Thunderstorms and Computers Do Not Mix

Remember that thunderstorm we all had last Sunday night? I was online checking the radar~cuz that's what we do in our Tommy Skilling loving household~and heard a loud buzz. And then no computer or phone. Our lines were struck by lightening. Yippee. So we had to go out and buy a new computer and new phones. Spent most of the day Monday with a creepy Comcast guy who appeared as if he stopped by my house after being released from prison. So now we have a groovy new Gateway computer. Its cool! Only bad thing is even though it would be covered under our homeowners policy, our insurance guy said not to bother with the claim. It is only slightly over our deductible and the insurance company will almost certainly raise our rates if we have a claim so it will cost more in the long run. Ick.

On a funner note, here's a few snapshots of our world this week.

Wyatt has taken up barfing for distance. We hope he'll be ready for the 2016 Games in Chicago.

Greta made it exactly 2 hours dry in big-girl undies. And then said she liked diapers better. OK, then.

Amelia needs to go to school. NOW.

Caroline's quote of the day "Mom, when can I get on my hands and knees and clean the kitchen floor?" I am not making that up.

Friday Five Is Back!

FIVE THINGS TO KEEP YOU AWAKE
1. Diet Coke
2. Red Bull and Vodka (thanks Jefferson for introducing me to that new drug!)
3. Nick at Nite
4. Yelling at toddlers who throw things
5. Talking on the phone to anyone who will listen

FIVE BEST MEALS TO BRING TO SOMEONE WHO NEEDS A MEAL
1. Lasanga~re-heats most excellently
2. Chicken and stuffing~nice and bland for new mommies
3. Italian beef~can be made is small portions when one can eat at 3am
4. Bucket 'o KFC~just cuz I love it
5. Brownies or bars of any sort~great to eat with one hand

FIVE BEST WAYS TO START THE SENTENCE "I JUST HAD A BABY"
1. I can't possibly pay my bills on time, I just had a baby!
2. I can't wear make-up, I just had a baby!
3. Yes, I'd love an extra helping of french fries, I just had a baby!
4. Please carry my groceries, I just had a baby!
5. Sorry, I can't possible make it to that boring meeting, I just had a baby!

Free Candle for Me! Well. . .Maybe. . .If I Win. . .

One of my new favorite blogs to read~I Should Be Folding Laundry~is hosting a giveaway of these cool Febreeze candles. As my home smells of 2 children in diapers, this is a great thing. I wanna win! :-) So check her out!

And Friends Are Friends Forever. . .la la la la la

Way back in the day, us Christian Reformed youth used to attend something called the Young Calvinist Convention. It was a 4 day gathering of several thousand high school students from all over the US and Canada. It took place at a university somewhere in North America. Tim went to 3~~Rhode Island, Arizona, and Washington DC, and I went to 2~~Washington DC and Kentucky. Funny story about both of us in DC but more on that later.

These conventions, while spiritually enriching, were a HUGE hook-up fest. NOT in the way the kids mean it today, just lots of opportunity to meet cute boys/girls who loved Jesus too. We used to have this thing called a Hug Line which was exactly was it was. All the girls would form a huge single file line that snaked around campus and the guys would come thru and hug the girls. It was great fun! Each week would end with what was called Koinonia. All 3000 of us would be in a sweaty gym for hours singing classic worship tunes and weepy songs like "Friends" and "Pray for Me" (What is it with Michael W Smith and CHEESY songs?!) There was an open mic where people would share their stories and then there was even more tears. We would then run around all night long saying good-bye to all our new friends~particularly those of the opposite sex.

Sadly, our church's student ministry does not participate in convention. Hopefully, by the time our kiddos are in high school, we will convince the Brickhouse powers that be that Convention is a must for all teens. Until then, join us in song "Packing up the dreams God planted. . ."

Life As We Now Know It

I do intend to blog about something other than Wyatt but I really don't know what. He's pretty much the world right now. The girls are trying my patience as we try to figure out our new normal. I guess that's par for the course.

