We always knew we wanted 4 children. After our 3rd, we took a little breather, but decided last year to try for another one. So after successfully conceiving our 4th and final child, a big decision was upon us. How were we going to avoid any surprises? I hate birth control pills. Actually, I hate anything that changes my hormone levels. Plus, I never and I mean never, remember to take the pill. I barely eat or drink throughout the day, how am I going to remember to take some tiny pill? I always figured Paul would get a vasectomy, but after discussing my options with the doctor, we found out about a new procedure.
Essure. Basically, it's like going in for a regular check-up, the doctor places coils into your fallopian tubes, scar tissues grows around the coils blocking your tubes, and then you go in for a dye test to makes sure your tubes are completely closed off.
A few weeks before my procedure, the doctor gave me a prescription for a bunch of pills. Xanax, a uterine relaxer, something for nausea, and motrin. I think that's it but I can't remember now. I was to take all of the pills an hour before the procedure which was scheduled for December 6th, 2010.
On December 6th, I went in for my procedure. I admit I was a little nervous and had second thoughts, but in reality our 4 kids have completed this family and I know that I no longer want to actually go through pregnancy again. We dropped the kids off at the daycare and went to the doctor's office. I remember bits and pieces, the nurse telling me Paul could come back after the procedure, them telling me I may feel some burning/discomfort, the screen showing them placing the coils, Paul coming into the room, and the nurse helping me to the bathroom. The next thing I remember, is walking in the house, dropping my purse on the steps, and collapsing on the bed. I vaguely remember Paul asking me if I wanted any medicine but I wasn't in pain so I went back to sleep.
I woke up at 4pm and came down stairs. I told Paul how hungry I was since I hadn't eaten all day and he looked at me like I was ill. He told me he had taken me to IHOP for breakfast after we left the doctor. He said he wanted to take me through the McDonald's drive-thru just to get something quick but I was adamant (actually kind of forceful) about going to IHOP. He said I acted completed normal but I was a little slow and I complained about not being able to text words correctly. To this day I still don't remember this IHOP experience LOL
I was suppose to get the HSG test, the dye test, done after 3 months. It is now May 19th and I just had it done. It was a very simple process and I was able to watch on the screen as the dye entered my system. According to the doctor, it looks like everything went as planned and I will not be able to get pregnant ever again. If for some reason I do, it will be a miracle that was meant to happen! Now Paul can breath a sigh of relief that he doesn't have to get the vasectomy and I will just have to get all my baby fixes from my friends still having children!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Ancestry
Watching Prince William marry Kate Middleton really got me thinking. I mean, how awesome would it be to be a part of the royal family? I am positive it has its cons, just like everything, but I think the pros would have to outweigh those.
Paul is very much into our ancestry. He is very dedicated to researching and making sure that his information is correct. Everytime he comes to me and says "So guess what I found out?", I can't help but think that maybe, just maybe, he has found out that we are related somehow to someone of some importance. Terrible, huh? I mean, there is really nothing wrong with our families aside from the usual adultery and illegitimate children that's pretty typical with most families. Besides the fact that Paul's past relatives had so many children it is practically imossible to count, and I love when they name them the same name or something similiar and you can't figure out it they are the same person or not, they are pretty much an open book. You can go back forever on his side. My family, on the other hand, is full of secrets and even worse, adoption. My father's adoption has pretty much become a dead end. I still have some paperwork to send in to see if I can get some more answers but I'm not sure if I'll ever know the background on his biological parents. Either way, none of our families have been linked to anyone royal, at least not yet!
There was one point where I found an Abraham Lincoln on Paul's side. I was so excited until I saw the person's birthdate. They were born the year Abraham became president, so the parents were just obvious fans of Abe. Oh well.
On one of Paul's "guess what" days, he informed me that he is related to a Wilbur Cooper, who at one time played for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Of all the people he could be related to, it had to be a Pittsburgh Pirate! I mean, we are fans of anything but Pittsburgh. And baseball=blah.
While I am still holding on to the small chance that we may be related to someone of royalty, I at least know that I have found my Prince!And that's all that really matters!
Paul is very much into our ancestry. He is very dedicated to researching and making sure that his information is correct. Everytime he comes to me and says "So guess what I found out?", I can't help but think that maybe, just maybe, he has found out that we are related somehow to someone of some importance. Terrible, huh? I mean, there is really nothing wrong with our families aside from the usual adultery and illegitimate children that's pretty typical with most families. Besides the fact that Paul's past relatives had so many children it is practically imossible to count, and I love when they name them the same name or something similiar and you can't figure out it they are the same person or not, they are pretty much an open book. You can go back forever on his side. My family, on the other hand, is full of secrets and even worse, adoption. My father's adoption has pretty much become a dead end. I still have some paperwork to send in to see if I can get some more answers but I'm not sure if I'll ever know the background on his biological parents. Either way, none of our families have been linked to anyone royal, at least not yet!
