Babymoon?

So I have heard of these things people go on called Babymoons.  I thought we should go on a little mini-vacation before this baby comes.  I think a babymoon is supposed to be a romantic get away just for Mom and Dad, but ours was a family vacation, and it was perfect. 

We live about 2 hours from the beach, so we packed up and headed to the beach with two very excited girls. We got an oceanfront hotel room for a night and spent 2 days hanging out on the beach. Every second was magical for my little toddlers. Neither of them had ever stayed in a hotel room, so they thought the hotel was just incredible. Belle got a huge comfy queen bed all to herself and looked like a little princess. Each ride on the elevator was just as exciting as the last, and getting to push the button for the floor was thrilling. These were all the little exciting things the girls loved in addition to the actual beach!

The beach was pure Heaven for them. I don't know why we haven't done this little trip more often. Both girls are at the perfect ages to enjoy a full day on the beach. Neither of them are at the crawling/eating sand stage, and they both did just fine staying on the beach all day and skipping naps (though I was shocked sleepy Bug was still walking at the end of the day). 

So like most little girls in 2014 Belle loves to sing "Let it go"(well her made-up version mashed together with "Do you want to build a snowman"), but she always sings it as loud as humanly possible. I've tried so many times to get her to sing it quietly, but she has informed me that Elsa sings it loudly in Frozen. The song is literally banned in my house before 8:30 am. So during the 2 hour car trip to the beach she was singing it at full volume, and mean Mom over here insisted that it stop. The conversation went like this:

Me: "Belle you can only sing in a nice quiet singing voice in the car."

Belle: "Mom, Elsa sings it loudly in Frozen."

Me: "I know she does, but that's because she is on a mountain, not in a car."

Belle: "Well I need to sing it loudly like Elsa does."

Me: "No. If Elsa were in a car I'm sure she'd sing quietly, and the next time you are on top of a mountain you can sing it as loudly as you want."

When I made that last statement the Officer gave me a little sideways glance from the driver's seat and questioned the promise I had just made to my 3-year-old about singing as loudly as she wants.

I shrugged and asked him how often are we ever on mountains, and the conversation with Belle ended. 

Fast forward a few hours and we were all happily sitting on the beach. The Officer and I were lounging in our beach chairs chatting about our beautiful day while the girls were digging a huge hole in the sand. All of a sudden Belle jumps on the pile of sand she has created from her digging and at the very top of her lungs for all the nice sunbathers to enjoy she screamed "LET IT GO! LET IT GO......." When I finished laughing hysterically I said, "Why are you screaming?!?!", and she very matter-of-factly pointed to the mound of sand she was standing on and said, "This is a mountain, so I can sing loudly". Touché my clever girl. Touché. 

We spent 2 wonderful days playing in the sand and jumping in the waves. I just love this age when they are happy to spend entire days on the beach with Mommy and Daddy. They found joy in every tiny detail of our trip, and I love seeing the world through their eyes. 

I couldn't possibly love these 3 people more =)

We've been back for two weeks, and of course every day they have pretended to be at the beach. They lay blankets down on the floor and pretend they are on the sand, and the kitchen is the ocean where they jump over waves. 

It wasn't quite the romantic get-away that you might think a Babymoon is supposed to be, but for us it was perfection.  I think it's pretty romantic to spend time with my husband watching our little children have two absolutely magical days. It's funny how vacations change when you're a parent :) Now we are ready to meet our little baby and add even more joy to our family!

Bug's surprising birth story

A few days ago I finally typed out Belle's birth story, and now it's time for Bug's. My labor and delivery with Bug was pretty much the exact opposite of Belle's in every way.  I had Belle 10 days past my due date, so I was assuming Bug would come late too. Bug was due March 7, so I figured sometime mid-March I'd be meeting my baby. My pregnancy with Bug was my easiest one, and everything was going smoothly a week before my due date. I spent that day teaching preschool and that evening at David's Bridal with Belle picking up her flower girl dress for our friends' wedding. In my normal procrastinating fashion I had nothing ready for Bug's birth.

It was February 28th at about 10:00 pm, and the Officer and I were getting ready for bed. I was so surprised when I started having some contractions. I told the Officer that it must just be Braxton Hicks, since this baby was surely not coming for another week. The Officer laughed at me and said, "This baby is coming, so I better get some sleep". His need to sleep while I'm in labor seems to be the only thing my labors had in common :) Then he went to bed. I was still in complete denial and decided I should go to bed, since I had to teach in the morning. I tried to sleep, but my contractions every five minutes would not allow it, so I got up and called my SIL around midnight, since she was in a different time zone. I realized that not only might I be having my baby in February but that it was a leap year, so this baby could be arriving February 29th.

