The Calm Before The Storm

I sit here in the kitchen enjoying the quiet. It is the last day where there will just be the 4 of us for about 10 days. Don't take me wrong, that is not a bad thing. We are about to welcome our family to Utah for what will be our last Christmas here. And this year is bigger than ever. We are expecting Nana & Papa tonight, Grandma & Grandpa tomorrow morning, and Annie on Friday at about noon. We are excited to have lots of family here to celebrate this festive holiday. It will the first that Grandma & Grandpa have spent with us since Keely was 2 months old (7 years!). And naturally that means their first Christmas in Utah.

Santa brought an early Christmas present to us over the last couple of days. We've had some pretty mild dry weather since the cold Thanksgiving, but it seems a white Christmas will be guaranteed now. It's also forecast to snow again tomorrow and Thursday. I know it's hard to tell but that's a ruler sitting in the snow, and it reads between 8 and 9"!

Lastly, Callie got all spruced up for the incoming family and the holidays. She looks so cute, and smells good. She even got a holiday bandanna to put her in the holiday spirit!

34

I am now 34 years old. I celebrated my birthday today in the best way possible, on a weekend with my favorite 3 people. I slept late, then was presented with my birthday present. To clarify, this was actually my second present. I got one a week early when I purchased a red leather bag to carry my laptop and other work related items on my monthly trips to Virginia. And I got many compliments on that bag while I was in Virginia so it was most definitely a good choice. My second birthday present was a much desired griddle and I broke it in immediately by making pancakes :) It was so nice not to have to rush anywhere, so I relaxed while watching football until mid-afternoon. Then we headed out to do some shopping at Kohl's before the highlight of the day, seeing MegaMind at the movies. We even treated ourselves to snacks at the theater -- there's something so good about that popcorn! We closed out the day with dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Bonsai Japanese Steakhouse. We all love the Hibachi food and the cooks are very entertaining. They line their walls with pictures of people who have celebrated birthdays with dinner there, and I joined the ranks. This is a picture of our picture taped to the wall in the restaurant. They also sang to me while Quinn bonged a drum and Keely rattled a tambourine, then we all had ice cream sundaes. It was the perfect end to a perfect birthday, and I wouldn't change a thing about it.

Santa

The University holds a faculty & staff appreciation each Christmas and offers 30% off to all employees. This event also includes other perks including Santa available for visits from children of employees. The best part is there is no line and no fee for photos (but you have to take your own). We aren't real big on visiting Santa, my children have always known that is not the real one -- just a person helping out with such a big task and we hate waiting on long long lines just for a photo opportunity with a fake (and sometimes not very good looking) Santa. In any event, we knew Keely would be keen on going and sitting on Santa's lap.

She actually wanted to stand next to him, but he pulled her right up. She smiled big and when he asked her what she wanted for Christmas, her answer was Heelys (the sneakers with wheels). For the record, I have no idea why she would want these because she hates tennis sneakers and socks and she cannot wear them to school...I guess someone she knows has them and she thinks it's cool to skate around. Trouble is they don't come in her size (they mostly start at Size 1) and I think she knew that because she said she was going to lie to Santa and say she was 9 if he asked because Heelys are for 9 and up. Turns out she didn't have to because this Santa had no clue what she was talking about and quickly wished her a Merry Christmas and sent her on her way.

Quinn had no interest in sitting on Santa's lap, nor has he written out a Christmas list. I think we are teetering on the edge of "believing" and I am not sure what (if anything) to do about it. He hasn't said much of anything and I think that's kind of him if he doesn't believe because he's not spoiling it for his sister...who on the other hand is very into it this year. Keely wrote a Christmas list up and placed it by the fireplace. Her theory is that elves come during the night, take the list and bring it back to Santa. She was thrilled in the morning when her list was gone :)

Christmas Card Time!

