IT IS HERE!!!!

Today was the first day of school!!!! FINALLY!!!! According to my kids ever increasing boredom levels, I feel that summer is about 3 weeks too long. Those last couple weeks were torture! They are tired of playing with the same old friends and their toys are no longer fun... it is just the worst time of year according to them! Ryleigh got to the point where she was saying to me "mom, I am bored - what can I do that does not involve cleaning?" lol!! Unfortunately, here in Oregon they like to make the kindergartners feel special and not trampled on so they don't get to start until next week. They have 1/2 of the class come to school on Monday next week, then the other 1/2 of the class come on Tuesday next week and then they all meet up on Wednesday for their first real day of school. It is a little weird to me - but whatever. Poor Ethan though, does not feel special because of this new schedule, instead he feels left out. He wanted to get on the bus this morning! He is dying here!!
Spencer is going into 1st grade!! Can you believe it? I can't. His teacher is Mrs. Taylor and he has a super cool class room with a bunch of windows that all face the playground! I do love the old school buildings (this building is probably as old or older than my grandparents) because they feel more comfortable and the kids are not couped up with no windows or anything!
Ryleigh is starting 4th grade - that is not a typo!! I am totally shocked. I need to start preparing myself now for 5th grade next year because when we were school supply shopping I kept looking at the 3rd grade list! She is totally embarrassed of me and its cool. I love her anyways, and I remember feeling that way about my mom. She has Mrs. Caster this year who seems really nice and organized, she has a website that I can check on that lists all of the assignments and what they are learning about, so that will be great for me.

I just can't believe that all 3 of my kids are going to be in school this year. It is totally fun and amazing! I love it! I will be home alone with no one - for a couple of months anyway.

Well... we have a GIRL!!!

We had our ultrasound appointment today and found out that we will be expecting a little GIRL on January 2, 2008!! We are totally excited! Things looked great on the ultrasound too. She weighs 12 ounces and is 10 inches long!! YEAH!!

Just in case you were wondering...

I am trying really hard not to make this blog all about me and my miserable pregnancy but recently I have been asked several times about my PICC line and if it is still in place etc.. So I decided to put this out there for anyone that has any questions!
I DO still have the PICC line in place and for the first couple of weeks it was doing nothing good! I would leave my fluid-infusion appointments so sick - sometimes I was even passing out. Finally I called my doctor and told them I didn't want to do it anymore. It was not working - obviously. She talked me into going in the next day anyways and letting them draw labs so they could maybe have a look at my blood, hoping to see what was going on and giving me just regular fluids (they usually were loading me up with vitamins and stuff in my bags). So the day after this appointment I got a phone call from one of the doctors at my clinic. She explained to me that there was NO WAY they were going to let me take out the PICC. She told me that my labs revealed that I was malnourished, dehydrated and lacking in several important vitamins and minerals. Not only that but I had lost 18 pounds. She told me that one of the areas they were most concerned about was my Potassium levels. She explained to me that my levels were dangerously low, and if they did not come up quickly they would have to hospitalize me because a lack of potassium can lead to cardiac failure. So she had me go in to get fluids the next day - this time it was 2 bags of Potassium! It was fantastic! I felt instantly better. I was going in every other day but now - since my levels have been able to return to normal & I can eat and drink again - I am only going in once a week! They are looking at removing my PICC line sometime in the next week or two - and I am soo soo soo soo excited! I hope this answers all of your burning questions! hehe!

UPDATE!! 8/07/07 - I got my PICC line removed today! I have gained 2 pounds and am looking healthy! yeah!!!! I can finally scratch my arm!!!

Baseball & Summer!

One of my favorite parts of Summer is BASEBALL!! I LOVE THIS SPORT!! I love watching the kids play, I love watching my brother play, I love watching the OSU Beavers play & I even love watching the pro's play! For the most part the season is coming to an end, which is pretty much a bummer (but it also means that school is starting soon! yipee!!) Even though it is the end of the season we just discovered this local wood bat league that plays here in Corvallis at the Beaver's Stadium during the summer. So last night Dan and I decided to take the kids (and my brother, Chad) to the game for some family fun! I am so bummed that we did not know about this sooner! We all got in for $24.00 and it was free hat night too - so we got a Corvallis Knight's cap, and it was open seating. The kids had a BLAST! We were close enough that it kept them entertained the whole time and between innings they had contests with the kids in the stands, they had a dance contest and a wheelbarrow race! Oh it was so much fun. Plus at the end of the game the let everyone down on the field so the kids can run the bases and get player autographs! I just can't say enough about how fun this was for the whole family. I have a few pictures here of the kids with the players and running the bases, and of course the picture of Ethan because his ears crack me up!

Cousins!

This is Brintley - she is 6!
This is Jaydin - she is 5!
Ethan & Brintley at the pool.
Spencer, Brintley, Ryleigh & Jaydin all getting ready to jump!
Spencer - 6 years old.

My two nieces, Brintley and Jaydin have been here for a couple of weeks and it has been such a blast! My kids are having so much fun with them and I think they are having so much fun with my kids! I will be so sad to see them go back home to Arizona in a week or two.

Seeing my kids play with their cousins made me realize how grateful I am for close-knit families. I think when Dan and I started dating he was a little overwhelmed because he didn't just meet my parents and brothers and sisters - but he also met the equally important aunts, uncles, grandparents and COUSINS! I love that they are just more family - just as important as brothers and sisters. I miss them all like crazy because they are all in Arizona an I am here in Oregon but I love them just the same.

My new friend

I have decided to embrace my new PICC line! At first I was a little nervous about a tube going into my arm and ending up 3 centimeters from my heart, but after 2 liters of fluid/vitamins today I am feeling great!! So It might not be so bad after all. I am ready to start feeling better already and whatever I need to make that happen - works for me!

I am sorry...

I want to apologize for not posting anything recently. It is not that we have not had interesting events happening in our lives, its just that I am SOOO SICK!! What were we thinking? We know I get super sick when I am pregnant, why does it not seem that bad when we are entertaining the idea of getting pregnant? For future reference - IT IS THAT BAD!!! Anyways, last week I was admitted to the hospital for an IV, because I am so dehydrated, and I am getting there again pretty quick. Dan has been busy working at Slices, and taking my place at the Hot Dog cart. Ryleigh & Spencer are still in school (school gets out on June 14th) and Ethan is home here with me. He has been so great to just chill while I hang out in the bathroom. Well I wish I had something more fantastic to post, but really I feel lucky to have been able to type all this - I just hope it is coherent. peace.