no rhyme or reason

Lately I suck at blogging so here's the latest in no particular order:

Me--Um, recovery so far is pretty good. I'm off pain meds and have been for over a week. I'm still making about a gallon of milk more than Simon needs and freezing it. I took a couple gallons worth over to a friend's, because my freezer ran out of space. I'm slowing down though, which is good. I've lost 15 pounds of the 30 this pregnancy gained, and am fairly positive that the remaining weight is residing in my butt. I'm tempted to bust out the yoga dvd from college days, but somehow I know it isn't going to be as "fun" without Jenny and Mel mocking Denise and saying things like "squeeze that hiney baby!" ....definitely not fun without them.

Chris--is being amazing. He comes home and plays with Ava for 2-3 hours in a feeble attempt to wear her down--there is no end to her energy. tonight he made dinner even. He helps when I need him during the night, and even gets to work on time, without any help from me. He makes sure that Ava doesn't mawl Simon, and that I'm getting the nutrition that I need. I'm not sure how he does it. Super man for sure!!

Simon-seizure free for almost 2 weeks. Tested his pheno level Saturday--doc called today and said it's right where it should be. HORRAY! He's getting his circumcision tomorrow. They opted not to do it last week, because he had a rather horrific pheno level blood draw--which proved to be useless, because they didn't draw enough blood--hense the draw on Saturday. Foot pricks are better than Head blood draws anyday! He weighed in at 8 pounds 6 ounces last week. Will update with new stats tomorrow. There should be more for me to write here, but he's going to wake soon for a feeding...it's karma.

Ava--still full of energy that seems to never end. Thanks to Glitter books from Angie, we now have a bed time routine though, and she's falling asleep almost on her own. If we could just get that on her own sleeping time from 11:3o to 9:30 my life would be a lot more coherent. Chris and I alternate nights of putting her down. She was staying up until 1:30am when I first got home from the hospital, so we are making progress.

Weather--dear snow storms, I hate you. I'd like that gorgeous spring weather that appeared when I was in the hospital to return. Thanks. Snow storms after the spring equinox are unacceptable.

Basement--supposedly the tile and carpet will be going in this week, as well as the bathroom vanity and other fixtures. It should be finished this week. should. I am not sure I'm going to believe it until I see it. We fired RNR carpet, because they back ordered us twice--even though we paid for the carpet in advance--and then they lost our measurements....and were just overall not very impressive. Hopefully Giant Carpet will be better--but I'm not getting my hopes up. My experience with this whole ordeal is that the renovation/construction business is full of really poorly run businesses--with even worse organizational skills due to not utilizing today's technology...but that's another rant entirely. I'm sure once it's done, I'll be glad that we did it...but lately, I'm over it.

Ok well Simon is not yet awawke, so I'm going to lie down, because this will...of course, cause him to wake and his hungar to be greater than Ghandi's. Hope you enjoyed the randomness that wasn't as random as it could have been.

Ava is so funny! She has this obsession with makeup--and believes that it all is for the mouth. She found my mascara today, and applied it like lipstick. Then she went to use some on the wall--I said "no no!" and she wiped it off, and then said "shhhhh" and ran to the back door, hid behind the curtain and laughed. She also paints her nails with mascara, and her eye brows. Her joy is to make everything "go-geous." She is an amazing artist in the works!

Simon did well last night. I pumped before bed, and took a bottle with 3 ounces up with me. When he woke up, I just fed him the entire bottle and he slept for 3 hours. It seems to be that he sleeps an hour for every ounce during the night. Chris let me sleep in this morning. He took Ava downstairs and fed her breakfast and colored and watched Sleeping Beauty, all while Simon and I snoozed. I got up pretty late, about 11:30 and made us french toast and starting eating everything in site. Love those days.

Chris is off doing homework now. He is so stressed about the end of the semester. He's been a bit of a zombie the last week or so. I hope his anxiety lets up so that he can actually make progress. He's so intelligent, but that stupid anxiety locks up his mind and he becomes mentally paralyzed. I can't imagine how frustrating that must be for him. I wish there was more that I could do to ease his mind and stress.

