Fall Fun...and other ramblings

I finally made it out to Walmart yesterday to pick up some things I needed. I was able to get some more bottles and nipples, some 'gas' drops for Autumn (really could have used those days ago), some nursing items, and a few groceries. Thanks to a friend and a couple of my aunts, $30 worth of that was at no cost me! Logan came along to help me lift things, such as the case of cokes and the 10 lb. bag of potatoes we purchased. Even thought it was just grocery shopping, it was nice to spend some alone time with my oldest son. :)

Last night was the Fall Fest at our church. It began right after the Saturday night service, which lets out at about 7:15 p.m. Typically, Emma is in bed by then, but we made an exception and all went together....the kids wore their costumes. I'll post pictures of them soon. There were several games to be played with candy as a reward...also a dunking booth, a blow-up slide, and a bounce house. The kids got free popcorn and Karl bought each of them a cherry-flavored Italian Ice...well, Emma shared with Logan. She kept wanting "mo-uh!" from everyone. I think they all had fun...and got some candy. Emma even played one game and got a few pieces. We plan to trick-or-treat tonight, so I'm sure they'll have more 'booty' after that! We're planning to be here for a little while to hand out candy as well...we'll see how many kids stop by.

We have not made our Halloween cookies yet, though I did get the needed ingredients. I think those will have be done after the fact...they'll still taste good, no matter when we bake them.

I see the doctor again tomorrow. I still have a tender spot where they said last week there is a remnant of infection. I have not had any fever, chills, drainage, or redness, so hopefully the tenderness will go away soon as well. I'm not sure if the OB will want me to have more meds for it, but she said previously that the next step, if needed, would be IV antibiotics at the hospital. I'm praying that will not be necessary.

Random thoughts for today....

Several years ago, when we still lived in Central Florida, our VCR finally broke. We had a LOT of VHS movies that we gave away or sold in a yard sale because we already had a DVD player and were not going to buy a new VCR. Amongst those were many Disney movies as well as most of the Veggie-Tales movies that were out at the time. We had LOVED watching those with our kids! My intent was to replace them with DVD's. However, I never did....we have 2-3 that we've been gifted over the years, but that's it. Anyway, I keep saying I'm going to buy them but I never do. Well, now I don't really need to. The library has tons of them that Corbin has discovered. He comes home with two or three each time we visit the library....and Emma enjoys them too. It's fun to watch and remember seeing them with Logan and Hailey....and I'm so glad my next two are getting a chance to enjoy them as well. Maybe by the time Autumn is old enough to watch I'll actually have bought a few more!

Today is a gray day, though the sun is beginning to peek through the clouds. We have all had breakfast, done chores, and are now just lazing around....reading, watching Veggie-Tales, and playing video games. Logan spent some time on the computer at a new web site.........here....that he saw on the back of one of his Lego magazines. After many weeks off he's 'into' his Lego things again. Hailey is still reading through the dragon books she got from the library. Corbin has been playing with Emma, watching the movie, and watching Logan play his video game....alternately. I took Emma outside and let her play in a mud puddle, in her jammies.....gasp! She loved it. ;)

I was thinking of taking the kids to the library again today...but I'm not sure I have the energy. I could do it, but I don't know if I want to. Karl is working in Miami today, and it takes all I have to get everything done here when he's gone...it's not so much the extra child (though sometimes that is hectic) but more that I am still limited in what I can do....no lifting Emma, no heavy cleaning or laundry, etc. And if I do more than I should I get tired and sore...so I try not to do too much at once. Karl has been wonderful...very helpful and accommodating....doing all that he can to make things easier on me. Thanks, darlin'!

A blog post you may find interesting and encouraging....

The link.

More doctor visits...

I had a visit to the OB again today...to re-check my incision. It is much better, though the infection has not completely disappeared yet. I go back on Monday for another look. My round of antibiotics will be finished on Thursday and I can get back to breastfeeding by Sunday morning. I am thinking we'll try nursing again, to see if she does any better, but if not we will just continue to give the breast milk to her in a bottle....supplementing with formula if and as necessary. We've had a few 'gas' problems with Autumn, mostly over night. This has caused her to spit up quite a bit. Otherwise she's doing very well. When we saw the doctor on Friday he didn't say a thing about jaundice...it is gone....and I am amazed. We were told by the NY pediatrician that any future babies would "definitely be Coomb's positive." Guess that goes to show my God is greater!

Friday Family Fun...and other stuff

Autumn had her two-week check-up today...a bit early. She now weighs 7 lbs. 10 oz. She isn't gaining fast but is at least gaining. I think our struggle with breast feeding probably had something to do with the lack. Her length is 20 1/2 inches. She received her Hep B shot....and the doctor says most babies have no reaction to it so hopefully that's the case with her...so far, so good. We will go back November 11 for her 1-month check-up and a second round of shots. I fully expect her to be past her birth weight by then, especially since she's on formula now.

We also had to take Autumn to the hospital to have her hearing re-tested this morning. While in the hospital she did not pass the test....most likely due to extra fluid in her ears because of the c-section (babies born via c-section don't get the opportunity to have the mucus squeezed out as those born vaginally do). We were only there for about 20 minutes and she passed with flying colors. We already knew she could hear, but now it's 'official' and the doctors are happy to have their certificate documenting it. The woman who performed the test was very nice...it was a different lady from the one who did it while we were in the hospital(who was friendly as well). We chatted about her kid's school, and how she hates it. She's looking into putting him into a private school but they are very expensive....when she found out that we home school she said "Maybe I could send him to your school! How much would you charge?" ;) We talked some more until we were done, I wished her good luck in her decision, and told her she could call me if she wanted to talk more about home schooling. She said she'd write my number down and thanked me. I can't imagine that anything will come of it, but it was nice to be able to encourage someone who's struggling that there are other options available to her. Sometimes people don't realize that or think "I could never do that!" I was one of those people not too many years ago, and now we're in our fifth year of home schooling. Anything is possible.

We stopped at the grocery store on the way home to pick up a few things and of course came out with way more than I had intended. It's all stuff we needed, it just wasn't on my list. Both of the babies were great at the appointments and in the store, so I'm thankful for that. The other kids stayed home, did their chores, and watched a movie, so they wouldn't have to be dragged back and forth to doctor appointments and suffer from boredom.

Now, we're all relaxing a bit...except for Karl who had to get right back to work, of course...while both babies nap. Tonight is Family Fun Night and we'll be having pizza, semi-homemade (using packaged sauce, packaged pizza dough, and packaged toppings), and playing board games.