Organizing the Toys

As any family with children knows, your house can be taken over by toys in a minute.  It didn't matter how many times we picked up toys during the day, our living room and Rylie's room often looked like Toys R' Us threw up.

I tried using one of those shelves with bins to organize all the toys in Rylie's room.  Little did I know the bins would become little push cars that Rylie would push Liam around in and there we still toys everywhere with the bins adding to the mess.  I was tired of the living room looking like a toy tornado, and the kids were old enough that they could clean up their own toys, so I had a new idea.

I wanted all the toys for the most part out of the living room, and I wanted a simple way for the kids to be able to pick up their toys to be kept in their own rooms.  I found these huge bins at Target for about $6, one pink for Rylie and one blue for Liam.  I went through the toys they no longer played with and bagged them up for donation.  I then separated their toys into the two bins so they each had their own toys in its own bin.  Each child had their own bin of toys in their own room. 

So now instead of having toys spread out all over the place, Rylie and Liam have their toys in their rooms.  It is also easier to keep them picked up, because when they are done playing, they understand "put all your toys in your bin" instead of  "put all the toys away."  The toys now have a place(not all over the floor) and they are better at putting them up.  I just have to get one more bin to separate Liam's toys from Eric's baby toys, it is an improvement from our toy situation before.

I also learned that it's important to go through my kid's toys periodically to donate the stuff they don't play with to keep the toy pile contained.  Also a lot of Liam's baby toys like his activity table are still in perfect condition for Eric to use, and there is nothing wrong with passing toys down as long as they are intact and safe.  This keeps from getting new toys that aren't needed, and as far as Eric is concerned they are new toys because they are new to him!!!

Father's Day Crafts

My hubby left this morning for Phoenix until tomorrow afternoon.  With him away and Father's Day being tomorrow, I decided to take advantage of this special time with just the kids and help them make personalized cards for my hubby and their grandpas.  Our two oldest littles are big enough to make their own cards and Rylie loves crafts.  I love everything my kids make, and a card handmade by them is more special than anything Hallmark can come up with!!!!  I remember when Rylie started preschool, I tried keeping all of her art projects that she made everyday.  After about 3 weeks of that and the house overwhelmed by art projects, I decided I had to be a little more selective on what I kept and let go.

We started project "Father's Day" while Liam and Eric were napping.  I busted out markers, paint, stamps and construction paper.  I helped Rylie with the writing, but she did all the painting, drawing, and she wrote her own name on each card herself.  To make it special I had Rylie and Liam's hand print on all the cards and put Eric's footprint on them.  Eric didn't care for the cold paint on his foot, so after the first card, I used a black ink pad for his part. 

Here's the finished project:



I can't get this card flipped around :(





Liam's card he made for Daddy!

The kids had a blast making their Father's Day projects, and Rylie is excited to give her Daddy his special card!  I'm already thinking of gifts for Christmas, Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, with a little more detail and flare!!!!

We wrapped up our project filled afternoon with a little ice cream!!!



Rylie enjoying her ice cream!!



Eric at One Month Old

Our baby boy is a month old already!!! I can't believe how fast the time is going, I'm enjoying every minute with him, even at two in the morning!!!

He went to the doctor today and weighs 9 lbs. 12 oz., I guess breast milk is doing a baby good!!  It does make me feel good that I am still able to make enough milk for him.  I'm not going to put any expectations on myself, but as long as I can make enough milk to keep him happy, I'm going to do it!

It was funny because we were toward the end of his appointment, and his pediatrician said, "He looks great, by around two months he should start holding his head up more and smiling."  At that time I was holding Eric over my shoulder.  Eric then lifted his head, looked right at the doctor and smiled at him!  The doctor smiled back and said, "Or he will do it now!"  I guess Eric was thinking, "I'll teach that doctor to say I can't do something!"