Since we had Quinn and then added Keely to the family, the yearly ritual of sending Christmas cards has become a lot easier. What better way to say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" than with one or more pictures of the cutest kids (in my biased opinion)? Picture cards are my favorite to receive in the mail, so naturally they would be my favorite to send. And these days, the options are really unlimited. A few years ago, I discovered a site called Shutterfly. This is just one of many sites that you can use to upload photos to create picture gifts. And once I discovered this site, the others just melted away. The choices are seemingly unlimited. The first hard part of sending a picture card is to take and edit the perfect picture(s) of our kids. Then the job gets harder -- but not in a bad way, there are just so many choices. It is so hard to pick just one! I always play around with so many options and have trouble deciding. That's where I call in the reinforcements (aka James) to make the ultimate choice :)

I played around with the cards available for 2011 and in just a few minutes was able to make three draft cards. The photos I've used are most likely not what you will see in the final version...but I think they will do the trick if we get lazy and decide not to take any fresh pictures of the kiddos. (note: Keely will most likely demand new pictures in her Christmas dress...when I mentioned using these old snow pictures, she was very upset!)

These are such a limited view of all the cards available on the site -- there are several different types including stationary, folded and flat, different sizes including 4"x8" and 5"x7", and a choice of 1-6 or more photos. With so many cards to choose from, you can see how the options become limited only by your own imagination!

Cards are not the only thing that I have used Shutterfly for in years past. Each year I make a calendar of the past year's pictures of the kids to give to their grandparents and other family members. These are such a simple, inexpensive -- but often the most favorite -- of all gifts on Christmas morning. The calendar choices on Shutterfly are also seemingly limitless, with so many backgrounds and photo combinations available.

Another product that I have also used and loved the result are the photo books. I used this choice for a keepsake of our 2009 two week vacation to North Carolina, Washington, DC and Blacksburg. In a day and age where printed photos are quite uncommon, I love that we can pull out this book and glimpse some of the scenes from this amazing trip.

So if you haven't already, go check out http://www.shutterfly.com. It's fast, easy and ultra user friendly. I just know you will love it! I know that I am going to have fun making not only this year's Christmas cards but also many photo gifts in the years to come.

If you are a blogger and would like to win 50 free Christmas cards, click here.

Happy Shopping!

Playin' Santa

I haven't started Christmas shopping yet, with the exception of one present for Quinn. Well, that's not entirely true. Yesterday we spent the afternoon shopping for people we don't know. Each year the kids' school participates in a program called 'Candy Cane Corner', which basically acts as a Sub for Santa type program. They need pretty much everything for needy families, including clothes, toys, toiletries, wrapping paper, you name it they need it. So we headed out to Shopko and bought clothes for a family of four, a couple of toys and a large roll of wrapping paper. Then we decided to keep on giving by heading over to Macy's where they have the annual Giving Tree program. There are trees set up at local businesses with ornaments for needy children. We picked two ornaments, one for a 9 year old boy and the other for a 11 year old girl. This one is a little more personal, and a little more fun because the needs are specific. We headed off to Target and Old Navy to fulfill these two lists. We purchased two pairs of pants, a winter coat and a remote control car with batteries for the boy. We got a pair of jeans, a top, boots and iTunes gift cards for the girl.

We are so fortunate to be able to give to programs such as these. If the situation were reversed, I know I would be counting on these programs to give my kids and our family the Christmas I couldn't. I think the kids really understood the point and for the most part really enjoyed spending time shopping for others.

We also went to the annual 'Festival of Trees' on Friday afternoon with the Martins. This was our first time there and it was quite moving. This is an event where people decorate and donate Christmas trees (and more goodies in most cases) and then all proceeds from the event (including admission) benefit Primary Children's Medical Center. The event was more sad than we thought though, because most of the trees are in memory of a person who has died of cancer or something else. And they mostly have pictures and stories accompanying the trees. A couple of hours of looking at things like that can make you a bit sad, but then grateful for having the gift of life. It hit the girls (Keely and Victoria) hard, the boys not so much. I am glad we went though and now I know a place to go if I want to make a very generous donation to this hospital and get a gorgeous Christmas decoration. Liliana and I each found one and really seriously thought about buying them (at $900 and $450 each!).

In the spirit of the season, I am glad we are taking time out to help others. Even the littlest of help counts as it truly does take a village. In these tough times, even more need help and having been out of work myself (though fortunately not at the holidays) I know firsthand how scary it is not to know if and how things will work out. We know that a few people's Christmas mornings will be brighter because of the work we did in a few hours' time one Sunday afternoon.

