Holy Cow!! Holy Sheep!

That is a phrase from our good friend Kierra

So, many a things have happened in a month so lets start a list:

1. Britta got a helmet

2. We all got what I think was the swine flu

3. We looked at probably 100 houses

4. We sold our house

5. We are in the process of buying a house

6. Went to a halloween party

7. Bought a fridge for the new house

8. Bought a new garage door as a request from the buyers of our house

Hmm, I think that is probably it so hopefully this next month will slow down, except for the move.

Inspiration/Motivation Needed

Do you ever get in that rut where you feel as though your brain has become the size of a pea and your energy level has gone below that of a sloth? That's me.

Our lives lately have become caotic. We finally took the leap and listed our house. It has been extremely stressful and at the same time exciting. Yes, I said exciting. There are so many homes out there for sale and in some ways we have our pick of what we want and we found it. Problem is, we still have our house. It is sitting here clean as a whistle but only for the likes of the inhabitants. We have only had 2 showings in a month. Much to be discouraged about. Kierra has enjoyed the house hunting experiance by playing on other peoples yard equipment and jumping on their beds. She is now banned from going with us as she thinks that she owns every house we go in.

There are other things going on that aren't so interesting as well.

-we had a garage sale and made $60 in 5 hours.
-worked on potty training a bit.
-cleaned, cleaned and cleaned some more.
-went to the zoo to see the baby animals.
-went to idaho to see the fam.
-had a laser treatment.
-Kierra went to the dentist.
-went to the park.
-went swimming.
-Richard had a birthday.
-and so on, and so on.

So you may ask, what is the purpose of the beginning sentence? Perhaps it would intrigue you as the reader or it would cause my mom to call and tell me that I am depressed. Na, it's just the life of a stay at home mom having the life sucked out of her. No, that's not it either. I just need to get myself motivated to get off my butt!

I have tons of pictures to post but blogger won't let me. I may have to post them on facebook.

Finally we can sleep in comfort

It only took them 2 1/2 weeks to get it to us but it is finally here. Our super soft, super comfortable, super expensive bed. However, they didn't ship the pillows. Let's just say I've had many conversations with the store and their warehouse. They aren't too happy with me considering I filed a complaint with the BBB. That's right, when I am unhappy with a company, they shall meet my wrath. Ha Ha Ha Ha. Did that sound like a witch? Eh, who cares.

With that said, we have been trying to have fun these past few weeks. Our house was full of fun for the 24th with all of our neighbors over for BBQ and fireworks. Richard and our friend Josh are the pyros of the group so being the boys that they are, there was experimentation. No injuries were reported for that but then the illegal fireworks came. Lets just say a few days later and one trip to the ER, Josh is doing fine. I guess it serves them right.

Family from out of state have been here this month for my uncle's funeral. Kierra has had so much fun playing with her cousins and uncles that she skipped three days worth of naps. Jeff came so it was great to get to spend time with him and for him to see Britta for the first time. It had been a long time where both our family and my aunts family had been together.

Britta and her new best friend Riley. He sings her Star Wars to get her to sleep.

Jeff and Britta

Kierra finishing her (my) Neilson's Custard on the way home from the cemetery.

Jeff and Kierra

Britta just being her cute self, who by the way sleeps through the night now. I know, isn't it awesome!!

Kierra likes to make forts with pillows now. I think she really likes to hide from us.

Here she is with her boyfriend Mitchell at her friend Logan's birthday party. Seriously though, they love each other :)

Take them skinheads bowling

Oh yeah. We went real bowling. Not the fake Wii bowling, but old school bowling. I must say that I suck at it in comparison with the Wii. It's quite disappointing when your Wii score is 276 and at the old alley, it's a whopping 102 and that's with bumpers. It is also quite sad that a 2 year old can get a strike but I can't. Out of everything we have done with Kierra, I think this was the most fun she had ever had. Full on tantrum when the game was over. She refused to leave. She picked up the ball and ran toward the lane to throw it while crying. Good thing we caught her. It was actually kind of funny but at the same time embarrassing. The bowling alley in fort union has games for $1.50 so we decided to give it a go and I think it was money well spent. Maybe we have created a future pro bowler that grandma garton would be proud of.





Here we go!!


Britta had fun too.

Anxiously awaiting the ball to return.

Time flies when you're not having fun

We have been really busy here at the Black household. Life can get pretty crazy with two kids that are cranky at the same time. Let's see where do I start?

The binkie fairy visited Kierra and brought her a bike. It wasn't too bad getting her off of them and sometimes I would like to go back to the old days of less whining but then it would have been for nothing.

She looks a little handi in this photo but it's the best one we've got.

I think that Kierra has finally hit the terrible two's as well this month. I think I am going to loose it. Lots of crying and screaming and tantrums. I am running low on patience and some days would like to run away (or at least get a job). But then again some days she does such cute things. I made her a hideous princess blanket and the first thing she said was "oh my gosh!". She loves the thing. She has also been running around singing "I am a child of God" all day every day. That makes me proud.

