Organizing Life

Since Brady's arrival, I have felt very unorganized and scattered!  I guess a newborn can do that to you, and when it is your second baby... you dont stand a chance of getting things together for a while!

He is almost 2 months old now, and I felt it was time to try and pick up the pieces around here!  While shopping at Target, I came across some AWESOME baskets that I have fallen in love with!  I bought 4 sets of them (a set had 2 baskets) and the cost was $10 for 8 baskets!  I used the baskets to get my pantry and fridge in order. 

One thing I have realized is that when we open the pantry or the fridge, we grab what is in SIGHT to eat.  I wanted to change the way the fridge and the pantry was arranged, and make the "healthier" foods become what we see first.  Usually in the fridge, the veggies & fruits hang out in a drawer which is supposed to control humidity.  Our drawer like this usually ends up holding fruits and veggies that are beginning to go bad!  So, I used the baskets to create a home for these items, so we see them immediately when we open the fridge.  Our leftovers also have a shelf all to themselves now!  This makes it pretty impossible to forget that we have leftovers, and they are actually being eaten!!

Same logic in the pantry... baskets hold groups of items that needed to be together. Items that need to be finished off are moved into ziploc bags, so that they boxes aren't creating clutter and taking up large amounts of space!

I think the pantry and the fridge look MUCH better, and I am hoping that my logic behind the purge & rearrange actually holds true!!!


 - Jessica

Changing the Way We Eat...

Meal planning is hardly a new idea.  However the idea is relatively new in our household.  I put together my "meal planning" tools last year, and did my first meal plan in November!  I thought it would be a great way to adhere to our grocery budget better while at the same time, I could make sure that we are eating better! 

I sat down the last week of February and I started planning what we would eat in March.  I kept planning our meals until I had planned an entire month! 
I kept in mind that I have a meal train in the works thanks to Brady's arrival.  I have a meal coming on March 12, and as far as I know... that is the last meal on our meal train.  However, if someone else signs up to bring a meal, I will simply not cook the meal I planned that night!  I also kept in mind that cooking a meal will equal leftovers!  We have more leftovers than most in our household because Derik works such a crazy schedule!  I can make a meal last for lunch and sometimes another meal the following day because I am the only one eating it!  So, my meal plan was finished, and I needed to write the ingredients to make the recipes on my grocery list!
I tried to choose meals that would be healthier than the Outback takeout we have become so familiar with in our house!  Thanks to the meal train, I have been introduced to lots of new recipes that I LOVE!  A few of my favorites (I am still trying to obtain all of the following!!!) were...

Mexican Casserole (thank you Karen Swainey)

DELICIOUS Chili with Sausage (thank you Sarah Morin)

Pasta with Sausage (thank you Shelly Costello)

Beef Stew with Egg Noodles (thank you Bree Asbach)

Chicken Tator Bake (thank you Kristen Reynolds)

Tortilla Soup (thank you Meredith Renuart)

After making my grocery trip I decided 2 things.  First, our grocery budget is going to have to change!  Second, I need to start couponing!  The trip cost more than I expected, but we will be eating meals from this trip for almost 3 weeks! 

The groceries were bought, and the fridge was full... and it was time to make Abbie's lunch today!  So, I opened the fridge and let Abbie tell me what she wanted!  I was a proud mommy and eagerly made her a healthy lunch that she devoured even more eagerly!  She chose cheese (checks), chicken (chicky), strawberries (saw beweies) & blueberries (hochoops), and yogurt (yogurrrr)!

 

My goal is to maintain healthier eating habits from this point on.  Although, it wouldn't take much to improve on our diet of popcorn, ice cream, sugary cereal, and soda!  Hopefully we will all benefit from the changes and most importantly... we will teach our children to eat healthier than we have in our pasts!

 - Jessica

Just the Girls ♥

Yesterday was a lot to take!  Abbie fussed the majority of the day, and Brady had some severe reflux issues that made for a stressful afternoon!  I thought that a morning outing with just Abbie and myself might make her feel special! 

I thought about a few ideas, but I am a "kill 2 birds with 1 stone kind of person" through and through!!  I needed to go to Target, so I thought I would make it a "special trip", and I put Abbie's toy shopping cart in the car!