She was a pretty chill little baby

I started realizing that this baby might actually be coming soon, so I decided I should write some lesson plans for the remainder of the week and pack a bag for the hospital. Around 2:00 am I woke the Officer up, since I had been having steady contractions for hours. He called his Mom, who drove the hour to our house to stay with Belle so we could go to the hospital. His Mom arrived around 3 or 4 in the morning, and I was still in denial. After my marathon labor with Belle I assumed I had a long time until this baby actually arrived. I finished lesson plans and took a shower, when my sweet MIL kindly said, "ummm I think maybe you guys should head to the hospital".  I told her I felt like a wimp, because these contractions were already so painful, and I probably had a long way to go.

Dads and their daughters are just the sweetest..... Bug was a tiny little peanut

We left for the hospital just before 5 am, and luckily the Officer got us there very quickly. We got our ticket for the parking garage timestamped at about 5:15am, and Bug was born at 6:17am! When we arrived at the hospital I still thought I must have a lot of laboring left, so I refused the wheelchair and waddled my way to the room, stopping every 10 feet to breath through a contraction. We made it to the room, and they tried to get me hooked up to monitors and start an antibiotic, but I was completely freaking out by then. I was 7cm when I got there, and I was definitely panicking about the pain. All the nurses trying to talk to me and mess with me were making me mad, and I looked at the Officer and begged him to "please help". Then I yelled, "Something's happening to me!", and a nurse said, "yes, you're going to have a baby", and my water broke. I tried to tell them that the baby was coming right NOW, but in my mind nobody seemed very urgent. The Doctor never made it to the room, but there was a Resident there to catch Bug as she came out in 2 pushes just one hour after we had parked our car.

Grandma has 30 Grandchildren, and is ALWAYS there to meet them. 

It was definitely a very intense and painful hour right before Bug arrived, but it was much better than the 40 hour ordeal with Belle. My recovery after Bug was super easy, and she was a pretty easy baby other than some reflux issues. She was a good sleeper, similar to her sister. Bug surprised me in every single way. She surprised me when she came only 13 months after her sister, she surprised me coming a week early, and she surprised me with her fast and easy labor, but once I was holding my sweet little Bug and for every moment since, I can't imagine our lives or our family without her.

Blessed

Now I'm 38 weeks pregnant with our newest peanut, and I have absolutely no idea what to expect! I'm hoping things will go as smoothly as they did with Bug, but hopefully I give myself a little more time to settle in at the hospital. No matter what, I just can't wait to finally hold this little baby and find out what child God has blessed us with this time!

Belle's marathon birth story

We are very close to having another baby, which means a new (hopefully not too exciting) birth story. I never want to forget these miraculous stories, and I want my girls some day to be able to read about their grand entries into the world, so I figured before I have the newest baby I should document the birth stories for my first two kiddos.

Nothing better than newborn snuggles 

So here is what I remember about the day(s) when my sweet Belle decided to make her appearance....

I was 10 days past my due date and starting to get a little antsy about having this baby. I woke up at about 5:00 am Saturday January 22 finally having contractions. The Officer worked the midnight shift back then, so he was at work for another hour or two. It wasn't bad yet, so I didn't call him home, but instead called my Mom to tell her I thought maybe I was having contractions (I was so clueless). When the Officer got home around 7:00, he said "I need to get some sleep first".  He had just been up all night and he didn't know it.... but this was going to be a long process, so it's a good thing he went to bed. He spent the next few hours sleeping while I hung out alone having back labor (but I was clueless about that too). My Mom called me a few times wanting to come meet us at the hospital.... she kept reminding me that all the women in my family have very fast labors. HA. Finally, that afternoon around 2 or 3 I had been having contractions every 4 or 5 minutes for a while, so I woke the Officer up and said we should get ready to go to the hospital. My Mom, my Dad and my sister Martizi drove 2 hours to meet us at the hospital, and they beat us there! The Officer and I arrived at the hospital and had no clue what was in store for us.

When we first got there I think I was only about 4cm and we found out that Belle was posterior or "sunny-side-up". That didn't seem like a big deal to me at the time, but I knew nothing about it. I was having back labor, but the pain wasn't too bad at the time, so I enjoyed having my family and the Officer's family stop by to make me laugh at this point. This went on all day, and I was becoming more and more uncomfortable and more and more tired. That night my parents and sister drove back to my house to get some sleep and thought they'd be meeting the little baby in the morning. Sometime that evening I got pitocin to move things along. Then I got an epidural and was finally able to sleep a little bit that night. The next day was more of the same.... horrible pain, kind family keeping me laughing, awesome husband, and very very slow progress in having a baby. My family and the Officer's family all went to Mass and came back to the hospital expecting to meet a baby, but no such luck. So they kept their vigil in the waiting room. Martizi kept everyone at the hospital entertained and tortured the rest of the family with facebook updates and made up information about my baby who was in no mood to make an appearance (I think Martizi texted my other sisters saying that I had a son and named him Pele). 

