Yes Day!

Oh, you poor neglected blog!  I think about you all the time and still love you!  Just when I think I am starting to get it all together (HA!!), something ends up getting in my way.  Something like having a baby, or caring for the new baby and his big brother, or selling the house we've lived in just under a year, or moving...oh, wait.  So many things have gone on in the last few months, including ALL of the above!  I am taking a break from the craziness of life to post something fun we did today.  My hope was to take more pictures, but alas, I didn't!  I realize poor Collin has not had his blog debut yet, but it's coming.  

A couple summers ago when Owen was between ages 2 and 3, he and I attended story time each week at one of our public libraries.  A librarian would read a story, sing a few songs, and then give each child a copy of the book that was read.  One of these was Yes Day! by Tom Lichtenheld.

In the book, the little boy wakes up excited to see on his calendar that it is Yes Day.  He knows that whatever he asks, a 'yes' will follow!  Owen has done such a great job as a big brother, as a helper around the house, and as a companion on days when I just needed some cuddling on the couch!  We thought Owen needed a Yes Day, so today was that day!  In addition, our handsome little newborn is 3 months old today!  Gasp!  Time -- SLOW DOWN!! 

Look at these P.R.E.C.I.O.U.S. boys!!   

There were 3 rules for Yes Day:

• All activities were to take place in or around Lubbock.  
• We still had to take care of Collin despite this day being all about Owen.
• We would not say yes to anything unsafe (which is not a problem since Owen isn't generally a daredevil or crazy head!)

Last night after Owen was in bed, I put a sign on the bathroom counter that said Happy Yes Day! for him to see when he woke up.
He wanted macaroni and cheese for breakfast (bleh!) so he had that while I had leftover biscuits and gravy and Austin had cereal.

On our way out the door to the Science Spectrum, Owen wanted to take a walk, so there we went -- down the street and back.  By this time it was a bazillion degrees, so that was sweaty and fun!
We had a great time at the Science Spectrum!  Collin cruised around in the umbrella stroller and seemed pretty content! 

 
Owen was MOST excited about going to the store for a new toy, but after the Science Spectrum, we went to his favorite burger place first -- Steak and Shake! 

From there, we headed to Target for his toy, and then to Gramommy's house to feed Collin and pick up some tables.  (As if life isn't crazy enough, we decided to have an impromptu garage sale tomorrow evening and Saturday morning.)  Before we left her house, he wanted to play outside, so after 10 minutes, we were heading to the last stop before coming home.  We ran to the store to get what we needed for the spaghetti and meatball dinner he requested.
Overall, it's been a fun day, but between the blazing heat and constant go, go, go, we are exhausted.  For the evening, we anticipate him asking to stay up late and if it's ok to sleep in Mommy and Daddy's room.  He loves to camp out on the floor in our room!  Friday is the day he does that normally, but it will probably be tonight's final request!  Actually, we'll just have to wait and see...he may have a whole new set of questions brewing up in that amazing head of his! 

It was a special day for a sweet boy and we have loved all the smiles along the way.  We are blessed to have a son who deserves a special all-about-him day!    

Hoping to be back soon,
Carianne

    
    

Pregnancy #1 vs. Pregnancy #2

Owen Patrick in 2009 vs. Collin Benjamin in 2013-14

Due Dates:

Owen was due November 28 but the c-section was scheduled in July for November 20. 

Collin, according to my last cycle, is due May 9, but following the first ultrasound at 12 weeks, the due date was changed to April 30 to reflect his measurements.  The c-section was scheduled in February for April 24.  

Thinking of Names: 

With Owen, I remember laying in bed one night suggesting “Owen” and Austin quickly agreeing that he liked it.  “Patrick” came from one of my uncles, but I don’t know the timeline for when the 2 names came together.  With Collin, we had a harder time, especially with a middle name.  We spent many nights sifting through websites, blogs, and our own thoughts trying to come up with a name that sounded good with Owen Patrick and that also sounded nice with Billett.  I have liked Collin for a long time.  Few people know that our little nephew Deuce used to call Austin’s brother that because he had a hard time remembering “Kyle” for some reason.  In the couple times the two of them met in Deuce’s early years, Deuce thought Kyle’s name was Collin…so from then on, I just liked the name and hoped we could one day possibly use it for a little boy.  The middle name decision was quite frustrating at times.  I liked Collin Drew and Collin Joseph while Austin liked Collin James and Collin David.  After weeks and weeks, we made a list with his 2 favorites, my 2 favorites, and then 2 others we both somewhat liked and agreed were good middle names.  The list was Drew, Joseph, James, David, Benjamin, and Levi.  After each one of us got rid of our least favorite from the list, we had 4 remaining names.  I wrote all 4 down alongside Collin: Collin Drew, Collin James, Collin Benjamin, and Collin Levi.  We both took one look and liked the look of Collin Benjamin the best, so we knew we had a winning combination!  Phew, what a relief!  