Bath time!!!

great evening

Simon+Aves+ Chris+ Caramellos+ Redvines+ Rootbeer and Twilight on blu-ray.

3 days and everyone is still alive!

so we are on day 3 of being home. I now understand why my brother's blog isn't updated very often. Having a 2 year old, and a baby who needs constant observation, leaves zero time for fun things like blogging. Simon went from eating 3 ounces every 4 hours while in the hospital, to eating like 1-1.5 ounces every hour during the night. This has created quite an interesting milk supply situation. The last two mornings, I have pumped 12-15 ounces. I read that it's best to drain completely when you pump, but after 15 ounces, I'm so bored and somewhat mystified that I usually quit. I'm almost healed enough to nurse him exclusively, which is good, because he seems to hate all the bottles we have been given. He loved them at the NICU, but the ones we have here, don't seem to do it for him. It's definitely been an adjustment.
I'm so glad the weather rocks! Yesterday, Ava went outside to play 3 times. Twice with Hayden and Co. and once with Madison. She was super tired last night though, due to no nap, and so much play time...and had to go for a car ride to get put to sleep. She was out by 10pm though and up at 8am, so we're making good progress on getting her schedule back to normal. While I was in the Hospital, she was staying up till 12:30 or 1 and sleeping in until 11:00. Sandi has been coming over after work this week and helping me make it to bed time. She's headed to St. George today and so I'm on my own--but not really...because tons of people have offered to help should I begin to lose my mind or become overwhelmed.
We're still receiving yummy meals from our ward--which has been a daily miracle. Thank you!! Chris left this morning with a small laugh and "well, good luck hun!" Thanks to prayers and priesthood blessings, I know we're going to make it....day by day....hahaha sometimes hour by hour.

simon is home!

Simon was discharged today about noon. I'll blog more later, hahaha when I figure out this whole...toddler with endless energy + 2o hour sleeping infant scenario that is now my life.

quick update

I went to the rounds this morning--which is when all the NICU doctors meet to discuss each patient and decide the game plan for them. I was able to attend while they discussed Simon. I have to take a moment to thank my mom, dad, Ben and Johannah for teaching me everything they know about Simon's genetic condition. The doctors were very impressed that we had such a grasp on the situation, and how it runs its course. They did decide, however, to monitor him an additional 24 hours, due to the 2:10am seizure to make sure that his current dosage of phenol barb (moved from 15-17 on the 15th) is a good enough dose to control the seizing. They also decided, that since this seizue did not affect his vital signs, that we would not need to have the home care come set up a monitor for him at our house. YEAY!!! He can be monitor free when he comes home.
Simon was awake quite a bit today!! He was up from about 10-12pm while I was with him, and it was so fun to talk to him, and watch him absorb his surroundings.
Chris came and got me, and we headed over to Sandi's to see Ava. She was in the tub, and Sandi had her laptop on the bathroom counter, approving fundings, and watching Ava from the mirror. YEAY for multi-tasking. Ava was pretty excited to see us. Chris made me lunch, and then headed off to study. Sandi insisted that I take some time to rest, as I had not slept much at all. I passed out on the couch after pumping 8 ounces, and woke up to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. Ava was playing barbies, and brought some over to me. She loves to play barbies man! Chris came back about 3 and we went outside to play. I took some pictures of them playing ball. I'm more of an observer these days, as my energy level has not returned. Dang, just watching Ava play and run exhausts me. Will I really get to the point that I can participate again? We went home about 5pm, and Mary brought dinner over at 6:30. I'm pretty sure to told the Shwann man to buzz off for me, and if so...THANK YOU! The dinner was sooooooo yummy. rolls, brocolli chicken and rice casserole. It even was a winner with Ava. Thank you so much~!!
I locked Chris's keys in his trunk....GO ME! Fortunately, his window was open just enough to get a plastic hanger in, and we were able to unlock the driver's door and pop the trunk with the button under the dash. We really need to make extras and stash them with neighbors. I have too great of a history of locking my keys in the car to not have done this already. We came back to the hospital about 8. Sandi and Dave had been here visiting little man, and said he was awake and ready to eat. He ate all of 5 minutes--I guess he had just eaten an hour ago--and really just wanted to be sure I hadn't abandoned him all together. I've never gone 8 hours away from him before. It was really hard! (I pumped 16 ounces between 12pm-8pm!) We stayed in with him until he fell asleep and then headed back to the room they have me borded in so Chris could do some homework. He just got an email responce from his EET professor that he can have an extension on the assignments and tests due this week--horray! Chris has been burning the candle at every angle, and it's wonderful that they are going to help him succeed and are willing to see that his family is a greater priority than an assignment. So, thanks to that professor. He is still hoping to hear from his CALC professor to see if he will allow some additional deadline time as well. Many great blessings!
Well, tonight's game plan is that I go home with Chris and Ava--help him to get her to bed while the hour is still PM (as she's been pushing 1-1:30am bed times since I've been in the hospital) and then fill my tire on the saturn and drive back here. The rounds for Simon should be first tomorrow, as they moved him to pod 1 in the NICU and they get first dibs at rounds. I'm hoping that if I'm there, that I can go first, and then can get back to Ava in time for Chris to get to work...still trying to figure out how that's going to work. nerve wracking. We'll figure it out. Ok well off to get Aves. I repacked Simon's diaper bag in hopes that he will be released tomorrow--but the Lord knows best, and will guide the doctors to what will be best for our little man. I am striving to keep that attitude. We have been so fortunate through this ordeal.

