Konnor is a cutie!

Konnor has been selected to be in a cutest kids photo contest!! Please vote for him here!! Thanks! I'm so proud of my little cuties!!

As close to a Christmas card as we're going to get

Because I'm really starting to believe that will be true this year (yes, for the second year in a row), I'm posting pictures that I intended still hope to use as Christmas card pictures. Oh, and also the ones that I have no intentions to use, but it kind of helps my excuse. One afternoon a week or so ago I got the kids dressed in their Christmas best, stuck them in front of our tree and attempted to make magic. Most of the pictures were not quite put together enough and not quite silly enough to use. A few pictures I had set aside for Christmas card pics just in case since they are pretty cute. If I get a chance tonight to attempt to do cards online through Sam's I will. If not, at least someone will know I made an effort. Kind of. These are, of course, in no order because that would take away from the laziness of this sad situation. :) But honestly, these kids are too cute to not show them off. 

I Have the Best Job in the World, except...

I just need to say a few things. First of all, I have the best job in the world. I am a Stay at Home Mom. This is my choice and a blessing. It is a financial sacrifice my family makes to give me the opportunity to be the kind of mother I want to be. My husband is supportive and helps in any way he can. I love what I do, I love my kids and am grateful for this opportunity.

Having said that I would like to just vent for a minute. I am a STAY AT HOME MOM not a SIT at home mom (yes, someone has said this to me, yes, recently). When I am sick I don't "lay on the couch all day" (yep, this one too, recently). Actually, it is not in my contract to get sick days, holidays with pay (or really any monetary pay whatsoever), lunch breaks, pee breaks, or even shower breaks. I work weekends and nights. I have not blogged in months, not because I don't want to, or I'm over blogging,  because it involves me taking the time to come and sit at the actual computer and spending several minutes staying here. I am currently nursing a baby, eating my lunch and fighting with my 6 year old about why I need the computer more than him. It's for my sanity, so I win... THIS time! If I have a "no call no show" I'll go to jail. The very first time. I have been limping around on a broken foot for almost 3 weeks now cleaning toilets, putting away laundry, changing diapers, washing dishes, cooking meals (from scratch), wiping butts, running errands and all the while carrying around an 18+ pound 3 month old. This brings up another point, my job can actually be dangerous! I broke my foot while cleaning my kitchen! The people I work with depend heavily on my being at work every day. Maybe you do too, actually. I'm helping to raise the next generation of  Doctors, lawyers, teachers, parents, Presidents, congressmen/women, computer programmers, weather persons, business owners, home builders & innovators. This is a collective effort of ALL parents (stay at home or not) & teachers, so I don't mean to imply it's just my job.  Did I mention we are currently homeschooling too? Also, believe it or not we do have a bit of a schedule here, and there are lists of things to do before the end of my day. I'm not sure when my day ends really, as I am ALWAYS on call 24 hours a day 365 days a year. But if you are going to "stop by" do it within a reasonable window of when you said you would. Also, when I do get the rare chance to "hang out" with other SAHM's we most often talk about our kids which will often lead to the "my kids sleeps/eats/travels/sings/listens better than yours" competition/conversation. That conversation alone is enough to make us doubt ourselves. We don't need extra comments to keep us humble. Thanks though. Believe me, I could edit this paragraph and add something new to it a million times, but you get the idea; hopefully.

I guess what I am trying to say here is just because I stay at home doesn't mean I'm not working. I promise not to insult you on the job you do, if you don't insult me by saying I'm not doing one. All mothers (who choose to raise their children), working out of the home, or staying in the home, are working and deserve applause, not put downs. I'm being summoned from the bathroom, so I guess I'm done venting for the day. Sorry that this is the only blog I've made time for. Maybe this weekend I can get some pictures up! To all of you moms out there- Stay strong Sisters!

A few new pics

He's Here!!

