Madison is actually pretty good at it.

Willard is in Oklahoma City tonight and will be home tomorrow morning. He's only been gone about a week but we are excited that he'll be home for a couple of days. I'm eager to show off how I've taught Lady Bird to sit, shake, stay. She's not very good at laying down yet. Whenever I try to get her to "down" for the treat she plops down and rolls over to her back! Which is also what she does if she's in trouble, or wanting to chew on you, or doesn't want to go to bed. She's such a funny dog. Actually she's not only funny but the girls and I have decided that she might be a little insane too. Especially first thing in the morning. Her ritual is: be let out of crate to use potty, come back in and groan at us to be fed, madison feeds her and then Lady Bird decides that it's time to chase her tail for 5 minutes. Every morning she's chased her tail. She'll even catch it and chew on it. Madison laughs so hard every time I'm surprised she doesn't pee on the floor like Lady Bird does when she's excited. Lady Bird is also the most trash and grass eating dog I've ever seen. Our sloppy neighbors behind us have a german shepherd that has eaten everything they have back there so now their backyard is nothing but trash. With all the damn wind lately it keeps blowing in our backyard. Every.Single.Time that I turn around Lady Bird is finding a new piece of trash to devour. I have to fake her out to catch her. If she thinks you are coming towards her she starts running circles. Like I said INSANE... but fun. =)

Alright. It's lunch time. I need to see what I can put together since we desperately need to go to the grocery store. I'm a nice wife and I'm waiting until willard comes home so he can accompany me. Hehe. I sure do have a wonderful husband....

Schools & Fundraisers

2008-02-28T15:34:00.002-06:00

All these fundraisers are driving me crazy! How much money do they think parents have... not to mention the "activities" we have to do out side of school. For example, just this month we've been having the box top fundraiser (which isn't hard since we buy products that have those) we had a cookie/pie/cake fundraiser, and today they are having one at chuck e cheese, AND sent home a scholastic book fair fundraiser thing (our 4th or 5th this year). Plus we've had to provide the teacher with goods for the valentines party, and stuff their classroom needs (tissue, hand sanitizer, etc). We are broke until the first of march, and at school today they gave the kids stickers for the chuck e cheese thing. Madison got out of school all excited that we were going to chuck e cheese. I feel horrible. Chuck e cheese isn't a cheap place, especially for a family of three (willard is gone). She was crying in the car and I'm trying to explain to her why we can't go. I promised her that during March we'd take her best friend, Kendyl, to chuck e cheese and they could play as long as they wanted. I drives me nuts that they go on and on about this stuff at school without knowing how the parents feel.
Of course I want to support the school and make sure that Madison has what she needs but good lord.

Oh and NOT TO MENTION that we have to make stick horses at home for some texas days thing they are doing at school. So have to go and buy the stuff to do that. Grrrr. We are lucky that we have some money but what do the poor people do? Many schools have poor people and I can't imagine what they must do about these things.

Welcome Home Lady Bird

2008-02-27T13:30:00.008-06:00

The newest addition to our family is . . . .

Lady Bird - the dog

We are very excited about having Lady Bird (yes the name is from the dog on King of the Hill) with us. So far she seems to be a very well mannered, content pup. She's about 3 1/2 - 4 months old and is a beagle mix. We believe she's got some hound in her. We weighed her about a week ago and she was already 24 pounds. We are hoping she'll get a little taller. The girls are in love with her. Madison is actually the one who gets her out of her crate and takes her outside to potty, gets her breakfast ready, and feeds Lady Bird. She's being a very good "mommy" to her and it makes us very proud. We got Lady Bird from Becky & David. They adopted her but their other dog wasn't liking having Lady Bird around so we brought her home. We had been wanting to get a dog later in the year, a larger dog, but we got to spend the weekend with Lady Bird and just couldn't say no to brining her home. She seems to like it around here... now if we can just get her to stop biting the girls on the ankle all will be great!