I headed over to the NICU at 12:30 am to feed Simon. He fed for 25 minutes, awake. Then, fell asleep and was woken by his very unskilled mom as I struggled to get his legs back into the sleeper-wires and all after changing his diaper. He woke back up and for about 20 minutes was up looking around. At 2:10am, he had a 10 second seizure. As he turned his head to the far right, I wanted to scream NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but instead called out for Nicole-his NICU nurse. As he started to seize, I looked up at the clock to begin counting the seconds, and continued to call out for Nicole who was briefing another nurse on how he hadn't had a seizure in 34 hours ironically. I finally spit out--he's having one RIGHT NOW!!! By the time she got to the room, he had just finished, because it was such a short seizure. His vitals remained uneffected and in the normal levels. I'm not sure what this means as far as his ability to come home. I'll find out in a few hours. I just wanted to post while this was fresh in my mind.

so far, so good.

Simon was admitted to the NICU at McKay Dee around 10:30 this morning for tachycardia. His heart rate jumped to 190s during a nap--thus the admission to NICU. He has been seizure free since 4pm 3-14-09. The church volunteers came to give Chris and Ava the sacrament. I was with Simon in the NICU when they came, so I missed them, but Chris said they were really great, and provided a small lesson for them. Simon slept most of the morning, and at 1pm, Chris went in to see him. The NICU closes from 2:30-4:30 for shift changes, so we headed home for family naps. It was so nice to sleep in my own bed. Poor Chris said he wasn't able to fall asleep for a while, because 2 seconds after hitting the pillow I was in a roaring snore. I got up about 4, and he and Ava slept until almost 6pm. Amberleah brought over a fabulous dinner of enchiladas. I must get that recipe. Bill came over to assist Chris in giving me a blessing to help me heal and to comfort me. It was such a beautiful blessing, and I'm so blessed to have a husband and great neighbor who honor their preisthood and are always willing to administer blessings whenever I ask for them. We headed back to the hospital about 7. Sandi met us there, and had been able to have one-on-one time with Simon for about 15 minutes before we got there. Ava loved seeing the fish in the waiting room. Simon had been moved to pod 3 in an isolated room. They put him in a really cute sleeper. It's the first time that he's been in something other than a t-shirt. so so so cute. Sandi took off about 7:30 and took Ava to her house. Chris spent about 30 minutes with Simon, and then headed to our bording area to study. I pumped for Simon, as he was still sleeping, and got the updates from his fabulous nurse, Nicole. She told me that his labs had been taken at 6:30 and he'd eaten really well. 3 ounces at 2:30 and 2 1/2 ounces at 6:45. There had been no seizures, and his heart rate and O2 levels had been normal! horray!!! I hung around holding Simon until 10pm. He slept and slept and slept. We changed his diaper trying to wake him up to get him to eat, but he insistd on eating while sleeping. He took 2.7 ounces, and then smiled and remained asleep. Chris gave him another blessing before we left the room. I walked Chris out, grabbed some food and headed back here to eat, purge myself of the days details that I can remember, and get some sleep.
They have upped his dosage from 15 to 17 on the phenol barb, and all of his labs that were taken at 6:30pm came back great. if the next 10 hours go well, he will be released after the doctors do their rounds (from 8am-10am.) Sandi took Ava for the night, as Chris has work in the morning, and my car has been smoking at the steering column randomly--and Chris doesn't want me to drive it until it's been fixed, so I had no way to come and go tomorrow. We're so very blessed to have family so close, and that they are willing and able to help with Ava.