Thanksgiving Wrapup

Since we've moved out West, we have always been either alone for Thanksgiving or celebrated with friends. I actually didn't mind having a holiday for just the 4 of us, as it suits our family very well. But I still made the huge meal and we always ended up with lots and lots of leftovers.
This year was different. We had the pleasure of having a part of the family visit us for Thanksgiving. Aunt Lois, Uncle Ryan and Adelia decided to leave warm sunny Florida for cold snowy Utah. (note to self: next time reverse the traveling so we all end up in warm weather!) It was Adelia's first time in Utah, her first time seeing and experiencing snow, and our first time seeing her as a full fledged toddler.
The Thanksgiving menu was very traditional: 12 lb turkey, stuffing (some cooked separately sans onions for Uncle Ryan), mashed potatoes (mostly for Quinn), sweet potato casserole (recipe from Ruth's Chris Steak House - absolutely divine!), carrots, butternut squash and homemade rolls. Desserts were pumpkin pie and dutch apple pie (Grammy's recipe made by Aunt Lois...and so so yummy!). With an extra 3 people in the house, we were able to polish off most of the leftovers at Thanksgiving Dinner Round 2 on Saturday night. Hopefully I have now completely dispelled the rumor that no leftovers are saved in our house :)
There was about a foot of snow on the ground before the weekend and another foot or so fell on Sunday into Monday. It was bitter cold too. Everyone went sledding on Thanksgiving (well not me, I gladly stayed home and cooked) and had fun. Adelia just observed mostly from what I heard and wasn't too crazy about the snow. She did try it again on Sunday and was slightly more entertained but not much. My kids though love it. Me, not so much.
We didn't do much of anything notable over the 4 day weekend -- or at least much out of the house. We played games...Texas Hold'Em with newly acquired poker chips, laughed ourselves silly with Beyond Balderdash, watched our newly put on DVD wedding video since Uncle Ryan wasn't there. It was interesting to go back to a 13 month old's schedule -- in between 2 1-hour naps and a 7:30 PM bedtime, there's not much time for large activities. But the fun of it was just being together with family. The kids adored spending time with their baby cousin. Keely wants a sister now (she's not getting one).
Thanks to a not so good reason they ended up spending another day with us. So Aunt Lois and I took that opportunity to take the kids to Discovery Gateway. We haven't been there for years and I figured it was just the place for a 1 year old. Well it seems the 9 and 7 years olds probably had more fun. We could have spent another hour but it was closing and we had to get dinner before picking Uncle Ryan up from the airport.
We were definitely sad to see them leave. It was a fun visit and we can't wait to see them again! Hopefully in warmer conditions...we are already looking at airfares to Florida to escape the winter doldrums.

Art Show

One of the fall art projects completed by Keely's 1st grade class is on display in the local B&N bookstore for the month of November. We hadn't gotten a chance to see it yet so we went over there this weekend to check it out. They were really cute, all with the theme of mixed media. Keely was happy to pose in front of hers and then I got a closeup or two. This picture is also the first one of her modeling her new short haircut.

I figure we will get the art back, but hoping it's still in the nice frame :)

Acid Update

Keely has been on medication for the acid reflux for almost 4 weeks now. The good news is that it worked like a charm initially. After just a few days, she was almost symptom free and her appetite was back to full speed, meaning she was eating me out of house and home again. The bad news is that wonderful result lasted only about 2 weeks. Slowly, the throat clearing returned. The belly ache complaints were back. The food selection became an issue again.

So back to see Dr. G we went. I was lucky to get her a same day appt. when I called on Thursday morning. The good news was that she weighed in at 46 lbs, back to her weight when she was 6 years old (she'd lost 1 lb over the course of the last year because of the acid). But Dr. G agreed that we should try something else to decrease the acid from rearing its ugly head again. So we've now added a 2 week course of Xantac twice daily in addition to the Prevacid she is already taking each evening. Good thing this girl likes the taste of these meds. She's been such a trooper. She has now been on both meds since Thursday and it seems to be helping a bit. The throat clearing has been getting less frequent. She is still complaining of a belly ache sometimes but her appetite seems to be returning. She even ate pizza twice this weekend (tomato sauce not good for acid reflux) without much complaint.

We are welcome to bring her in to our doctor for weight checks at any time and barring any other issues, we will still see Dr. G again in early February. It's a roller coaster, but hopefully she will continue to improve because it sure was nice to have the "old" Keely back...my super good eater with less complaints!