Eric is sleeping pretty good for being a breast milk baby.  He only wakes up twice during the night, and he goes about 5 hours between his bedtime feeding and waking up for the first time during the night.  He eats around 8:30 at night, goes to bed between 9:30 and 10:30, and wakes up for the first time between 1 and 3 am.  I really couldn't ask for any better as far as his night time sleeping and eating goes.

He is a great baby!! He only fusses if he is hungry, tired or dirty.  He smiles all the time and loves it when we talk to him.  Being up at two in the morning is all worth it when I have his sweet smiling face staring at me!  His sister and brother adore him, and they are pretty much adjusted to having a new sibling.

I knew my heart was longing for another child, but I had no idea how much my heart would be filled with completeness and love has it has been by having Eric.  The saying is true, "Even if I never met you, I would miss you."  Eric has completed our family in such an amazing way, and I am in love with being Rylie, Liam and Eric's mommy.  I definately feel so blessed to look at my husband and our three children, seeing my life is turning out better than I could have ever expected.

Personalized Gifts

Today is a wonderful lady's birthday! Happy Birthday to my mom, I wouldn't be who I am without all her love and support.  I wanted to get her something special for her birthday, something one of a kind.

I have a friend that owns "Say What Creations," a personalized jewelry company.  She makes personalized sterling silver jewelry including: necklaces, rings, bracelets, etc.  The picture above is what I had made for my mom for her birthday.  It's a beautiful bracelet personalized with my baby's names, birth dates, and birthstones.  A perfect gift for a grandma in love with her grand babies!!!

I you wanna see more jewelry you can help "Say What Creations" reach 8,000 fans by visiting and liking their facebook page here:  https://www.facebook.com/#!/SayWhatCreations and you can order jewelry through  their shop at Etsy here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/saywhatcreations

I have ordered two special gifts from Say What Creations and I can't wait to order more.  If you're looking for something special for yourself or someone else, this is the best place for quality, personalized jewelry!!!

Happy Shopping!!!!

Our Oldest Graduates Preschool

How cute is she?  Our baby girl graduated preschool last Thursday and is all ready for kindergarden.  She has been going to the same preschool since she was sixteen months old and we love it.  It's hard for me to know that in about two months she will be going to a new school, a school with new teachers and staff for us to get to know and trust. She is very excited to go to her new school and start kindergarden.  She has been in the five year old class at preschool since a month after she turned four.  She gets tested for kindergarden at the end of July.  She has been testing high when they have tested her in preschool so we'll see how she does, I hope kindergarden is just enough challenge for her and she doesn't get bored with all she has already learned before kindergarden.

Her graduation was very cute.  They had all the kids in caps and gowns, getting their diplomas!!!  It was amazing to see her with her classmates, many she had been in the same class with since they were a year old, and to see how they have grown.  We all had lunch together, and we spent the day with our graduate.

                                                               The 3 of us

                                                          Rylie and Daddy

We are very proud of our baby girl!!!  I'm sure I will be a crying mess on her first day of kindergarden, but I know she will do great and we are looking forward to experiencing this new milestone with her.

3 weeks as a Mommy of 3

                                              ~Eric @ 3 weeks old 5~29~12
It's hard to believe our little guy is almost a month old.  It's amazing how much he has grown and changed from this:

The last 3 weeks have been exhausting, exciting, challenging and amazing for different reasons at one time or another.  Being a mommy of three has given me a whole new outlook on mommy hood and life.  I couldn't imagine a moment without my three littles, but the way daily life happens has certainly changed as far as parenting goes.

Rylie and Liam have adjusted well to having a new little brother, and of coarse some days are better than others.  Liam still has a hard time dealing with that he has to share us with another sibling.  We take time and special attention to make sure he knows how much we love him, and we make sure to give him one-on-one attention in all the craziness.  I will take him by himself when I have to run errands or do something special just him and I, and my husband does the same.  Rylie is doing pretty well and loves her new brother.  She understands more than Liam when her requests can't necessarily be meant "right now."  We also spend one-on-one time with just her as well.  We think it's important to give each child individual time when we can so that they don't feel any less important than another sibling or feel like they aren't getting enough attention because of another sibling.