updates on simon

Ok it's been a very long couple of days, but I need to take the time to write it all out--and it seems like I finally have that time.

Simon inherited a gene from me, that carries an infant seizure disorder. They presented themselves on his 3rd day--which is typical for this disorder. They last about 30-45 seconds, which I have found out, is relatively short as seizures go, although I'll tell you it's the longest 45 seconds I've yet to experience. He has had one that lasted almost 3 minutes, but that was really a blessing, because it allowed a nurse, charge nurse, and several of the staff in the nursery to observe what they look like, and how he responds afterward. Infant seizures, such as these, can be extremely difficult to diagnose, because they are so short, that many times, the doctors and staff do not get to observe them. My mom said that only one of my seizures was ever seen by a nurse, and she only caught the very last couple of seconds. My brother-Ben, and his family went to the ER several times with Joshua, and spent much time in the NICU at Primary Childrens before any staff could observe his seizures. We are very blessed that Simon has had them while in the care of the McKay Dee staff. The first day--they did an EEG and other tests. His labs came back perfect, and his ultrasound of the brain showed no bleeding or other scary signs. His EEG, however, did show seizing, although no physical seizing had occured during the test. This was another blessing. EEGs can be really quite useless, because they only record current activity. So if you aren't having a seizure during the EEG test, then it will come back as normal. The fact that they happened to run the test while he had an episode is an incredible blessing. He is the first in our family's history to have one during the EEG--and this disorder goes back to my Great-Great Uncle.
He has received several beautiful blessings from Chris and his gandfathers. Many people have knelt in prayer on his behalf, and he has been placed on several temple prayer rolls--for this, I cannot express my gratitude enough.
They began giving him phenol barb to help control the seizures. I have been told this will not take them away, but it does keep them from being dangerous, and from causing strokes, and other scary issues. He seems to be responding incredibly well.
During a seizure yesterday, his O2 stats dropped to the low 80s, so we were told that they would keep him an additional 24 hours on monitors, to ensure that he is responding to the meds well and that if he drops again, they are aware and can get him O2 if necessary. He has been seizure free since 4pm 3-14-09. It is now almost 10 am 3-15-09. This is truely remarkable!!! What an amazing blessing!!!
The hospital has allowed me to stay in my room-as a border, so that I could continue to nurse him as needed, and have bonding time with him. I cannot express my gratitude enough for the wonderful charitable nursing staff here that have loved my son, and my family. They have each taken the time to sit with us and truly talk to us, give hugs, and wipe away my tears. They have sat with my little boy and rocked him, when I could not. They have kept such a close eye on him, and are right there when he needs them.
The pediatrician that came to check on him this morning, has invited me to take a lesson on infant CPR, so that I have the confidence and skills to act, if he needed me to. She also called the Neonatologist at the NICU here, to set up a consult today so that he can pass him off as ok to come home. We have an appt set up with a guy at Primary Childrens, but couldn't get on his schedule until the 9th, so for the oppertunity for a specialist to see him today, this too, is a great blessing.
Ava is being amazing. She has had a week without me, and yet has not acted out--as I was told she may. She is still full of joy, silliness and love. She adores her baby brother-and is so very gentle with him. When I came home yesterday, she greeted me with hugs and so many kisses that I lost count. She came to the hospital last night with me, and we had some one-on-one time together watching veggie tales, and playing. I am grateful for the assistance of family and friends who have made this transition time for her easier. That have loved her and gone out of their way to make sure she has had a fun time while I have been away.
I want to thank everyone for the prayers, thoughts, acts of charity on my family's behalf. We have felt peace, and love during what is a very strenuous time. I know that our Heavenly Father is aware of our family, and can feel his Spirit with us, guiding us, and helping us to grow together as a family. I know that our prayers are heard, and have been answered in numerous ways. The Lord has blessed us immensely through this trial, and I know that he will continue to do so. I have a testimony of the priesthood; it truely is the greatest gift to have a husband and fathers in our lives that honor this great gift and exercise its power to bless us.
I just received a call that Simon's heart rate climbed to 200 this morning after his most recent feeding. This causes some concern, as that is very high, especially for a sleeping infant. They are going to monitor him more closely and do some further tests to find out what is causing his rate to race. They will at this time admit him to the NICU. Again, a blessing, that this happened while he was still here on the monitors, and not while in the car on the way home. I am going to go check on him myself now.