Kim, Jer, and Elise are coming for a visit next week. I'm really looking forward to that! I have also started sorting things for my back-to-school Ebay listings. Not as much volume this year but hopefully some big $$ anyway. Speaking of back-to-school, how many more weeks?!?! We got out class lists this week. Caroline got the teacher she was hoping for but all 3 of her BFFs are in the other class. So she couldn't decide whether she was happy or sad!

So that's about all in my life now. I spend a lot of time feeding Wyatt and watching the Food Network. Dreaming when I can cook again. Not just make dinner but really get in the kitchen and cook!

Wyatt's Two Week Check

We went for Wyatt's two week check up today. He's doing great. Up to 5 lbs. 13 oz and 18 inches~growing like a weed.

Things are going good here. We went to Josh and Sara's wedding this weekend. It was really a nice wedding. My aunt was teasing us that they could tell that Wyatt's was our 4th kid since everyone and their brother was passing him around at the reception. At one point we didn't even know where he was!

A prayer note~Wednesday is the anniversary of Jesse's stillbirth and Andrew's is next Tuesday. Please remember Brian and Shawnie and Jeff and Dawn through these two weeks.

Ch. . .Ch. . .Ch. . .Changes

Wow. What a week it's been. My first week as mom of a little boy. And what a sweetie pie he is!

Things have been going good. Almost too good. Wyatt is sleeping and eating like a champ. Rarely cries except when he's had too much of his sisters love. He loves to cuddle and be held~almost always stops crying as soon as you pick him up. The diaper changes do have a me a bit befuddled! I am never quick enough and his poor little winkie is so red from the circumcision. Tim is not wanting to change his diaper which is kinda funny since he was the diaper king with the girls! I think he feels his pain, so to speak! He is sporting some fierce diaper rash which is also new for me. The girls NEVER had a problem at all. So if any of you have an idea for curing that on one so little, let me know!

This whole 4 kids thing is a bit of a shock to the system. I looked at the back of my mini-van on the way to church this morning and it appeared as if we had 30 children back there. Yes, we did make it to church today AND out for lunch to a sit-down restaurant. We were so proud of ourselves! The girls are adjusting too. Amelia and Greta are used to getting away with murder since Pregnant Mommy was Slow to React Mommy. Now I'm a bit quicker on the draw and they are reeling to catch up to the new plan. I am hanging on til he sleeps thru the night and I can come up with some sort of schedule for the whole house. Right now it's just go with the flow which is SO hard for me!

Knowing that Wyatt is the last baby for our family, I am trying SO hard to savor and enjoy the teeny phase. HOLD ON~He just sneezed. CUTE! CUTE! The sleep deprivation is killing me again but I actually feel pretty OK for having had a section. Some soreness from my incision and the very painful process of drying up the milk are about all I'm left with. That and a spare tire around my middle! WW here we come.

Really Cute Baby Pictures!

So which one do I pick for birth announcements? They will be black and white so try to ignore the green blanket. And I can crop them in . Which one?

Wyatt's Wild Ride

I think there is a reason we had a cowboy name picked out all these years. Wyatt entered the world quite dramatically!