She had such a great time, and was such a good helper!  She helped me collect everything on our list (because we were on a "treasure hunt"!!), waved hello to everyone we walked past, and we even had a cart race!!  We made a full lap around the store, and when we were finished, we got her a water from Starbucks!!! 
Such a big girl now... I love you Abbie!

I love her so much!  Cart, baby, Starbucks... happy girl!

Def, my favorite Target trip on record!

 - Jessica

"You can have roots & wings..."

Since before Brady made his arrival, I have been wanting to make a trip to Greensboro.  I worked it out with mom to ride back and forth with her, so that I wouldnt have to make the first trip back with 2 kids... ALONE!  She came up for Abbie's birthday party and stayed until Monday.  Monday morning we packed up the car, and headed to Greensboro.  The trip down was actually timed perfect and went SO SMOOTH!  I couldn't have asked for an easier car ride, but the rest of the trip wasn't quite as awesome. 
After picking up the "extra car" from Mom & Scott's, I headed to my dad's house.  We were planning to stay with him for the week, and it was approaching bed time fast!  We went to dinner at one of my favorite little restaurants in Greensboro, IPD Eatery!  Abbie was beginning to fall apart, so we headed back and got her ready for bed as quickly as possible.  She went to sleep with ease, but staying in the bed, seemed like a pipe dream! We blew up a twin size air mattress and put her on it in the middle of an empty room!  It was only about 4 inches off the ground, but when I went in to check on Abbie, she and her blankie had rolled off the mattress and clear across the room!
Tuesday morning we headed to visit friends!  Abbie got to play with Reagan, Hailey, Caleb, Angie, and Elijah!  She was very exciting about seeing her friends, as was I!  Tuesday afternoon we did nothing, and we had dinner with my dad and his girlfriend that evening!
Wednesday the plan was to go to Raleigh.  We were planning on surprising my grandmother with a visit from the kids, but after experiencing a LOT of pain in my back... I spent the morning in the emergency room.  NOT FUN!  We had a VERY low key afternoon and evening.

Thursday our plan was to go play with Cole at a friend's house, but sick babies prevented that play date from going as hoped.  We headed out to visit my in-laws after nap, and finished the evening off with a visit at Derik's cousin's house!
We packed up the car Friday morning, and headed up to visit my mom at work.  After everyone got to see the baby... we drove to my mom's house to drop off the "extra car"!  When mom got off work, we headed back to Richmond, and I have never been so excited to come back!
This trip made me realize that home is no longer Greensboro.  25 years of living there, and I now feel like a stranger there.  The time spent with my parents was much needed, and went very well!  However, I felt like Greensboro wasn't as excited to see us as we were to see them!
I took a drive by our old house, and cried sitting in the driveway.  We moved away 10 months ago, but it feels like we never really lived there.  The only memories that I am holding onto from that time in my life is bringing our first baby home from the hospital!  It was our first house, and we were so excited about buying it... and the last 10 months have made me regret this purchase.
Our friends have continued living and we are no longer a part of their story, and our family is busy living life as well.  I feel like I did a LOT of sitting on the couch this visit, and I could have just as easily done that at home!  I felt out of place, and trapped... and that makes me sad.  I guess I have to realize that our life is no longer in Greensboro... it's in Richmond.  I know it is possible to have roots & wings, I just never thought that it would feel like my roots have been "uprooted"!
I am not looking forward to my next visit to Greensboro, and I am not sure that I will make the trip again anytime soon.  4 days with 2 kids (including a newborn), no husband to help, no play room for Abbie, sick friends, and busy family... I am exhausted, and am so glad to be back home.

 - Jessica 

The Day Before 2...

It is hard for me to believe that tomorrow is the 2 year anniversary of the day I met my daughter!  She has been a part of our lives for 730 days, and I honestly find it hard to remember life without her!  It feels like she has always been a part of our lives, and we are blessed to have her in our family!

On her last day of being a "1 year old", I thought it would be fun to capture her in her element!!  For those of you who don't know Abbie very well, her personality is BIG!  She is a vibrant and fun little girl, and loves to play!!  Two of her favorite things to do are to "color" and to play dress up, or as she calls it, "be pretty"!  Here are a few pictures of my sweet girl... simply being Abbie.

I love this little girl so much, and even though she is becoming such a big girl... she will always be my little princess!

 

Having fun in her princess gown, snow white cape, and her wand!