This morning, Simon may have had a seizure. We're unsure. Benign Familial Seizures are common in my family as Ben, kK, Steve and I all had them, as well as Ben's sons. They are running several labs and tests on the poor little guy today to see if they can figure out what happened. We're going to be here for at least another 24 hours. Please keep Simon in your prayers. Thanks.

today's happenings

So far, so awesome! Simon had another fantastic day. We slept until 8:30 and got breakfast about 9am. French toast, eggs and a sausage link. We went back to sleep for a while after we filled our bellies and pretty much laid low. Chris called to let us know he'd be headed over with big sis, Ava. I was so very excited!! He had her dressed so cute! little jeans with cherries on the cuffs and her green shirt with the butterfly. She wore her little black hat with the red ribbon. She came and sat with me and Simon on the bed and started telling me about her day. Oh it was so wonderful to have them both with me. She reached over to say hi to Simon and said "he's my boy!" and then asked to kiss him. She gave him a hug and a kiss on the forehead. We ordered lunch and put in Whinnie the Pooh. She was very much into her hot dog and movie. Chris got some very cute pictures, which I put on facebook Ava was so great, but really wore me out. She and Chris headed out about 1:30 for home. Simon and I napped most of the afternoon--and woke just in time to order dinner. Chris dropped Ava off with Sandi about 7pm and came to be with Simon and me. He stayed until about 10pm.
The staff has told us that Simon and I have been doing really really well. Tonight, I've been quite crampy. This could be that I was stubborn and thought I could wean myself from the narcotics. meh. I'm a massive WHIMP! That, or my addiction to the pot pie here is causing me severe digestive issues. That...and the dreaded first post surgery bowel movement should be approaching. About midnight, Simon started whimpering and almost shivering. I called in a nurse to help swaddle him. She placed a warm towel under his t-shirt and wrapped him tightly and then rubbed his back lightly---and he completely calmed down. It was amazing to watch. I put in a movie to keep me somewhat entertained as I am waiting for the cramping to subside. Things are still overall great. Simon gets circumsized tomorrow and if things go well--we can opt to leave in the evening. We'll see how things go. Thanks for the prayers, visits, and warm wishes.