Last Tuesday I went to my weekly appointment, sat in the waiting room for over an hour and when I finally saw my Dr he told me I was almost 4 cm dilated and 75% effaced. At least there was some progress after 5 weeks of being told "any day now". I went home planning on at least one more week of pregnancy. By 6 o clock that night I thought maybe I was feeling something going on but since I wasn't sure I cooked dinner, ate and went about my business. After three hours of counting contractions to make sure I was really in labor (no I'm serious, not sure what I was thinking) we decided it was definitely rime to head to the hospital. Anyone who has delivered at Forsyth knows that often times you spend a lot of time waiting around on the people there. When we checked in I was 5cm, but the time they put me in a room I was 8 cm, and then I sat and waited and waited for someone to catch the baby :) Parker Lawrence Applegate was born at 2:19 am on Wednesday July 20th after 8 hours of labor and two and a half pushes. 6 pounds 5 ounces and 20 inches long.He is a great baby, good nurser, good sleeper, immune to the insane noises that occur in a house with kids who love Star Wars- he is perfect. Really my only challenge is the lack of sleep that comes from having such a different set of age groups with very different schedules. Since we are only one week in though, I'm not too worried, we  will all adjust. Aarik started a new job and so all of our scheduling is crazy. After three and a half years on third shift he is now on a regular work schedule. Konnor and Mckenzie are very much in love with their new little brother. Mckenzie is very possessive and very helpful. Konnor started out a little stand offish but is coming around nicely and especially enjoys the times when Parker is awake. We are all very grateful he is here healthy and handsome. I've learned a lot so far, first of all back labor doesn't go away after the baby is born like regular labor does
:( secondly, adjusting to three kids is nowhere near as hard as adjusting to two IF you can keep people out of your house. Parker was born Wednesday, I came home Thursday evening and Friday I was alone with all three kids and had slept maybe five hours in 4 days. It was hard but not as hard if I didn't have to worry about putting a shirt on for people to come in the house, or if the front room was clean, or if the kitchen was clean, or if the kids had been wearing the same pair of pj's for 48 hours straight. If you take out those worries and just let things happen it's not half bad. Maybe even pleasant. I've learned a lot more than that but off the top of my head (swirling with exhaustion) those stick out. For right now, I have to say, Life is Good!

Still Here

Finally closing in on 36 weeks when I'll be allowed to resume my regular pregnancy exercise routine. I've been surprised how many people STILL give exercise during pregnancy such a bad wrap. This is my first pregnancy that I have exercised the entire time and the first one that I haven't been angry the whole 9 months. The past several weeks, while ordered to cut out my exercise, that familiar irritability is back. Wednesday can not get here fast enough! In the mean time I got a little support and encouragement as well as a mood booster when I opened an email and found this.

Almost there...

Well I haven't done as well as I'd intended keeping up with this pregnancy by blogging. I guess the truth is that I'd promised myself I wasn't going to complain during this pregnancy because we are so blessed to be able to get this baby here. Having said that, if you can't complain the last couple months of pregnancy, there often isn't much to talk about. :) But we are FINALLY in the home stretch (34 weeks tomorrow) so I felt like I should blog about something. The latest news with Mr Parker is that at my check up last week he had dropped so low and sunken back so far that we had a very hard time finding his heartbeat (surprise surprise) this prompted a check and we found out that I had also dilated to a two. Considering that I've given birth to two children and had a D&C I wasn't too concerned but with the amount of contractions I've been having for the past several weeks it meant a fetal fibronectin test and bed rest for the weekend until the results came back. I did almost 3 months of bed rest when I was pregnant with Konnor. Aarik was working during the day and we had no kids so the apartment stayed clean and he could come home and hang out with me in the bed when he was home. We also had a surprisingly large amount of help for a young couple with no kids. This was quite a different weekend. We now have two kids tornadoes that can tear a house apart in two seconds flat. Aarik spent father's day weekend regulating wrestling matches, trying to clean up behind them, cooking (which he NEVER has had to do since we got married), bed time routine, and trying to finish up all of our last minute baby projects that we saved to keep ourselves busy the last few weeks of waiting. The man deserves some kind of award. Finally at 4 o clock yesterday we got the call. There is a 95% chance that Parker will NOT be making his grand entrace between now and July 1st. For some reason I still am not allowed to exercise, pick up kids (or anything "heavy" for that matter), or do shopping that requires a long period of walking or standing. I guess if it's that or bed rest, I'll take it. At my 35 week check up next Monday we are supposed to get a better idea of where and when we are going. If it works out I'll try to blog about that and Mckenzie's fourth birthday next week. Once Parker arrives I will also blog about that as soon as I get the chance. Hopefully that one will wait until the second week in July!