On Friday morning I went to the hospital~alone and not packed~for a Bio-Physical profile to check on the baby and to see if he/she was still breech. Dr McMahon got there, says "Don't even bother to put a gown on since you're probably going home. Let's have a look-see." So I got on the bed and she put the U/S wand on my tummy and lo, and behold, Baby is head down. Hallelujah! So I get into a gown, call Tim, and we're off! At 8:00 AM they gave me Cytotech which is a gel to soften the cervix and get things going. At noon they checked for progress and nothing was happening. So Dr McMahon came in and did another dose of Cytotech. We talked about my previous deliveries and decided to start the Pitocin at 4:30. We started up the Pit at 4:30 and around 6:00 Dr McMahon decided to break my water to speed things up. WOW! That was the most painful experience of my life. I sounded like one of those women who scream in childbirth! :-) I did not feel the gush that I expected with that so Meredith the Wonder Nurse suggested we get walking the halls to bring Baby down into my pelvis more. I got up to use the bathroom and started bleeding. And bleeding. And bleeding. I got really scared since I didn't remember it being like that with the girls' deliveries. I asked Meredith if that was normal and her answer was "Baby looks great." OK. So NOT the answer I was looking for. Before I could turn around Dr McMahon was there and checked me. She looks at Meredith and says, "I felt the head before but now all I feel is placenta. Jen, we need to do a C-section. NOW." Needless to say, I got really scared at that point. Things started happening really fast. Like "Grey's Anatomy" fast. They took me into surgery and started hooking things up to me. I got a spinal and a second IV line and all kinds of other goodies. Soon Tim was there and they start the section. Everything was very clinical for a few minutes. "Knife #1. Knife #1. Sponge. Sponge." Then I heard Dr McMahon chuckle. That was a HUGE relief because up until that moment I was scared to death. She says, "Tim, stand up." So Tim stands up and looks over the drape to see a BOY with his legs spread! The anesthesiologist says, "Dad, tell us the news." Dead silence. Finally, Tim says, "Um, it's a boy?" And then I threw up.

Then Wyatt started to cry that awesome newborn cry. The neonatologist took over, they gave him an IV for fluids and gave him some help breathing. I kept asking how big he was and if he was OK. They finally told me 5 pounds 2 ounces, 17.5 inches long. Wow. Teeny little boy. Tim went with Wyatt to the nursery and I stayed in recovery for an hour. I found out from Dr McMahon that my placenta was 40% abrupted and we made the right decision going to the C-section.

When I finally got back to my room it was an awesome party! Dad and Judy were there, Tim's parents, Caroline, ReeRee, Shawnie, Leenie, Megs, and Christine were all there. Dawn was there but graciously offered to take Amelia and Greta home to bed so my in-laws could stay. It was exactly what I had wanted. My family and best gal pals there to greet Wyatt and me. I almost cried. Or maybe I did but that was probably from the morphine pump.

So our sweet baby boy is here and we love him to pieces. His sisters are also totally smitten and fight over whose turn it is to hold him. Thanks to everyone for all your prayers and well-wishes. Without further ado, here's more pictures!

IT'S A BOY!

Wyatt Nathan
7-6-07 7:00pm
5 pounds 2 ounces
17.5 inches

Yep, you heard me right. It is a boy. And wow, what a wild ride! When I am up to it I will post his whole birth story but here's a picture of the teeny one.

Bass Ackwards

Last summer when Tim and I discussed having a fourth and final baby, we knew I would probably have ICP again but we figured other than that it would be a pretty problem-free pregnancy. Yeah, not so much. First, we had the debilitating "morning" sickness. Then as I started to feel better around 20 weeks, we hit the placenta previa. I was pretty bummed to hear that I would probably need a C-section since I really don't mind the actual birth part. So I spent as much time as I could resting to prevent early labor and bleeding. Fast forward to the next ultrasound where we learned the placenta had moved just enough to avoid a C section. I was so happy. I had a plan. I love a plan. Twice weekly non-stress tests to check up on Baby and induction on July 6. Yippee.

And now for the latest update on the never-ending pregnancy drama. I went in yesterday for a final ultrasound and non-stress test to check the cervix and make sure Baby's heartbeat is doing fine. Baby looks OK, heartbeat not "as responsive as I'd like" says the doctor but still steady and strong. BBBBUUUUTTTT the kid is BREECH!! Upside down. Greeting the world biscuits first. So there go all those plans.

So here's the new plan~and I use that word loosely as all of my plans have gone down the tubes! I get to spend my 4th of July upside as much as possible to try to get Baby to flip. I go in to the hospital Friday for an Bio-Physical profile which is a fancy U/S which measures breathing, movement, fluid levels, and a bunch of other stuff. IF Baby has moved, we go ahead with induction. If Baby has not moved, we try upside-down fun for a few more days and then I go back Tuesday for an External Cephalic Version to try and turn Baby for a regular delivery. If that does not work, I am stuck with a C-Section. The only small part of the news that is good is I get to skip my amnio. (If you have ever had an amnio, you know that they are NOT fun!) My doctor said she is delivering me by Tuesday regardless of the amnio so it wasn't really necessary. Her words, "I would rather have a baby with breathing issues than no baby at all." I was GLAD to hear that!