In other Kendall news - we met with a real estate agent earlier this week and are contemplating moving back up the Fort Worth area. If we get things squared away with getting the house on the market, hopefully it'll sell in the summer, and we can move back. Things usually don't go as planned but we are hoping they will. If not then we'll look at moving back next summer. So please send "selling the house at a great price" vibes our way! Oh and if you know anyone wanting to move to New Braunfels let them know about our adorable house! =) It really is a wonderful place to live down here but we miss our families. With new families growing and sisters having babies we want to be closer. It's hard enough having Meredith in Montana and not seeing Morgan grow up. And now with her second on the way ... who knows when we'll get to see him/her. Hopefully we'll be able to take a trip up there someday.

Willard left last night for a short little run - only 4 or 5 days and then he'll be back home for a few days. It's always so nice having him home! When he was home he managed to lock himself out of the house while we were an hour away in Austin watching Cousin Brandon swim for state. Go Dad! Ha. That was an expensive lesson learned. While he was home we also went to Landa park last sunday and spent a few hours there. It was such a gorgeous day so we made sandwiches, snacks, and gathered some toys and headed to the park. We all had a blast playing soccer and softball. After that the girls wanted to ride their scooters around so we rode towards the wading/swimming hole they have there. We didn't anticipate playing there but we thought "what the hell" so we let the girls get in in their clothes. They thought it was the funnest thing! I guess it's the simple things when you're a kid. If life was always like that huh?

It is time to go and get miss madison from school ... I will leave you with a few pictures Mimi sent last night. (we are very jealous of her new awesome camera and the pictures it takes!)

Makenna Kylie:

Madison Taylor Leigh:

Big Sister - Little Sister:

Lady Bird:

Recycling

2008-02-13T12:25:00.004-06:00

It bugs me that the recycling in this area, and most, is only picked up once a week. They take the time and spend the money for trash to be picked up twice a week, but only once for recycling. That's not even the biggest part that bugs me. We have giant green trash cans that we are allowed to fill compeletly twice a week, but the recycling bin sizes are a joke. I can nearly fill a recycling bin in two days! I thought that buying a seperate trash can to keep in the house for just recyclable stuff would help but it doesn't. By the time thursday, recycling day, rolls around I've got the bin, trash can and another trash can full of stuff that can be recycled! Come On!! I know it costs money, etc etc but the earth would be better off if we spent that money.

Okay I suppose I'm done with my rant. =)

Today has been a productive day for me! It is so amazing what a person can/will do when they get enough rest. I've been an isomniac for a few days now and it was wearing on my brain and body. It also helps when the kids stay in their beds! Makenna stayed in her bed last night until about 5 this morning. That's great for her. Ha. She usually ends up trying to sneak in bed with me around 1 or 2 in the morning, and once I'm woken up then that's it for me. I'll toss and turn and moan and groan but i'll never fall back asleep. Madison very very rarely tries to sleep with me anymore. She doesn't get good sleep when she has to share a bed. She does like to sleep with me when Dad is gone and it's the weekend though... That way she can sleep in without Makenna knocking on her door to wake her up. Makenna idolizes her big sister right now. She wants to do anything and everything that Madison is doing. She even tries to pull her teeth so the tooth fairy will come see her. And Madison in true big sister form hates it. Although Madison does a wonderful job of trying to help Makenna out and play with her. I don't care who you are after you live with someone for years they'll eventually do something to get on your nerves.

I hear the oven beeping. It's lunch time for the chunky monkey a k a Makenna Kylie

A Parents Bible

2008-02-12T10:24:00.000-06:00

I've begun reading a book called Parenting with Love & Logic and I believe this might be my bible to parenting. My mom had dr. spock, which I have and used while they were little, but it doesn't get into the nitty gritty of toddlerhood and childhood. Perhaps this book will help me grasp why Madison does some of the things she does. She's a great kid but there are days where I'm dumbfounded by what she says/does. As for Makenna... I don't think I need help with her yet. She's just being a three year old, and man can I remember how Madison acted at age three. Forget about the terrible twos with our girls it's all about the threes.

Valentines Day is on thursday and I really need to get something for the girls. The problem - I never have time away from little miss makenna. Last year Willard was home so we were able to get them things but it's hard to surprise them when Makenna knows every little thing that goes into the shopping cart. When she chooses she has eyes like an eagle.