let's see...what haven't I forgotten yet

At 5:50pm March 10th, 2009 Simon Heiner Cope joined our family. He was 7 pounds 10 ounces and 20 inches. He was delivered by Dr. Jiricko by c-section. I have to say, that this time around was way different than my first. Being a scheduled c-section had its pros--such as no labor. babysitters were scheduled. bags were packed. I even got a pedicure right before hand. If I was going to get shrek feet, they were going to be soft! I hadn't ever had one before, and I have to say....it was something I would do again...although, not too often, or I'll lose my claim to 5'3. The cons--the IV was difficult due to an 8 hour mandatory fast. oh wait, back up. cons--8 hour fast. Something about being told no food or drink after X hour, makes ones phsyce crave every beverage and consumable thing possible. I was tempted to cheat, but didn't...and it's a good thing too, because about 3 minutes after the really awesome nurse somehow got an IV into my tiny dehydrated vein, I got incredibly sick. I turned white and sweaty and thought I was going to vomit--ahhh the wisdom of the 8 hour fast. No food in system=no vomit. Thank you mandatory fast!!! They had me wear an Oxygen mask for a while, and that helped me. 5:21, I got my epidural. Which, hahaha also made me sick. Once again, white, sweat and oxygen. I remember looking at Chris and saying...maybe I don't want to do this today. *ha! too late!* The anesthesiologist gave me something to help with the sickies and I felt better soon--which is good, because I could feel the surgeon's hands in my body. Talk about ODD! Simon came out kicking and SCREAMING! He got 9 and 10s on his APGAR!! I was able to see him for about a minute while they closed me up. I was REALLY out of it. They brought him to me in recovery, and he started nursing like a PRO! I'm thinking we delivered him while he was eating because he was a hungry hungry little man. My mom was able to be with me in the recovery area and she stayed with me for a while. Sandi brought Ava up about 9. I MISSED HER SO MUCH. She was very concerned about why I was not moving in my bed and why I had all kinds of tubes sticking out of my hands. She did really well though. She said hi to Simon and pointed out all his features---eyes, ears, nose, chin. They left about 9:30. She was very very tired. Chris stayed until 11, and then headed home. My mom stayed on our couch at our house.
Simon is a great sleeper. He did really well his first night, waking only to eat, or when they changed his diaper. He loves to poop! He let me get in some good sleep. We've had some rockstar nurses and CNAs looking out for us.
Today, my mom took Ava to the zoo!!! What a trooper! Chris came up about 10, and spent the day with Simon and me. He did homework and helped me entertain visitors here and there. He has 2 tests next week, so study time is precious right now. Sean, Leah and Lucy stopped by a few times to say hello! Lucy was hilarious. After about 10 minutes, she'd get bored and start giving us her goodbyes and wanting out to see more interesting things. They made us a DVD that I'm so excited to see. I am going to wait for Ava and CHris to see it with me tomorrow.
Simon slept most of the day. His nursing has increased to 30 minutes already. He's had like 6 bowel movements today. Champ! He loves loves loves to be cuddled, but is also groovy to sleep in his little cart with fuzzy socks and a soft blanket. He weighed in today at 7 pounds 3 ounces. He is sweet and not very fussy--unless you unwrap him. He's a comfy cozy babe.
I'm excited to see my Ava Jayne tomorrow. I'm so grateful that Sandi took over yesterday and my mom was able to tend her today, so that I could have this bonding time and recovery time, but not seeing her all day was really hard. She's my love bug! Chris said he'll bring her to see me tomorrow, which is very exciting. Well...it's 10:30pm...time for some mommy sleep. *hahaha and Simon starts crying. poor little bug!

well, this is it. today...is the day. seems a bit unreal. I'm sitting here sipping the last glass of water I'll be permitted until after Simon is born. I've spent days (ok weeks) cleaning, and have had tons of help, and yet...I look around and there's another week of crap easily to be done. I can't believe the amount of "stuff" that accumulates around here. I've been on a throwout binge, and it's still insane.
Last night, was not at all what I had in mind. I wanted a fun night-nothing special, and yet, something really special as a memory of our last night as a family of 3. Instead, Chris was off helping someone with a computer until about 9, and Ava came home from a play date so entirely tired that she screamed for nearly 2 hours. This led to me having a severe emotional collapse. I was so sad. Here's our last night before things change, and my little girl only wanted her daddy. It ultra depressed me. It was way more emotion than I was able to take in, and I felt it all at once. I already have a dramatic streak, and adding loads of hormones to the situation is never a positive. Ava did finally fall asleep--whimpering---as did I. Today I woke up not only feeling ridiculous about the way I was unable to handle last night, but with a very sore face. You know, when you cry so hard...that your face is just sore? I mean really...what's that about anyway? I'm still sad, but it's also going to be a happy day. We're adding to our family. Hopefully, the birth of Simon will allow my hormones to calm down and some sanity back into my life.
The painters first day is today for the basement. I'm coming to grips with the reality, that I won't be coming home to a finished space. I really really really wanted to, but due to having the finish materials dropped off late, and the painter having to cancel day 1 yesterday...we can't put in carpet until Monday. I'm really not crazy about the idea of strangers coming in and out of my house while I have a brand new baby home, but I need to suck-it-up. They'll be 2 floors apart from my little guy, and so it's not really a big deal at all.
Well, I'd better gulp the last of this water, because my cut off time is in like 10 minutes for water/food ingestion. Please keep Simon in your prayers--it seems like every baby lately is going straight to the NICU for a visit, and I am hoping and praying that he will not follow that trend. I'll be in the hospital until Friday or Saturday. I'm an internet junkie, so I'll likely post while there--because really..4 days in a hospital, what else is there to do?