              

Season:

Pregnant with Owen March – November.  I missed the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season.

Pregnant with Collin August – April.  The Christmas season marked the halfway point in the pregnancy.  Do this, do that, go here, go there…it was challenging and I was quite tired most afternoons, but all the errands, busyness, and plans were worth it!  We had such a great Christmas!  

Morning sickness:

With both boys, I had no morning sickness, no nausea, and no major complications.  Blood pressure with Collin is spot on as it was with Owen, but with both, there has been some ankle swelling at the end of each day.     

Other medical miscellaneous:

With Owen, everything from finding out we were expecting all the way to his birth went smoothly and perfectly – of course my judgment may be somewhat off since 4 years is a long time ago!!  Around 7 weeks with Collin, I broke out in a horrible, itchy rash on most of my body.  It came and went for about 10 days and I was miserable.  One day, it just stopped appearing.  The rash could have been pregnancy-related, but it could have been stress-induced as well since that time was one of the more stressful times in my job to date.  I was extremely unhappy, very stressed about scheduling and administrative support, so in all actuality, it could have been a combination of that and new hormones.  (Sadly, I still feel the same about my job and it brings me down more often than I care to admit!)  

Around Thanksgiving, I had some spotting which really made me nervous!  After a quick check up and exam the following week, it was determined that I was fine…and thankfully, there has not been a day of spotting since.  

 The past month or so, I have had some minor leg cramping at night, but it’s nothing too bad.  Yes, it wakes me up from time to time and yes, it’s frustrating, but in the grand scheme of things, I am very lucky!  I flex my muscles while laying in bed to relieve some restless leg issues, and when I do, my muscles tend to cramp up a bit. 

    

With Owen, I felt like I had ultrasounds every several weeks.  It was always such a reassuring joy to see that sweet baby growing inside and trying to imagine what parenthood would be like when he came out.  With Collin this go-round, I have had a total of three:  one about 12 weeks to confirm the pregnancy and to take initial measurements to determine the due date; one at the halfway point a few days before Christmas, and the last one was mid-February at about 28 weeks.  I feel like I don’t know much about Collin at this point in the game because of how infrequently I have “seen” him.  He seems to be quite stubborn or shy (take your pick) for the camera because we can’t really even get a great look at his face.  He’s either facing downward laying on his tummy, looking away, or crossing his arms over his face.  It’s been frustrating trying to imagine what the little guy will look like!!  In the one semi-decent picture we got, it's hard to tell if he looks like Owen, me, Austin, or a combination.  Again, it was over a month ago, so there's been quite a bit of development happening since!      

   

Emotional Difficulties:

With Owen, I was working part time from home, so the transition into motherhood (again, looking back 4 years later) seemed as simple as can be!  I had a c-section and a beautiful, easy recovery, and overall, Owen was an easy baby.  I feel like I cherished every moment of pregnancy, documented well, read about being pregnant and becoming a mother, and days went by at an average pace.  It seemed like he hit all milestones before the literature said he should, he ate well, was sick very little, and as he progressed through toddlerhood, he potty-trained easily, has learned enormous amounts of vocabulary and PreK-related curriculum and topics, has spoken well, has made connections between what he knows and doesn’t know, can have conversations and reason with others, and can ask intelligent questions. 

With Collin, I am working full time as an elementary librarian so I am on my feet most of the day.  I come home more tired to a home we moved into in early August.  Seven and a half months later, we are still trying to get settled.  Not only am I tired from my days at work, but then to have to think about “what to do when” and ask “what are the priorities?” to hurry along the settling process is equally exhausting.  It all makes for some very tiring weeks and weekends.  These weeks have FLOWN by faster than any other time in my life.  In just about 5 weeks, ALREADY, we will be a family of 4, and to me, it is mind blowing!  I have enjoyed this pregnancy, but as for truly cherishing every moment, I don’t think I have, unfortunately.  Working a job that isn't so great most days, trying to get settled, preparing for a new baby, coming to the realization that there is no financial way possible for me to stay home for a couple years, and being a mother to Owen and wife to Austin all the while has been extremely challenging.  With that said, I am concerned that Collin may want to come early this time due to what life has dealt me and the stress associated with it all.  Honestly, I just can’t bear the thought of that!  I am taking the end of April and the month of May off work (plus I am off June and July of the summer months), but even there, I am being docked 9 days since I only have 20 saved up.  I can’t afford any additional, unplanned time off (literally), so we shall see if the little booger stays put until he’s supposed to.  I think it's best I go ahead and get my bag packed for the hospital, just in case!  :)  Oh, and I better get his room all ready too!  Sheesh. 