Makenna and I are off to look at some cards, read books, and take a nap (hopefully)

Nearly A Year

2008-02-10T21:56:00.001-06:00

It has been nearly a year since we wrote in our blog. Things got crazy around here in New Braunfels. Aunt Becky had Sterling, and then Mom and Dad went on a cruise. On the cruise Daddy proposed to mommy and she said YES! They got married on November 18th, 2007! Madison was the maid of honor and Makenna was the flower girl. The day and wedding couldn't have been more perfect. We are very glad that Daddy joined our family.

In August Madison started kindergarten at Hoffmann Lane and she's loving it! She's made a best friend there named Kendyl who also lives right down the street from us. They spent every moment together at school and most days don't want to leave each others sides. It's pretty cute!

We had a great christmas. We got to spend our christmas morning with our mimi, papaw, daddy and mommy at mimis house. Santa brought us just what we wanted, brand new bikes & backpacks. Madison learned how to ride her bike without training wheels right after school started! Daddy was home to teach her and she caught on in three hours!

We found out on the new year that we are going to have a new cousin! Aunt Meredith is expecting a baby due at the end of August. Cousin Morgan is going to be a big sister! We are very excited for them and cannot wait to find out if we're having a boy or girl cousin. We wish they lived closer but we know we'll be able to visit Montana one day.

Madison has lost her first two teeth. They are both on the bottom and now has a top tooth loose. The tooth fairy did come and visit and it was very cool.

Makenna is now, finally, potty trained and is being such a big girl! Now we just need to get the nightime pottying down. She's going through her terrible three's right now and mommy & daddy are counting down the days until she turns four! Hopefully she'll stop being so bossy and mean to her sister. (yeah-right) =)

Well that is all from us tonight.
Love,
Madison & Makenna ... and mommy too.

New....

2007-04-19T20:49:00.000-05:00

YES!!! We know.... We've been horrible at updating this. It has been a rather busy month. We did add a bunch of new photos to our photo site. We have some pictures of our new "cousin", Sterling Weldon-Ray Malone. Becky had him on Tuesday, April 10th. He was 6 lbs 12ozs. He has a beautiful little face and seems so sweet. We loved getting to hold him at the hosptial.

We started our swimming lessons and are doing AWESOME. Mommy has to be in the pool with Makenna but Madison does it on her own. We've been blowing bubbles in the water and last time we got to jump off the edge of the pool! Madison jumped off the side, touched the bottom with her feet, and kicked back to the side. Madison's very close to being able to swim by herself. Makenna does pretty well except she has a hard time paying attention. She does love swimming to songs.

We know this is short and sweet but we must go.

Miss everyone,

Us two.

R.I.P.

2007-04-06T20:57:00.000-05:00

we will love you forever eighteen, and miss you already.

Request

2007-03-28T15:15:00.000-05:00

Okay, a few things!

First we added some more random pictures on our photo site. Just a few new albums and the new tags that were added are: dogs, family, misc, 4 of us. When you go to the album page it says at the top " search tags" on the upper right hand side.. you can search for them there.

Secondly, daddy lost a lot of pictures on his computer a few months ago when it crashed... Mommy has a lot on another website, and also has quite a few of us when we were younger, however, we would love more! If you have any cute pictures of us, mom, dad, the 4 of us together, pictures of you, your animals, or family pictures we'd like more!

We have to go now because daddy is working outside in the yard and it's so pretty we want to play. Already been on a walk with mom this morning but we love the fresh air.

love,
M&M

Our New Photo Site!

2007-03-25T13:31:00.000-05:00

Mommy and Daddy made a new photo site that'll be easier to share our pictures. There are going to be pictures of us, mom, dad, trips, family and friends! They are setting up different albums that you can go through the pictures, download them, or you can even order prints! There are several tags for the pictures. Tags are "descriptions" for the pictures, and if you do a search, for example of "madison", it'll bring up all the pictures that have a tag of madison. We'll list the tags we have up so far... because for some reason it doesn't show them.

Here is the link:

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/madmakreid/albums

And the tags are:

albuquerque
madison
makenna
nature
panther canyon
random
uncle willard
vanessa
vanessa and madison
vanessa and makenna
willard
willard and madison
willard and makenna
willard and vanessa

We're Still ALIVE!