A quick update from a true slacker

I'm sure glad no one keeps a close eye on our blog because I've been slacking big time. We have had a crazy, busy, happy, sad, insane couple of months. One thing I will say about it is that during the past couple of weeks I was blessed to have a very special experience to help my be grateful for the Lord's timing, and why as hard as we tried, we just couldn't get Parker here before now. I'll forever be grateful for that experience and the blessing of remembering something that seemed small last time I was pregnant but wound up being a beautiful blessing. For the sake of time (or the lack thereof) I'll just update on something I should have updated on a while ago. For Mother's Day my mom was sweet enough to buy me/us a 3d 4d ultrasound session at Watch Me Grow ultrasounds studio in Statesville. Since we were down there so much anyway, it wound up being fairly convenient. While Parker did exactly what I knew he would and did not cooperate, we were lucky enough to get a couple of pictures of the side of his face wedged between my bladder (shocker) and the placenta. So I'm just sharing a couple that aren't too crazy looking.  

The kids went with us and were really excited to see their little brother.

 He doesn't look anything like the other two did but still has some time to change. Love his little fat lips and face. Hope his head doesn't get too much fatter before he comes (if ya know what I mean).

This was the only shot we got of his hands.

His foot. Braced against my rib. At only 27 weeks. Yeah, didn't know that could happen but it was nice to know that I wasn't crazy and he really has been doing that for awhile now (these pics are from a month ago).

This last one is a picture of the "viewing area" for any guests that you bring. It was awesome for the kids to sit in the same room in a comfy area and watch on a huge screen.

 The lady who runs the place is about as nice as you could ever hope for someone to be. She was patient and tried to get our little monkey to cooperate. He WAS completely rolled into my spine when we first got there. My only complaint/thought was that if you never see anymore than the side of the kids face it may be nice to offer for someone to come back. As a side note, she does let you come back for free if you don't get any face shots or if you can't determine the sex. Although, now that I thin about it, she never did look at that for us either.... Well, she is priced better than a lot of other places and will spend time with you once you are there. My Dr told me yesterday that if by some crazy twist I wind up going all the way to 39 weeks that he will induce me. YAY! June will be my last full month as a pregnant woman and Parker can have his own birthday month.

Love this!

While I really think this could be an ode to mothers in general, I love that it is an explanation for why I want to be a stay at home mom and, for this year, a homeschooler.

I Took His Hand and Followed

Mrs. Roy L. Peifer

My dishes went unwashed today,

I didn't make the bed,

I took his hand and followed

Where his eager footsteps led.

Oh yes, we went adventuring,

My little son and I...

Exploring all the great outdoors

Beneath the summer sky

We waded in a crystal stream,

We wandered through a wood...

My kitchen wasn't swept today

But life was gay and good.

We found a cool, sun-dappled glade

And now my small son knows

How Mother Bunny hides her nest,

Where jack-in-the-pulpit grows.

We watched a robin feed her young,

We climbed a sunlit hill...

Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky,

We plucked a daffodil.

That my house was neglected,

That I didn't brush the stairs,

In twenty years, no one on earth

Will know, or even care.

But that I've helped my little boy

To noble manhood grow,

In twenty years, the whole wide world

May look and see and know.