Aunt Martizi spent two days waiting to hold this little baby

Sometime late that afternoon I had about 15 nurses, doctors, and residents rush into my room in a complete panic because the baby's heart rate had dropped. In about 15 seconds I was rushed into the OR and ready for a c-section with the Officer by my side reassuring me that everything was okay. Then Belle's heart rate got normal again, so they didn't have to do a c-section and brought me back to my room, still with no baby in my arms. I think during all of that chaos Belle must have flipped over, because suddenly things started moving along faster and when they checked again she was face-down. It was now Sunday evening January 23, and I had been having painful back labor since Saturday morning. I was completely exhausted when they finally told me that the baby was ready, and it was time to push. I thought this part would go quickly. Wrong again. I pushed for almost 3 hours and felt like this baby was never going to come. Finally the doctor told me that this baby needed to come out soon. The Officer looked at me and said, "You need to find another gear or you are having a c-section"...... yes this is how the Officer coaches me, and it works perfectly for us. Two pushes later and little Miss Belle finally made her grand appearance. It was 9:14 on January 23, and I had been in labor for 40 long hours, but she was worth every second of it.

Finally holding my baby in my arms!! 

Belle's birth was long and painful, but fortunately, she was my first baby and I didn't know anything different. She also made up for it by being the easiest baby in the world. She immediately slept through the night, and when she was two or three weeks old she was sleeping about 8 hours a night. Like I said.... easiest baby in the world. Now I just hope that I don't have any more marathon labors like that one!

Belle meeting Grandma and Grandpa

Last Day

Thursday was my last day of the school year. Usually teachers are thrilled for the last day of school before summer vacation, but this year it was bittersweet for me. It was my last day of teaching preschool for a very long time. Possibly forever. I am now officially a SAHM.

When the Officer and I were dating and talking about starting a family I always thought I would stay at home once we had kids. I was getting a degree in Elementary Education, so I figured my choice would be to teach full time or stay home. So when the Officer and I got married we planned our budget accordingly, knowing that one day we might be surviving on just his salary.  When Belle was born I planned to just finish that school year. Working full time for the first few months of her life was SO hard..... I don't know how other Moms do it! I was so tired and always missing her! When the school year ended I told my Principal I wouldn't be able to teach full-time anymore, and he offered me a job teaching our new Preschool program. It was part-time and the hours matched perfectly with the Officer's hours, so I was happily able to continue teaching some and still be home most of the day.

I'll miss making crafts like this.... but I can always do it with the girls

For the last 3 years the Officer and I have juggled this schedule. I taught in the mornings while he watched the girls, and when I got home at lunchtime he left for his evening shifts. It was hard work for both of us to juggle this schedule, but I loved my job, and we loved that one of us was always home with the girls (except when court or training got in the way and then his kind kind family helped us out with babysitting). We took this schedule one year at a time, but now we are adding a third baby to the mix, and leaving 3 kids under 4 with a babysitter is a lot to ask. The Officer's schedule is also changing slightly, and his career is getting busier and busier. He has happily made so many sacrifices during the last few years in order for me to have my dream job, and he would never have asked me to quit. There are just so many little details about next year that make it obvious that my family needs me at home, and I'm so happy to do it.

I will definitely miss my coworkers and all our fun

This really was my dream job. I taught at a fantastic Catholic school, where I plan to send my girls in just a few short years. My Principal was more of a friend than a boss, and I was surrounded by the greatest coworkers anyone could ask for. The people I worked with were like family to me.... we prayed together, we laughed together, and we always supported each other.  It was a wonderful job, and I will miss so many parts of it (not the early morning alarm), but now I get to start my even better dream job. I'll still get to sing silly songs and teach the alphabet, but I'll get to spend every morning with my own children. We'll get to go to Mom's group activities and story time at the library. My girls are growing up quickly, and I'm so glad I get to spend these next few precious years with them full time.

Now I get to sit with my feet up all day while this goes on right?? 

I have been amazed by all of the support I have gotten with this decision. Everyone I have told lets me know how excited they are for me, and many women have told me that they wished they had stayed home or are glad that they did stay home. Nobody thinks I'm wasting a degree or will be sitting around all day doing nothing. I'm surrounded by people who see the value in a career as Mom. I'm glad that the Officer and I can make this option work, and I'm so grateful that I had the Officer's complete support with either decision. Now I just need to make sure I don't wear my pajamas all day, because we all know how I love my "dressy sweats" :)

The beauty of big families

I'm very late on posting about Easter, but better late than never.... for Easter break we went for a week to visit my sister, her husband, and their 12 kids. Yes, my sister has 12 children. People are always shocked when I say that, and I guess really big families are pretty rare these days, but my sister and her husband happily have 12 children and their family is absolutely beautiful. I wish we lived closer and could see them more often, because visiting with them is always wonderful.