2007-03-24T21:00:00.000-05:00

-- a note from mom --
We are all still alive... I know it's been awhile since the "girls" have written in here but we've been so crazy busy with Daddy being home. For this entry Madison wants to practice typing out her name. There will be a real update coming either tonight or tomorrow. Love to all.

_______________________

MADISONRMADISONMADISONmadisoN REID!!

A Week Of Minor Accidents --

2007-03-01T17:54:00.000-06:00

This week has been full of accidents and sickness. Mommy and Makenna have both been feeling down in the dumps. Makenna seems to be getting better and Mommy sounds worse than she probably really is.... Earlier this week Madison had one of her famous break downs after Mommy told her she couldn't have ice cream after her lunch. She had already been acting up that day, and was in trouble. She started throwing a fit and mommy went to put her in the corner. Madison started her jumping up and down and nailed mom right in the chin. It shot moms head back, her ears started ringing and she bit the side of her tongue. It swelled up so bad that she could hardly talk that night, and next morning. There are a few pictures below, but they don't show the pain it has caused, even up until today. Mommy also had a bruise on her chin... Lots of fun. The next two days after that Madison was a near angel.

Mommy wasn't the only one that had an accident this week. Mommy likes to take walks around the neighborhood when it's nice out. Madison prefers to ride her scooters. This time around she wanted to ride her two-wheeled scooter instead of the three-wheeler. She's gotten SO good at riding her two-wheeler one, but she got distracted by another kid, a boy nonetheless, and crashed and burned. Mom thought it was sort-of funny because, to be honest, Madison needs to toughen up a little. She wants a band aid everytime she thinks she's hurt... Can't go to big kid school being like that. So, mom told her everything was fine, she's a tough kid and mom would get it cleaned up when they got home. Madison refused to get back on the scooter, so mom folded it up and put it in the bottom of the double stroller and walked her back home. She cried nearly the entire way back. There are also pictures of this boo-boo down below.

When Dad gets home next week, and after we get home from DFW, Madison is going to start learning how to ride her bicycle. Who knew two years after falling off a NON moving bicycle she'd still be scared to get back on! Lordy, We know Mimi remembers this... Does anyone else? She got the bike from Santa and we took it to Aunt Debbie & Uncle Larry's house to show off and so she could ride it... Mimi wanted to take her picture, Mad didnt' have her helmet on, the bike started moving and madison fell off the side and scratched her head...! That was it! Nothing very traumatic about that, but she still remembers that incident. Now, Makenna can fit on the bike - with the seat all the way down - but she is so uncoordinated she can't peddle. Madison is growing out of the bike really fast... BUT she did see some younger boys riding their bikes (after mommy told her she needed to take off her training wheels and learn to ride with two wheels) and decided that she wanted to try riding like a "big girl." SOOOOOO we shall see how that works out -we will keep you updated.

Today is Morgans 3rd Birthday!! Wow we can't believe how big she is getting. Madison talks about her often and wonders when she'll get to see her again. Hopefully soon! HAPPY BIRTHDAY COUSIN MORGAN! We mailed your birthday present last friday so hopefully you should have it... we put a picture of the pretty wrapping that Mad & Mak picked out. We hope you like it.!!

Tomorrow we are going to playnastics with Shannon & Dierks. We are looking forward to playing with some other kids and getting out of the neighborhood. It should be lots of fun.

Dad gets home on Monday and then on Wednesday we are driving up to Mimi & Pawpaw's house. Harry had to have surgery today, so when we get there we can't wait to give him big hugs and kisses. Our poor harry bud... Such a sweet boy. Mom & Dad are going to New Mexico on Thursday - which means we get MIMI & PAWPAW TO OURSELVES!!! We are soo super excited, Makenna has been chatting about! We are also going to stop and visit with JJ & Becky. We can't wait to see how big Becky's belly has gotten.

Well, we have to go now, Mom is making us clean up the MASSIVE mess we have made in our rooms. If we don't hurry she is getting the trash bag out and cleaning up, and we don't want that.

Love to everyone,
Us
Morgan's Pretty Present!

Moms Nasty Tongue... It was a lot worse than it looks here.

Mads New 'Do!