 

She was dancing... even with no music!

 Costume change!  Now she is a ballerina...

A shy ballerina!!

Coloring a picture for mommy & daddy!  (still wearing her tutu!!)

very focused!

Oh how I love her!

Back to work on her masterpiece!

Having a GREAT time!!

What a precious angel...

I know you wont read this for few years, and probably wont appreciate it for many after that... but I wanted to write you a letter...

My Sweet Abigail,

I am so lucky that I get to be your mommy.  You are such an amazing little girl, and you continue to make me proud every day.  You are growing up so fast, and it is blowing my mind!  I remember holding you the day you were born and dreaming about what you would be like as you grew up.  You are more fun than I ever could have imagined.  I pray that I get to stay home with you until you are grown, because the last 2 years of my life have been the best of my 27 years!  You are beautiful, precious, and absolutely perfect... and I love you more than you will ever understand!  Happy Birthday to my sweet girl...

 - Mom

Life as a family of 4...

Things sure have changed around our house!  We started the year off as a family of 3, with a very pregnant Jessica!  Only 21 days into the year, and 3 trips to Labor & Delivery... we celebrated the arrival of Brayden Reade!  He made his grand entrance 5 weeks early, and boy were we glad to see him!  He was 6lb 10oz and 19in long... and healthy as could be!  We are very blessed to have 2 children born over a month early and have spent no time at all in the NICU! 
I spent most of my pregnancy terrified of how Abbie would handle the new baby being home.  Much to my surprise, she was beyond excited to meet him, hold him, & love him to pieces!  She ran around the house like a crazy person in excitement when my mom told her that mommy had the baby!  She wouldn't even eat breakfast!  She came to the hospital and ran into the room, with the sweetest smile on her face!  She said probably 100 times, "Hey Brady", and would kiss his head!  Then her phrase changed to "Hold Him", and she was so excited to jump up on the couch and hold the baby!
Since we have come home from the hospital, things haven't changed with Abbie too much.  She is such a big girl, and it is still hard for me to believe that in 4 days she will be turning 2 years old!!  She is such a great helper and such a sweet big sister!  Derik and I both have tried to give her focused one on one attention over the past few weeks, so that she doesn't feel like the baby has crashed her party!!  I think she is doing really great with the transition, much better than I ever could have imagined! 
Of course, nursing a baby has it's drawbacks.  I feel like I am sitting and nursing Brady for the majority of the day.  Most of the times that Abbie chooses to act out are when I am nursing the baby!  However, I have to keep in mind that she is 2, and those moments are to be expected!

The hardest change overall is definitely running errands!  Both of the times that I have taken the kids out... I left as the baby needed to be nursed, and of course forgot something!!  If it wasn't Abbie's paci, then it was Brady's diaper bag!  And the saddest part is... I had another adult with me!!  Doing errands with 2 kids... alone... scares me to death!!
I think one thing we tend to forget to factor into the equation when a newborn arrives is sleep deprivation!  I knew it was coming, and I thought I was prepared, but you forget just how hard it is to function with no sleep!  The toughest part about it this time is that with a toddler, you cant sleep when the baby sleeps!  You have a nap time that is scheduled, and that is your only opportunity during the day to sleep!  If you miss it, too bad!! 
I know that there are MANY more changes to come... potty training Abbie is one of the biggest changes next on the list!  Along with, getting rid of her paci, giving her a big girl room, starting preschool again, and of course the baby growing up!  I will admit though... I am in as big of a hurry for Brady to grow up as I was with Abbie.  Would I like him to sleep through the night... sure!  But... sitting up, crawling, eating solids... all of that can wait for a LONG time, and i would be happy! 
I am trying to enjoy my time with my kids as much as possible.  I love them both so much, and I just want to soak all of this in as long as I can!

 - Jessica

A Trip to Labor & Delivery...

Well, it appears that Brady will not be a 2011 baby!! I am pretty proud and excited that I managed to fight this preterm episode as well as I have!! The dtory of the last few days has been slow in forming, but after all of the crazy... It sounds like I am going home tomorrow with no baby!