Random Funnies

I love the things my kids say to me, at the most random of times in the most random of places. We had to go to Walgreen's last week to get a prescription filled. Walking in, I said we should look at some toys for Adelia's upcoming visit.

Quinn: "Mama, you are always so well prepared. That's what makes you so cool."

On the way out, we stop for a second in the Christmas aisle.

Keely: "Mama, it is never too early to start preparing for Christmas."

And to cover all her bases (and probably because she knows how we are against preparing before Turkey Day)..."and it is never too late to start preparing for Christmas."

Cute, huh?

At Home Again...

When we first moved to Utah from Tucson almost 5 1/2 years ago, I worked from home for the first year or so. It was easier than having to look for a new job immediately and it gave us a chance to get settled in our new home and state without one more new thing in the mix. By the end of that year though I was borderline depressed. That might sound dramatic but I really think it was true. Think about it -- we had moved to a new state where we knew no one, the kids were not in school yet (just daycare preschool), I didn't have a place to go everyday to meet co-workers and start to completely integrate into the new place. I joined some mom's groups and that helped but I needed to get back to an office. I am an external processor and I truly missed the day to day interactions with my peers. So off to Nolte I went. And we all know how that ended. But it was a good 2 1/2 year run.

When I accepted my current job, I knew that the project I was hired to work on would end after 18 months or so. My company was impressed by my work on the project and they are keeping me on staff. But we do not have a Utah office and I am only one of two people that were kept on staff. So we both now work out of our homes. The trade off to working from home is that I have to travel, about once per month to our corporate office in Virginia.

So far, I have been working from home since late September. It is a work in progress. I felt like now that I have lived here for so long, I have friends and plenty of social outlets. I have conference calls, and several communication points with my boss and other co-workers throughout a typical workweek. I try to connect with old colleagues and friends by meeting for lunch 1-2 times per month. I attend the ASCE meetings as well. All that said, it's hard. Out of sight, out of mind is how I feel most days. I definitely have good days and not so good days. I measure productivity very differently now that I am working from home. Procrastination is so hard to avoid. I knew this from my time at home several years ago, but it's hard to get used to again.

Don't get me wrong, there are so many upsides. I save money on gas, lunches, work clothes (not that I shop for myself all too much). I pick up the kids directly from school most days so we save money on day care. We have more time to spend on their homework, and don't have to rush through things so much. I don't have to commute on snowy days (although I do miss listening to NPR every morning). I have more time to spend on other things in the downtime of work (i.e. put in a load of laundry, start the dishwasher, take out chicken for dinner, blog).

But I wonder if I am being of value to my company and that worries me. I am a self doubter, a second guesser. And it's hard to get feedback from so many miles away. So this is most definitely a work in progress. It helps to get my thoughts out though. I'm sure I will be writing more about this subject as the coming months unfold.

Jackson Hole & Yellowstone

I just realized I never wrote about our whirlwind weekend trip to Jackson Hole, with a side trip to Yellowstone. As I've already mentioned, this was also Keely's birthday weekend. Jackson Hole is about a 5 hour drive and we arrived in time for dinner on Friday. We ate at Snake River Brewing and it was really pretty good, plus it was a short walk from our hotel. Turns out it was about the only good restaurant choice within walking distance of our hotel, a fact we discovered when trying to find something to eat on Saturday night. We actually almost ended up at Snake River again, but ended up finding the little Mexican restaurant to celebrate Keely's birthday dinner.
On Saturday morning, we left the hotel at about 9 AM and drove up through Teton National Park to Yellowstone. It's pretty much winter up there already so most everything was closed. We drove for at least 2 hours to finally arrive at Old Faithful. This was to be the furthest we ventured into Yellowstone, there really wasn't much time for anything else. When we got to Old Faithful, it had just erupted a little while earlier and it was on a 90 minute schedule. So we had about an hour to wait, and we looked through the visitor center and store. It was pretty cold and windy, but we were lucky that there was no rain. We sat down and watched the natural wonder erupt, it went on for about 4 minutes. I expected it to be higher but it was still pretty impressive. After that event, we walked around the pathways a bit and saw some of the other natural hot springs and formations.