So I ask for prayers that this little one turns! Being that he/she (and NO I still do NOT know the gender!) is small, an old-fashioned delivery is better to help with the breathing too. Thanks and we'll keep y'all posted!

No Photo Necessary

Just to illustrated how crazy a late-term pregnant woman can be, here's a story for you. Please block all mental images~especially people like my brothers who might be reading this! :-)

Last night I decided a good soak in the bathtub sounded wonderful. So I set about getting things ready, you know, a nice candle, dim the lights, a good book, some Michael Bolton (OK, no Michael Bolton. Ick.) You get the picture. I go to turn on the water and notice my tub is dirty. Like gross dirty. So what did I do~naked and very pregnant? I cleaned the tub. Almost passed out from lack of oxygen from standing on my head to reach all the way back into the tub.

I had a very nice bath. Thanks for asking.

Happy Birthday Amelia Kate. . .a bit late. . .

Poor Amelia. She's getting lost in the shuffle again this week! Yesterday was her 4th b-day and so far the only special thing she gotten to do is go to see the doc for her check-up. We planned to do something fun today but just got a call that a family member of someone in our small group died or is about to die so we are taking care of kids and VBS commitments instead and general running around instead.

So Amelia Kate. Where to begin?! As many of you know, we were trying to have a second baby for years after Caroline was born. After 18 months of drugs and injections and really embarrassing (yet funny!) procedures with the fertility doc, it just never happened. So we started to pursue adding to our family through adoption. We were about 1/2 through the process when I found out I was preggers. Shocked the heck out of me! I called my fertility doc and asked him what he thought. His question was, "Have you changed your body chemistry at all? Quit smoking? Lose a lot of weight? Quick drinking?" Well, I have never been a smoker, still just a "social" drinker, but hey! I did join WW and lose 40 pounds. He guessed that was what did it for me. He said the healthier lifestyle~mostly reduction in sugar intake~stabilized my body enough to ovulate regularly. (And boy did it ever~got preggers 2 more times with very little effort!)

Fast forward to June of 2003. I was a few days from my due date and just as miserable as a very pregnant woman can be. I went in for my appointment hoping that there was enough "action" to get me sent to the hospital. No such luck. Upon hearing that news I did what we all would have done in that situation~I burst into tears. Just sobbing, "I can't be pregnant anymore!"

Doc felt sorry for me and says, "Baby is not moving real well, right?"

Me: "Um, no. Baby is moving fine." I was a bit confused.

Doc: Winking and writing a scipt, "Baby is not moving, RIGHT?"

Me: Getting it now. "Oh no. No baby moving."

So she sent me to the hospital for a bio-physical profile which measures many things including level of movement. Wouldn't you know it, she wasn't moving enough! She actually flunked the fetal movement part of the test. So I went in the next night to be induced. Aunt Christine showed up at about 8 am and proceeded to be a really great coach/doula. She had be walking the halls, sitting on a huge bouncy ball, and on my hands and knees at one point. Tim slept through most of this. Around 1pm they decided to go get lunch thinking I still had awhile to go. The returned to my water broken with the discovery of menconium, lots of pain and me begging for my epidural. Once my good ole epidural was in, it was great! They had called the Neonatologist since there was menconium and warned us I wouldn't get to see her right away since they wanted to clear her airway. She was born at 3:29 and no one would tell me if it was a boy or girl. I remember asking Christine and her answer was "I can't tell." So NOT what you want to hear. Finally a nurse said she's was a girl.

Amelia has been a firecracker every since that day! She screamed though her first bath that day and has hated the water ever since. These days she won't play outside because she figures if she doesn't get dirty, she won't need a bath. Hates to swim. Loves to play computer games and dress-up. Her plans for the future include marrying Matt-Matt and being a princess as a full-time job. We love her to pieces!