On the 29th, I began to undecorate from Christmas! After all I did decorate the house at the beginning of November! Derik was home to help, so I got a lot done! The only 2 things left were taking down the tree and getting the wreaths off of the windows. I was tired so when Abbie went down for nap, I decided that I needed to lay down. I rested most of what was left of my day, and did nothing but rest on the 30th. Most of the day on the 30th, I didnt feel good, and i had about 6 contractions throughout the day. I convinced myself that I didnt need to call the doctor, but after a while... I knew that it was inevitable.

My good friend, Meredith, sent me a text saying "If you need anything tonight, call me". I had been debating calling her for a while, so I took it as a sign from God, and asked her to come over. Her mother in law was visiting, so she stayed with Meredith's kids, Meredith's husband stayed at our house with a sleeping Abbie, and Meredith took me to the hospital!

We checked in about 8pm, and I went straight back into a room. I was on a monitor and being observed by 830, and it only took a few minutes to realize that going to the hospital was necessary!!  I was contracting strong and hard every 2-3 minutes, and I was given my first dose of ProCardia by 9pm!

Derik was at the hospital by 10, and not long after his arrival I was given a 2nd dose of ProCardia as I continued contracting through the first dose. Meredith left, and stayed at the house with Abbie that night.  That took a lot of stress off our shoulders, and made us relax a lot!

About 1130, I was giving a third dose of ProCardia being that my contractions continued, as well as a dose of Morphine and a Steroid shot to help with Brady's lung development.  The Morphine made me black out which really scared me, but after a few minutes on oxygen, I was back to normal. I was very happy to learn that Brady was happy and healthy despite my blackout!

I started to feel a little bit better, better enough that I could get a little rest.  Around 4:30am the nurse came back in and gave me another dose of ProCardia.  This dose would be my last, as it caused a horrible reaction with my body.  About 5am, I started having chest pains, and I was struggling to gasp for air.  Derik was asleep when it started happening, and I couldnt talk to get his attention.  I called the nurse, and the only thing I could get out was "chest pains", and in came the troops!  Chest pains are not something they joke about in the hospital, and I am pretty sure that I had the entire Labor & Delivery staff in my room.  They took my pulse and my heart rate which was up to 170.  They put me on oxygen, ran an EKG and sent me out for a CT scan.  They were concerned that I had a PE or a blood clot in my lungs.  The tests came back normal, and they determined that the reaction came from the ProCardia.
Things settled back down somewhat until around 9am the following morning, when I thought my water had broken.  They did some tests, and determined that it didnt break, but that I definitely wasn't leaving the hospital.  I continued having contractions most of the day on the 31st, but I had lots of visitors and I was finally allowed to eat real food!
Derik and I actually got a little bit of sleep after the ball dropped on New Year's Eve!  I had to get the 2nd part of the Steroid shot at midnight, and then they gave me some Ambien!  We fell sleep and both slept pretty well for being in the hospital!

The next morning, after a night with NO contractions, as soon as I sat up in the bed, I started contracting like crazy.  So, of course I didnt get to go home :(.  The monitored me all day, and the contractions eventually spaced out more and more... until they really only came once in a while.  Another Ambien, and another descent night's sleep.  Lots of saline solution meant that Derik was unplugging me a lot to help me to the bathroom throughout the night, however!
The next morning they called in my Perinatal High Risk doctor to do an ultrasound, and we were looking at the baby by noon!  Dr. Fuller said the baby looked great!  He is weighing in at 5lb 6oz and passed the biophysical profile with 8 out of 8 points.  Dr. Fuller was VERY pleased with the ultrasound and determined that I was not in labor and recommended that I be able to go home!  I still had to be released by my OB, however, and she was seeing patients all day.  So, back to my room, and back on the monitors I went.  When Dr. Pringle finally was finished seeing patients, she came downstairs, and after a quick check... released me to go home!

Although she told me I have NO RESTRICTIONS, Derik and I are both pretending as though I am on modified bed rest.  The doctors both said that if I can make it to 35 weeks, then Brady most likely will get to go home with us, so our new goal is 35 weeks!  Hopefully with modified bed rest... I can make it there or further!  While Dr. Pringle doesn't think I will make it to my scheduled c-section, she is hoping that I can make it to 36 weeks! 
I want to say a big thank you to everyone who prayed for Brady & myself, who visited me in the hospital, who took care of Abbie, and for all of the love and support!  It was a hard few days, but thankfully we have amazing family & friends, and we are so grateful for you all!

 - Jessica