The Birth

October 2nd came and went with no baby. I had a doctor's appointment on the 4th and we decided that if I hadn't gone into labor by the 7th, we would induce. With the plan ready, I worked on unpacking more of the boxes in the house and getting my bag ready for the hospital. We had gotten almost all the boxes unpacked except the ones with our books.
The afternoon of the 5th I was waiting for a UPS delivery so I decided to tackle the book boxes. Sitting on the floor of the bedroom, I heard the buzzer for the door and as I got up, I felt something running down my leg. OH SHIT! was all that came to my mind because my water had just broke. I waddled to the door, got the package, then headed directly to the bathroom to see what exactly was going on. I cleaned up, got some dry clothes and proceeded out of the bathroom just as Jason walked through the door. I looked at him shocked, told him my water broke and panicked just a little bit. I still hadn't gotten everything gathered for the hospital so I frantically gathered what was left, of course forgetting toothbrushes, toothpaste, hairbrush and a couple of other things for Jason.
The 45 minute drive to the hospital wasn't too eventful. I called the doctor's office on the way over to let them know I was heading over. We also called our parents and my parents were going to head out as soon as possible.
I slowly leaked all the way and was very uncomfortable when Jason dropped me off so he could park the car. I waddled to the elevator so I could head up to the labor and delivery floor where they got me checked in and I got out of my soaked clothes. They checked me over and my water had broke so I settled in the bed and just relaxed. The contractions hadn't really started so they decided to get some pitocin going to get them started. I made laps around the hospital floor when I could to try and get things moving. My parents had gotten there by the time I had gotten settled. They stayed for a little while visiting and then decided to find a hotel room for the night since the doctor was sure I wouldn't be going into labor until later.

Resting and chatting with parents in the labor/delivery room

Around midnight, the contractions started getting worse. I decided to get my epidural and hopefully get a little rest that night. I got all hooked up and the epidural in but of course I just couldn't get comfortable and was restless all night. It didn't help that they kept checking on me to make sure things were ok. They put an internal monitor on the baby, but for some reason it didn't want to stay stuck. You'll see why in a bit LOL. Jason pulled out the couch and tried to get comfortable himself but it's not easy on a bed he wasn't used to.

Around 7 a.m. Dr. Swanson came in to see how things were going and at the time I was at 7 cm dilated. I never did go past that mark. Around 9 a.m, the doc was back to see me and I hadn't dilated any farther and the baby was going into distress so we decided that the best for both of us would be to have a c-section. It wasn't what I was planning but plans can and will change. They stopped the pitocin and the baby calmed down. They got J some scrubs so he could be there with me and off I went to the operating room. Now, this was the first time I had EVER been admitted to a hospital let alone major surgery. I was so nervous I started feeling sick. J wasn't there right away when I got there and I was panicky. My breathing exercises came in handy that day. All I could feel was lots of tugging on my body and it felt so weird. At 9:30 a.m., our little girl joined the world. She didn't cry right away but I did finally hear her and it was a beautiful sound. I laid there while they closed me up and J went with the nurses to get our beautiful baby girl cleaned up, weighed, measured and checked over then he brought her over to me and I got to see my little girl for the first time.

 

 

 

 

Meeting my daughter for the first time

Our family

This is Evelyn Inez Gaspard, born October 6th, 2011.

Life Happens part 2

Ok, July had the 4th of July party with my family and at the end of the month was the Eliason family reunion. It was a struggle every time we would try and visit my family because of all the flooding from the Missouri River. There were sections of I-29 closed, highways and bridges closed. A little over 2 hour trip to my parent's house turned into 3 hours some times. It was tough, but we got up to visit when we could.

The weather cooperated enough to be able to have the 4th at my brother's house. We all had a good time with family and enjoyed the food and the festivities of the fireworks at night. It was warm that day, but nothing to what it was for our family reunion. The end of July in South Dakota was miserable. Being in my 3rd trimester when it was this hot was even worse. I couldn't get cooled off. I was so uncomfortable. We would go over in the morning to the campground where we would gather and by the late morning I felt the need to go back to the hotel and sleep. I was so hot I couldn't even eat, because I would feel sick. I even took cool showers when we would get back to the hotel room to get cooled off and then I would lay down and nap for a couple of hours. It didn't help that the a/c in the hotel room wasn't working that great either. We would then head over in the evening for a couple of more hours and then off to bed.