We grabbed some snacks from the gift shop (who knew huckleberries could be used in so many ways?) and drove just a little further up the main road to Black Sand Basin, and I am glad we did. This was even more fun than Old Faithful because you could actually stand in the steam created by several natural hot spring pools. We all really enjoyed the warmth, especially since the weather was getting cooler.

We started our drive out of Yellowstone and back through Teton N.P. stopping at several places to take pictures and poke around a bit. We made one more stop at the visitor's center and museum at the main entrance of Teton.
All in all, we were in the car for at least 4-5 hours on this one day, not to mention the 5 hours each way from SLC to Jackson Hole -- so a ton of driving for one weekend. I'd guess I would like to get back to Yellowstone one day, but because we live in the Rocky Mountains and have been to several mountain towns, this was not all too impressive to us. That might sound snobbish -- but it's true. The area is probably way more impressive to those who live in completely different parts of the country but it wasn't for us. The only thing we missed out on was the wildlife. We looked and looked but saw nothing, except for a few ravens outside the Old Faithful visitor center.

Extreme Makeover: Quinn's Room

Well, not really extreme but quite a dramatic change took place in Quinn's room this weekend.

His room has pretty much looked the same for a few years now. He's had the same bed since he was 2 years old and we took his crib to give to Keely. It was time for a change, a more mature option that he can grow with as he (gasp!) enters the pre-teen years. We've looked at loft beds for him for a while and pretty much knew what we were going to get him. The only thing to do was sell his current bed frame. The best before pictures, taken to advertise the bed frame.
Enter KSL Classifieds. Oh how I love this site these days! So far, I have sold a desk, glider, our old couch and Quinn's bed. All in on average, 1 day each (except for Quinn's bed, which took over a week but had many many almost sold moments). It's a great website, free classifieds and LOTS of hits on ads. I have no idea how but things are gone before you know it.And so Saturday his bed was sold and picked up. We went over to our local IKEA to get his new loft bed, desk and also picked up a red shelving unit to go on his wall. Out with the old, in with the new. Some things to be used elsewhere in the house, some not. It also gave us a great chance to get rid of some toys no longer played with and organize what seems to be the growing shrine to Legos :) His room seems to be a giant display of assembled Legos, some from kits and some from his own imagination. It's also an advertisement for IKEA as the majority of his furniture is now from that store.

He's been in the loft three nights now and it was a bit of an adjustment but I think he likes it. It's quite high (I can stand up fully underneath it!) and he is quite close to the ceiling. (Note to self: Try to get our next house to have 9' ceilings in the bedrooms.) His room looks so much more spacious now and he has the majority of his floor to build and play to his heart's content. And a much bigger desk to do his homework on (we'll see how well that works out in reality, he usually just does his homework at the kitchen counter).

So without further adieu, the 'big reveal'!

Happy Halloween!

Today was Halloween, but to us it was just another Sunday. Chalk it up to another Utah quirk, we can't trick or treat on Sunday. Today was like a ghost town. I tried to make our home look inviting to trick or treaters but there were none to be found. Last night was the understood designated celebration of the holiday. We didn't even have that many trick or treaters though. I'm left with lots of leftover candy. The weather was not great, a little rainy but the rain held off for most of the popular time.

We started our weekend of celebrating the holiday with the Blessed Boo Ha Ha event at the kids' school on Friday night. There was trick or treating at all the classroom doors, a box maze, and food and music in the gym. This was the second year that this event was held, but we missed last year since we were in New Jersey. To be honest, we didn't miss much. I was on security detail so we stayed the duration and the kids ran around with their friends. Keely trick or treated the classrooms at least 3 times and I had to take her treat bag away or she would have eaten half of it before we got home.

Their costumes: Keely was a senorita. She found the red dress at Target and we accessorized with black heels (to be reused for Christmas), bead necklaces, and black gloves.

Quinn was a hybrid of years past with a new light saber. He didn't dress up for the school day, mostly because they didn't allow masks or weapons and his costume revolved around just those two things with a ninja twist so I guess he didn't see the point. I swear though he was the only child of 300+ not wearing a costume. That takes guts. No peer pressure for my boy! He wore his school uniform and told everyone he was a student :)

They trick or treated last night and this was the first year we let them go around the neighborhood by themselves. They had a walkie talkie and they were to stay together the whole time. It worked out fine, and they even checked back in once before going out to finish up a few more houses. Then they got tired, and came back home to give out the treats and review their bounty. We are flush with candy. And I have no office to bring it too...so the students at the U of U will probably be getting some!