There was one point where I found an Abraham Lincoln on Paul's side. I was so excited until I saw the person's birthdate. They were born the year Abraham became president, so the parents were just obvious fans of Abe. Oh well.
On one of Paul's "guess what" days, he informed me that he is related to a Wilbur Cooper, who at one time played for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Of all the people he could be related to, it had to be a Pittsburgh Pirate! I mean, we are fans of anything but Pittsburgh. And baseball=blah.
While I am still holding on to the small chance that we may be related to someone of royalty, I at least know that I have found my Prince!And that's all that really matters!
The Picky Eater
If you are a parent, you've probably had some experience with at least one picky eater. For those who have luckily avoided this "phase", I can honestly say that I am jealous!
I have not just experienced this with one child, but have had the opportunity to endure this phase with multiple children. So far, all of them have eaten very well as infants, but they soon grew out of that stage. Next came the stage where they only eat certain foods. Ashleigh went through a phase of only eating tomatoes. ALL. THE. TIME! Oddly enough I hate tomatoes. Cutting them up made me ill, actually it still makes me ill. But I powered through it and made sure she had as many tomatoes as she wanted. Cooper's phase was chicken nuggets. I truly could not tell you the last time I consumed a nugget. The thought of meat being formed into a shape...ick! Now Addison, well she has always been a fan of food. Even if she ends up not liking it, she still is all for trying it...usually. She evens tries Genevieve's baby food and gives me her honest feed back. She has actually liked most of what Jenna gets, which makes me wonder if I should just revert them all back to infant purees. Genevieve is already showing a strong personality when it comes to her food. She will not eat the regular Gerber baby foods that I gave to the others. She likes the expensive, organic, mixed purees that I can only find at one store, Target.
Every night, I server dinner and there is a simultaneous "UGH" that comes from their precious little mouths. Even if one of them is happy with what we are eating, the other two are not.No matter what, it seems as though I can never appease them. I have tried making mini sized portions to see if they like have their own personal meal. I have had them help me with the cooking, hoping they would enjoy the cooking so much that they might also enjoy eating the meal they helped prepare. It is actually starting to really bug me. They don't even enjoy menu items that I will eat (meatloaf, rigatoni/spaghetti, pizza, turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, corn,etc) and I consider myself a pretty picky eater. Typically we can get them to eat what has been put on their plate, but it is usually a fight. Not all of them dislike the above but it's hard to make something for everyone, if it is already known that someone doesn't like a particular food.
I'm in a rut because I have also come to dislike meals altogether. It has to be one of the biggest arguements in our house. The simple questions of, "what's for breakfast?","what's for lunch?", and "what's for dinner?" all have the same answer, "I don't know, what do you want?". I would personally love to eat healthier and somehow teach my children to enjoy food and always attempt to try new things. The problem with that is I am basically being a hypocrite since I don't like most foods and rarely try new things.
The other day Paul mentioned an article that he read. I asked him what the outcome was but he said he gave up on the article because I would just add it to one of the many disorders that I have LOL So I found it last night and whether what I have is actually a disorder of sorts or not, I can definitely relate. I can see where it may be a possible sensory issue ( my foods can't touch each other, I don't like cold foods mixed with hot, I can't stand the texture of certain foods, and the smell of most foods makes me gag, leftovers are a huge no-no) and how it could be difficult to overcome, especially since I do not see me improving anytime soon. I can't eat lettuce on sandwiches (it's crunchy compared to a soft textured sandwich), I hate the texture of bananas, the smell of tomatoes, brocolli, fish. The list goes on an on. I can't stand to prepare meat as it usually involves alot of gagging, especially if I actually have to touch it, and by the time I finally sit down to eat dinner, I no longer want it.
I have always tried to hide my pickiness. Even if I don't like something, I will prepare it. One exception to this rule is for things that I can't handle the smell of, such as fish. I made the mistake of cooking fish once and I swear I could smell it for weeks, so now if Paul wants fish, he has to order it when we go out to eat. Looking at how the kids eat makes me wonder if I did infact influence their eating habits,even though I've tried super hard to mask it. Could it be genetic if it is actually a disorder and more sensory related?