It is more challenging when it is just me with all three kids! One mommy + 3 kids = some chaos!  I am figuring out how to best meet all of their needs in a timely manner, keep Rylie and Liam's fighting to a minimum, keep my sanity, and be the best mommy I can be for them.  I do have to give loads of credit to my wonderful husband!! He is truly the best hands~on daddy and I am very thankful to have him.  There is no "my job or your job" when it comes to caring for the kids, well except for the producing breast milk part, that is a "mama job", but we just tag team when it comes to taking care of the kids, and we try to spend equal time doing things for each of the kids so it's not only one of us caring for one child or the other.  I couldn't ask for a better husband and daddy for our littles!!!!

Eric is a great baby, he is pretty quiet except for when he is hungry or has poo in his diaper.  He really only wakes up twice during the night to eat.  For a couple of nights though he was not wanting to go back to sleep after eating.  He was staying awake for the few hours after eating up until his next feeding.  This made for a tired mama and baby.  Then he was sleeping more during the day and not wanting to sleep well at night.  Last night I tried something a little different.  When he would wake up to eat, I switched from changing his diaper after he ate to before he ate.  I noticed he wakes up more during his diaper change, perfect for getting ready to eat, not so great for trying to get him back to sleep.  By doing this, he would get sleepy while eating and he was able to get back to sleep quicker.  We slept much better last night!  We are also trying to keep Eric up more during the day for better sleep at night.

So overall we are making it as a new family of 5!!!  We are learning and growing as our children grow.  Each challenge is a learning experience, and while all of our children have the same parents, our three children are anything but the same.  We are always learning the best ways to deal with and bring out the best in each of their personalities.

                                                    Eric @ 1 week old~newborn picture
Well I better get back to my littles, I wanted to update on how Eric was doing and how our new family of 5 is adjusting.  Eric's birth announcements will be mailed out soon, I was waiting on his newborn photos to make the announcements so I'm a little behind, but I will share the chosen announcement once they get mailed out to our family and friends.

~Jamie
            (the blessed Mommy)

Eric's Birth Story & the last 2 weeks

It's hard to believe our baby boy turned two weeks old yesterday.  He is a great baby and very laid back.  He has been a great addition to our family!  Rylie and Liam love him and have accepted him as well as could be expected.  I'm getting used to less sleep. I thought I didn't sleep well when I was pregnant, I forgot how much less sleep a newborn lets you have.  He is pretty good though during the night, usually only waking up twice to eat, he just has trouble getting back to sleep after those feedings.

Now to take you back two weeks ago.  It was Tuesday May 8th, and I had gotten up to get ready for work and take the kids to school.  I felt pretty good, I was disappointed that my original due date had come and gone with no baby, as well as finding out the week before that I was not dilated despite all my contractions.  I went into work to start my shift and my charge said I made her "nervous" being past due and working.  She said she had enough staff and told me I could go home.  Home?, nope I was going to walk and get the baby out.  I ran home real quick to change into walking clothes.  My husband had been sleeping because he worked the night before.  He asked what I was doing home, and I told him I was going walking to get the baby out.  I got a thumbs up and a look of good luck.  I don't think he actually thought my walking was going to get the baby out!  After walking for a while I was having more contractions and pelvic pressure, I really didn't think anything was happening because remember I was having no signs of labor the week before.  I waited a little longer and decided to go to the hospital just to check my progress and the baby.

I got to the hospital about 10:30 in the morning.  I was really just having pressure and dizziness from all the walking in the heat, the contractions weren't that bad.  I waited in the triage bed for about an hour before anyone came in to see me or get hooked up on the monitor.  See the hospital just started this new charting system and they were trying to figure out how to get me in the computer.  Once they figured out that issue, I was hooked up on the monitor(our baby boy was sounding great) and the nurse checked for dilation.  I was quite surprised when she said I was dilated to 3, 70% and 0 station.  I knew it was early but thought if I did more walking, I would dilate more.  After she talked to my doctor, the verdict was for me to walk for an hour and be checked again.  I had to get to 4 cm and have closer contractions or I would get sent home.  I was not going home without a baby!!  I didn't call my husband because I wanted him to get sleep and there was still a chance I could get sent home and I didn't want to wake him for nothing.  I did tell my mom what was going on and she insisted on coming to the hospital, even though I told her nothing would decided until after I walked.