         

Mood Swings (or does this belong with Emotional Difficulties?): 

Again, I must provide the disclaimer that 4 years is a long time ago…and in my memory, I didn’t have too much of a problem with mood swings.  My husband may have something else to say though!  With this pregnancy, I am fighting mood swings VERY badly.  I am quite hard to live with, probably hard to love at times, and just beast-like when I don’t mean to be.  I chalk that up to some of the aforementioned stresses of working, settling, and having a family to care for as some of the blame.  My poor family.  I laugh and cry in the same 15 minutes most of the time.  It’s not at all funny, and it’s very bothersome, so if there is one thing I look forward to being over at the end of April, it’s the mood swings.          

Movement: 

Owen moved a normal amount once I started feeling the flutters, kicks, and pokes.  Of course I had nothing to compare it to at the time since it was my first pregnancy!  This time, Collin is either going to be a karate enthusiast or a gymnastics superstar!  Oh my word.  Day and night, this little one is using my innards as a punching bag, and while I love knowing he’s “there” it gets somewhat distracting!!  Ha!     

     

Sleep: 

Recliners are the best when it comes to sleeping while pregnant!  I started sleeping in one with Owen around 14 or 16 weeks, and with Collin, it was a bit later, right around 25 weeks.  My pillows are in a different place on the recliner than where they were when I was pregnant with Owen, but overall, I sleep really well most nights.       

    

There are a couple other areas I want to reflect on and document here so I can remember when my memory is a pathetic mess, but I feel like I have rambled on a bunch of nonsense for far too long now.  I am going to wrap it up with some of my belly shots.  That is one thing I was pretty inconsistent with when it came to being pregnant with Owen, but this time, I have a picture taken every couple of weeks.  Of course I have missed a couple, but overall, we’ve managed to get several good ones of the growing belly that houses a growing Collin!  You can tell that the pictures were taken at different times of day based on lighting, what I was wearing, and how tired I looked.  The never-ending exhaustion has just begun.     

12 weeks

 14 weeks

 18 weeks  

(I missed the 16 week photo opportunity!)

 20/21 weeks 

(This is the time when the due date was changed so when I thought I was 20 weeks, I was told I was actually 21 weeks!)

 A very large 22 weeks

 Looking smaller at 24 weeks due to the angle of the camera.

 There's the big belly again at 28 weeks! 

(I missed the 26 week photo.) 

 Here I am at 30 weeks feeling very much like a whale...or a cow...but very blessed and thankful that there's a little boy inside that belly that God has put there and trusted us with. 

I am hoping the next post highlights how we told people we were expecting! 

Hope to be back soon! 

Carianne

Collin Benjamin's Room

Last weekend, Mom and Dad came up to Shallowater to help us get Collin's room ready.  As of mid-January, the room looked like this...

...lavender, a holding area for home decor boxes (who has time to decorate?), baby play centers, strollers, a high chair, totes of big brother's clothes he has outgrown, a disassembled daybed, etc.

The last week of January, I decided to get in there and start relocating stuff to the garage since we were going to be painting that weekend.  Owen was a big help! Ha!   

All emptied and ready to transform.  Let the fun begin.  

How do you know Mom is in town?  Look for all the Wahoo logos!  :)
(This is Collin's closet...and a majority of the totes are clothes.  There are also totes and boxes of toys, washcloths, towels, blankets, diapers, bedding, a pack-n-play, and car seats.  The next 12 weeks had better be productive or we are going to be dealing with this AND a newborn.  Dear Lord, please help me!!)

At first, we were going to go with a light denim blue color floor to ceiling on all 4 walls, but a couple days before the weekend, I thought a 2-color room would be a little better.  After all, Owen had a plaid-looking wall, so the least we could do for baby #2 was 2 colors!  Below, you can see the pencil line to divide the 2 colors!    

Light denim went on the top 2/3 of the wall and the lavender below was about to be covered with an oak, caramel color.  (It looks gray here with the lavender still in the room and in the early stages of cutting in, it looked puke green.  Very strange!!)

Here comes some reinforcements!  Super Owen to the rescue!  He's showing off his muscles here...and no, those are not high-water pants! :)   

He lasted a whole 4 minutes helping and only rolled up into the finished blue once!  :)  Good thing Mom is more patient than me.  She touched it up right away. 

Just about finished!  The colors are a perfect match to the bedding that big brother is passing down to little brother!  