I also had my first of 3 baby showers for our nugget as Jason called her since we didn't know what we were having.  This shower was for my family and friends that lived by my parents. I got to see many people I haven't seen in a very long time. It was like a homecoming.

beginning of 3rd trimester

I was working on packing during this time. We were supposed to move in to our new place the first of August, but they called us and said the old tenants weren't moving out until the end of August. We lucked out and the apartment complex we were living in hadn't informed the new tenants for our place when we would be moving out so we were able to stay until we could move into our new place which was September 9th. I got an extra month for packing and boy did I need it. I still wasn't finished packing when the truck pulled in that morning. It was a long, hot day and by the time everything was moved into the apartment I was exhausted. I made too many trips up and down the stairs. We decided that night we would spend at J's parents so we didn't have to worry about making the bed or unpacking anything. I saw my doctor the next week and he said I was lucky I didn't put myself into early labor moving like that.

The room we were going to use as a nursery had turned into a catch all room for boxes we weren't sure what we were going to do with so it was full and needed to be cleaned out before we could move in any of the baby furniture we had. The crib was purchase for us at a consignment sale and the changing table was loaned to us by Jason's sister. Both pieces were out in the dining room until the room got cleared out. When we finally did that, we got the crib together and started putting things away as best as we could. Now I want to change the room again since Evie is older. These photos were taken very close to the end of the pregnancy.

Well, another long post and I still haven't made it to the birth LOL. Next time :)

Life Happens

Well, it's been way too long since the last time I blogged and so much has happened I don't know where to start.

 This past year has brought about a lot of change once again in my life and my husband's life. 2011 started out with my J getting written up at work. It was the first time he had ever been written up for a job. It was crazy. The place he was working at had turned very toxic and he was having panic attacks when he was getting ready in the morning.
 During this time we also found out that I was pregnant. Many don't know this but I had a miscarriage almost 2 years ago. Anyone that talked to me at Silver Bell 2010 might have heard how I got a tattoo while there. The tattoo was for the baby I lost. I went in and got checked when I was late and I was about 6 weeks along but I had to go on hormone therapy. I had to go in for weekly blood tests to make sure the levels were where they needed to be. When I went in for my 8 week appointment, they said things were looking good. Things kept going well and I was able to be off the hormone therapy after 10 weeks.
Unfortunately, after J worked so hard to try and keep his job, he was still fired at the end of January. He took a few weeks off, got his resume in order and started sending out to job listings all over. We were uncertain as to where he would get a job at. We were wondering if we would end up having to moving across country again. Luckily, he applied and got a job in Omaha so we only had to move from Lincoln to Omaha. Lets just say that even though it hurt him to be fired, he now is working at a place that is so much nicer than where he was.

The first trimester went well. There were a few foods that I just couldn't handle even smelling and I was very tired. I still worked at the behavior school but I could no longer be involved in crisis situations with the children. I was also informed by my ob/gyn that he wanted me to try and not gain too much weight during the pregnancy since I was already overweight starting in. We decided to not find out what we were having. We liked the idea of a surprise. J named the fetus nugget. The best thing was telling our parents. We decided to tell J's parents on his mom's birthday so we got her a grandma theme card. She read through and it didn't click until the end when she saw that is was signed by nugget. With my parents, I made t-shirts that said grandma and grandpa. I gave them the shirts and said I found them in the clearance at a store. They looked at them and it took a bit for the news to click. I think our parents had given up on getting grandkids from us. I've never seen my mom move so fast to give me a hug and J's mom cried where I figured it would be my mom that would've gotten teary-eyed.

Second trimester had lots of things going on. J got to be there for the baby's first photos aka ultrasounds. He didn't get to be there to hear the heartbeat for the first time but I phoned him up and he heard it over the phone. It was so amazing hearing the baby's heartbeat. School was coming to an end. I was doing well not gaining much weight and the baby was growing well. By this time I had started to wear a lot of pants with elastic in them and had to pack away all my jeans and shorts that were just a little too small. I may not have gained a lot of weight but my mid-section was starting to get bigger even though I technically wasn't showing yet. I finally told everyone at work I was pregnant. I wanted to wait until after the first trimester to let people know but I told the important people that would need to know that I was pregnant and couldn't do some of the things I would have normally handled. It was a sad day the last day of school. I loved the people I worked with and I didn't want to leave there, but we had to move to Omaha and with the baby there was no way I would be able to keep working there. My summer entailed packing, looking for an apartment to move to and doctor's appointments. There are more things we did but That will be the next blog. Gotta keep you in suspense :)

Louisiana here I come!!!