I'm glad Halloween is over. It is most definitely not my favorite holiday and now we can look forward to Thanksgiving!

Textbook

I've grown to not like taking the kids to the doctor when I think there is something wrong with them, or they are complaining of something. I typically end up feeling like I wasted a co-pay to hear that it's "viral" or "just wait it out". I guess I have the peace of mind from it but it's a battle to know when and when not to make that appointment. I've even made and then canceled an appointment in like 20 minutes...boy, those receptionists must think I am nuts!

Yesterday was the kids' annual well child checkups with Dr. G. I just love this doctor, she is great. Very practical and gives great advice. She is hard to get in with though so we usually only see her at this one appointment each year. Side Note: Quinn was upset to miss music to go, but I told him there was no way I was canceling since it would be at least 6 weeks before we could get in with her. And she's booking out to February already, so that was a good decision! Anyways, here are the stats.

Quinn at 9 Years: 61 lbs, 52.5"
Keely at 7 Years: 45 lbs, 47"

They both checked out well. No vaccinations and I denied the flu shot as I usually do. At these ages, it's mostly a time to ask questions. I had one major thing for each child.

My concern with Quinn was his nosebleeds that he has been getting more frequently. She advised us to use Vaseline on the inside of his nose to keep it moist and hopefully cut down on the bleeds. If that doesn't work, she will send us to an ENT. It's not that frequent (maybe 1-2 times per month) so I don't think it will come to that.

Keely seems to always complain of a belly ache and sore throat, and she has started clearing her throat a lot. When the doctor came in, she had already seen the nurse's notes about my comments. She said it was like she was reading a textbook, the symptoms completely matched something diagnosable and treatable. I shouldn't be happy about this, but I am because it means we can do something about her complaints! She has a textbook case of....wait for it....Acid Reflux! I totally suspected this but I wondered if it was common or treatable for a 7 year old. Well, it totally is and now we are armed with a 90 day prescription of an acid blocker so her little tummy and throat can heal fully. We'll see Dr. G again in February to see how the meds worked and also check her weight (she's been almost stagnant this past year, possibly due to the acid reflux making her not want to eat as much). Mystery solved. Co-pay justified. Sometimes it works out :)

Seven!

For Keely's birthday, we decided to take a whirlwind trip to Jackson and Yellowstone National Park. That trip and the pictures associated are a post unto themselves so I am going to separate her birthday celebration from the trip. She deserves her own birthday post, so here it is.

We made her cake on Thursday night so that it could be transported 5 hours northeast to our hotel room. It made the trip just fine, and was quite tasty. She chose the cake type (funfetti), frosting (white) and the design. I have no idea why she decided on stripes, and she initially wanted pink but we couldn't quite get the icing to color pink and she ended up loving the orange-ish color. She wanted hearts all along so we added those as the finishing touch. She wanted to write "Keely is 7" but I convinced her that with the 7 birthday candle, it would be obvious. So we ended up with Keely Clare in a greenish teal writing. If I dare say, this cake came out looking pretty Irish with it's orange and white stripes and green writing. So this cake was all Keely, and I love that she rolls with life when it doesn't turn out the way she originally thought it would. She was so complementary too, telling me it was a beautiful cake :)


She opened presents in the hotel when we returned from Yellowstone and Teton National Parks. She got a DVD, a Zhu Zhu pet (dubbed Pixie) and some accessories for it. We went out to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant and she enjoyed a chicken & cheese quesadilla. Another thing I love about my girl, she will try any type of food and doesn't get caught up with typical Children's Menu fare. After dinner, we had cake in the hotel and then capped off the night with swimming. That was probably the highlight of her day, but I told her that someday she will thank us for taking her to the national wonder of Old Faithful on her 7th birthday!