Somewhere in the middle of the day, we decided to connect the two colors together with a chair rail.  A quick trip to Lowe's and we were in business.  Dad and Austin spray painted the pieces and then located all the studs in the room.  You can see all the pieces of blue painters tape below.   

All finished except for the remainder of the clean up, putting back outlet covers, and painting over the filled nail holes.  

Here is the finished room...cleaned up and vacuumed.  That is, except the red touch-ups...coming soon!

Here is excited big brother, Owen, posing with his puppy from best friend, Presley.  (The top color looks sky blue here, but it isn't.)

It sure was great to have so much wonderful help with this endeavor.  Dad prepped all the furniture for painting and took it with him to Odessa.  All the pieces will be a perfect match to the baseboard, trim, and door color -- a lovely cream color!  Collin will have a precious, new-to-us crib bought by Gramommy on Craigslist, the same changing table Owen used from cousin Deuce, Gramma Lovell's rocking chair that Owen had in his nursery, and a dresser made by Papa.  In a few weeks, the furniture should be in place!

I don't know how everyone else feels, but this pregnancy is FLYING by!  It feels like we just told people and here we are 3 months away from meeting Collin.  I have a doctor's appointment Monday and an ultrasound Wednesday, so pretty soon, we should have the c-section scheduled.  I am ready, but on the other hand, not ready at all.  Terrified, excited, nervous, anxious...what a mix of emotions!           

Our mini vacation to the Dallas area

In November, I got a little bonus at work because our campus showed the most academic growth (as measured on state tests) out of all the thirty-something elementary campuses in Lubbock ISD.  Instead of paying a bill or saving it for a rainy day, we took the bonus cash and planned a little mini vacation before having to return to work for the spring semester...just the 3 of us.  Well, technically, it was 3.5 of us since we are just past the halfway point in growing Owen's little brother!!  Our schedule was packed and fun, yet allowed for some relaxation and rest.  Just for documentation purposes, our agenda was as follows:

Monday, Dec 30:  breakfast, drive from Shallowater to Grapevine, lunch at Steak and Shake, Grapevine Vintage Railroad, dinner at Subway, and check in at Great Wolf Lodge

Tuesday, Dec 31: donuts for breakfast, fun at Great Wolf Lodge, lunch at Rainforest Cafe, ICE! at the Gaylord Texan, Frozen (the movie), drive to Dallas to Uncle Lon and Aunt Kathy's house, Papa Murphy's pizza for dinner

Wednesday, Jan 1:  breakfast (Uncle Lon's pancakes!), Perot Museum, lunch at Subway, Dallas World Aquarium, dinner at Picasso's with Uncle Lon and Aunt Kathy

Thursday, Jan 2: McDonald's for breakfast, drive to Odessa   

Our vacation budget followed Dave Ramsey's envelope system.  (We followed Dave Ramsey's financial plan all of 2013 and are continuing it into 2014.)  A 'lodging' envelope was unnecessary because our night in Great Wolf Lodge was a gift from Aunt Bev to Owen and the other two nights of our vacation were spent with family.  :)    

On our way out of Lubbock with Puppy, his Thomas blanket, and a movie to pass the time.  

 Steak and Shake.  Yum!  We had never been before! 

The Grapevine Vintage Railroad -- nice train ride, but lots of time spent stopped on the tracks due to them sharing the railroad with industrial trains moving freight from place to place.  What was supposed to take a few hours from start to finish took about five.  :(   

 Notice how dark it was outside when we finally got off the train and could get on with our evening! 

Great Wolf Lodge -- such a NEAT place!  We were there several hours less than we expected, but the time spent there was fun.  Owen is still talking about it three weeks later! 

 

 About to check out after a night and morning of water park fun! 

 

Rainforest Cafe

Gaylord Texan -- ICE!!  Nutcracker theme with a New York exhibit

We were prepared with jackets and winter accessories but ended up being given their blue ones as well.  We were nice and warm! 

Owen loved the ice Turbo! 

 Still in the Gaylord Texan (walking back toward our car), we stopped to watch the electric trains 

Frozen on the big screen! 

The Perot Museum -- similar to Lubbock's Science Spectrum, but different in lots of ways.  It was fun, but much of it was too "over Owen's head."  We will return there in a few years and be able to enjoy more of the museum/learning part of the facility.  Overall a really great place! 

The Dallas World Aquarium -- lovely exhibits and awesome things to see.  There were many more pictures taken, but these were the ones I chose to include in the blog.  What a cute little guy! 

We sure had a fun time.  It will most likely be awhile before we have the money or chance to go on another vacation!  Thankfully we will have the memories from this three-day excursion as our days as a family of three come to a close.  Pretty soon, the memories will start including another little Billett!  Exciting times!

Thanks for stopping by,
Carianne