I'm sitting here watching the Sister of the Traveling Pants 2, and chowing down mini eggs--cadbury's greatest creation.

Today was a great day! I started my maternity leave yesterday. There was something so great about knowing that I was able to come and go and not worry that I would miss a phone call or email that needed my immediate attention. Ava and I went and got Chris new pants, picked up carpet samples, and some more bark for the front yard landscaping project that I had started before the snow came.
Ammon showed up to do the finish work. Joye and Stacy also came over to basically make my life even more amazing. They are quite the team. They added 2 new shelves to my pantry, and I can't believe the difference it has made. They are the Divas of organization. They were here for a few hours, lots of laughs. Ava loved it! She fell asleep standing up--hahaha which is always an indicator of a fun day! Even though the day was full of "to dos" being done, it was so relaxing. I loved it!
Today, Chris headed out early to fix Mike's computer. Ava and I took an easy morning at first, and then headed outside for some fresh air and to blow off some energy. I pulled some of the bags of bark out of the back of the truck--what I could reach anyway, and began spreading it. OH SO AWESOME!!! I was only able to do like 8 of them. The last 2 were way too far back and I was too tired to climb into the bed of the truck to get them. Ava ran and ran and then ran some more. She LOVES to run. She then wanted to go for a truck ride. She loves the truck. We went to the carpet store--night.mare.--and then came home, because I was exhausted. She fell asleep on the way home--where we met up with Chris and headed down to SL for my brother's birthday bash at Mimis. We had yummy salads and swinging time and icecream cake and good times all around. Today was another fabulously busy,exhausting yet somehow relaxing--must be the copious amounts of cadbury mini eggs.

seriously...so i was told the finish materials---moulding, doors etc would be delivered first thing this morning. then, by 10am i called to see when to expect them, seeing as how first thing to me means 8amish. I was told the guy should be here in the next couple hours. so....1:30 rolls around and the guy finally shows up. dude 1:30? I realize I work from home so I'm here whatever, but still it's super annoying to be lied to over and over. If you're going to be coming in the afternoon-use that verbage. also, call if you're running behind. it's common courtesy and good business. this now pushes the project back by a ton. thanks for a horrid experience wheelwright. i won't be passing out your business cards.

thursday's to do

• Ava up at 2am--spend 2 hours getting her back to sleep
• Wake Chris at 4:30 am and let him have a turn...his success rate is way higher than mine lately.
• Turn off very annoying alarm at 7am
• Crawl out of bed at 8am
• Let drywall team in for very last sanding 8:30--hand off check. scowl at snow. move cars to sun to have snow melt off. why is my steering wheel SMOKING? gag! awesome.
  
• head off to dr. appt by 8:45am
• hope that someone is awake to let in the doors and such and to call Ammon
• Ammon installs finish work
• Call Carpet person for official quote
• Call Painter to set up tomorrow
• oh yes and not ignore my job duties as well
• seriously ava....why are there color pages all over my kitchen??????????
• why is my face so itchy?????????????? am i growing a beard?
• should i really be driving when i'm this incredibly tired??????
• why am i blogging when i need to be leaving?
  