Britta has become a little princess and a mamma's girl. Yes, finally a child that likes me. She has the biggest smile for you when she wakes up. She is just so darn cute you just can't stand it. She had her 2 month appointment this month and weighs a whopping 7lbs 6oz. She is on the same track as Kierra was.

We thought about putting our house up for sale but decided not to. We are really attached to our friends here and I would hate to lose them. So, since we changed our minds, I redecorated. I'll post pictures later since we aren't completely finished yet.

We also blessed Britta this month and have no pictures of the actual day but here is a picture of her in her blessing dress.

The zoo has been frequented this month as well. We bought a zoo pass so we have to get our money's worth. It sucks that it is so far away.

Kierra's favorite part of the zoo.

Popcicle face

Kierra and her friend Mitchell

It's been a long time!

Sorry to those two people who check our blog frequently for new posts. I hadn't realized that it had been two months since our last post.

We have been so busy with the kids and working on our house that I just didn't feel like blogging. We have been adjusting to Britta and I think we kind of have a slight schedule for her. I think Kierra is still feeling neglected a bit though. We had to give her binkies to the binkie fairy. It was quite traumatic for her but I think she is over it.

Hmm, what else has been going on? We blessed Britta today and I must say that she was the cutest baby being blessed. Richard did a good job and so did she. I would post pictures but as we didn't get any (yes I am a moron, but apparently she pooped on her dress before we could get a family pic) I will have to get some from other family members. It's always great to have our families together supporting us. Too bad that we worked so hard on the yard only to have it rain.

I will post some pictures later!

Sometimes I love my body

So I am going to brag a bit. I don't do it that often about myself especially so I am going to do it now. As you know, I was pregnant two weeks ago. With this pregnancy I gained 12 pounds. With Kierra I gained 18 but I think I needed some of it anyway. So I came across a scale yesterday and it looks like I have one pound to go to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I can fit into all of my old clothes and I don't have much of a muffin top.

Don't hate me, I can't help that my body handles pregnancy well and gets back to normal. We were at USA Baby on Saturday and a lady was asking us a bunch of questions about our car seat. She couldn't believe that Britta was a week old. Then she said that she hated me and how I looked.

I wish that I had a picture of me before I delivered like I did with Kierra to see the difference in the two. Even though I looked small, I was still pregnant. People didn't believe me that I had aches and pains but boy did I ever.

Anyway, it is not that often that I feel good about myself and how I look. I am excited to be ready for that bikini again this year, but I need a cool place to wear it.

Just some pics

Here are some more pictures of Britta and we will throw in some of Kierra.

Do you think I will be able to use this for Britta now?

It's been a long week

Sorry for the lack of updates but I have good excuses. I couldn't get blogger to work at the hospital so I was unable to post anything.



After 5 days in the hospital, we were finally able to come on on Tuesday morning. First, Britta's oxygen would drop while she would eat. Because of that, they kept her in the nursery permanently. I would have to go in and feed her all day and night. They had her hooked up to monitors and every time she ate, they would document what her oxygen was. So it only took a day for that to improve while I was already being discharged. I did the hotel stay thing so that I could feed her and besides, I didn't want to leave her there. So then they thought that she wasn't breastfeeding well enough, which I didn't think was a requirement for you to leave the hospital but whatever. Sunday the doctor ordered an unnecessary chest x-ray and another billi test, both of which came back normal. Yet again, she was still not well enough to come home. Monday they decided that she couldn't maintain her weight, so they wanted to keep her another night but this time I could take her to my room. They weighed her that night and she weighed 4lbs 13oz. They said that if her weight didn't drop from the night that we could probably go home. Tuesday morning came around and her vitals were checked except for her weight and they sent us home. So, I still don't know what the point of all of it was but we are home now. I took her to the doctor this morning and she weighed 5lbs. From the beginning of all of this, I have felt that there wasn't really anything to worry about. I think that they treated her this way because of her size. I am grateful that they took such good care of her though and that I was allowed to stay. Here are some pics of her. I have some video but am having trouble.





Bye Bye hospital







Ready to go home




Yuck!

Do you think this makes me look fat?

I like sleep

She's Here!!

Britta Cathrine Black was born March 26 2009 at 1:42 pm. Measuring in at a whomping 5lbs 1oz and 17in long. She has a lot of Kierra's facial features but is as blonde as can be.

Wednesday my doctor stripped my membranes and at one in the morning labor began. It was a lot more rough than it was with Kierra but I dealt. We got to the hospital at 5:30 and by 9:00 I was dilated to an 8. Once they broke my water, she came quick. This time I only pushed for 10 minutes. She is just a little peanut.

I am recovering remarkably compared to last time and feel great. Britta was admitted to the NICU last night though. She can't keep her temperature up and her oxygen levels keep dropping. I have been really impressed with the nursing staff here and how they have taken care of me and Britta. They have kept me up to date on her progress so well and are actually taking care of my concerns.

Here are some pics.