I ended up walking almost 2 hours because my nurse was with another patient, I kept walking until she was ready to check me in hopes I was dilating more.  The nurses were surprised all the laps around the unit I was doing and said I was a woman on a mission.  Once I went back to triage, the nurse checked me and I was between 3 and 4 cm dilated, but my contractions weren't regular.  She decided since all the walking and her checking me might have helped the contractions that she would watch me for an hour or so. After that time she checked me again and I was 4 cm dilated and having contractions every 3 to 6 minutes.  She called my doctor and he gave the orders for me to be admitted!!! It was baby time and time to call my husband to let him know what I was up too while he was sleeping.  It was now around 3:30 in the afternoon.  He was quite surprised when I asked him if he was ready to meet the baby that day with a reply of  "oh sh*t, are you serious?"  He was getting stuff for the kids together, getting ready and heading to the hospital.

My doctor had decided that since my contractions weren't consistent that he wanted the nurse to start Pitocin.  I was tolerating my contractions pretty well and knew that Pitocin could make the contractions intolerable very fast.  I requested my epidural first before they started the medicine.  Did I need it? no, but I didn't want to feel Pitocin contractions either.  By the time my husband got to the hospital I had my epidural and was relaxing.  The epidural was more painful than the other two, and it worried me she said the pain I was feeling was from her accidentally hitting the bone.  After about an hour, the Pitocin was started, I hadn't dilated anymore since triage.  At around 7:00, my new nurse came in and checked me, she noticed I was scratching alot and offered me some Benadryl to fix the itching that was most likely from the epidural.  I was checked again, had no change in dilation and the Pitocin dose was increased.  At 7:45, I was talking to my cousin Sarah, trying to stay awake from the Benadryl, and I noticed I could lift my left leg and I was feeling more of the contractions and pressure.  My epidural was wearing off.  The nurse checked me around 8:00, I was dilated to about 6 and while I was changing positions, my water broke!!  She checked me again, after my water broke and I was an 8!!!  I was feeling lots of pressure and pain.  She called my doctor, who replied, "I only live 10 minutes away."  It wasn't too much longer, and I told my husband to go get the nurse because I had to push!!  The nurse came in and said I was 10 cm, ready to go, but not to push because the doctor was on his way. 

                                    ~I had not expected my epidural to wear off
I had never felt such a strong urge to push or so much pain with the other two, because those times my epidural worked through the delivery.  I was to the point to tell the nurse to get any doctor because I couldn't keep from pushing anymore, when my doctor walked in.  He shook my husband's hand and leaned up against the counter.  I then asked, "Can I push now?"  He said, "Oh yeah, we were waiting on you."  I replied, "I'm ready, I was waiting for you!"  It took two pushes and our baby boy was here!!!

Eric Richard-Hays Fitzgerald was born May 8th, 2012 at 9:06 pm, weighing 8 lbs, 0 oz and 20 1/2 inches long!! He was beautiful and our family was complete!!  In another post I will explain how we came up with his name.

~He kept peeing on the nurse!!

After delivery, I had some problems with hemorrhaging, which got me a shot in the thigh and another IV that took three tries to get.  It was all worth it for my baby boy!!  We got to go home the next evening and Eric has been doing great since.

                                                     ~Proud grandma
I experienced things this time around that I never had before.  I actually felt what it was like to feel my son come out of me and the urge to push to do that.  I had never had an allergic reaction to the epidural before or hemorrhage.  I am happy my last labor and delivery went overall pretty well and I am thankful for our healthy baby!!