The Boys

We've been pretty busy so I'm doing a quick  2 for 1 post. First I just wanted to post a few pictures of Konnor and his new favorite thing to do. He is becoming quite the artist and has inspired us to recycle paper and start a new rule about using both sides of the paper. We even have a little box just for him to put his "used up paper" in. It wasn't all that long ago that we couldn't have payed the boy to draw or write. We are really excited to see him doing so well at something he enjoys so much.

The other thing is that yesterday we had our fourth ultrasound at 22 weeks. The whole purpose of this ultrasound was to check out Parker's heart because they had some concerns after our last ultrasound. We are excited to share that it went perfectly and we finally got to hear the words we have been waiting to hear through all of the craziness of trying to get Parker here the past couple of years "Mrs. Applegate, your baby looks great he's growing perfectly. Everything looks great." Wow. I didn't even know how to take that one in. Now I need to get used to and excited for the idea that we are actually going to have this baby.YAY!!  Here are a couple of the pictures we got yesterday.

Banana Bread Cobbler for those who were interested

1c self-rising flour
1 c sugar
1 c milk
1/2 c butter, melted
3-4 bananas, sliced

Streusal Topping
3/4 c packed light brown sugar
1/2 c self rising flour
1/2 c butter, softened (NOT melted)
1 c uncooked regular oats
1/2 chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375 Whisk together flour and sugar until mixed. Whisk in milk just until blended. Whisk in melted butter. Pour into an 11 x 7 baking dish. Top evenly with banana slices.
Put chopped walnuts in a food processor and process until no longer chunky. In seperate bowl combine brown sugar, flour and butter until crumbly with a pastry cutter or fork. Stir in processed walnuts and oats. Sprinkle on top of banana covered batter in baking dish. Bake for 40-45 minutes at 375 until topping is browned.


The original recipe was not my idea but we've only ever made this changed version and love it topped with vanilla ice cream straight out of the oven.

What to do on a gorgeous Spring Day?

Well, we like to spend as much time outside as possible! Mckenzie doesn't like to be outside unless we are playing some type of organized sport or game. Today she played t-ball (which she is actually great at!) and, yes, she is left handed. Konnor, on the other hand, loves to be outside and is hard to capture in a still frame. Today he did sidewalk chalk, rode in a too small for him cozy coupe, and did lots of running before finally crashing.

 This evening the kids got to help me put together a treat for Mckenzie's mommy and me group tomorrow. This treat was not my idea, just something I was lucky enough to get the chance to make. The amazingly talented, thoughtful and creative woman who organized our Mommy and Me group (Danielle)  and puts together the lesson plan every week (including activities and snacks) found it here. She gives all of the moms who come a chance to sign up for an activity or snack or game. Kenzie and I only got to go a few times in the beginning before I got pregnant and sick and busy. We are hoping to get back as much as our Wednesday doctor visits will let us because it is a great opportunity to be able to participate in this program that Danielle was awesome enough to organize and invite us to.

I couldn't get a great picture of ours but I did get a cute one of my dirty faced children who had enjoyed snacking on all of the extra peeps, eggs and marshmallows they could grab when I wasn't looking. For a better shot check out the original link above.

Dear, sweet, baby Parker...

My bladder is not a water bed, and while I do so enjoy getting up and down to go to the bathroom between twenty and thirty -be right back- thirty-one times a day, I'd prefer to get my exercise other ways. And possibly keep some of my fluids. This is not a complaint, after all we have been through trying to get you here, I have none of those. It's a request. But, dear angel, if you need a water bed, then so be it. Love, Mom 

This week

I had my 19 week check up yesterday. Everything with the baby looks good and we are excited to have another good check up. Counting down the days until our next ultrasound. One thing that was a little different was that my blood pressure was really low (50/20). They said since I was walking and talking that there wasn't really anything to be done about it. It does explain why I've been feeling so tired and loopy the past week or so though. Today we took the kids to Bojangles and they got their first ever Bo-Berry biscuits. Bojangles is my favorite fast food place. I love everything there. E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. Aarik does too but he likes the steak biscuits best, I prefer the cajun filet chicken biscuit.  Normally if we go to get biscuits I make the kids pick a non sweet biscuit but since we had already eaten breakfast a few hours before and I was just trying to get my blood pressure back up (nice excuse huh?) we got them bo-berry's. Seriously, I didn't even get a chance to take a picture they were inhaled so quickly. I love when my kids eat and love southern foods. We don't eat like that often in an attempt to keep our arteries partially unclogged, but today it made me happy!