Keely Clare Donovan

Since I wrote up Quinn's birth story, now I will turn my attention to Keely. No shorting that second child here :) Whereas Quinn's birth story was long and complicated, Keely's was quite the opposite yet the story starts very similarly.I had lots and lots of contractions with Keely. I was dilating early and often, so much so that by the time I was induced I was 4-5cm dilated and pretty well effaced. Yes, folks that means I was halfway there before I even went into labor. But it was not without effort. I would endure hours and hours of contractions only to have them stop (sound familiar?). This time though I was taking care of a 2 year old so I didn't have time to just sit and time those contractions. I figured that when it was time, I would know. I did however hope that with each doctor appointment my doctor would say, head on over to the hospital to have this baby! But that never happened.Because I had a C-Section with Quinn, I was scheduled for an induction. I really, really, really wanted to have a vaginal delivery with Keely and was so, so, so lucky to have a doctor that supported this desire (and a state that allowed it, some don't even let women try). I was a good candidate for VBAC (vaginal birth after ceasarean) because of my incision and history. I had to sign a waiver saying I understood the risk of uterine rupture but hey, that slight risk was worth not having to have another major surgery and a heavy recovery time.So, after all those weeks of contractions and dilation my scheduled induction date arrived. This was actually a good thing because Nana was able to fly in as planned to take care of Quinn while we were at the hospital. The morning of the induction, we were set to arrive at the hospital at 7 AM. When we got there, I was told there were no beds available and we were sent home. This was devastating. I knew the longer we waited to induce, the bigger she would get and the lesser the chance of me being successful with a VBAC. My doctor was only on call that day, and I had no idea when would be the next scheduled date for her to induce. There were just so many unknowns and I cried knowing that day might not be the day. We hung out at home, and later that morning got a call from the hospital saying to come over but then were almost immediately called back saying to stay home because a woman had just walked in dilated to 9cm. I was so depressed by this point, really thinking I was never going to have this baby (well, not really but a pregnant women is flush with emotion and everything seems like the end of the world at 39 weeks 5 days pregnant). We decided to go shopping and have lunch, and just as we were sitting down the hospital called again. They said to come in and I told them I was turning my phone off because there was no way they were calling back to cancel again!

We arrived at the hospital in the early afternoon and I remember being so excited to be there that I almost bypassed the registration desk and headed straight for an empty room. They got me all checked in and settled. Shortly thereafter the doctor came in to break my water and get labor going. I was already having contractions on my own. The water breaking was the trigger my body needed to finish this thing off, and quickly. My water was broke at about 4 PM. I also requested an epidural. This was the only hitch of the labor and delivery. The epidural did not work on my left side and they had to give me a spinal. So I ended up with a leg that felt like jelly...not even feeling like it was attached to my body. But I couldn't feel the labor pains. I also remember vividly having pain at my incision site and worrying about uterine rupture. My nurse was so patient and informative though, reassuring me that as long as the baby's heartbeat was strong and consistent there was no risk of uterine rupture.

I was ready to push by 8 PM. I did a practice push with the nurse and she told me to stop almost immediately because she could already see the head. I heard her call the doctor telling her to get in here now because I was a good pusher and it was not going to take long. Of course I was a good pusher, I had 3 hours practice with Quinn. The doctor came in and prepped for delivery. I pushed through 3 contractions and she was out in 20 minutes! It would have been faster but my contractions stopped for about 10 minutes in that time period. I was in total disbelief at this point, because although I had desperately wanted a VBAC I didn't know if it was possible. Three critical differences made it happen though -- (a) I loosened my pelvic bones with all the pushing in Quinn's delivery (b) she was in the right position and (c) she was small, well at least as far as my babies go. After my experience I am such a proponent of VBAC and am so grateful that was an option for me. Truly the stars all lined up for it to happen though and I'm sure one small change would have made me have a repeat C-section delivery.