so last night...a huge TO DO was crossed off my list. Sandi came over and together we assembled the new dresser for me and Chris. It took a good 2 hours, and some serious sweat, but we did it!! I somewhat knew what we were doing, because it's the same style of dresser that Chris, Steve and I put together for Ava on Saturday, just a larger version. (and not pink.) Ava was excited that she could be our "helper." when it came to nailing on the back of the dresser, she came over to me and I let her use a mallet to punch in a few. She would sing the HANDY MANNY song when she pounded, saying "HANDY AVA!" And then want to put in a new one. She's quite talented. The last nail I did with her ended up bending over. She pointed it out and went UH OH!! IT'S BROKEN. I laughed that even a 2 year old can tell when mommy can't hammer a nail. So much more fun assembling a dresser with a family, than by oneself.
I also picked up our tax stuff from the CPA yesterday, while Ava played with Madison. She hasn't seen Madison in a couple of weeks, due to poor little Mad getting that awful cough that's been going around. Thankfully, she has recovered and Angie came and took Ave's for a good 2 hours. Bless her heart. Ava was so excited when she came home. She told me how they played in the tunnel, and with some balls, and ate hot dogs! Then she crashed for a nice nap. Oh funny---so last night, as we're building this dresser, Sandi and I are just about dying of heat. So, Chris suggested he'd go get root beer float fixins so we could have a yummy snack. Ava-who generally could take it or leave it when it comes to ice cream LOOOOOOOOVED rootbeer floats. She sat on the bed with Chris and totally downed his in record time. he was scared she was going to get an icecream headache. She then asked PLEASE SOME MORE PLEASE PLEASE SOME MORE!! He made her a tiny 2nd one and then she ran around the house like a banshee for a good hour. It was hilarious. I guess I know what we'll be serving at her summer 1/2 birthday party this June.
More exciting news...the reason I'm up and axious this morning...the painter is coming today to do the bid on the basement. Yesterday, the "finish" guy came to measure for doors and trim etc...and then the painter called to see what time he could stop by. I took his first slot-8am-and have been up since like 6:30, because I was terrified I'd sleep in. I'm not really in the ability to jump out of bed and throw something on if I had been woken by the knock on the door. It takes me a good 5 minutes just to climb out of the bed. I should probably video that...because I'm sure it's hilarious to observe. Hopefully, by Friday, the finishes will be done and the painter can come. w00t!
So generally, things are going really well. The to do list is still hanging around, but--hey things are getting done, despite my ever growing aching self. Here are somethings I want to have done by Friday.

• Get a replacement Drivers License--ew so avoiding that can you tell?
• Put up Blindes in Simon's room and Valance
• Move dresser into Simon's room--obviously not MY to do item ;)
• Help Ash move to her new place in Provo
• Buy new crayons and place old broken ones in a container somewhere--because they are driving me CRAZY!
  

Ok, brain is shorting out. MORNING!

false labor=just as painful as real

So I never knew that "false labor" hurts just as badly as real labor, until now. Last night, I started having contractions. They continued for like 2 hours, while I freaked out about soooooo not having anything ready. We got home and I started packing a bag and making like 75 lists just to calm myself down. The contractions were so painful, but not really...consistant and it felt like constant pain--no reprieve. After severe nesting of putting away laundry and packing bags....I lay down to clear my head and see if I could figure out how far apart they were...after 40 minutes or so they went away and I fell asleep. This morning, as soon as I started moving around, they came back. Again, nothing too consistant. About 11, they were starting to seem about 10 minutes apart. I suggested that we got for a walk about 1:30, because I was getting ansy, and had read that if they get worse when you walk, then .... it's a good sign it's real labor. Apparently, that's a lie. They did get worse. MUCH worse. So I went over to McKay Dee with Chris and was monitored for a couple of hours. The nurse said my cervix was "irritated" and not contracting, and that I was having false labor. Feels pretty real to me! I wasn't dialating so they sent me home--which is good, because holy crap is my house still needing like 10 hours of work before this baby can come home.
I didn't expect to feel so sad about leaving for the hospital and Ava staying behind. It almost made me cry. I was only gone 2 hours, but I missed her so much. She was asleep for a nap when we got home, and is still out. I have so much I want to accomplish this week, but everytime I walk, I hurt. I have a feeling this means, my to do list will need to be shortened. In any case, the bags are packed, the baby bed is set up in our bedroom and things are way more ready for Simon's homecoming than they were 24 hours ago...so should False suddenly become real we're set...the only question is...how will I tell the difference?