2007-02-22T17:11:00.000-06:00

Mommy took me to a real salon today and got my hair cut. I was such a big girl, I sat on the "kids" seat and smiled and put my head where she instructed me. Makenna was also a very good girl while we were there. She sat with mommy and looked through magazines. I wasn't scared or anything! It feels so much better with all that hair gone. I think the hair stylist cut off about 5 inches. Man I needed that....
Here are more pictures!

Love,

Madison T.L.

man i'm sassy!

More Pictures & LIBRARY CARDS!

2007-02-15T11:09:00.000-06:00

Gosh, how could we forget about our library cards?? Yesterday after we went to the children's museum we stopped by the NB Public Library. Mom & Dad got us both signed up with our very own library cards!!!! HOW EXCITING! We stayed there and looked at books for nearly an hour. Madison ended up picking out three books and one movie to check out. Makenna picked out two books, one about numbers and the other about opposites. Mom didn't have her new drivers licences yet, so she'll have to wait to get her card.

Anyway, here are more pictures of us and other stuff.

♥
M&M

Pictures from our drive towards Canyon Lake ... only 15 miles from our house.

Random Pictures::

Makenna's Room --very girly!

Eating Lunch and playing in the backyard. We have alllll this grass, except on the side where they ran out, and all we want to do is play in the dirt... haha

Walking to the mail box. It wasn't even that cold out, but I love to put my hands in my pockets! And I got myself dressed! Look how good I did!!!!

Yummy Chili!

See my hat next to me?? I LOVE HATS! --who knew?!

Our last week...

2007-02-14T16:53:00.000-06:00

We have had such a good time this last week. On Friday Mimi came down to stay at our house and play with us girls. She got her just after lunch. We were sooo excited to see her. That night, Aunt Debbie showed up too! We all had a lot of fun. While they were here we went to the outlet malls. It was cool because Mimi and Aunt Debbie got a new bed for Madison's room and a cool new zebra print lamp. Madisons new bed is like a big princess rock star bed. Mommy and Daddy got a Griddler for a house warming present. They have already used to cook steaks and pancakes! While we waited for Daddy to get home this weekend, all us girls re-arranged Madison's room. It looks really cool! Both of us girls got new shoes this weekend also! Makenna's light up when she walks and Madison's are the color of the rainbow!

On Sunday, Aunt Debbie had to leave early. That afternoon, Daddy got home. After he got home, Mommy, Daddy, Mimi and us went out to eat some really good Mexican food. We loved the salsa. After lunch we drove around and showed Mimi where Madison is going to be going to kindergarten later this year. We had already had a long weekend, so we decided to go home and play until bedtime. Mimi was nice enough to sleep with us every night!

The next morning Mimi had to leave before lunch. While Dad has been home we've had a lot of family time. He has been tucking us into bed and the other morning we let mom & dad sleep in. Makenna slept in until almost 11 o'clock!!! Madison was in bed just chillin' when mommy went in to check on her. She told mom & dad " I was letting you get some extra sleep." --pretty sweet! We all went to the store the other day and bought loooots of groceries. Mom talked about going to the river walk and having dinner but instead we all went on a walk around the neighborhood. We piled into our new wagon, that mimi brought down for us, and daddy pulled us around while he and mommy looked at other peoples landscaping. In the middle of our walk we went to the common area and dad & madison kicked around a ball for awhile. Madison has gotten great at throwing and is doing wonderful at kicking the ball.

Today we all went to the McKenna Childrens Museum. It was sooo much fun! We got to walk around their caves, camping sights, banks, groceries stores, and even got to paint Valentines pictures! We didn't play outside much because it's gotten pretty chilly down here. Right now it's around 34 degrees! Toooo cold for us little girls.

Tomorrow Daddy leaves again, but only for a few days. He cooked us all a wonderful valentines dinner tonight, grilled chicken, pasta, and his wonderful tomato brushetta. He takes such good care of us.

Here are some pictures that mommy FINALLY got off her camera... We love you all.

We are dressed up to go run errands @ the bank... and take a drive towards Canyon Lake:

Fishy Kiss!

Crazy Makenna!

Sweet Madison

Mommy is going to post more pictures tomorrow... She'll have more pictures of us, some of the drive to canyon lake, even though we never actually found the lake... she'll post some pictures of us at the childrens musuem and of the roses mommy & daddy got us for Valentines Day. Mommy also has some pictures of our room, even though we just re-arranged Madison, she'll need to take new ones.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentines Day!