We are still alive

I know it has been a while since I posted anything on here so to those of you who are faithful readers, I am sorry. We recently lost the privilege of using Richard's work computer for anything therefore we have gone without the internet. So, Friday we went out and bought a laptop. I am currently mooching off of someone's unsecured connection in the neighborhood.

So, the countdown is on for the baby. She is now at the point of practically falling out on her own. Not many people thought it was possible that you could walk around dilated to a 4 but apparently you can. There have been a few false alarms which has gotten me depressed and more anxious. It is now hard not to think about when it will happen.

Some good news though that I didn't think would happen is that Kierra is in a toddler bed now. We decided to stimulate the economy and support commercialism and bought her a princess bed. The moment we got it, she loved it. There hasn't been a transition at all which was the part that stressed me out a great deal. However, now that we have painted the baby's room with flowers, she is obsessed with it. We might have to change rooms since the baby obviously won't care.

It has been so nice to have Richard at church with me these last few months. But it looks like we only have one sunday left. His schedule will go back to what is was before in April. I think it has helped our family grow spiritually but we will have to continue to work harder at it.

Other than that nothing exciting has been going on. We have no pictures to post yet again and hopefully the next post will be of baby Britta's arrival.

What's going on?

I don't even have any pictures to post that's how exciting our lives have been. We gave up on the big girl bed thing. We think she is just too little and I think that it's more that Richard and I don't want to give up our control over her sleeping. So I guess we have to buy another crib. Shopping for one has been really hard. Either I am really picky or I am just stuck on the great deal that we got on Kierra's at NPS.

Kierra had her face lasered again this month. They changed the laser to who knows what setting to do who knows what to her face. It seems to have healed a lot faster this time though. I think it was the hardest trip to the hospital yet. She put up such a fight when we were trying to put the cream on. She just screamed bloody murder and kept ripping off the plastic. I wish there was an easier way. She definitely noticed that something was done this time. It really hurt her and she knew she had an owie.

All of us got that crappy stomach bug that's been going around again. Well, again for me, first time for everyone else. Kierra started it and ended it. She never gets sick and so I am really proud of myself for how I handled it considering the crappy month I've had emotionally. It has however made her a bit more of a needy child. She always wants her binkie now. She only wants crackers and cereal and just won't eat much else except for the odd random thing like beef jerky. The eating problem has developed an evening tantrum since she won't eat her dinner. I don't want to be the parent that makes a separate meal for each person so we are sticking to our guns and only offering her what she didn't eat at dinner when she cries for food after dinner. One day I hope she will give in.

I had a doctor's appointment today. Things are fine. Surprisingly enough I gained 2 pounds after being sick last week. My weight gain this pregnancy is up to 7 pounds. Woohoo!! However, I am measuring 4 weeks behind. We aren't too worried because I was the same with Kierra. The doctor says he will only be worried if I stop growing. Maybe the kid is burning off stuff since she is kicking so much. Maybe not.

Big girl bed

Does anyone have suggestions on how to do this smoothly. We put a mattress on the floor and she was excited at first but when it came to bed time, she was scared. Richard has been laying with her for the past hour on it. Is that what our lives are going to be like now, sleeping with her? This seems like the hardest thing we have had to do with her in a very long time. What do we do if she wakes up? She doesn't know how to open doors yet so I guess that is a plus. Do we just leave her in there to work it out and eventually crash?

Happy Day! I Two!

Happy Birthday Kierra!! Two days late! Guess what we did for her birthday? Nothing! She did have a party at my parents house on Sunday so we aren't the worst parents. Besides, she doesn't know the difference. Here is one highlight.

She did so good trying to blow out her candles. I ran out of memory on the camera and at that point she trying to blow so hard and fast that she looked like she was going to hyperventilate.

Mama and Papa Gee came over on her birthday and brought her a birthday balloon. She was so excited and ever since she has been walking around saying "happy day". Thank you for coming over. I know it meant something to her as it did to me.

Tis the Season for Presents and Puking, fa la la la la

Ah the Christmas Season. Toys, power outages, and family togetherness. Maybe too much family togetherness what with the stomach flu. Mmm, yummy. We had Richard's family over for christmas eve in our newly finished basement. It was actually quite nice and low key. The kids had fun playing and didn't bother us too much so that makes it nice. Christmas we woke up to no power. This has been happening quite frequently lately. I was really disappointed because I wanted pancakes and hot chocolate. Nope, cold cereal. We took Kierra downstairs to open her presents. She wasn't really into it. I think she got bored but once she figured out what they were, she got excited.



Kierra taking George for a walk with her purse and hat (bucket)




The day after Christmas we went over to my parents for the festivities there. Of course my parents spoiled us with grocery money (which we already spent) but Kierra got a laptop. She loves the thing and can actually play the games on it. She calls it her puter.


Kierra just being cute




Sitting with daddy and the puter


That night I started to feel sick, and spent the night pooping and puking. Some of which simultaneously. It was not fun especially when you are pregnant. When you are up all night, so is the baby and she was definitely making herself known.

So, that was our holiday in a nutshell. Richard and Kierra didn't get sick so I am so grateful for that. I hope everyone had a good holiday.