Well, for about the next week I will be in Louisiana visiting my father-in-law's family and attending a wedding. We haven't been down to visit in 6 years. I can't wait to see all my husband's family and don't forget about the food. I probably won't get to go to New Orleans this time around but that's ok. I will still get to enjoy spending time with the extended family, celebrate a wonderful union and get to eat some amazing food :) I will definitely blog when I get back. Here are some photos from our last trip to tide you over :)

crawfish boil with the family

Oak Alley plantation

beignets at Cafe Du Monde

Reflections

It's been six months since I have posted on here and I can't say I've been too busy to not post. I have just been too lazy. Sure, I've thought about getting on here and leaving a post, but then something else comes up, usually a book that I am reading and the next thing I know the time has flown. So now that I can't sleep, I thought I would come and leave my thoughts here since they are cluttering my mind.


Tonight as my DH and I were going to bed, we laid down and he started talking about regrets. How it's all he can think about some days. Would we be in a better situation if we would have made different choices? Why do the decisions feel like the wrong ones and now we are stuck?

I am guessing he isn't the only one with these thoughts. I know I have thought them, but what makes it different for me is that I don't see them as "wrong". I see them as this is the path we decided to take and for better or for worse this is what we have and we make due until we go a different way if that's how it goes.
I laid there just thinking about the past and wondering where my path took a different fork than I planned. I couldn't find it, but I am sure if I look hard enough I could figure out where my life took a change. But you know what, I don't want to look that closely. I don't want to worry about the past. The past is the past. I need to learn from the changes I have made and when that next tough decision comes around, I can look at the other decisions I have made and they will hopefully help me figure out which is the next fork in the path to take.

There has been many changes in my life since I graduated high school. Shit, it's been 16 years since I graduated high school. If I hadn't had any change than something wouldn't be right. I know change is hard on many people, my DH included. I guess I have learned to embrace the change in some aspects of my life but in other aspects I have been very stagnant. I just wish that when a decision is made my DH wouldn't look at it as good or bad. I wish he would see it as another direction to go on the highway of life. I leave you with a photo of me thinking at Pooh's Thotful Spot at Disneyland from January 2007. Perfect photo for how I am feeling tonight.

Trying to get myself back on track

I have been working on getting myself back on track since we have gotten back from Vegas. With the screwy weather and having so many days off from school, it’s taking a bit to get back into a normal rhythm with everything.

Some things I have been doing is working on not eating out as much as we were. I have been doing well with this. We have only eaten out once in a two week period. I am also trying to make more things from scratch and not use as much prepared foods. Leftovers have been going into lunches for the next day for DH and I so we aren’t tempted to going somewhere instead.

I am also checking into a gym to go to. I need to get moving again and it’s just too icky outside to walk and I get bored doing the same workout DVDs over and over again. There is a gym very close to where we live so I am leaning toward them. I have a free day pass to check them out so I will let you know how it goes.

I still go to Weight Watchers. I didn’t weigh in for over a month and I went in last week and was up 1.2. I was ok with that so hopefully I will do better when I weigh this week.

Next post will be a little more stimulating. Just felt like I needed to get a post in with an update. Everyone take care and hope you are all doing well and keeping safe.

Sick

Well, it seems we have been struck with illness here. Both Jason and I are sick. We started getting sick last weekend and I think we are now on the mend but it's been a long week.

I didn't know I could have so much snot come out of me. Good thing the weather has been crappy and school has been closed the last couple of days so I have been taking the time to get better. I have a feeling we won't have school again tomorrow because of temperature. They are calling for -4 for the high tomorrow. -4!!! That is just not right.

Everyone stay safe in this crazy weather and hopefully I will be back with something a little more interesting next post.

34 things to accomplish

Some of you may know I had a birthday this month. I turned 34. I love reading blogs and I was inspired by Elsie's blog A Beautiful Mess. She posted about how she made a list of things to do before her next birthday. It got me thinking and I just loved the idea.
Why not make a goal list for the year based on your age?!?! I need to get myself focused and working towards a goal. For the last few years, I have felt like I am treading water in my life.


Not going anywhere.


Not growing.


Stuck in stagnant water


This is my time, my year to make things happen in my life. I can feel it. Something was different about this birthday. Most of the time my birthdays just wash over me and they aren't that special. I hope to keep this feeling going.

Of course, over the last week it hasn't been a great time. Too much snow, not getting out of the house. I am getting down in the dumps, but today the snow is shining on ice coated branches making the world seem it is made of glass. The snow flocked evergreens waiting patiently. Today is a day of renewal and change.

I hope everyone has a wonderful end to their year and a great start for 2010.

Merry Christmas!!!!

I have lots to share!!! You can see in the background I was in Las Vegas this month. It was my birthday and our Christmas present to each other. We are standing outside of Bellagio where we stayed for a week.