Love to you all,
MadMak

PawPaw Is Here!

2007-02-08T08:49:00.000-06:00

Our second guest to come and visit! Aunt Jessica and Uncle Miles stopped by on Saturday and spent a few hours seeing the house and watching Madison be....... well a brat. They loved our rooms, especially Madison's Rock Star Room. Come on, who couldn't love a bright pink room with a neon guitar clock??

Speaking of Madisons room, the last couple of days it has been the guest room for PawPaw... He's lucky though, it's one of only two rooms that has ceiling fans so far. Mom and Dad are going to be looking for a sleeper sofa when dad gets back from work. Madison has a princess calender that she is marking down the days until Daddy gets home. It seems like he's been gone f-o-r-e-v-e-r this time. Madison even made a wish on her lady bug she found that daddy would come home soon. We must have gotten spoiled with him being home in December.

PawPaw bought us a present yesterday... It's a light up fish tank. You plug it into the wall and the fish swim in a circle. Makenna got to sleep with it in her room last night since Madison is sleeping with mommy. When pawpaw leaves Madison is going to get to use it in her room and then switch off with baby sister again.

The weather has been beautiful here! Yesterday we both played outside for probably two hours. Mommy put up the little table so we ccould eat our lunch outside! Yesterday we played soccer and football..... This morning it's over cast outside and mommy is watering the grass. She only water a couple times a week and we just got our new grass so we are trying to soak it in!

PawPaw had to go back to work this morning but he'll be coming back this evening and hopefully having dinner with us. He might even spend the night again and THEN........ MIMI WILL BE HERE! And to double the excitment, AUNT DEBBIE is coming too!!! Man we are excited.

Well we have to be off now. We have to get a bath (yea! we love to get baths) and then run some errands with mommy (which we aren't to fond of) .... Hopefully we'll get to see more people soon!!

Love,
Madison Taylor Leigh & Makenna Kylie

No Cord

2007-01-30T19:40:00.000-06:00

Well... Yesterday mom had to run a couple errands so we got ready to go! Neither one of us wanted to change out of our dress up clothes, so mommy told us to get shoes and a jacket. We both decided our boots would look lovely with our princess dresses. Makenna also decided she wanted to wear a ski cap.

We were all dolled up to go the bank. After running that short errand Madison said she wanted to drive around a little. Mommy thought it'd be fun to drive near the lake and look around.

We made a right turn down some FM road that said "Canyon Lake 13".... After driving for what seemed like ever, we didn't see the lake and came home. It was still fun nonetheless and mommy took some pictures of the drive. It's fun to know that we have such pretty areas that are 15 minutes away. Mommy did say she's going to get a map so we can actually find the lake next time. =)

Mom's lost her cord that connects her camera to the computer, but she'll post some pictures soon.

Love,

the m&m girls

Hi!

2007-01-28T15:23:00.000-06:00

We have made it down here and are settling into our new house. Mom has gotten our rooms fixed up, for the most part, and we have places for all our toys. We enjoy having our own rooms with lots of room to run around.

Madison has started doing chores around the house to help mommy. She makes her bed in the morning, cleans up her room, and makes sure to always brush her teeth in the morning and at night. She has a purple bag to hold her allowance money and is saving for a dvd player for her room.

Makenna has been helping mommy cook dinner. We helped mommy make a green chili stew the other night. Makenna ate hers but Madison did not.

We have both been playing outside in the front yard. Madison has over taken Makenna's scooter, but that's okay because Makenna loves her tricycles. We know we can't go in the street and we have to turn around by the bricks on the sidewalk.

The other night we went with mommy to Shannon house to have dinner. Keli, Robin, Shannon, and Laura where there, along with baby Dierks. Robin cooked dinner for everyone and it was yummy. Baby Dierks is very good at sharing his toys and we never want to leave!

Well, it's nap time for us. Next time we go outside we'll take pictures and post them here!

We love you all,
MadMak

P.S. You can also e-mail us!! Mommy set up our own account that we will check, it's madmakreid@yahoo.com