As of right now, Ashleigh and Cooper mainly take after me and are the worst with eating. Addison takes after Paul (who has no food issues) and she typically doesn't hesitate to at least try foods but does have her own opinions about them. We will have to wait and see who Genevieve takes after, although she does seem to be taking after Addy, the whole being picky with her food is throwing me off. I can only hope that I haven't scarred these kids for life and will have to look into other ways to get them eat/enjoy what they are given for meal times while praying that it is, infact, just a "phase".
I have not just experienced this with one child, but have had the opportunity to endure this phase with multiple children. So far, all of them have eaten very well as infants, but they soon grew out of that stage. Next came the stage where they only eat certain foods. Ashleigh went through a phase of only eating tomatoes. ALL. THE. TIME! Oddly enough I hate tomatoes. Cutting them up made me ill, actually it still makes me ill. But I powered through it and made sure she had as many tomatoes as she wanted. Cooper's phase was chicken nuggets. I truly could not tell you the last time I consumed a nugget. The thought of meat being formed into a shape...ick! Now Addison, well she has always been a fan of food. Even if she ends up not liking it, she still is all for trying it...usually. She evens tries Genevieve's baby food and gives me her honest feed back. She has actually liked most of what Jenna gets, which makes me wonder if I should just revert them all back to infant purees. Genevieve is already showing a strong personality when it comes to her food. She will not eat the regular Gerber baby foods that I gave to the others. She likes the expensive, organic, mixed purees that I can only find at one store, Target.
Every night, I server dinner and there is a simultaneous "UGH" that comes from their precious little mouths. Even if one of them is happy with what we are eating, the other two are not.No matter what, it seems as though I can never appease them. I have tried making mini sized portions to see if they like have their own personal meal. I have had them help me with the cooking, hoping they would enjoy the cooking so much that they might also enjoy eating the meal they helped prepare. It is actually starting to really bug me. They don't even enjoy menu items that I will eat (meatloaf, rigatoni/spaghetti, pizza, turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, corn,etc) and I consider myself a pretty picky eater. Typically we can get them to eat what has been put on their plate, but it is usually a fight. Not all of them dislike the above but it's hard to make something for everyone, if it is already known that someone doesn't like a particular food.
I'm in a rut because I have also come to dislike meals altogether. It has to be one of the biggest arguements in our house. The simple questions of, "what's for breakfast?","what's for lunch?", and "what's for dinner?" all have the same answer, "I don't know, what do you want?". I would personally love to eat healthier and somehow teach my children to enjoy food and always attempt to try new things. The problem with that is I am basically being a hypocrite since I don't like most foods and rarely try new things.
The other day Paul mentioned an article that he read. I asked him what the outcome was but he said he gave up on the article because I would just add it to one of the many disorders that I have LOL So I found it last night and whether what I have is actually a disorder of sorts or not, I can definitely relate. I can see where it may be a possible sensory issue ( my foods can't touch each other, I don't like cold foods mixed with hot, I can't stand the texture of certain foods, and the smell of most foods makes me gag, leftovers are a huge no-no) and how it could be difficult to overcome, especially since I do not see me improving anytime soon. I can't eat lettuce on sandwiches (it's crunchy compared to a soft textured sandwich), I hate the texture of bananas, the smell of tomatoes, brocolli, fish. The list goes on an on. I can't stand to prepare meat as it usually involves alot of gagging, especially if I actually have to touch it, and by the time I finally sit down to eat dinner, I no longer want it.
I have always tried to hide my pickiness. Even if I don't like something, I will prepare it. One exception to this rule is for things that I can't handle the smell of, such as fish. I made the mistake of cooking fish once and I swear I could smell it for weeks, so now if Paul wants fish, he has to order it when we go out to eat. Looking at how the kids eat makes me wonder if I did infact influence their eating habits,even though I've tried super hard to mask it. Could it be genetic if it is actually a disorder and more sensory related?
As of right now, Ashleigh and Cooper mainly take after me and are the worst with eating. Addison takes after Paul (who has no food issues) and she typically doesn't hesitate to at least try foods but does have her own opinions about them. We will have to wait and see who Genevieve takes after, although she does seem to be taking after Addy, the whole being picky with her food is throwing me off. I can only hope that I haven't scarred these kids for life and will have to look into other ways to get them eat/enjoy what they are given for meal times while praying that it is, infact, just a "phase".
Sunday, May 1, 2011
April 2011
April has been a fairly great month, filled with birthdays, beaches, and tornados...oh my! LOL
April 2nd- Jenna is now 6 months old. She sits and rolls all over the place. She is now saying
"da da" and all other sorts of sounds! Here's a few pics I took for her 6 months pictures...