It's A BOY!!

We are excited to share our news! We are having a little boy!!! We are all very excited and have a few fun ultrasound pics we will be posting as soon as we scan them. Since I'm not sure when I will have the time to do that I wanted to go ahead and share the news along with a few fun pictures from yesterday after we found out! The ultrasound went well but we do have to go back in for another one at the end of the month before we are completely in the clear since we couldn't get some pictures that the doctor wanted to get of the heart. For now we are celebrating and full of excitement and gratitude.

We brought balloons home to the kids to make the announcement to them. You can tell from the pictures that Konnor and Nana were a little more excited than Mckenzie. She has since warmed up to the idea and is just as excited as the rest of us.

Choices, choices...

Is it more important to do everything possible to keep my weight in check with a little over 20 weeks left in this pregnancy or to enjoy the things that I want? This is the first pregnancy I've ever had that I can not stop thinking about and craving ICE CREAM. Almost all of the time! I've had my fair share of Cook Out milkshakes in various flavors. So far I've limited it to one ice cream cave in a week. Tonight y dilemma is that I'm trying to keep my weight gain under or at a certain number for the twenty week mark and I already had Shrimp and Grits for dinner (yum) but I can not deny that Ben & Jerry's Half Baked is calling screaming my name! And Yes. I will likely eat the entire thing. In one sitting. What would you do?!?!

Stuffer

I honestly thought by now Mckenzie would have outgrown Stuffer. Or at least maybe have detatched some. Boy was I wrong. It would appear their "bond" has only grown stronger. For example this first picture I took just a few days ago of Mckenzie AND stuffer strapped into Kenze's carseat. Yes, she did do that herself. I thought I may as well throw in a few more pictures with Stuffer for good measure. So my question for anyone who's kid has gone through this is How long will this last and what do I do when Stuffer falls apart (she is well on her way) before Kenzie is over it? If your child had an attachment item what was it?

4 months and counting

Yesterday was the 16 week mark for baby Applegate. We are excited and grateful to have made it this far with no complications. At my last appointment I FINALLY got to hear the heart beat, obviously that was wonderful as we had been waiting for the comfort of that moment. In less than two weeks we will find out the gender, if said baby will cooperate with us (hasn't been this child's strong suit so far). Other than that life as usual, crazy busy. EXCEPT for the wonderful surprise of Spring like temps in February! We've been spending as much time as we can outside and we are loving every minute of it. There are pictures somewhere but this was meant to be a quick post! Now a quick funny story: After my last appointment went well I decided to go ahead and pull out all of the clothes out that we haven't given away or donated to get an idea of how much we will need (it will be almost sic years since Konnor was a baby and four since Mckenzie). Because we were moving the kids into the same room and then reorganizing what will be the baby room I just left them in the front room in a corner. Today, since the kids are in their room, and the "baby room" is in much better shape than before  (and I am tired of that corner looking junky), I moved the stuff into the baby room. Konnor saw what I was doing and asked "Is somebody bringing our baby today?!?!" Love him! If only it were that easy...

Just one more reason to love IKEA!

We are trying to get things in our home as organized as possible as quickly as possible to reduce the amount of chaos that I'm assuming will be in our lives in the next several months. So we decided it was best to go ahead and get the kids into the rooms they will be in starting in August (or hopefully late July :) To make this more exciting and orderly and to extend the life of whatever we did we got this bed for them from IKEA. We LOVE it!! It's not as tall as a traditional bunkbed, which is good because Mckenzie fell off a few times the first day, AND it's "reversible" so when we make another transition in rooms it can be flipped over and used as one twin bed.

 

                                                           Yay for tents on beds!