I hope this next week I have off from school I can catch you up on everything that has happened over the last couple of months. But right now I just want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!!! I hope you all stay safe and be careful. We are staying home for Christmas because of the weather and will have Christmas with the families next week when hopefully the weather is a little nicer.

Take care and have a wonderful holiday!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

I have lots to share with everyone for the last few months. I want to post and say how thankful I am for a roof over my head, the love of my husband and being close to my family once again. I have missed living in the desert but I now have a job I love and I get to see my parents more than twice a year.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and make sure you don't eat too much. I will be down at weigh-in on Monday even after turkey dinner :)

Take care and I will be back with photos and other updates this weekend.

8 Years Ago

Eight years ago today I married my best friend. I met Jason my freshman year of college. We had a long distance relationship for close to 5 years. We were together 7 years when we finally got married. For some reason, we decided it was a good idea to wait for him to graduate from pharmacy school before getting hitched.

We have had a lot of ups and downs in the last 8 years. We have both lost grandparents. We moved over 1300 miles from both of our families. We bought our first house. We have had a niece and 2 nephews join the family. Jason changed jobs and we moved back to the Midwest.

I know I couldn't have done it without you by my side. I know wherever life takes us, I can count on you to be there with me. You are my friend and my partner in everything. I love you.

Maintaining

Well, I am down a little over 8 pounds as of right now. I have been working hard and keeping myself on track. I have had some restaurant eating in my weeks and some trips to families for dinners or over night.

This week I maintained. No loss or gain, just staying the same. I am starting my 8th week. Two months I have been working on getting myself healthy. Here are some things I have discovered about myself for this journey.

1. It's ok to eat out once in awhile just don't do it everyday.
2. Don't limit yourself on something you want. Go ahead and eat it. Give yourself permission to enjoy it. Just don't use it as an excuse to completely go off program.
3. This is NOT a diet, it is a lifestyle change.
4. Know you will have ups and downs. Take them as they come and work through them. I have had a couple of rough weeks emotionally, but I have worked hard not to turn towards food as comfort. It's not easy, but I have been keeping my hands busy during these tough times with embroidery.
5. This will not be an easy journey, but I am ready to get going and keep on this path.

Now some things I need to work on :)

1. I need to exercise. I did ok at the beginning but I got my schedule messed up and now I am not getting it in as regularly as I was. I need to start again and just get moving.
2. Eating my fruits and veggies. I love them, all kinds, but it's not the easiest to get in everyday.
3. Journal. I do pretty good most days but the weekend I have a tendency to slack off. This I need to work on.

Ok, I know there is more for me to work on but I think three things will be good for the next 8 weeks. I don't want to discourage myself by making too many goals that I can't possibly acheive them all.

Now, time to get started on my Silverbella swaps. I have the bases done for two of them and ideas started for the rest. I am getting so excited for this event. I can't wait.

I am off, but remember take time to create today!

4.8

This is a special number. This is how much I lost in my first week back at Weight Watchers. I was floored when the leader told me how much I had lost. I didn't know what to say at first. When I was last on WW I never lost that much in one week ever. The most I would lose is 3 pounds.

I want this. I want to be healthy. I want to be able to walk up the stairs to my apartment and not get winded. I don't want to end up like both of my parents. They both have problems with all their lower joints. They have high blood pressure, cholesterol and my dad is diabetic. I want to be able to live without these problems and without having to be on medication when I get older. Also, the older I get the harder it will be to get the weight off.

I am going to work hard and I will stay on program this time around. I want to see under 200 this time.

First Week of Healthy Lifestyle

Well, last Monday I started back at Weight Watchers. I got on the scale and weighed in at my highest weight ever. I was sad and ashamed of myself. How did I let myself get this far down the road??

I got home, sat down and started reading through the literature for Week 1. They have changed up the program some since the last time I was on WW. I made sure I was comfortable with the new program and started counting my points on Tuesday. DH is doing this with me so hopefully the two of us will be able to keep each other on track. We are both tired of the way we feel and hopefully this time we will succeed.

Last time I was on WW we did well for a while but then we went on vacation. We let the vacation take us off track. We then started to revert back to our old habits of getting take away and going out to eat.

So, our goal now is going out to eat twice a week instead of the four-five we were going out for. We are trying new recipes to keep things interesting. I am making weekly visits to the farmer's market while they are going and just making sure there are good, healthy items in the house.

We are heading to my parents for the fourth this coming weekend and we will see how it goes. We are planning our snacks and I will make sure I get my exercise in.

I WANT TO SUCCEED!!!

Epic Fail!