Bye Bye Caroline

I spent the whole day doing a run to O'Hare Airport. Caroline left yesterday to visit Aunt Kim and Uncle Jer and Elise in Memphis for the week. It was the first time she ever flew alone. She was SSSSOOOOO excited and scared all at once. So was I. I was all cool about it til we stood in line at the ticket counter for 45 minutes among a throng of zillions of people. Then I started to panic! "What are we doing? Putting our 8 yr old girl on an airplane ALL ALONE?!?!" Once we got her checked in it was easy. AA was great~yes, Jer, they really do take care of your minor! But it took 2 hours to get there, almost 3 hours at the airport, and then almost 2 hours home. Pretty much the whole stinkin' day. Evening was taken up with VBS at church~or as the girls call it "BBBBBBS"

I will post Amelia's birthday post later this afternoon. . .I hope.

Cheap Thrills

With Caroline gone camping for the week her sisters were getting B-O-R-E-D. So here's what we came up with. Painting the house with a bucket of water and DIRT. Look at those filthy children. You'd think we live in Indiana or something.

What Did You Learn Today?

Why do you like to read? My sister-in-law says she likes to read to veg out~"nothing too serious that makes me have to use my brain." My sister only likes to read things that tell her what time her favorite shows are on. I have lots of friends who only read "Christian" fiction and just as many who shun the genre. I love to read to learn. If a topic interests me, I read about it. Ask my small group friends about our trip to an Amish area. They were ready to throw me out of the van because I kept spouting off bits of Amish trivia. I especially like to read fiction in which I learn about a subject. I just finished a great book that did exactly that. "Keeping Faith" by Jodi Picoult is all about a child who appears to have healing powers and shows stigmata. I had heard the term but really knew very little about stigmata or any other Catholic signs or miracles. I won't give away the story but I really learned a lot about the Catholic faith through this story. Now I spend time googling all kinds of interesting stuff about the historic church. Then when the small group is ready for a trip to Rome or the Holy Land, I will be ready!

QOTD~What good book have you read that taught you about a subject you knew very little about?

Say Thank You to Uncle Jim

There is a story in my family about me refusing to say "Thank you" to my Uncle Jim. I was about 3 and it was 1975 so Uncle Jim had a lot of hair. I remember being scared of him and all his hair. My dad was not taking "NO" for answer so the showdown began. I don't remember how it ended but I do know that for my parents saying "Thank you" was a huge deal.

We had an incident last night which made me realize that manners are not what they should be. Our neighbor was giving all the kids rides in the back of wagon attached to a tractor. First of all, I saw that on "Dateline" and it's not safe. I didn't want to be the uncool mom so I let the girls go. When ride time was over I helped the girls out of the wagon and said "What do you need to tell Mr. Brian?" Amelia and Greta both went over and said "Thank you Mr Brian!" I swear to you at that moment all my neighbors looked at me like I was from Mars. Not one other kid was prompted to say thank you. There was dead silence.

One of my biggest pet peeves is rude kids. Now I understand kids are kids and will always forget the politeness we try to engrave in their brains. What I am talking about is kids who never say "please" or "thank you". Or worse to me is the kids who's parents don't teach it. If I give a neighbor kid a juice box and he/she is older than 3, I expect a "thank you" (and a Mrs Last Name, but more on that later) I do expect said child to forget to say "thank you" and that is when I expect Mom/Dad to say "What do you say Junior?" What sends me over the edge is when parents don't prompt or correct their kids. Is that asking too much?