April 3rd- We held Ash and Addy's birthday parties together at Kidzart. The kids drew a picture of a fish and they all did extremely well. Now to start planning Bean's 1st B-day in Oct and Cooper's in Dec and then we can start all over again LOL Now remember, these are fish... Addy's, Cooper's, and then Ashleigh's drawings/paintings are below...
April 23rd-25th-For Easter weekend, we decided to take the kids to Myrtle Beach. The weather was great and we all had an awesome time. Paul got a nice sunburn while sitting by the pool watching Ashleigh (brought back memories from our honeymoon)! It was Jenna's first experience in the sand and I think she had a fantastic time. I am so happy that we live closer to the beach now.
April 29th- I decided to make a new recipe. Cooper helped me mix all the ingredients and put it all together. It turned out to be very good! The kids even ate it after a little enforcing LOL I may actually add this to one of our meals that the kids will actually eat! The recipe is below, but I did make a few substitutions...instead of soy, I used Worcestershire sauce and I didn't use nutmeg or celery salt.
Baked Chicken With Pineapple
Ingredients:
April 2nd- Jenna is now 6 months old. She sits and rolls all over the place. She is now saying
"da da" and all other sorts of sounds! Here's a few pics I took for her 6 months pictures...
April 6th- Ashleigh officially turned 8. The years are just flying by at this point! We took her to Olive Garden ( her choice) and I figured they would do the whole clapping and singing thing, but they just stopped doing that! So they sent out 2 waiters to quietly sing Happy Birthday to her...it was so weak LOL
April 16th- We experienced our 1st tornado! We did have tornado watches/warning all day and they said it was highly possible. It was super windy, and I decided to let the kids skip their nap and play outside while they had a chance to before the storms moved in. Little did I know I should of had them suck up all the TV they could before the power went out LOL
At about 3:00, Bean woke up from her nap and we were watching the weather while I gave her a bottle. The lightning and thunder had started, and they were warning us that at about 3:30 or so we would want to take cover! It was really exciting, especially for someone who has never been through anything remotely dangerous. As soon as we were about to head to the bathroom, the power cut, so we rushed in and waited. It was really quiet, so Paul snuck out to get a peak outside. He ran back in a few minutes later saying that the clouds had started to swirl. It was still extremely quiet. Once the news radar on our cell phones said the storm had past, we came out of the bathroom.
I was slightly disappointed! I had sat in a 1/2 bath, with 6 people, and nothing happened. I mean, thank goodness nothing did happen, but a little noise would have been nice. But when we looked outside, we quickly realized just how lucky we were! Still thinking of those that were affected during our tornado, as well as the most recent string of tornados, especially in AL. Here's a pic of the street right down the road from us...
April 23rd-25th-For Easter weekend, we decided to take the kids to Myrtle Beach. The weather was great and we all had an awesome time. Paul got a nice sunburn while sitting by the pool watching Ashleigh (brought back memories from our honeymoon)! It was Jenna's first experience in the sand and I think she had a fantastic time. I am so happy that we live closer to the beach now.
April 27th- The kids found a turtle outside in our driveway! The were so excited. I figured it was a small box turtle, which is what we would typically see back home, but when I looked out the window I was pretty shocked at how big it was. He moved fast too!
April 29th- I decided to make a new recipe. Cooper helped me mix all the ingredients and put it all together. It turned out to be very good! The kids even ate it after a little enforcing LOL I may actually add this to one of our meals that the kids will actually eat! The recipe is below, but I did make a few substitutions...instead of soy, I used Worcestershire sauce and I didn't use nutmeg or celery salt.
Baked Chicken With Pineapple
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon celery salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 8 chicken breast halves, skin removed
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 cups pineapple juice, unsweetened
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon soy
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
Preparation:
Mix together flour, salt, celery salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and nutmeg; dredge chicken in seasoned flour mixture. In a heavy skillet brown chicken breasts in melted butter. When chicken is golden brown, transfer to a 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Combine pineapple juice, soy sauce and sugar; mix well and pour over chicken. Cover tightly with foil and bake in 350° oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until chicken is tender, about 30 to 40 minutes longer, basting with pan juices several times. Serve sauce with the chicken, if desired.
Pineapple Chicken Recipe serves 6 to 8.
Pineapple Chicken Recipe serves 6 to 8.
April 30th- Today we started our garden! Paul and the kids tilled the area and we went out and bought the fencing to keep all the animals out. They are so excited to have a garden. Ash's comment of the day, "Whew, I am glad I'm not a farmer...this is hard" LOL Hopefully it will produce some vegetables for all the hard work they put into it!
Hope ya'll had a fantastic April as well!
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