OK, some days things work out the way you want and other days not so much. This last week I was working on getting my charms finished up and in the mail for the "Things with Wings" charm swap I am participating in. I posted a photo of what I started with. Well, I decided to add this and that to the charms and at the end of the day I hated them. I was so disappointed with the first batch of charms I made. Then on Thursday, I went to get them off the balcony where they were drying and found them strewn by the wind. Some fell through the cracks of the balcony and I just gave up then. Here they are in mid process.



So, this Monday rolls around and I have to get my charms made and in the mail this week. I start like I did before, but decided to keep it simple but still beautiful. It's a good thing I cut more than I needed of the clay disks in the beginning. Now they are packaged and ready to be put in the mail today.


Next time I will practice on one or two before doing the WHOLE lot. Oh, and don't worry, the ones I did save, I can sand off and use them for another project so all is well in my little craft world.

Remember to take time to create!

Work in Progress

Well, it's been awhile again since I have blogged. I have been working *gasp* at a long term position at one of the schools here. I decided to work for the public schools as a substitute para educator (fancy way of saying teacher's assistant). It has been a little crazy at times but I have enjoyed working for the schools. I plan on working next year as a sub also.

I have also been crafting in my spare time. I haven't been able to get into where all my supplies are but I have been doing some things that I can get to. Mainly I have been working on jewelry. I think I am going to open an etsy site and see if I can sell some things through there. Here are some photos of some things I have been working on.


These are some small canvas hangings I made for the teacher and para I worked with for the last month or so.

They really made me feel comfortable and part of the class I was working in.

The canvas are 3" square that I got at Dick Blick. The sayings are stamps from Paula Best. I just love the images and the sayings she has on her stamps. The canvas I painted using different techniques I learned in Paulette Insall's backgrounds class. It's online and I had so much fun taking the class.

This is a work in progress. I am in the "Thing with Wings" charm swap over at Faerie Dust Dreams. This has been a fun swap to work on. I have these started. I just need to wait for them to dry so I can get them finished. I am even making a couple of extra charms to use later.

Hopefully I won't be so long between posts from now on. Take care and remember to make time to do something for yourself.

Thank you Mom!

I know I am late with posting this but at least I am posting it now. It's a running joke in my family about cards and gifts arriving late.

Mom,

I just want you to know how much you are a huge part of my life. Every up and down I have, I know I can talk to you and you will listen and understand. You have always been there for the big and little steps I have taken in my life. When Jason and I were deciding to move away, you were so sad but you also made to point to remind me that if we didn't do it know, we may never take the chance later in life. Those years apart from you and dad were rough but we still made it through. Technology really helped with that. Thank you for being there for us if not in person, at least over the phone and the computer.

Thank you mom.

Our House

is a very, very fine house. At least we thought it was when we bought it. We lived in it for a little over three years. At the time we bought it, we didn't think we would be moving so soon. We were going to be in the house for 5-10 years and then maybe build our next one. Circumstances don't always work out that way. My DH decided he really didn't like his job and started looking for a new one in Tucson. He also started looking back by our families. He found this job in Lincoln, NE but he didn't think they would want him. He applied anyway and here we are almost a year later.

With the house, we had it on the market for 6months and we didn't sell it. We decided after some major contemplating, we would put the house up for rent. We got the paper work filled out, sent back to the rental agent and waited. We got a call last night that there was someone interested and we gave the okay today. It feels like a weight has been lifted some off my shoulders. I am so glad we will be able to get some of the money back we have been putting out each month.

Spring

This weekend we had a wonderful rain. It made everything pop with color after the clouds cleared and the sun came out to play. I forgot about all the wonderful colors that were to be enjoyed during the spring in the Midwest. I remember driving back here from Arizona last July and thinking about how everything started to become greener the farther north we went. I didn't know I missed those vibrant colors until I started to see them again. Don't get me wrong. The desert still has it 's fair share of colors but for the most part it is pretty drab.

I am really enjoying the change of seasons and watching everything come back to life after the cold of winter. It's something I will treasure.

Well, I received this a while ago but I have been working lots and have not had time to update my blog.

This is the first blog award I have received. I was thrilled someone picked me.

Jacquie over at Creations4U picked me for this.

Now time to pick the people the make my heart smile.


Here are the Rules:
1. The winner may put the logo on their blog.
2. Put a link to the person who sent you the award.
3. Nominate 10 blogs.
4. Put links to their blogs.
5. Leave a message for your nominees.


Jenni Bowlin
Becky Novacek
May Flaum
Amanda Willey
Princess Lasertron
Scrappy Jessi
Teresa McFayden
Vicki Chrisman
Kelly Lautenbach
Heather Ales