One of the best things about a big family is that there is always something to do and someone with whom to play. Belle and Bug were in Heaven having 12 cousins to play with all day. Especially since my sister has 2 little girls almost the exact same ages as Belle and Bug, so the 4 little toddler girls had a blast playing house, "cooking", and pushing each other on the swings. It was so cute to watch them all play together and help each other collect Easter eggs.

We had perfect weather almost the whole week (after the first day when it snowed?!?), and we had so much fun. The kids played on the trampoline and the swing set, and the family enjoyed a backyard soccer game (I was very bummed that I was too pregnant to participate in this).

We went to tour a distillery, which the Officer and my BIL thoroughly enjoyed.

We had an evening by the fire with s'mores, and one day the Officer and I were able to sneak away for an afternoon date.

We celebrated the Triduum at their beautiful Church, and had a delicious Easter lunch followed by an exciting Easter egg hunt. Another perk about a big family is that the teenagers got to mastermind the egg hunt- they filled the 200 eggs (I can't remember the final count, but it was outrageous!), and then the teenagers had fun hiding them (one egg was even attached to a fishing rod and my nephew pulled it away from his brother across the yard when he tried to get it)- my sister and I got to just come out and enjoy watching the fun without doing any of the work!

Their whole family was so generous, and gave up beds for us, so that we had 2 whole rooms to ourselves (super sleeper Bug had her own room in a house with 18 people in it!). The family worked together to make yummy dinners every night, and it always looked so easy for everyone to just take different jobs and have a big dinner ready that could feed all of us. I also always love getting parenting advice from my sister and BIL, who are definitely expert parents at this point. They make raising kids look so easy- don't get me wrong they make so many sacrifices for their children every day. They have chosen having children over other things, and of course that means work but wow you can see it so clearly in their lives that choosing children has also meant so much joy! I'm so grateful that they let us come stay with them for the week and add to their fun =)

We had a wonderful Easter!

Hot

Our air conditioning stopped working last Thursday, and it has been hot. We were scheduled to have people come check the air conditioner today... they were supposed to be here between 9:00-1:00. It's 2:45, and I just got a message that they are on their way. It is also 93 degrees outside right now. I'm also 33 weeks pregnant. My first two babies were winter babies, so I had no clue what being really pregnant in the summer was like.... wow I need to have all winter babies from now on. Yesterday, the girls and I spent the afternoon walking around Target and their nice air conditioned facility (we definitely would have done the same today if we didn't have to stay at home waiting for the workmen to get here). It is bearable as long as I can sit still on the couch with the fan on me, but as soon as I have to function as an actual human and cook dinner (ah the oven!) or do some other chore... wow the suffocating heat kicks in.  Yes, I'm definitely being dramatic, but it's hot!

They don't look like they are suffering too much.... I guess I'm the only wimp in the Mik house

So, of course I needed to play my "at least" game today. At least it's not July heat. At least my house usually has air conditioning!  At least when I'm in the car I can blast the air conditioning. At least my girls have not complained a single time even with hair sweating to their foreheads- they are still insisting on sleeping with their big blankets on them (but I was able to convince them to lose the socks). At least the AC van just got here..... let's hope they can fix it!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful Moms out there. I have been really lucky to have some wonderful women in my life showing me what a great mother looks like. I grew up with 2 loving, generous Grandmothers, an inspiring Godmother, and 5 older sisters, who are some of the best mothers and Godmothers I know. Then I married the Officer and gained a perfect Mother-in-law. I have learned so much from all of these women, but of course, the most important woman in my life is my dear Mom.

My Mom has 7 children and 30 grandchildren, but even that is not enough people for her to love. If you have ever met my Mom she has given you one of her huge hugs, she has probably made dinner for you, baked congo squares for you, asked about your day, offered you a place to sleep, and she has definitely reminded you to "be holy". She is a Mom to everyone she meets.

Even after 30 grandchildren, she is still always so happy to hold a baby!

Belle and Bug love Grandma!

Thank you Mom for teaching me so much about how I should love. Thank you for showing me that every life is precious, and thank you for be willing to constantly sacrifice for your family. I hope I'm a Mom just like you. You are the most incredible Mother and Grandmother, and I thank God for you every day.

wedding dress shopping..... she has been there for every big moment in my life

On this Mother's Day I'm also thankful that I have 2 sweet little girls who call me Mommy. It is the absolute best job in the world!