And on the subject of politeness. . .I expect to be called Mrs Last Name. (Or Mrs Jen or Mrs Amelia's Mommy are also fine) I was discussing this with a friend of mine who doesn't quite agree. She was trying to figure out why it bothered me so much. After thinking on it, I have come up with one reason. I am my mother. This was something my own mom was big on and it is ingrained in me. Deeper into it, I am bothered by the fact that the line between kid and grown-up is so blurred. I am a grown-up and kids are not. Adults are to be respected just simply because they are adults. My girls are not allowed to call an adult by a first name. Ever. Period. It is Mr or Mrs First Name if they are little and Caroline now says Mr or Mrs Last Name. Only exceptions are very close family friends who are "Aunt" and "Uncle" and our pastors at church who are "Pastor Kris" and "Pastor Drew". I have had other adults say "Oh no. She can call me Mary" While I respect another person's right to be called what they wish, I am trying SO hard to teach this that it frustrating. Sure, I feel weird when someone calls me by what I consider my mother-in-law's name, it is important to me that kids learn that grown-ups still run the world.

OK, stepping off my soapbox. . .Thank you for listening.

Happiness is. . .

buying dairy products that expire after your due date.

50 Random Things About Jen

Jana has a list of 100 things about her which I love to read! See, Jana is my sister's BFF and someone I have gotten to know a bit thru Kim but she is also someone that I would probably pick out to be friends with. And alot of that "knowledge" has come from reading her blog. So I decided to do my own list. And being that I have nothing new to talk about most days, this will give me some ideas! :-)

1. I am the oldest kid in my family.
2. I have a degree in Communications.
3. I am one class short of a degree in Political Science.
4. I do not drink enough water.
5. My first job was at County Seat selling Guess jeans.
6. My CDs are alphabetized.
7. So are my cookbooks~by genre and then author.
8. I love the Food Network.
9. I can not work my flat iron.
10. I love Wendy's.
11. My mom died of breast cancer when I was 30.
12. U2's "The Joshua Tree" is my favorite album ever.
13. I want to be a writer.
14. I want to be a caterer.
15. I love 80's movies.
16. I love the process of choosing names.
17. I adore Ebay.
18. I want to dress like a hip cool mom, but I fail miserably.
19. I once baked a 13x9 pan of bronwies and ate the whole thing in one day.
20. I spent 6 weeks after high school in Canada on a mission trip.
21. My first car was a 1987 Mercury Sable that was the color of dirt.
22. I love Ronald Reagan.
23. I do not like bananas.
24. I am learning to like wine~a lot.
25. I swore I would never dress my kids alike. Then I had 3 really cute girls.
26. I did not like being married for the first 3 years.
27. I have a crush on Alfonso Ribero~Carleton from "The Fresh Prince".
28. I also have a crush on Brit Hume.
29. I am terrible at sticking to an exercise regime.
30. My favorite color is aqua blue.
31. My favorite singer ever is Billy Joel.
32. I have re-decorated my bedroom 7 times in the past 12 years.
33. Unreliability is my biggest pet peeve.
34. And lateness.
35. I am terrible at writing thank you notes~~though I think they are important!
36. I am a closet Guns and Roses fan.
37. I watch "Days of Our Lives"
38. I sometimes buy TV dinners for my kids.
39. I am an avid scrapbooker. At least for my oldest daughter's book I am!
40. I make dinner at 10 am.
41. I love old cheesy Christian "rock"
42. I visit consignment shops on vacation.
43. I hate to make dinner.
44. I love to cook.
45. I had never set foot in Walmart til I was in college.
46. I was 24 the first time I tried a cigarette.
47. I once threw a shoe at my sister and gave her a black eye.
48. My first boyfriend is married to my best friend.
49. I am not good at arts and crafts.
50. I do not put batteries in my girls' noisy toys.

Happy Happy Joy Joy

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. . .la la la la. Good news from the doc today. I had an ultrasound and placenta has migrated north just a wee bit. .7 centimeters to be exact. Which is JUST enough for a regular old delivery. NO C-section!!!! I almost cried with joy. I still have to have one more U/S in 5 weeks to re-check but all looks good. I also have an "official" induction date. Baby #4 will be joining us on July 6. I get to have steroid shots next week to move the lungs along and an amnio on July 5. If all is good, we get to meet the last Lampen baby on July 6!

And no, I did not find out the gender. :-)