So without further adieu, I present the baby who was so ready to meet the world that she flew out of the womb, and hasn't stopped going since :)

Keely Clare Donovan

October 23, 2003 8:20 PM
8 lbs. 3 oz.
20.5" long

1 Down, 3 to Go

The kids have finished their first quarter of the school year already! Wow, that went fast. With that milestone came report cards and parent teacher conferences. Here's an update on each child:

Quinn is doing very well in 3rd grade. He got very good grades in all of his subjects, mostly C's (remember C is commendable) and just a couple of S (satisfactory) grades. His worst grade was in Conduct (but it was still an S) with a comment noting a need to practice more self control. Because he is very bright he finishes his work early. He is encouraged to read at his desk quietly but often finds himself socializing with friends around him. This distracts his friends from finishing their work. His teacher would like him to decrease this "chattiness" and make a better choice. She suggested he help his friends with their work, thus satisfying his need for socializing in a positive way for the class. He could really be a leader in the class not only in terms of academics but in behavior as well. The other kids look up to him and respect him, and when he acts silly they will do it too. We discussed this with Quinn and I think he really understood it. Hopefully he will start to make better choices and help the class to do the same. A lot of pressure for a 9 year old, huh? We are sort of at a crossroads where he can choose a path and we have to help direct him down the right one. He's a good kid and I believe he will make the right choices.

Keely is also doing well in school. She got mostly S's on her report card, with two S- grades in Language and Reading. She is not quite reading at a 1st grade level yet. It's not for lack of trying though, recently she is showing a huge interest in really reading (usually she makes up the words as she looks at pictures in the book). Reading and language go hand in hand, so as she reads more her language skills will also increase. It's also a confidence thing with Keely, she tends to still sound out each word even the ones she knows. Other than that, she needs to work on not talking in class, relating to her conduct grade of an S. She is often asked to "put up an office" (a binder around your desk so you can't see others around you). She already knows she has to work on that, but what I would like her to do is stop blaming the other people for her issues...she will always say so-and-so was talking and Mrs. C asked ME to put up an office. Lying and trust continue to be issues with her so I am trying to be consistent and clear in explaining why it is so important to tell the truth.

I feel like I've only noted the bad parts of the conferences...for the most part, they are both doing well in school. We are proud of the good grades and general lust for learning that they both continue to exhibit!

Pumpkin' Carving

This weekend we bought some pumpkins for the kids to carve. They even cleaned out the guts with some help from Dad. As you can see from their faces, it was pretty yucky as it usually is when you have to scoop out the innards of a pumpkin. I didn't participate in this part, I used baking as an excuse :)
Keely drew out her face on a piece of paper, then onto her pumpkin and I carved it for her. It was supposed to be a vampire pumpkin (thus the two pointy teeth). I am not entirely sure what Quinn's was supposed to be(maybe a scarier vampire because it also has two pointy teeth) but James carved his and then added some extra special effects on the sides. Then it was off to the porch for the lighting of the candles. As is typical in our house, Keely wanted to pose with her pumpkin...Quinn not so much.So we have participated in the obligatory pumpkin carving. The house is also decorated with our usual Halloween and Fall decorations, we have some candy in store for the trick-or-treaters, and we have purchased costumes for the kids. Quinn doesn't like his though and couldn't really care less about dressing up this year. I'm with him, this is not my favorite holiday and I can't wait until November 1st. I actually think this is my least favorite holiday, and I'd much rather have it over and done and look forward to Thanksgiving.

Nana and Papa Come to Town

I'm catching up on the blog, it's past the midway point in October and I have no posts this month :( It's been a busy one, dear readers but I do intend to catch you up and I do have some very exciting things in store over the next couple of weeks. Well, maybe not very exciting but there should be at least some things to write about.

Earlier this month, Nana and Papa came to visit for the kids' birthdays (right after Quinn and before Keely). They were only here for 3 days but we had a lot of fun. We went to the zoo on Friday and rode the carousel and train while we were there. We haven't been to the zoo in quite some time so it was a nice treat for the kids. It was also quite warm that weekend, our Indian summer continued well into October.

Quinn got a new Lego set from Nana & Papa for his birthday and he spent the better part of Saturday holed up in his room putting it together. His patience is incredible, and he prides his work when he is done.
On Sunday, we went up to Oktoberfest at Snowbird. We enjoyed a couple of beers, walked around, met up with some friends for a bit (planned and unplanned both...it just seems we run into people we know everywhere we go!) and had brunch at the Alta Lodge. It was a nice day, a little too hot even but gorgeous up there as the leaves were just beginning to turn. Quinn also did the new ropes course, it was a challenge for him but he made it through.
So that was our weekend with Nana & Papa. It was quick but fun, and we were sad to see them go. They won't be back until Christmas...seems far away but I am sure it will be here before we know it!